5 of My Favorite Homeschooling Curriculums

Pre-K — Lower Elementary

I’m not sure where the idea that teachers get 3 months of vacation originated. But as the daughter of two educators and as a former classroom teacher, I cannot overemphasize how wrong this assumption is. A teacher might get the month of June to relax (or recover) and enjoy some freedom in their schedule. However, come July, their brains are forced out of vacation mode into planning and preparation, and by August, they are back in the thick of it. 
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I've found the same to be true as a homeschool parent. As we near the end of June, I am already starting to plan and prepare for the upcoming school year. I’m purchasing curriculum, making schedules, and acquiring supplies. 

This year will mark our fourth year of homeschooling, and while I feel I’ve gained a lot of insight, I also recognize that I still have much to learn. That’s why I’m always scouring for different resources and curriculum and asking other seasoned homeschool parents about their experiences and wisdom. ​

Before I delve into the specifics of the curriculum, I want to make a few disclosures: 

• What I plan to share in this post will likely be primarily useful to those who are starting their homeschool journey or are still very new. 
• Since my daughter is starting 2nd grade, my recommendations for these curricula will be geared to a specific developmental period — children starting Pre-K through 3rd grade. 
• I have personally used each of these curricula. This is the only way I can legitimately endorse a product. However, I do have many other homeschool friends who have used or are currently using other high-quality curricula. Because I personally see how well it is working for those families, I want to share those resources with you at the end of this post in an Honorable Mention section. 
• Most companies provide a sample of their curriculum for you to peruse. While this is useful, I would additionally recommend you search the curriculum (grade-specific) on YouTube. You will find numerous videos from actual homeschool parents that will not only allow you to see the resources close up, but you will also get personal insight from someone who is using them. I’ve gotten so many ideas from watching these videos, and it has helped me immensely as I have crafted our lessons and schedule. 
• Lastly, if you have any further or specific questions you’d like me to answer, I would be happy to do so! Please comment below!

1. Playing Preschool
I first discovered Playing Preschool through Instagram. I was following its creator, Susie Allison, on her Busy Toddler account. My daughter was turning two, and we had just entered the early days of the COVID protocols. I was keen to find fun and engaging activities we could do at home together, and Susie’s account became a wealth of help! 

Susie is a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher with a Master’s in Early Childhood Education. Initially, her desire was to create a resource space for parents online. Five years after starting Busy Toddler (where she has amassed more than 2 million followers), Susie released Playing Preschool, a simple but rich homeschool curriculum for preschoolers. 

To say that I love Playing Preschool would be a huge understatement! It was fun and captivating for both my daughter and me. Additionally, it was not overly time-consuming or expensive. Susie has crafted Playing Preschool to be play-based and hands-on, focusing on building a solid foundation for future education. ​

The program includes 19 units, each of which takes 2 weeks, exploring a particular theme (Colors, Nursery Rhymes, the Five Senses, Opposites, etc.). Each theme anchors the lessons where children explore math, reading, science, art, and other activities. 

Daily lessons only take 45 minutes to an hour. Additionally, the entire program is digital. I loved that I could access and use all of Emmy’s schooling from my tablet or computer. Susie provides parents with detailed planning and prep support, lists of supplies for art and sensory activities, and both unit and individual lesson overviews. 

The cost for this curriculum is just under $40! In recent years, Susie has released a second year of Playing Preschool. She offers a bundle for both years at $70. I used Playing Preschool Year 1 for my daughter’s K-4, but if you have a child who’s ready for beginning school structure at age 3, then using Playing Preschool for two years of Pre-K is a steal of a deal! Furthermore, because it is digital, you can reuse it for any other siblings who come along!

Even if you are not sure about homeschooling long-term, Playing Preschool is a great way to prepare your child for school by laying the groundwork and foundational concepts of learning they need in a fun and engaging way! ​

​2. Classical Cottage
​When Emmy was ready for K-5, I wanted to find a curriculum that was based on a Classical Education approach. Classical education is a traditional approach to learning that focuses on teaching students how to think and learn using the tools of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. It emphasizes reading great works of literature, history, philosophy, and critical thinking. The goal is to develop wisdom, virtue, and a lifelong love of learning.

In my search, I came across The Classical Cottage. This curriculum serves learners from Kindergarten all the way through 6th Grade. For our experience in Kindergarten, the curriculum was organized into a 4-day school week, over 36 weeks. After purchasing, I was sent a link that allowed me to download and print each week into packets. This structure was great for us because it allowed us the freedom of easily taking school with us anywhere, especially when we traveled with my husband for work. Everything could be neatly stowed in a folder, binder, or these pouches that I ended up using. 

I loved the emphasis the syllabus put on learning letter sounds, shapes, and handwriting. This curriculum and its Readers in Rhyme were amazing tools for teaching my daughter to read early and well. I also like that the history and science portions of the lessons are literature-based, using carefully chosen sections from stories, rather than textbooks, to teach concepts. ​

Each week also includes a daily read-aloud book selection. If you worry you won’t be able to locate a book from your local library, never fear! I was able to find read-alouds of each book I could not physically locate on YouTube!

A subscription for the Guided Learning Curriculum is $450. It’s important to note that Classical Cottage does not provide its own math curricula, although they do recommend two: Math-U-See and Right Start. Both of these suggestions are quality resources, but quite expensive, and not something we could afford at the time. However, this did not really impact us in teaching Kindergarten. I decided to supplement what Classical Cottage provided with age-appropriate math skills from other free resources. 

Honestly, the only reason we decided not to continue with Classical Cottage was due to cost, especially when factoring in the additional cost of a math curriculum. I would still recommend it, especially for families, since you would only have to purchase each grade once and then reuse it for each additional child. 

​3. The Good and The Beautiful
For 1st grade, we settled on The Good and The Beautiful Curriculum. I already had many friends who were using this curriculum, and after researching it myself, I felt confident that it would be a great fit for us.

Here are the strong points of TGATB:

• It is an “open and go” curriculum. This means everything is pre‑planned and teacher‑ready. You literally “open” the box or book and “go”—no prepping, planning, or piecing together separate materials. Everything is laid out: lessons, assignments, and even manipulatives are all included. This ready-made structure is especially great for first-time homeschoolers. 
  
  
• It has a Biblical worldview. I appreciate that TGATB presents a high view of God, His creation, personal character, responsibility, and the family. 
  
  
• It is visually pleasing and engaging. My daughter was immediately drawn to the way they have artfully designed the pictures and layouts. We especially enjoyed the art selections TGATB chose to highlight (in the Language Arts curricula), in addition to introducing different techniques for drawing and painting. 
  
  
• They provided useful math manipulatives that we used over and over again throughout the year. 
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• They provide numerous electives. This allowed us to tailor our daughter’s education and incorporate things in which she was already interested.

TGATB is extremely cost-effective. Last year, we purchased the Language Arts bundle, Math Bundle, readers, science curricula, and an elective for just over $250! I know the old saying says you get what you pay for, but in this case, you actually get more!

Additionally, they do provide certain parts of their curriculum FOR FREE! You can download them digitally and print them yourself, if you so choose!

​4. Masterbooks
​While we primarily used TGATB for 1st grade, my daughter, who loves history, wanted to add additional material for social studies. We settled on this selection from Masterbooks. MasterBooks is a non-denominational curriculum creator. All of their products are anchored by Christian values and Biblical truth. They have a wide range of resources and materials. Emmy and I both enjoyed the social studies curricula we used this year, and I can definitely see us using their other offerings in the future. 

​5. Evan-Moor
​Evan-Moor is a secular publisher that provides homeschool curriculum for learners in Pre-K through 8th grade. They offer workbooks and curriculum bundles in both print and digital formats. One of Evan-Moor’s best features is its structure for daily practice that leads to mastery for students. They offer resources for math, science, social studies, critical thinking, reading, writing, and language arts. You can purchase books individually or in bundles by grade level. Additionally, they are fairly cost-effective. ​

I really love their Skill Sharpener workbooks and Daily Summer Activity books. We are currently using this one so that Emmy can rehearse what we learned this past school year. It is structured so that she completes two pages of fun activities each day. 

​Emmy enjoyed this workbook so much that I am already planning on supplementing a few things in second grade with Evan-Moor this fall!

Honorable Mention:
Sonlight
The Story of the World
Math With Confidence
Apologia Homeschool Curriculum
Ambleside Online

If you are just starting out with homeschooling, I know that choosing a curriculum can be an overwhelming task. Please give yourself some grace, as you yourself are learning and growing on this journey. With time and experience, you will learn what is the best fit for you and your child. Some resources will serve you well for a long time, and others will be useful for a shorter season. 

There is no perfect system for education that is meant for every learner. Traditional classroom, Montessori, Classical, Charlotte Mason, homeschool — these all have their strengths, and there are students who will thrive in each type. But as a trained educator who has experience in most of these settings over the years, I feel a strong pull toward home education. 
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If you do too, I hope you have found what I have shared in this post to be useful and encouraging. You are pursuing a good and worthwhile thing. I don’t know you, but I am praying for you! Yes, there will be very hard days and times when you grow discouraged, but keep pressing on! God is shaping you and your child through this process, and as you pursue excellence for HIs glory, He will not fail to uphold you!

​How might choosing a homeschool curriculum that aligns with your family's values and your child’s learning style shape not only their education, but also their character and faith?

Read also 5 Common Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Homeschool Experience and 4 of My Favorite Homeschooling Resources.