Do I Need a Curriculum for Kindergarten?

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If nobody told you that when your child turned five years old, he had to go to school, what would you do with him? You’ve actually been his first teacher these past several years, so what have you been doing with him? What works well in the rhythm of your family and in conjunction with his interests and ability levels? Now, how can you simply make that more intentional? (Blatant ad: If you need help, I do offer a consulting service!)

A primary goal at the kindergarten level is generally to offer lots of experiences – many “hooks” on which to hang future learning. As Renee and Mike Mosiman advocate in their book, The Smarter Preschooler, children in preschool and kindergarten — and even into primary school — benefit more from an intellectually stimulating environment rather than an intellectually demanding environment.

Practically speaking, the kindergarten day itself might consist of just one hour — or maybe two — of intentional one-on-one instruction, possibly broken into 15-20 minute blocks. (One-on-one instruction refers to sitting down with your child and teaching a specific lesson on letter formation or matching a number to a set of objects, for example. It can also include crafts, projects, or anything else structured — or even just read-aloud time!). An hour is usually plenty, unless your kiddo really wants to keep going! Did you know that an hour of one-on-one instruction is roughly the equivalent of three hours in a classroom setting?

At this age, any concentrated learning will likely need to be interspersed with some brain breaks or wiggle time.

But that isn’t all that makes up the kindergarten day!

Young children need lots of opportunities for movement and time to discover their world, so part of the day could be comprised of purposeful, exploratory, and physical play. See this article for more info: What to Do with Your Early Learner (This article is a good starting point for you. I know some of these resources say “preschool,” but a lot of the principles are applicable even into early primary school years.)

At this age, your child’s play is still his work, and he is learning so much through play and through everyday activities.

I am a huge fan of read-alouds combined with play-based learning, so I encourage you to read to your child daily! For ideas on what to read, how to read, and more, check out Read Aloud to Build Skills and Relationships. Hearing good literature read aloud fosters in children a love for language, builds vocabulary, motivates them to read, and encourages them to use their imagination.

Resources for young learners

Your child can learn the basics of math and language arts (skills subjects) and other subjects through everyday or minimally structured activities:

Everyday Math for Young Learners
Language Arts skill builders
Is My Child Ready to Read?
Civics for Preschool through Middle School
Teaching Geography
What to Do with Your Young Learner (Says preschool but the concepts apply into primary)
What Should I Be Teaching? (Includes grade-level skills checklists at the end of the article that can give you an idea of what a typical K or 1st grader may learn in a conventional classroom; hold these lists loosely, but they can give you a what-comes-next idea for the skills subjects of math and language arts, in particular.)
What about Socialization?

But if you feel more comfortable with something more focused and want something “outlined” for you, here are some links to check out:

Five in a Row unit studies based on classic children’s books (add math and phonics)
My Father’s World all inclusive
A Year of Playing Skillfully play-based, activities-based, and nature-focused learning for preschool through age 8
Add the Wonder unit studies (nature based; add math and language arts) preschool through 8th grade
Timberdoodle can be all-inclusive; secular version available; more of a STEM focus than some
Gather Round Homeschool unit studies; add math
Queen Homeschool (Charlotte Mason approach) all inclusive
The Three R’s of Learning by Ruth Beechick (math, language, and reading intro for K-3rd)
Mommy, Teach Me (Montessori approach) by Barbara Curtis
Discovery K12 is an online curriculum, more conventional (but free) www.Discoveryk12.com
Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool is another online freebie

For math & language arts, some items to check out:

Learning Language Arts through Literature lesson planned for you; all LA subjects integrated into one lesson each day
Language Lessons for Little Ones Queen Homeschool
Language and Thinking for Young Children & The 3 Rs of Learning (preschool-2nd)
Language Lessons for Today grades 2 & up
The Logic of English
Explode the Code
Miquon Math hands-on, Montessori-ish
Shiller Math hands-on, Montessori
Making Math Meaningful workbook approach, literally scripted for the parent
Life of Fred Math math in a story format
Right Start Math hands-on math
Math-U-See hands-on math

Some books for you (as a homeschool parent) that may be encouraging:

The Unhurried Homeschooler by Durenda Wilson (short but powerful; I read the whole book while my banana bread baked)
Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson
Mommy, Teach Me! by Barbara Curtis