To Preschool or Not to Preschool…

There is a wide range of opinions in the homeschool world about whether or not to “do preschool” with our children. Charlotte Mason purists will hold to the idea that under age 6 should be a “quiet growing time” and that no formal lessons should begin until age 6. I believe that most homeschoolers are some kind of eclectic mix of philosophies and are not purists in the sense they hold fast to that as a hard rule. Many are willing to do school in some way before the age of 6.

I think sometimes there is this notion if you buy a preschool curriculum or you see others doing preschool with their children, that it creates an overly structured learning environment that is too much for kids at that age. We use phrases like “protecting childhood” which are important, but I truly do not believe if you are going through a preschool curriculum you are NOT robbing your children of childhood. Most preschool curriculums are specifically designed to NOT be overly time-consuming or burdensome. There are SO MANY hours in a day that you have to spend with your child, and a preschool curriculum might give you some intentional learning space for anywhere between 15 to 45 minutes a day.

Further, the activities in these homeschool preschool curriculums are often so gentle and naturally fit in to the flow of your day. Many activities are about focusing on the child and where they are at, figuring out their learning style as well as what works for you as the home educator. It’s supposed to be fun!

Preschool at home can appear to be overwhelming, especially if you are considering it for your first child, but it truly does not have to be!

One last point I have is that preschool for your children likely is going to look vastly different between your first child and subsequent children. It’s just a thing that happens. As your older children move up in grades they will require more planning and prep and focused time from you, so moms of multiple children will have to get creative with preschool curriculums if they are interested in incorporating these with their preschoolers. There are a number of ways to do that: only do a few of the activities each day, or take one day a week to dedicate special time with just the preschooler, or involve the older children in helping do activities with the preschooler. Lots of options for creativity and finding a fit that flows with your family!

When to Begin Preschool?

Between the ages of 2 and 6 there is such a WIDE range of interest and ability when it comes to learning. You as the parent are going to have to figure this out on your own. No one can do this for you. And you will likely falter and need to re-find your footing. There will be some things you try with your child that just do not work. Try not to take that personally. Try not to see it as failure. The fact that you are the parent at home with your child and able to see that child in love and fullness is a huge gift! You get to decide that something is not working and reimagine something new for them. They will not have to be forced in to something simply because 20 other kids their exact same age are doing that thing already.

One of the best gifts of a life of a preschooler spent at home is: freedom. This time truly should be filled with unstructured time and play and read alouds and creative exploration and lots of outdoor time. If you buy a curriculum, keep in mind your core home values and make sure to stick to those things. Feel free to skip activities or take weeks or months off of caring about the curriculum. These are invitations, not requirements. Know your child. Love your child.

Similarly, what I feel does not get said enough is that YOU matter. You as the home educator matter: what you enjoy, what you are capable of, who you are. Be attune to yourself and your needs and try not to compare yourself to what others are accomplishing with their children.

How to Choose Curriculum

I encourage you to sit down and think about your homeschool vision and priorities before you start shopping around. This does NOT mean you need to have your entire homeschool philosophy for the next 12 years perfectly articulated and solidified! I am still in the early stages with my children but, as I understand it, many homeschoolers shift and change and revise and grow as their kids grow. The vision may alter and adapt as needed, but that does not mean your initial vision was wrong! It was right for the right season.

Here are some helpful places to start thinking about your homeschool philosophy and vision:

• Homeschool Styles (5 Different Approaches from Wild + Free)
• Small Beginnings (A Homeschool Starter Guide for the Early Years)
• The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child
• The Homeschool Style Quiz (And 6 Approaches Explained)
• Homeschooling: Which Model Is Right For You?
• Cathy Duffy Reviews (Homeschool Curriculum Reviews)

For example, our home incorporates a mix of homeschooling models, but we have some core value “key terms” that I try and consider and even revise a few times a year:

• Knowledge of God
• Living education, not school
• Outside every day
• Atmosphere of love
• Rhythm, not schedule
• Celebration of beauty
• Whole self health
• Community-mindedness

I have a list where I expand on each of these items and try to evaluate if any are lacking at given times.

Four Favorite Preschool Curriculum Options, Reviewed

Below I have provided some detail for four Preschool Curriculums that I own:

• The Peaceful Preschool
• A Year of Tales Preschool
• Blossom & Root Early Years
• Habitat Schoolhouse

I encourage you to download the free sample week from each shop if you are interested in seeing what these are like.

Here are some helpful budget-friendly options to print digital versions of curriculum:

• The Homeschool Printing Company
• Family Nest Printing
• Making Family Count

The Peaceful Preschool

Overview

A literature and project-based 26 week gentle curriculum that runs on on a letter-a-week theme. The Peaceful Press is predominately Charlotte Mason and Montessori inspired, though elements of other pedagogies weave their way in.

We did this curriculum all the way through, and absolutely loved it. I decided, since my son was 3.5 at the time we began, to extend the time of preschool to longer than 26 weeks and instead spread it out over longer than a year. We spent 2 weeks on each letter and did some extra on-theme activities, taking breaks here and there. This is not at all necessary! You can stick to the 26-week curriculum and not add on a single thing.

Subjects Covered in a Week

• Read Alouds
• Phonics
• Counting Skills
• Fine Motor Skills
• Large Motor Skills
• Practical Life Skills
• Art Skills
• Field Trip

Highlights

• Easy to follow; the weekly grids are well-designed and supply lists are organized meaningfully
• Adaptable to work with what works best for your family
• Excellent book list!! The book list for this curriculum is so good! Even if you do not wish to do a full-blown preschool curriculum, any home library for little ones would be enriched by any book from this book list.
• Developmentally appropriate activities, hands-on learning and beautiful projects
• Considers natural rhythms and home life with multiple children
• Budget-friendly activities — most activities take in supplies you likely already have around the home or at least could come up with a suitable alternative.
• Access to a private Facebook group when you purchase.
• Designed with some religious content (Bible stories and optional weekly Bible verses) but this can be easily adapted for the secular household

What Comes Next?

Depending on when you began, you have a couple options if you want to stick with The Peaceful Press. You could go to their Early Elementary series like The Playful Pioneers (based on The Little House on the Prairie series) OR they have monthly guides that work well for a Kindergarten year (e.g. Sky, Mountain, Desert). There are (or will soon be) 12 guides so you could do one per month! Check out The Peaceful Press for more.

A Year of Tales Preschool

Overview

A literature and hands-on approach to preschool with beauty and nature learning weaved in. This uses the Beatrix Potter tales as well as nature-based literature for a gentle year of hands-on learning and exploration. It is a full and rich curriculum and well worth reading the introduction for general homeschool inspiration.

We used the A Year of Tales elementary curriculum for our Kindergarten year for my oldest child — this blog post details what I planned for that year. Towards the end of our year when the Preschool curriculum was released I began incorporating it with my Preschooler (age 5).

Subjects Covered in a Week

• Character
• Phonics
• Literature
• Math
• Imagine and Explore
• Handcrafts and Project-Based Invitations
• Friday Tea
• Field Trip

Highlights

• Easy to follow with weekly grids and supply lists but also adaptable — the activities are invitations and it is up to you to decide what works for you
• The nature learning is beyond excellent and age-appropriate
• Hands-on approach that is also age-appropriate and full of beauty
• Emphasizes character building and takes in to account the whole child, not just academics
• You get a LOT of extra worksheets and printables with this curriculum to weave in if you child is interested and ready, but these are not at all necessary to do the core work of the curriculum. There are also nature study-based printables that are beautiful and would be useful for beyond the preschool years. It is shocking how much extra you get for the price.
• Easy to pair with the A Year of Tales elementary curriculum if you have multiple children. You can take two approaches: pair it with A Year of Tales Elementary, or do it on its own going through the alphabet A to Z.
• Incorporates a Friday Tea Time which is used for engaging in beauty and review of the week
• This does incorporate Bible verses weekly but if you wanted to do this from a secular approach I believe you could

What Comes Next?

• A Year of Tales elementary curriculum
• COMING SOON: A Year in the Hundred Acre Wood curriculum (based on Winnie the Pooh)

Blossom & Root Early Years

Overview

A comprehensive open-and-go curriculum with hands-on learning, engaging projects, and beautiful incorporation of the arts. You can read more detail and download free samples here.

Note there are two volumes to the Early Years Volume 1 covers ages 2-4 and Early Years Volume 2 covers ages 4-6. You can purchase them bundled together and save.

Subjects Covered in a Week

Early Years Volume 1

• Read-Together Time & Prompts for a Literacy-Rich Environment
• Environment / Experience Prompts
• Nature Study
• Composer Study
• Math & Science (with Environment, Experiences, Engagement)
• Picture Study
• Kindness & Connectivity
• The Arts (Visual Arts, Dramatic Play)
• The Kitchen Classroom

Initially this might seem like a lot of categories for ages 2-4 but these are truly meant to be incorporated so easily in to your day!! Everything is experience and play-based and minimal to no prep is involved for each week.

Early Years Volume 2

• Read-Together Time (Read-Aloud plus Activity Invitation, Poetry)
• Reading / Writing Readiness
• Composer Study
• Picture Study
• Kitchen Classroom
• Exploring Artistic Expression
• Early Math Foundations
• S.T.E.M. Activity
• Nature Study & Notebook
• Interest-Based Investigations

Highlights

• Hands-on learning requires no worksheets or printables to manage
• Open-and-go and little prep is involved
• In my opinion this is the best option out there for a secular household or a household that incorporates its own specific religious traditions. We fall in to this category. We are Christians but often I am shopping for secular curriculum to ensure it fits with our worldview.
• Budget-friendly and designed for a busy household. Most activities are incorporated in to the flow of your day.
• A beautiful and seamless incorporation of the arts (picture study, composers, etc.)
• Weekly STEM-based age-appropriate learning in addition to math and nature study. I really appreciate the STEM focus!
• Excellent book list and incorporation of poetry

What Comes Next?

• Blossom and Root Kindergarten

I highly recommend buying the Early Years & Kindergarten Bundle to save money!

Habitat Schoolhouse

Overview

This curriculum is mostly housed in a worksheet-style student notebook but that does not mean there are no hands-on activities! I love the inclusion of a wide range of arts & culture lessons, the science is nature-based and there is an inclusion of Montessori-based skills on a daily basis. You can read more about the preschool curriculum here.

Subjects Covered in a Week

• Reading
• Letters & Phonics
• Number/Counting Skills
• Shapes & Color
• Arts & Culture
• Plants & Animals
• Fine Motor Skills
• Practical Life Skills
• Field Trip

Highlights

• Pretty much everything you need for this is right in front of you once it is all printed out
• Low-stress for the home educator to incorporate
• I think this works well for having multiple children around and wanting to not spend a ton of time gathering resources each week
• Some children genuinely respond well to worksheets and the ones in this curriculum are engaging, thoughtfully-designed and beautiful. I know many parents are grateful that a program like this exists.
• Globally-focused in literature, art, culture, and nature
• Includes shape and color recognition activities every day
• There is a private community for this program but you need to purchase a membership

What Comes Next?

• Habitat Schoolhouse Kindergarten (ages 4-6)

Comparison Charts

A Few Other Options

I have had friends use the following curriculum for preschool and love them. I personally have never used these so I cannot speak directly, but I wanted to add them to the list here for your exploration:

A Year of Playing Skillfully (Religious)

• Designed for ages 3-7 to have a year of wonder and discovery through hands-on activities and play. Each month has a set theme and the curriculum activities are laid out monthly instead of weekly/daily to allow flexibility. Charlotte Mason inspired and includes memory verses from the Bible. Free sample here.

Before Five In A Row (Religious)

• A precursor to Five In A Row, designed for ages 2-4 but similar in style in that it is literature-based. Activities are built around the stories. You can download the Goodnight Moon unit as a sample.

My Father’s World (Religious)

• There is a Preschool for age 3 and a Pre-K for age 4. This obviously relies heavily on content from a Christian perspective.

The Gentle + Classical Preschool (Religious)

• Charlotte Mason-inspired with hints of Classical. Follows Charlotte Mason’s List of Formidable Attainments Before Age 6. Includes memory work from catechism and the Bible. Open-ended, literature-based. Level 1 is for ages 2-4 and Level 2 is more Kindergarten-leaning, for ages 4-6. Level 2 includes math. Note: The Teachers Guides are completely free! Seriously! You can then purchase printable bundles to pair with each level.

Torchlight Pre-K (Secular)

• A 32 week full curriculum designed for ages 4-5. Not dependent on religious beliefs. Follows traditional educational standards for this age but also includes the development of emotional intelligence and humanistic values (truth, morality, etc.)

Charlotte Mason – A Quiet Growing Time

If you are sold on a more purist Charlotte Mason style homeschool I do recommend Leah Martin’s Charlotte Mason Preschool Foundations guide.

For a secular perspective of Charlotte Mason’s principles for ages 3-6 see A Quiet Growing Time from Juniper Pines.