Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum: Relaxed Introduction to Academics

This is my second go-round with kindergarten homeschool curriculum. This year will be a little more relaxed with double the kids!

For a full list of your secular homeschool curriculum options, see our Secular Homeschool Curriculum Guide.

I’m feeling really good about going back into our old kindergarten materials this year to work with my daughter. This year, like many homeschooler’s second go-round of kindergarten, is going to be a lot more relaxed. A gentler introduction to school activities.

I’m planning to use many of the same resources I did before – but a lot less of them. This is because my daughter, a generally less-demanding learner, will be happy to follow along with her big brother’s read-alouds and projects.

I’m a little nervous about taking on two kiddos this year, but I do frequently remind myself that it used to be 20 new faces instead of 2 familiar ones. I can do this, right?

Below is a list of our relaxed, eclectic kindergarten homeschool resources for a gentle introduction into academics at home.

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Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum: Language Arts

We’re skipping the full language arts program this year to focus on reading. My plan is to return to Build Your Library Kindergarten when my third child is kindergarten age. Scaling some of the lessons up to meet my daughter’s level (then she will be in 2nd grade).

This year, however, we will be focusing on learning to read with read alouds, activities, favorite picture books, and leveled readers.

Phonics
I love to blend programs together, and this year will be using a combination of Hooked on Phonics, Bob Books, and library leveled readers to get my kindergartner started on the path to reading!

Using a variety of programs never gets boring. Sick of workbooks? Watch the videos today. Tired of the videos? Let’s read together on the couch. The small Bob Books and readers included in HoP are also nice because your child will feel like she is reading a real book right away.

Sight Words
Fluency with sight words makes reading so much easier for kids. Those tricky sight words can’t be sounded out, and they can really slow you down! We will be practicing sight words with hands-on activities, interactive workbooks, and games throughout the year.

Online Reading Games
I’m a fan of supplementing with online reading games for a few reasons. First, I know I’m not missing anything in their reading education. Second, it gives me time to work one-on-one with the other kid (or drink my coffee hot). This year, my daughter will continue to use Reading Eggs and Teach Your Monster to Read along with a few other fun kindergarten apps and games to supplement her reading instruction.

Handwriting
I’m not going to change a thing about our handwriting practice! The letter formation activities that my son practiced in kindergarten were fun, engaging, and really got him going with his motor skills! I’m going to use the same approach with my daughter. 

Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum: Math

I loved practicing kindergarten math with my son, and I’ll be taking much of the same approach again with my daughter.

The skills we work on are covered in the book, What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know. We will be focusing on hands-on math exploration with patterns, counting, time, and money. As well as including a variety of math literature read alouds.

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Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum: Science

Science
After a 1200 mile move northward, I am excited to explore the changes in the seasons with my daughter. She will get to experience her first fall harvest and see her first snowfall! I will be depending on the weather, parks and gardens nearby, and the library for her nature studies this year.

She will also be following along with the read-alouds and hands-on activities in big brother’s 2nd grade Bookshark Science program.

Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum: Everything Else

Physical Education, the Arts, and Writing (Yes, they go hand-in-hand!)
My daughter is excited to enroll in ballet this year, which will cover most of her music and physical education. She is also very interested in arts and crafts – always drawing, loves to paint and build.

We are Brave Writer fans. Although we aren’t using the curriculum specifically for kindergarten, my daughter already actively participates in poetry tea, art, and music study that we do as part of the Brave Writer lifestyle. I’m sure that she will also partake in a lot of the activities we complete with Jot It Down (what I’m using for my 2nd grader).

Read: 2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum Picks

For curriculum options check out our Homeschool Curriculum Guide.

And for a side-by-side comparison of ten top phonics programs see our Phonics Curriculum Guide post.