Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum: A Complete Guide

The best curriculum is the one that works well for you and your child. There is not one single best curriculum. Every child is different and every family is different—so there is a wide range of curriculum to choose from.

Children learn successfully from many different homeschool curricula! Even what your best friend thinks is best may not work as well for your kids and vice versa. Your search should be for a curriculum that fits your family well.

Also keep in mind, some people don't use any formal kindergarten curriculum at all when they homeschool, and that is what works best for them. Others are attracted to a certain type of education, such as Waldorf or Montessori or Classical, so the best curriculum for them is one that reflects their favored approach to education.

Choose a curriculum that seems to fit your family—your child, your self, and your situation. You can tell a lot about curriculum through flip-throughs and reviews on social media and websites.

• Some curriculum companies sponsor Facebook groups and others have fan groups or social followings where you can join to read about people's experiences or ask questions.
• Many publishers have free samples available at their websites, and you can even try out lessons with your child.
• Some homeschool groups have curriculum swaps, sales, and shares where you can peruse curriculum others have used.
• In some communities, there are homeschool book stores with experienced parents who can tell you pros and cons of various curricula for kindergarten.

Consider these questions as you look at various curricula you might choose for kindergarten:

• Will your child enjoy a curriculum that is more based on reading and writing or more based on projects, outdoor time, or hands-on activities?
• Will you mind gathering the materials for lots of crafts or doing deep reading to prepare for a lesson, or do you prefer a curriculum that is more "open and go," with little prep on your part?
• Will your child be cared for part of the time by a partner, grandparent, or babysitter who will be helping with education, so you need lessons that are easily shared among adults?
• Where is your child in reading, writing, and arithmetic skills? Does the curriculum you are considering meet your child at or barely above their current skill level?
• Does the curriculum reflect the social, moral, or religious values you hope to impart?
• If it's important to you, does the curriculum align with what public school students are learning at the same age? (This last one is tricky: you might also be one of many homeschooling parents who does not want what schools teach in public kindergarten, feeling many formerly first grade academic skills have been inappropriately pushed down to kindergarten).

Learn more about selecting the best homeschool curriculum for a child in any grade, including kindergarten, by reading our article How to Choose the Best Curriculum for Your Family's Needs.

Homeschool curriculum, including kindergarten curriculum, does not need to be (and cannot be) accredited. That’s because accreditation is for schools, colleges, and institutions. Accreditation does not ever apply to any kind of curriculum by itself, and it’s not needed for homeschooling.

Some families do use accredited private, public and religious schools (online or in person) to meet compulsory attendance laws, but you can also meet compulsory attendance laws by homeschooling independently with any curriculum you choose. Accreditation is not a factor in whether your homeschooling is seen as legitimate.

Sometimes an online school or academy and the curriculum they use share the same name, which is confusing and may lead to the impression that the curriculum is accredited. Still, the curriculum is not accredited; remember, it can’t be! It’s not a school!

If your children are learning at home under a public charter school or with a curriculum provided by public school for free, your choice of curriculum may be limited because your child is enrolled in public education. You’ll have to follow their regulations and use only curriculum they accept.

If your child attends public school after homeschooling during kindergarten, grade placement will be up to the public school. Use of any certain program while homeschooling does not guarantee grade placement when a child enters school. In the early years, including kindergarten and first grade, schools often place students with their age-mates, but school officials are legally allowed to determine grade placement regardless of a child’s experience with home education.

You can choose an "all-in-one" or "most-in-one" curriculum that covers all or most of the typical school subjects, and then you can make individual curriculum choices to add in specialized subjects such as math, reading, or handwriting.

Or, you can mix and match for every subject you want your child to learn this year. For example, with a child who loves being outdoors, you might choose a nature curriculum that helps children learn basic science. It may have a language arts component, but you may have to add math and how-to-read curricula to make it more complete.

Also recognize that many kindergarten skills can be learned without any curriculum at all. You may be able to help your child count, sort, add and subtract naturally, for example. You may be able to help your child learn to form letters correctly by creating your own "copywork" for your child to trace or copy. You can add in curriculum when you need resources in areas where you feel less comfortable helping your child learn in the context of your daily life.

There are free homeschooling curricula available online for kindergarten (examples included above), and you can view lessons on a tablet or download and print lessons. Free curricula often have recommended books that pair with lessons, which you can borrow from your local library.

There are also many free resources at independent websites that help children learn about specific subjects or topics. These include museum websites, historical site websites, and homeschool and other educational websites that offer free resources. Google is your friend!

Using free curricula may be less convenient because you have to do the legwork to find the appropriate books and supplementary materials, but many children learn successfully with free curriculum.