Last year was our first year of trying out homeschool for Viv and our family and it ended up being even more amazing than we were hoping for! If you’re thinking about this option for your family, here’s how we got started.
If you haven’t read How We Started Homeschooling, I shared that we started homeschooling for the first time during Viv’s preschool year. It was a fairly last minute decision, and we figured that if there was any year to try it, preschool seemed pretty easy and a good way to ease in and decide if it was worth pursuing.
Once we decided, I began putting together a loose preschool curriculum with the help of Pinterest, ChatGPT, and the couple of people I knew who were already homeschooling to ask some questions and pick their brains–both of which were incredibly willing to tell us everything we wanted and needed to know, and offer up encouragement and help if we needed it.
The curriculum I put together for preschool was very fun-based. It’s preschool after all, and (spoiler alert) there isn’t a ton of book learning taking place in preschool. Most of it is social and learning how to behave in a classroom setting with other kids, experiencing structure and routine.
I found a fun, interactive computer-based (not tablet) curriculum that I loved through Time4Learning that incorporated ABC’s, numbers 1-10, and lots of engaging games that taught things like patterns, memory, and basic intro to letters, letter sounds, and foundational reading skills, as well as some social skills about kindness, sharing, and being yourself.
I know some parents feel very strongly about computers with small children. We live in such a digital world, and with all of the tablets, video games, and screens in general, it does feel like a lot without also incorporating it into a school setting.
We personally want Viv to know how to use a computer, which is why I went with this option. I also used actual pencil-to-paper workbooks to practice writing letters, numbers, and handwriting, all of which were done off of a screen the good ol’ fashioned way.
Our typical homeschool day of “class work,” or focused learning, only happened for about 1 hour per day, 2-3 days per week. Realistically that’s usually what preschoolers are doing too. Many of Viv’s friends went two full days a week and I know lots of others that did 3 half days. Most of that time is spent reading books, playing with toys and games, and interacting with each other.
The beauty of homeschool is that you can decide. You can do one day, a little bit each day if you find the structure works for your kiddo (and you), or no days…because preschool is not a requirement here in the U.S. Despite how it may feel, your kiddo won’t “fall behind” by not attending a preschool or doing a formal curriculum.
We decided to do one because Viv enjoys learning. She’s always asking questions and trying to understand the way the world around her works. We took that as a cue that she was ready for some more structure around learning–even though learning occurs every single day, especially for her age.
Once I had a more “formal” curriculum, I went through and planned each week of lessons to align with a weekly theme. This was more for me than her. I thrive on structure and like to have a plan ahead of time so I’m not trying to decide Sunday night what we should do this week.
I started by looking at our Time4Learning curriculum and counting how many lessons there were. Then, I looked at the calendar for the school year and plugged in any time off we wanted (Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, etc.), then counted the remaining weeks left.
Since there weren’t as many lessons as there were weeks of our school year, I went with the number of weeks of the school year for how many themes we would do, so some weeks would have both workbook and computer lessons, and some would just have workbook lessons.
When you choose to homeschool, you get to decide when you start school and when your school year ends. You can go year round if you want. You can take a summer vacation for a month. You can take the entire month of December or January off. It’s totally up to you. We did a more traditional school year calendar to keep things simple, because that was easiest for me as I eased into this.
Then, I asked ChatGPT to help me come up with a theme for each week of school for a preschool age child. There were some really good ideas, and I ended up using most of them. Once I had an outline, I went through and customized each week.
I added things that aligned with each weekly theme, like books to read, field trips, activities, arts and crafts, and anything else that seemed fun and engaging for us to do together. I also added in special things for her birthday week, grandparent’s day, mother’s and father’s day, and other holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Earth Day, and Valentine’s Day.
The field trips were the most fun to plan. We went to a working farm, the children’s museum, the zoo, nature walks and hikes, lots of parks, and tons of special holiday themed events that were appropriate for her age.
I also planned arts + crafts projects that aligned with holidays and the weekly themes, which made things more fun and allowed her to learn skills like holding and cutting with scissors, using glue, and creating things using her imagination.
The best part about our preschool year was that it had a nice balance of getting out of the house and doing things, while also staying home. This was especially helpful because here in Minnesota we have all four seasons, and winter can be a real drag with cold, snow, and ice, so there are some days it isn’t practical to leave the house.
Again, the flexibility of homeschool is such a gift because if you like to get out and do things, you can. If you like to stay closer to home or at home, you can design something that is more home based.
It really and truly is what you make it. And you don’t need a plan like I had–you can just wing it–but I loved having an outline as a jumping off point.
If you want to see exactly what our 2025-2026 Preschool Curriculum looked like, just tap the highlighted link and check it out. You are welcome to use it as is or for inspiration to make your own version!
I was also feeling some overwhelm with our last minute decision to homeschool, so this really helped me feel like I had a better handle on things when it came to incorporating this into a new routine. Almost like lesson plans I could use, just like a teacher, since that was officially another title for me now.
There are a few things that I will do differently this upcoming school year than I did last year that I’ll share.
First, don’t overcomplicate it. It’s so tempting to keep adding “more.” More curriculum. More activities. More arts + crafts. More books. More songs. And then “more” starts to turn quickly into overwhelm.
By the end of the year, we had barely done any of March, April, or May’s weekly activities that I had planned and we were just flying by the seat of our pants most days. This was perfectly fine because Viv ended up finishing her pre-k curriculum around March, but I felt like I let her down because I didn’t do the rest of the “school year” plans that I had for her.
She didn’t know, but it made me feel Iike the experience she got wasn’t enough. When in fact, it actually was great. I’m an achiever by nature, so when I couldn’t check those boxes, I started to feel like maybe she would have been better off in pre-k with an actual teacher.
This is a huge lie I was telling myself coming from a place of imposter syndrome mixed with insecurity around our decision to homeschool.
You may experience some of both when deciding to homeschool, especially if you don’t have a teaching background (I do not). Who was I to think I could teach my kid anything? Would she even listen to me? What if I fail her? What if everyone doubting our choice is right? These were all things that floated through my mind fairly regularly and, from what I understand, is very common for many parents when they begin.
While our first year had its challenges as we figured out our routine and rhythm, nothing will change how it felt when Viv excitedly told the checkout lady that she is in homeschool and that she’s excited for kindergarten.
It was a long road to get to that point, but it made me realize that even when we feel Iike we aren’t doing enough for our kids, we probably are doing more than enough.
And when it comes to homeschool, less is more. Keeping it simple is better than overcomplicating it. Otherwise you are taking away one of the very biggest pros of homeschooling–flexibility.
Keeping it simple allows you to be as flexible as possible and change plans, make room for the unexpected (impromptu playdates, sickness, appointments, etc.), and reduce the stress of getting everything done.
The other thing I would recommend is to stay away from Pinterest. I realize up there I mentioned that I used it in combination with ChatGPT and real life people I know who are homeschooling, but as I head into this school year, I will not be using it much as a resource.
Pinterest can become very overwhelming, especially if you search for anything too vague or are looking for curriculum advice. It ends up just being a lot of people’s opinions, blog posts that have a million ads making it impossible to read anything, or the promise of a super basic curriculum guide if you provide your email address to someone.
What Pinterest IS good for is arts + crafts ideas if you search for something specific. Think less “homeschool art projects” (too vague) and more “leaf art projects for fall” (more specific).
I also shared quite a few of the arts + crafts projects we did throughout last year to the blog, which are totally free and most are easy and low mess. You can find them under the Toddlers + Kids section.
There are so many resources out there, and it is easy to get overwhelmed.
I would start with finding your curriculum, if you need one. In Minnesota, pre-k and kindergarten are technically not legally required, so it’s up to you if you want a formal curriculum or if you’re just going to wing it.
I liked having a formal curriculum because it made my day to day a lot easier. I opened the next lesson and away we went. That’s our plan for kindergarten too, and in addition to Time4Learning we also added a workbook curriculum from The Good & The Beautiful. Their materials are fun and pretty, as well as screen free.
They also provide a LOT of free resources that are helpful without making you feel like you have to buy something from them, so be sure and check those out too.
If you do go with a more formal curriculum, they are usually broken up into lessons, so it makes it really easy just to follow the bouncing ball and do a lesson a week at young age. When they get older is when lessons start to be daily (most curriculums outline this detail based on the age of your student).
You certainly don’t need to do this by any means, but I had a LOT of fun having weekly themes and so did Viv. We didn’t do something every day, or even do every single thing I had come up with, but it made for a fun school year together and made me feel much more organized.
We also got to go on some cool field trips and made some great memories.
However you decide to get started with homeschool, there is no wrong answer. The important thing is that you START. Make it work for your student(s) and your family. The single best thing about homeschooling is the flexibility it provides 🙂
Until next time,
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