How to choose a homeschool preschool curriculum (an honest buyer’s guide)

There is no single best one. There is a best fit for your child and your household. A curriculum you enjoy and open four days a week will teach more than an impressive one that sits on a shelf.

A good homeschool preschool curriculum usually has:

• Short daily lessons, around 10 to 20 minutes, with no expectation of long seat work.
• A clear sequence, so skills build week to week instead of jumping around.
• Hands-on activities alongside any pages: counting real objects, play-dough, sorting, cutting.
• Plenty of reading aloud built into the plan.
• Plans written for parents, so you can open the week and go without training.
• Flexibility, so a missed day or a sick week doesn’t throw everything off.

Anything that promises reading by age 3 or needs an hour of worksheets a day is aiming at the wrong target.

Look for coverage of the same areas early-years frameworks use, such as the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework in the US and the EYFS in England.

Language and early literacy

• Daily stories and conversation
• Rhymes, songs and listening games that train the ear
• Letter recognition, and letter sounds for older preschoolers
• Recognizing and beginning to write their own name

Early math

• Counting objects, not only reciting numbers
• Comparing more, fewer, bigger, smaller
• Shapes, colors, sorting and simple patterns
• Numerals, usually to 10 at 3 and toward 20 by 5

Fine motor

• Coloring, tracing lines before letters, cutting, gluing, threading and play-dough

Thinking, science and the world

• Themes like seasons, animals, weather, family and community
• Noticing, asking questions and talking about what they see

Social, emotional and self-care

• Naming feelings, taking turns, following a routine, and doing small jobs independently

If a program covers only letters and numbers, you can easily add the rest through play and outings. If it covers only crafts, you may need to add a clearer letters-and-numbers thread.

Many families mix styles: a printable or workbook spine for letters and numbers, plus library books and free play for everything else. That is a perfectly good approach.

For 3 year olds

Keep it light. Look for big, simple pages, lots of hands-on play, first counting to 5 or 10, colors, shapes and a few letters. About 10 to 15 minutes a day is plenty. Many 3 year olds are still happier with a toddler-style program. For a sense of what is typical at this age, see what a 3 year old should know.

For 4 year olds

Four year olds can usually handle 15 to 20 minutes a day and a bit more structure: every letter and its sound, hearing first sounds and rhymes, counting 10 objects, numerals to 10 or 20, cutting on a line and tracing. If your child will start kindergarten at 5, a pre-K program that ends with first blending and simple adding may suit better than a general preschool one.

Mixed ages

With a 3 and a 5 year old, choose a program with themes both can share (read the same book, do the same craft) and let each do their own level of pages.

Prices vary widely, but they fall into rough bands:

• Free: library books, free printable packs and free online plans. Costs you time and printing.
• Low cost: printable curricula and workbook sets, often in the tens of dollars for a full year.
• Mid range: printed and bound workbook programs or literature-based guides plus the books.
• Higher end: boxed kits with manipulatives, toys and materials delivered, which can reach a few hundred dollars or more.

Don’t forget the hidden costs: ink, paper, laminating, craft supplies and any books the plan assumes you own.

Is a free preschool curriculum enough?

Honestly, yes for many families, especially for 3 year olds. What you pay for with a curriculum is mainly planning and sequence: someone has decided what comes first, written the weekly plan and made pages that match. If you enjoy planning, free resources plus the library can work well. If planning is what stops you starting, paying for it is reasonable.

A good way to decide is to try a sample first. Our free printable book gives you a feel for the page style and how your child responds before you spend anything.

Before you buy, ask:

1. Does it match my child’s age now, not the age I wish they were?
2. How many minutes a day does it expect? Aim for 10 to 20.
3. Is the daily plan written out, or will I be planning myself?
4. Is there a clear order for letters, numbers and fine motor skills?
5. What else do I need? Printer, specific books, manipulatives, a laminator?
6. How long does it run? A school year is usually about 36 weeks.
7. Can I see sample pages or a full sample week before paying?
8. Is it flexible if we skip days or move faster on some skills?
9. Does it fit our values and style, from play-based to structured?
10. What is the refund policy if it doesn’t suit?

If you can answer most of these confidently, you have found a good fit.

This week uses a theme of “farm animals”, the letter M and the number 3. Each focused block is 15 to 20 minutes.

• Monday: Read a farm picture book. Meet M: say /m/, find it in the book, trace a big M with a finger. Color a cow page.
• Tuesday: Sound hunt for things that start with /m/ (milk, mug, mitten). Sort picture cards into “M” and “not M”.
• Wednesday: Number 3: count three toy animals into a “barn” box, show three fingers, trace the numeral 3.
• Thursday: Fine motor: cut straight “fence” lines, make play-dough pigs, thread three beads on a pipe cleaner.
• Friday: Pattern with animal cards (cow, pig, cow, pig), a matching game, then a quick look back at M and 3.

Around it: outdoor time, a trip to see real animals if you can, audiobooks at quiet time and two or three bedtime stories. For timings across the whole day, see our preschool at home schedule.

Since this is our blog, here is our own option, described plainly so you can judge whether it fits.

The Complete Preschool Curriculum at Home is a 36-week printable program for ages 3 to 5, in about 20 minutes a day. It covers letters A to Z, numbers 1 to 20, fine motor and thinking skills, with three student books and a Parents’ Guide that writes out every weekly plan. Pages are black and white, so they print cheaply and double as coloring.

It may suit you if you want the planning done, like a letter-and-number-a-week rhythm and are happy printing at home.

It may not suit you if you want a boxed kit with manipulatives, a screen-based program, a strictly worksheet-free approach, or you don’t have access to a printer.

For younger children, the Tiny Steps Toddler Curriculum is a gentler 36-week year for 2 and 3 year olds in about ten minutes at a time. For the year before kindergarten, the Pre-K at Home Curriculum goes further, into letter sounds, first blending, sight words and numbers to 20.

• Starting too formal, too young. If your child resists every page, go back to play and try again in a few months.
• Buying three curricula at once. Pick one spine and give it a month before judging.
• Printing the whole year. Print one week at a time so the binder doesn’t become a guilt pile.
• Skipping the reading. Daily read-alouds matter more than any worksheet.
• Comparing to other children. Children develop at different speeds. Compare your child to themselves three months ago.
• Forgetting other children. Library story time, playdates and park groups give practice with sharing and waiting that home alone can’t.

Whatever you choose, keep it short, keep it kind and keep it regular. Browse more ideas for preschool ages 3–4 when you are ready.