We are ready for Kindergarten with my last baby! Bittersweet as Kindergarten is one of my favorite grades to teach but will be my 4th and final time!
The biggest thing I have learned over the years for teaching Kindergarten, is to keep it simple! Focus on learning to read, writing, and basic math. The rest of the time we focus on play, creativity, or exploring their interests. I don’t like to pile on too much, so they find a love for learning and have fun. They will get to the rest as they get older.
Here is all the curriculum my Kindergartener will be using in the 2025-2026 school year. At the end I’ll give you an example of our daily schedule.
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Bible
We aren’t using a Bible curriculum this year, but will be reading through these two books together. We will read through the Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible and then the Tiny Truths Little Lights Devotional. I love these short Bible stories and fun illustrations that keep my kids engaged. We usually read these at night before bed.
*If you are interested in a full Bible curriculum, check out The Good Gospel from The Peaceful Press. We really enjoyed it in the past and it is great for young kids.
Morning Menu
Arrows & Applesauce- Morning Menu Set
In Kindergarten, I love to start our lessons with some calendar work. Learning the days of the week, months of the year, dates, seasons, etc. I love these morning menus from Arrows and Applesauce to get us started each day. It also includes pages to learn to write their name, address, phone number, emotions, and more. I put them in restaurant menus and pair them with a dry erase marker so they can be used over and over each day. My kids have always loved doing these and they just take a few minutes.
Language Arts
The Good and the Beautiful- Kindergarten Prep and Language Arts Level K
I love to use The Good and the Beautiful in the early years for Language Arts to really build a strong reading foundation. All three of my older kids have used Preschool-Level 1 and are all strong, advanced readers.
We start with their Preschool Course and really enjoy it! I do feel like it is a big jump from their preschool course to their Level K Language Arts course, so I really like starting Kindergarten with their Kindergarten Prep book first. This is a shorter book, only 30 lessons, but really helps make sure they have mastered their letters and beginning sounds, as well as a big focus on the different vowel sounds. We do one lesson a day (4 days a week,) so when he finishes this book, we will move on to the Level K Language Arts Course.
The Level K course set also includes the Reading Booster Cards (Set A) and Book Set (20 readers.) The booster cards help teach phonics and reading and are great for continuous review and repetition. Once you finish certain cards, it lets you know what mini reader book to have the child read.
*They do have placement tests on their website to help you decide where to start.
All my kids have loved Explode the Code. These workbooks are so simple and take no time at all. I love to use these books alongside our Language Arts curriculum for some extra phonics practice. They have helped a lot with learning how to read, decode words, and beginning spelling. We typically just do one page each day. We will get through all of book 1 during the school year and will just continue onto book 2 whenever we are ready.
Reading
Dash Into Learning- Book Set 1
Code: SMITH15 for 15% off your order!
I have taught all of my kids to read now with these precious books, and I can’t wait to use them again. Beautiful pictures, simple text, and fun stories! We will start with Set 1 for Kindergarten. Each set comes with 10 readers. The first page in each book helps you know what letter sounds, sight words, and word blends will be used in that story. I like to look at these ahead of time, before we read each book, and practice working on those sight words to help build their confidence in reading. You do not have to use these books alongside TGTB Language Arts, but I love having them for additional practice and stories to read.
Throughout the year I always add in lots of fun reading games and hands-on activities to help practice. Find them in these two past blog posts:
Handwriting
For handwriting, I like something very simple to start beginning penmanship practice. The Level K book from A Reason For is great at teaching the correct letter formation with tracing and independent practice as well as in Scripture verses. I have them complete just one page each day in this book.
*You do not need the teacher guide. It is very self-explanatory on its own.
Math
Math With Confidence- Kindergarten
This will be our first time using Math With Confidence and I’ve heard so many amazing reviews! There is a teacher guide to help you introduce and teach each concept and a student workbook for practice. I like that this is a very gentle way to introduce math while also building a strong foundation of numbers, math facts, and confidence. We enjoy a hands-on approach and this does just that. You can use any manipulatives you have on hand, but my kids really enjoy using their own little characters/toys or snacks for counting. Definitely makes math a lot more fun!
This is a little more teacher intensive than other curriculums we have used, but I think that will give us a great connection together while learning math.
*I’ll be sure to give a review of this and our thoughts once we get into it for a while!
Social Studies
For Kindergarten, I always love to do the unit study Me on the Map. This guide is a great early introduction to social studies by teaching an overall picture of how they fit into the larger world. It is compiled of 8 units to help them learn all about their home, street, city, state, country, continent, and planet. Included are great picture book lists, activities, projects, and more. I love the All About Me project at the end! One of my favorite keepsakes!
Typically, you would complete one unit per week for a total of 8 weeks. All the activities can be done in just 2-3 days. OR you can stretch it throughout the school year, like I am, and do one unit per month. We will complete some of the activities and read the books together just one day per week and finish each unit over the course of a month.
Learn more about Me on the Map and see more photos HERE.
Evan Moore Skill Sharpeners Geography K
I love these simple Evan Moore Geography workbooks to use alongside or after completing Me on the Map. It is super simple, open & go, and teaches concepts like cardinal directions, reading maps, landmarks/regions, weather, and more. We complete 2-3 pages just once per week.
If you are wanting a science curriculum or another fun study to go after Me on the Map, check out Me and My Place in Space or Me and My Amazing Body!!
That is everything for our Kindergarten year! Very simple, but so much fun and just what we need.
I don’t focus heavily on extra subjects, like history or science unless they are interested. He will be included in our family studies that I am doing with his older siblings for history and science, like stories and projects. However, if he isn’t interested and doesn’t want to participate, I don’t push him to. He will learn everything as he gets older, just like they did. These beginning years are for intentional time together and full of play.
Our schoolwork for Kindergarten takes no longer that an hour each day. We work on Language Arts, Math and Handwriting first in the morning. We like to have those finished by lunch and our afternoons are for reading books together, playing, and Me on the Map.
Each of my kids have an independent checklist that I like to start in Kindergarten. Editable Template HERE. Even though they can’t read yet, (I help them with it each day) it is great for developing good habits that are helpful in our homeschool as they get older. Usually by 1st grade my kids are able to use their checklists on their own to get some things done independently and that is a huge help with multiple kids! Plus, they really enjoy checking off the boxes and seeing everything they need to get done each day. I’ll be sharing what my Kindergartener’s checklist looks like later this summer, but typically it just has a box for calendar, explode the code, and handwriting each day (one page of each), one lesson of LA and Math, and geography/Me on the Map once a week.
Here are a few items that I love to have on hand and have been super useful during our Kindergarten year:
Word Wheels & Sight Word Flashcards
Our favorite game to practice addition and subtraction throughout the year. See more of our favorite educational games HERE.
I hope this post was helpful! Continue to come back the rest of this week as I share curriculum for my other kids going into 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade!
Have a great week!
– Lindsay
Kindergarten Curriculum Round Up:
Bible- Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible
Morning Menu- Arrows & Applesauce
Language Arts– The Good & the Beautiful Kindergarten Prep and Level K
Handwriting- A Reason For Level K
Reading- Dash Into Learning Set 1 (code: SMITH15 for 15% off)
Math- Math With Confidence Kindergarten
Social Studies- Me on the Map, Evan Moore Geography K
*Interested in what we did for Preschool, check it out HERE!
We’re switched to Math With Confidence this year too! So far, impressed with what I see.
We’re switching from TGTB Math to MWC also. I am excited to see how my kids do!
Do you use the activity packets with the Dash into Learning books?
We do! They have lots of fun and simple activities that we use when we go through the book for the first time.
We are looking to start kindergarten soon in Australia. What age was your son starting his formal kindergarten lessons?
Kindergarten is ages 5-6 here in the U.S.