Sooooo, what are we doing for a preschool homeschooling curriculum? That is a darn good question. And the short answer is—I guess we’ll find out as the year progresses. But really, it’s not as fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants as that sounds. In fact, I think my plan might be a lot more helpful to you than a list of all the cool curricula I’ve bought.
Here is the plan. I am not buying a “boxed” curriculum for preschool. Instead, I will be using a morning work binder which I have created for free. I will show you what is in mine and give you lots of other ideas for yours too.
Most of my preschooler’s education will come from just exploring life alongside me and her big sister. We read LOTS, involve her in household chores, and play outside. So her “formal” education is pretty simple and, of course, fun.
Read about our curriculum for other grades here.
The Morning Work Binder
So what about this binder? I will show you exactly how I put it together below. And you can find links to all the free resources I used and many more on my Pinterest board, Build Your Preschool Binder!
I also threw in some cute covers for the binder, which you can download for free. There is a ladybug cover and a pencil/school-themed cover. Inside each pack, there is also a generic “My Preschool Binder” plus one with a space to put your child’s name.
I used this morning work binder years ago with my now-second-grader to great success. It’s fun, and easy, and versatile. They are simply pages printed out and slid into page protectors. My daughter goes through each day and circles, traces, or writes with a dry-erase marker. Then you just wipe it off and it’s ready for the next day. If you want a record of progress, just snap a picture before you erase the page.
Here are the pages I have in it now, but your options are really limitless:
- Weather and seasons page
- Trace your name page
- Upper and lowercase alphabet page
- Numbers and counting pages
- Some fun Play-Doh mats for counting and 1-to-1 correspondence
I’ll be adding more as we go. The binder helps to make sure that we are consistently touching on the foundational areas I want to cover in between all of our fun learning and exploring activities.
Learn how to build a homeschooling routine that works AND includes your young children.
My Preschool Learning Objectives
Here are the foundational objectives that I want to cover in preschool:
- Upper and lowercase letter recognition
- Consonant and short vowel sounds
- Counting and number recognition, 1-20
- 1 to 1 correspondence
That is it. Those basics will pave the way for reading and math in PreK and kindergarten. Of course, a typical course of study for preschool covers many other things. Here are some other objectives I will work on informally through play and other fun activities throughout the year.
- Shapes and colors
- Rhyming and clapping songs (syllable counting)
- Cutting, pasting, and other fine motor skills
- Exploring art, nature, and music
- Basic life and household skills
There you go! My totally inexpensive, no-stress preschool plan. Don’t forget to grab your free ladybug or school-themed binder covers!
