If you’re wondering what to do with your three to five year old at home, here’s my honest answer: at this age, you don’t really need a curriculum. You can wing it with about 10 to 25 minutes a day, just three days a week. I’m sharing what we did with our two oldest and what we’re doing now with our almost four year old.
What you’ll get from this post
- A simple weekly blueprint: one letter, one number, one shape and one color
- What preschoolers and pre-k kids should work on for letters and numbers
- What “one-to-one correspondence” means and how long it can take
- The cheap Dollar Tree books, apps, shows and YouTube channels we use
- Why I started prepping ahead once I was teaching more than one child
Some links here are affiliate links. If you buy, we may earn a little, at no extra cost to you. We only share stuff we actually use.
Chapters
- 0:41 Do you need a preschool curriculum?
- 1:02 The weekly blueprint
- 2:05 Why I started preparing ahead
- 3:09 Letters and numbers in preschool
- 4:52 Pre-k: 20 to 25 minutes, three days a week
- 5:59 One-to-one correspondence
- 7:22 Bible time
- 8:04 YouTube, the Dollar Tree and books
You don’t need a preschool curriculum
Honestly, at this age, no curriculum is really needed. About 10 to 25 minutes a day, three days a week, is plenty.
To make sure you’re covering everything, I’ve linked a preschool and pre-k learning objectives list that lays out all the goals for these years. It includes things like writing their full name, memorizing your phone number and recognizing patterns.
Our simple weekly blueprint
Each week, pick one letter, one number, one shape and one color to focus on. That’s it.
You’ll end up repeating some of them, and that’s totally fine. Kids need the repetition.
If you want to be an overachiever, add a science theme for each month. Keep it really simple: animals, sea creatures, arctic animals, insects, amphibians. Pick something they’ll be interested in. Find a few YouTube videos on it, and maybe a craft or a hands-on activity. It makes school more fun for them.
Why I started preparing ahead
When I only had one child to teach and one other child at home, things were simpler. I had more time for him, I was less distracted, and I had more brain cells. I’d just wing it every week, and it was actually fun.
Once we had three kids in the house and I was teaching two of them, it got a lot more hectic. Not being prepared started to stress me out. Honestly, on a lot of days I just skipped teaching my second child because it felt like too much.
So here’s my recommendation. If you’re teaching more than one child, prepare ahead of time. There are also big books that lay out a whole year of preschool learning. If prepping sounds stressful, just grab one of those. But if you like the freedom to choose what you teach and how, here’s what we did.
Preschool: letters, numbers and their name
Letters. In preschool, we work on recognizing uppercase letters. In pre-k, we move on to lowercase. We also work on memorizing the sound each letter makes. Make it fun: find books about something that starts with that letter, or foods, toys or objects around the house that start with it.
Numbers. They should be able to count to ten and recognize written numbers.
Their name. They also need to recognize their full name when they see it written.
For sit-down time in preschool, we picked two activities a day. That took maybe 10 to 20 minutes, three times a week.
In between, I sprinkle in educational shows and apps. The Letter Factory by LeapFrog taught my kids the alphabet, and the Endless Alphabet app might be the one that taught them their letter sounds.
They also learn so much through play: building with blocks, using their imaginations, molding playdough, dancing to music, painting and discovering things outside. That’s just as important as sit-down learning, so don’t put too much pressure on that part.
Pre-k: same themes, a little more time
In pre-k, we did about 20 to 25 minutes of school, three days a week, with the same weekly themes as preschool. I made a Google spreadsheet with our lesson plans for pre-k through 2nd grade: our lesson plans and daily schedule.
I didn’t use a curriculum for pre-k either. I went to the Dollar Tree and picked up a few preschool and pre-k activity books to rotate each day:
- Learn shapes: trace the shapes and count how many are in the picture
- Numbers and counting: trace the numbers and count the objects on the page
- Alphabet: trace the letters and see pictures of things that start with each one
I also use Pinterest for hands-on activities and crafts, and I find a lot of free printable worksheets on Google to fill in the gaps.
What “one-to-one correspondence” means
For numbers in pre-k, the main goal is one-to-one correspondence. That’s a fancy teacher term for your child being able to count how many objects are in a group.
A two, three or even four year old might count a group of three things and just keep going: “one, two, three, four, five, six.” Reciting numbers in order is good. Now we want them to connect the numbers to the objects, touching each one and counting it only once.
This could take many months or a whole year to master, so don’t get frustrated if it feels slow. After that, they should be able to see a written number and set out that many items. They should also learn to count to 20.
For letters in pre-k, they should recognize lowercase letters, know each letter’s sound, and be working on tracing uppercase letters.
Bible time every school day
We do Bible time every school day. At this age, we really enjoy the Character Builders Bible. It covers a bunch of character traits that are valuable to teach your kids. Each one has four pages: a memory verse, a story, a little poem, and a real-life application. We usually do two pages a day.
YouTube, the Dollar Tree and plain old books
YouTube makes our job so much easier. Some days I put on an educational video while the kids eat lunch, so they’re busy and learning at the same time. Win-win. Some of our favorites are Super Simple Learning songs, Busy Beavers, Bob the Train, the Nemours KidsHealth “How the Body Works” playlist, and The Piano Guys. I’m hoping The Piano Guys will spark an interest in playing an instrument. Bonus: it’s actually good music, so I’m not sitting through more obnoxious kid songs.
The Dollar Tree has coloring books, workbooks, flashcards, craft supplies and school supplies, all for a dollar each. I feel like the queen when I go in there.
Reading books is an easy way for them to learn new words and spark their imaginations.
Really, don’t overcomplicate this. They’re going to learn, and there’s no rush.
Key takeaways
- Preschool at home doesn’t need a curriculum. 10 to 25 minutes, three days a week, is enough.
- Focus on one letter, one number, one shape and one color each week, and repeat as needed.
- If you’re teaching more than one child, prep ahead or buy an all-in-one preschool book.
- One-to-one correspondence can take months or a year. Don’t get frustrated.
- Play, shows, apps, YouTube and books teach a lot too.
What viewers say
I’ve searched high & low for creators who break down a homeschool schedule like this…FINALLY you’re the first I found that actually eases my anxiety and makes me feel like i can actually homeschool my 4 year old🥹
@dylandubner5039 on YouTube
The best video I’ve watched for teaching my 2 year old. New subbie 😊
@princesstiaraable on YouTube
Thank you so much for this information! Great video.
@kathrynforinash1421 on YouTube
Things we mentioned
- Preschool and pre-k learning objectives list: a checklist of the goals for these years
- Our lesson plans and daily schedule: my free Google spreadsheet for pre-k through 2nd grade
- Preschool and pre-k books, toys and DVDs: my Amazon list for little ones
- Homeschool essentials and school supplies: our everyday supply list
- Hooked on Phonics first month: the reading app we use once they’re ready
- My blue light blocker glasses
If you’re starting preschool at home, come hang out with our crew on YouTube. Subscribe to The Johnson Crew on YouTube.
FAQ
Do I need a curriculum for preschool at home?
Not really. At this age, you can easily wing it with 10 to 25 minutes a day, three days a week. A learning objectives checklist helps make sure you cover everything.
How long should preschool be at home?
In preschool, we did two activities a day, about 10 to 20 minutes, three times a week. In pre-k, it was about 20 to 25 minutes, three days a week.
What should a preschooler learn each week?
We pick one letter, one number, one shape and one color each week. You can add a simple monthly science theme like animals or insects.
What is one-to-one correspondence?
It’s your child touching each object and counting it only once, so they connect each number to one object. It can take many months or a whole year to master.
Where can I find cheap preschool materials?
We use Dollar Tree activity books, Pinterest for activities and crafts, and free printable worksheets from Google.
More from our crew
- Easy Way to Teach Your Kindergartener at Home! Kindergarten Curriculum
- Pre-K Activities for Learning Numbers! How To Teach a Preschooler Numbers Homeschool
- How to Keep A Toddler Busy While Homeschooling
Full transcript
Today we're going to talk about curriculums so I need my teacher glasses hi welcome to my channel if you're already a subscriber then welcome back if you're new here my name is Sarah and I have four kids under the ages of eight and I've been homeschooling them for the last four and a half years and I also on the side help my husband run our wedding photography business now these are just my sweet blue light blocker glasses I don't really need these for what we're doing
So for anyone looking for what they want to do with their three to five year olds as far as learning up home and preschool and pre-k I wanted to share what we've done with our two oldest and are now doing with our almost four year old honestly at this age no curriculum is really needed you can easily wing it on your own with about 10 to 25 minutes a day just three days a week for a checklist to be sure that you're hitting all the learning objectives that you should be during this time I've linked to a sheet below that lists them all out for preschool
And pre-k years so here's your simple blueprint for preschool and pre-k basically each week you just want to pick one letter one number one shape and one color to focus on pretty simple of course you'll end up repeating these which is totally fine they need that repetition it's good for them so if you really want to be an overachiever you can also choose a science theme for each month I mean something really simple like animals sea creatures arctic animals insects amphibians like just make it easy something that they would be interested in that kind of makes school more fun for them
And you could just find some YouTube videos to show them on those things maybe even find crafts or some other hands-on activity that you can do related to that topic when I only had one child to teach and just one other child at home things were simpler I had more time for him I was less distracted I had more brain cells and I would just win every week and that worked and it was actually fun for me but once we had three kids in the house
And I was trying to teach two of them that got a little more crazy a little more hectic and it started to stress me out to not already be prepared for that so I felt unorganized and honestly a lot of the days I would just skip teaching my second child because it just felt like too much so my recommendation is if you're teaching more than one child at a time just go ahead and prepare that stuff ahead of time if you've watched my five tips for schooling at Home Video you know that I like to rock
And roll through school be as efficient as possible and get it done as soon as possible now there are big books that lay out a year's worth of preschool learning so if having to prepare sound stressful or it does not interest you in any way then just go get one of those books and it makes it super easy but if you enjoy the freedom of being able to decide what you're gonna expose them to and how you're gonna teach them things then keep watching while I list out what we did for the preschool
And pre-k years for letters we would work on recognizing uppercase letters in preschool and then in the pre-k year work on lowercase letters and we work on memorizing the sound of each letter and we could easily find books that are about something that starts with that letter or we could find foods that start with that letter or any kind of toy or object around the house that starts with that letter make it fun for numbers you want them to be able to count to ten
And recognize written numbers they also need to be able to recognize their full name when they see it written out as far as sit-down instruction time for preschool we would pick two activities to do a day which would probably take ten maybe twenty minutes depending on what it is and we would just do that three times a week and in between I might sprinkle in things like educational shows oh that's easy I tell you the letter factory by leapfrog has taught my kids the alphabet also educational apps endless alphabet on the that might actually be the one that's taught my kids their letter sounds
But those are amazing they'll also learn through playtime building with blocks using their imaginations molding things with playdough dancing the music painting discovering things outside there are tons of important things that they're gonna do outside of the sit down learning time that are just as important so don't put too much pressure on that part in pre-k we would do about 20 to 25 minutes of school three days a week just following the same weekly themes that we did back in the preschool year now I've included a link below to a Google spreadsheet that I made that lists out our lesson plans for pre-k
And also includes lesson plans for kindergarten first grade and second grade now I didn't use a curriculum for pre-k either I just went to the dollar tree and picked up some educational activity books for preschool and pre-k first to rotate between each day they have some awesome books obviously all for a dollar we've got learn shapes where they can trace the shapes and work on counting how many shapes they see in the picture numbers and Counting where they're also tracing the numbers and counting how many objects are on the page an alphabet book where they're tracing the letters
And seeing pictures of things that start with that letter I also use Pinterest to find hands-on activities and crafts and then I was able to find a lot of free printable worksheets just on Google to fill in the gaps for numbers the main goal is one-to-one correspondence now that is a fancy teacher term for your child being able to count how many objects are in agreed okay so if you have a two or three-year-old or even four year old at this point they may be counting a group of three
And they just keep on counting those objects over and over you know one two three four five six they just keep going so it's good if they're able to recite their numbers in order but now we want them to see the connection between what their mounting and those numbers so one-to-one correspondence involves touching each object and counting it only once being able to correspond one number with one object this could take many months or a whole year to master so don't get frustrated if you feel like it's taking a while after that they should show a connection between written numbers
And their quantity by seeing a number and setting out that many items they should also learn to count to 24 letters they should be able to recognize the lowercase letters at this point and know each of their sounds and be working on tracing uppercase letters check out the list of learning objectives below to see some other things that you can be adding in throughout the year like writing their full name memorizing your phone number and recognizing patterns we also do Bible time every day or at least every school day
And at this age we really enjoy the character builders Bible it has a bunch of different characteristics that are valuable to teach your kids and it's four pages per characteristic so you've got a memory verse you could work with you've got a story you've got a little poem and a little real-life application that they can look at so we normally do two pages of a characteristic per day YouTube is such a great educational resource it makes our job way easier some days I'll have them sit down for lunch
And put on an educational video from YouTube and can make their lunch easily it occupies them and teaches them win-win some of our favorite channels are super simple learning songs a lot of the songs are educational and the tunes help them to learn the content the videos help them learn and keep their attention my kids also love busy beavers Bob the Train nemours kids health how the body works playlist and the piano guys I'm hoping that it'll spark their interest and playing instruments plus music is a great way to grow the brain bonus it's actually good music
And I'm not having to sit through more obnoxious kid music now you know I love me some dollar tree they've got coloring books work books flashcards all kinds of craft supplies school supplies they have everything I love the Dollar Tree and it's only a dollar per item I feel like the Queen when I go in there and of course reading books is an easy way for them to learn new vocabulary and to spark their imaginations really what I want to say is don't over complicate this they're going to learn
And there's no rush now if you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below if you have any ideas for what's worked really well for your little ones please leave that in the comments below as well and also check out my other videos on how we schedule our school day and tips for having a calm and organized school day and if you found this video helpful give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe and hit the little Bell so you don't miss another video talk to you soon for preschool
Okay quiet on the set