Planning Your Homeschool Preschool and Kindergarten

The homeschool preschool and kindergarten years are some of the sweetest and most memorable of times. They're filled with curiosity, imagination, and an excitement over the littlest things. Childhood is such a blessing, and I fear that we've done it such an injustice with the constant push toward early academics.

I know I did.

Early on, I pushed and I pushed, and I sat my boy down so that we could "get through" the curriculum. I didn't understand that learning could look so very different. I didn't know what it meant to walk in freedom and create a homeschool that catered to the unique needs of my children. I didn't know how amazing and meaningful early learning could be.

Over the years, I read For the Children's Sake and Teaching from Rest and was inspired to do things a bit differently with my younger two children. Instead of starting with a big box curriculum as I had done before, I began with a list of the goals or standards that I hoped to accomplish. This list went far beyond reading, writing, and math. It catered to the development of the whole child, including discipleship, creativity, games, nature exploration, and more.

These "buckets," as I later came to call them, helped me see all of the opportunities for learning in our everyday lives. They helped me branch out to find new ways to teach and explore. They helped me stay focused on what mattered most.

I still used curricula as tools to help us meet our goals, but I had so much more flexibility and opportunities available to us when I took the time to list our goals first. These goals later became my Bucket Planning System.

The Homeschool Preschool/Kindergarten Bucket Planning System

This Bucket Planning System has been such a blessing to my family, and I pray it can help you as well. The videos below take you step-by-step through the process of planning, organizing your resources, and tracking your child's progress. They also show you how to use the planning checklists and agendas to help you schedule your ideas and activities. It includes inspiration, lesson plan ideas, and more!

Video 1:

Overview of the Homeschool Preschool/Kinder Bucket Planning System

Discipleship

Beginning Academics

Social Studies

Creative Expression

​Video 2:

Science

Health & PE

Life Skills

Extra Buckets

Planning Pages and Checklists

Kindergarten Buckets: Pre-Reading, Beginning Reading, Writing, Math

Memory Pages

By the end of these videos, you'll be able to create your own "bucket planner"to get off to a great start. Or for a small bit more, you can purchase my Preschool/Kindergarten Bucket Planner with everything you need to plan and prepare your homeschool preschool and kindergarten!

May you walk in freedom and enjoy the homeschool journey.

Many blessings to you and yours.

Happy planning, Friends!