Choosing Homeschool
Being a parent is hard work! There are so many decisions you have to make throughout your child’s life.
One of the biggest being what to do for school.
Should we send him to public school? Private School? A Christian Private School?
Or Homeschool?
Ultimately, we have chosen to homeschool. (At least for the time being)
Then… came even more decisions! Who knew there are so many different homeschool curriculums to choose from!
So I went down the homeschool curriculum rabbit hole. I probably looked at over 100 different options (not exaggerating here. When I start something, I go all in!).
Today, I will be sharing with you what homeschool preschool curriculum we have chosen to use for our toddler (after all that research).
Hopefully, by going into detail about what we have decided to use for this upcoming school year, I can help you as you make your own decisions about preschool curriculum.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for products I use and love. If you make a purchase through one of the links I can make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see my Disclosure Policy here for more details.
Our Choices of Homeschool Preschool Curriculum
First, I want to say that you absolutely do not have to use a preschool curriculum at all. Preschool is not a requirement, and it may not be the right choice for every family or every child.
Every family is different and should make the decision that feels best for them.
My child is three and is very interested in learning, so we are going to go with it!
Because he is still so young, we will go into preschool very gently.
We will not be doing preschool five days a week, and when we do school, it will be in very short incoments.
We will be adding homeschool lessons to our daily routine two-three days a week (if you would like to see our daily routine chart, check it out here.)
This year will be all about the introduction of formal learning and going at my child’s own unique pace.
With that said, we have decided to use three different preschool curriculums: a main preschool curriculum, a math curriculum, and a handwriting curriculum. All three curriculums are designed to complement each other, and together they will create a full and balanced program for our three year old.
Main Preschool Curriculum Choice
When it came to choosing the main preschool curriculum I had a few must haves:
- Gentle
- Has a Biblical WorldView
- Book-based
- Enjoyable for my toddler
After considering all my must haves when it came to our choice in preschool curriculum it lead us to:
Gentle and Classical Preschool
This program will go over one letter a week with a coordinating book to go along with it.
Gentle and Classical Preschool also includes a morning binder, nursery rhymes, scripture memory, hygiene and manners, art and music appreciation, handicrafts, and even some exercise.
With it including so many different things you might think that it is too much, but it does not seem like it because it is supposed to be very gentle. They also let you pick and choose what you want to use with your child and what you do not. They built the program to be able to pick and choose what you want you want to do without feeling like you are missing something.
I bought the whole bundle (You can find the link to what I bought up above). I also choose to buy the physical delivery. It seems to be a lot to have to print out and was worth the price to me (but if you are on a small budget the digital version is available at a lower price and you can just print out what you need.)
(If you choose to buy this program I have a $5 off coupon code if you use this link; https://allisonchapp.com/Gentle and Classical Press AllisonChapp.)
Overall, I am super excited to use this with my toddler this school year!
Math Curriculum Choice
Some preschool curriculums come with a math component within their programs, but Gentle and Classical Preschool does not. However, it does give a recommendation for a math program.
Which is what we choose:
Preschool Math at Home
I am actually really excited about this math program, and I think my child will really enjoy it, too!
It is a hands-on, activity based math curriculum that should be a perfect fit for my busy toddler.
Everything you need to complete the lessons with your preschooler are items you should be able to find around your house (which makes this program even easier).
And it seems to have almost zero prep time needed (which is a major plus)
One of my favorite things about this preschool math curriculum is that if he enjoys it, we can stick with it throughout his elementary years because there are levels going all the way through 6th grade.
Handwriting Curriculum Choice
The handwriting preschool curriculum that we chose works perfectly with and is recommended by the main curriculum program we choose, but it is also the one I was hoping to use from the start.
The handwriting preschool curriculum we choose is:
Handwriting Without Tears
This program teaches letters based on what is easiest for young children to learn how to write. Even better, Gentle and Classical Preschool follows the same letter order (so will work perfectly all together).
I chose to buy the wood pieces to teach the line strokes of each letter, the chalkboard, and the workbook (I linked what I bought up above).
With my toddler being three we will for sure be using the wood pieces and the chalkboard this year, but depending on what he is ready for we may or may not end up using the workbook. (I will keep you updated.)
Overall, I think this handwriting preschool curriculum will be a fun, hands-on way to help reinforce learning his letters.
Homeschool Preschool Curriculum
I will be sure to share an update at the end of the year to let you know how our first homeschool preschool year went and how we felt about each of our preschool curriculum choices we made.
Homeschool preschool can feel like a big decision, but does not need to feel overwhelming.
After a lot of research, we have found a curriculum combination that feels right for our family and our curious three year old.
I hope that by sharing our choices in preschool curriculum it has helped you feel more confident or inspired as you make your own decisions. Remember each family is different and that is what is amazing about homeschooling!
I will be sure to update you along the way!
