Getting Your Homeschool Started
As your child approaches kindergarten there are a lot of options and a lot of things to think about. It can be a bit intimidating. We’ll go over a few things in this post to help you along the way.
First thing, you should check out the laws on homeschooling in your state. States differ on requirements for starting and maintaining homeschools. You can check the website forHSLDA (the Homeschool Legal Defense Association)and click your state to find more specific information for your area. I am not an affiliate of this site. I just think it’s a good resource. You can also do a quick search on the internet for your specific state laws if you’d like.
Standardized Testing for Homeschools
In speaking about state requirements, testing should be mentioned. Many states require once a year testing of homeschoolers using a standardized test. The score reports are meant to be kept on file for the duration of homeschooling. Not sure where to look to register for testing? I’ve got two sites for you.
If you haven’t checked them out yet,BJU Homeschool’s websitehas several options for testing and buying faith-based curriculum. They began when two science professors in the 1970’s started publishing textbooks for Christian schools. Over time their business expanded into publishing curriculum materials for homeschools (now including video courses) and standardized testing materials.
Seton Testingis another website that offers standardized testing for homeschoolers as well. Their company began handling standardized testing for homeschool families in the 1980’s. Like BJU they have expanded their business and also help private and public schools as well.
Abekaoffers standardized testing in addition to homeschool curriculum much like BJU Homeschool. The founders, a husband and wife team, started a Christian school in 1954 and saw a need for faith based textbooks. Their journey to create their own materials grew into a publishing business to help Christian schools and homeschool families.
Choosing Your Homeschool Curriculum
Now that we’ve gone over requirements for setting up your homeschool and scheduling any required testing, let’s talk about curriculum and learning styles. Back when most of us were in school it was common to have children sit still in desks all day, listen to instruction, and do a worksheet. Guess what? Research has proven time and time again that this is not how children learn best. So, what do we do for kindergarten?
Children learn through play and activities. Making room for play based instruction allows your child to actively participate in the learning process, make inquiries, and experience the world in a tangible way. It also keeps them moving and actively engaged in learning. This is a great way to bridge the gap between toddlerhood and school aged learning. Keep these things in mind when choosing your curriculum. You’ll want lessons that allow your student to be an active participant.
So, where do you start? It really depends on what your goals are as a homeschool. Are you on a tight budget or are you willing to spend a certain amount to attain a certain curriculum? There are many great websites to attain free curriculum and other websites that offer paid resources. What about faith based instruction? Do you want your lessons to match your state’s grade level standards? Think about what is important to you as you look around and plan your lessons.
Here is a list of a few websites I’ve found throughout my time homeschooling:
- BJU Homeschool
- Offers paid video courses as well as print curriculum
- Offers textbook (teacher and student) and kits for entire grade level or subject by subject
- Faith based curriculum
- Covers ELA, Science, Social Studies, and Mat
- Offers standardized testing materials & online services
- Core Knowledge (FREE)
- Free to download (print format must be purchased)
- Covers ELA, Science, Social Studies, and Math
- Connects to common core standards which may be helpful in standardized testing
- Ambleside Online (FREE)
- Free curriculum
- Based on Charlotte Mason’s principles
- Faith based curriculum
- Abeka
- Offers paid curriculum and video courses
- Can purchase kits for a particular subject or for entire grade
- Faith based curriculum
- Covers ELA, Science, Social Studies, and Math
- Offers standardized testing materials and online services
- Liberty University Online Academy for Homeschoolers
- Now, this option is not for purchasing curriculum, but for online schooling. I added it here as an option for those who are looking for an online schooling method rather than teaching themselves.
- Tuition is expensive, but there are some discounts offered.
- Faith based
- Online learning K-12
These are not your only options. A quick internet search will show that there are many popular options for curriculum or online schooling. However, I think each of these offers something valuable depending on your homeschooling goals and desires.
Creating Your Own Homeschool Curriculum
Another option would be to create your own lessons for each subject area. This can be scary for many people who have never done this before. It’s true that kindergarten is the foundation for what you will teach in first grade, but it doesn’t have to be scary. Let’s go over a couple tips.
Firsttip, if you are worried that your student may not be prepared for something important like standardized testing and that is what is holding you back, then take a look at your state’s grade level standards. You can use them as a guideline in your planning. (Also, if you think your student may go back to traditional schooling one day, this step would be beneficial in making sure they are prepared to be on grade level.)
How do you find the standards? Search the grade level standards for a particular subject in your state and they should be available to download and view as a PDF.
Example Search:Second grade math standards for (your state)
If looking at standards is against your homeschool style, then that’s okay. Just skip this step. However if you need help planning, it doesn’t hurt to at least look through the goals for a particular subject and get an idea of what’s expected to be mastered for that grade level.
Secondtipis to plan backwards. Write down the different skills your student needs to master for a particular subject area by the end of the year. What will mastery of this goal look like? What should your student be able to do? How will they demonstrate their level of understanding?
Think about each end of year goal and what steps your student will need to take to get from where they are now to mastery of that skill. Now you’re ready to plan engaging and powerful lessons to help your child achieve each goal.
Note that not everything has to be written from scratch by you. You can source used textbooks, workbooks, and activities from used book stores, libraries, and online websites to supplement your lesson plans. Get creative and have fun with your lessons. Remember to implement lots of hands on learning and ways for your child to be involved in the learning process.
I have a post with lots of ideas for incorporating a garden into your science lessons. These ideas are sure to engage learners and spark interesting conversations. ClickHEREto check out this blog post on10 Ways to Turn Your Garden Into A Classroom.
What Do I Teach in Kindergarten?
Now that you’re sitting down to plan your lessons out, let’s talk about what is usually taught in kindergarten. This topic can get a bit sticky as some people choose different methods of schooling. Also, your state may have certain requirements for what is taught. Check your state guidelines first!
In order to provide an example, I’m going to cover a basic plan for kindergarten. (This is just an example. Make any necessary adjustments when forming your own plan.) Typically, I would teach math, language arts (writing, sentence structure, and reading skills), science, social studies, and incorporate extracurriculars such as art and music. The core subjects would be math, language arts, science, and social studies. Any other subjects can be added in based upon your family needs and desires.
Language Arts Objectives Example:
- Understand and identify the parts of a book (front cover, title page, table of contents…)
- Understand that we read words from left to right and read from top to bottom of a page
- Describe the parts of a story (title, setting, characters…)
- Ask and answer questions about key details in a text
- Understand that spoken words can be represented by written text using specific letter patterns
- Name and recognize the sound for all uppercase and lowercase letters in the alphabet
- Understand and count syllables
- Identify and produce rhymes
- Blend and segment syllables and sounds of words
- Read common high frequency words
- Identify long and short vowels
- Understand and use letters and letter patterns to decode written words or write words
- Fluently read decodable texts with purpose and understanding
- Use a combination of drawing and writing to represent and idea or story
Math Objectives Example:
- Count to 100 by ones and tens
- Count up in a sequence from a given number between 0 and up to 100 (Ex: Start at 32 and count up to 40)
- Write and represent numbers 0-20
- Understand the relationship between a number and its cardinality
- Count to answer “How many?”
- Demonstrate understanding of greater than, less than, or equal to when given two groups of objects
- Compare two numbers between 1 and 10
- Represent addition and subtraction problems with fingers, objects, drawings, and numbers and symbols
- Solve addition and subtraction word problems
- Decompose numbers within 10 (ex: 8 = 6 + 2)
- Find number pairs that make 10 (called partners to 10) (ex: 1 + 9, 2 + 8, 3 + 7…)
- Add and subtract within 5 with fluency
- Compose and decompose teen numbers into tens and ones (understand that the number is represented by one ten and some ones)
- Understand and compare attributes of objects such as length and weight
- Sort objects into categories based on common attributes
- Correctly name shapes (understand that size is not a defining attribute of a shape)
- Understand the differences between 2D and 3D shapes
- Draw and compose 2D and 3D shapes
- Describe real world objects using specific names of shapes and spatial awareness (in front of, behind, below, beside…)
Science Objectives Example:
- Notice how weather changes from day to day and throughout the seasons in a year.
- Compare and contrast the characteristics of animals to other living and nonliving things.
- Describe and understand position of objects and the way they move.
- Compare and contrast physical properties of objects.
Social Studies Objectives Example:
- Understand how things in life change over time. Compare life today to life in different times in history.
- Understand how people affect the environment.
- Locate places using a map.
- Understand the difference between goods and services.
- Understand the difference between needs and wants.
- Explain why rules are important and different ways we follow rules in the community and at home.
I hope that you found this information helpful and that it makes you feel more confident and reassured about homeschooling your kindergartner. This post was loaded with resources. Make sure you bookmark this page for future reference if needed and sign up for our email list if you’d like to see related blog posts as they are published.
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