As an elementary teacher and homeschooling mother of two, I am beginning a series of curricula reviews featuring materials my family enjoys. (Click below to watch my video review!)
Watch my Preschool Curriculum Review!
I began homeschooling my children when they were preschoolers, so today I’m sharing my favorite materials for preschool through K4.
Related Curriculum Review: Focus on Fives by BJU Press®, Kindergarten Curriculum Review for Homeschooling
Now that my children are a little older, we use a variety of curricula from different publishers, but Abeka® is my favorite curriculum for preschool through age four.
Several years ago, I purchased the Language Development Visuals and Teacher Guide and Animal Alphabet Friends Story Cards and CD from Abeka®. These all-in-one items are a terrific foundation for preschool and early kindergarten education.
Abeka® Language Development Visuals and Teacher Guide
The Language Development Visuals include 76 pictures for science, health, safety, manners, community helpers, geography, history, family, colors, and shapes.
Each lesson topic begins with a letter of the alphabet from A to Z. There are multiple lessons about topics associated with each letter of the alphabet. For example, the K lessons are Kindness, Kitchen Safety, Kindergarten, and Koalas.
The Teacher Guide includes teacher information for presenting each lesson associated with the visual. Some of the lessons include introductory information such as poems or the suggestion of hands-on visuals like a globe or an apple.
The Looking and Thinking section presents questions that will help the child think about the topic as the information is presented.
The Learning More section is the lesson information that the teacher can read or present in her own words.
Let’s Talk about It provides review questions for the end of the lesson. A Learning Game idea is presented along with a Let’s Have Fun section that suggests fun activities to incorporate the five senses.
Abeka® Animal Alphabet Friends Cards and CD
The Animal Alphabet Friends Cards help with presenting letter recognition, sounds, and letter formation.
A Teacher Guide is not included with this visual set; however, all the teaching information is on the back of the cards.
Each card represents a letter of the alphabet. For example, the letter Z is Zed Zebra. A poem about a zebra is presented along with detailed learning information about zebras’ physical features, where they live, how they groom, what they eat, etc.
Each alphabet letter has an animal song, and the CD is really fun for listening and singing along.
A Learning Game, Let’s Have Fun, Fun Fact, and Vocabulary Development sections are included with each visual card. Instructions are also included for teaching the featured letter’s shape and sound.
Homeschool moms can present as little or as much as they wish during the preschool and pre-kindergarten years. Much depends on the development, motivation, and interest of the child. I began using some of these materials with my son when he was three, but my daughter began at age two. Big brother was in K4, and she wanted to join the fun!
I suggest teaching these materials a couple ways. One option is teaching the vowels first. Another option is simply going in order of the alphabet. A third option is teaching the letters included in your child’s name first. You can choose a letter and number of the week and go at the pace of your child’s learning needs.
Songs, poems, and nursery rhymes are so important in the early learning years! The Abeka® curriculum gives ideas for incorporating them, but you can use these as a foundation and branch out because things learned in song are remembered long!
Picture books are also a key ingredient for preschool and early kindergarten education… and really all elementary education. Many of us are visual learners! Your local library and personal home library are important tools for education at any age.
Here is a sample list of other homeschool resources for preschool and early kindergarten. I’m sure I have left something off the list, but it will get your creative juices flowing with ideas!
Homeschool Resources for Preschool and Early Kindergarten:
magnetic foam letters
blocks
calendar activities
maps of the U.S.A. and world
puzzles
paper: card stock, printer paper, construction paper, and handwriting paper
art and craft supplies: paint, glitter, pom poms, buttons, brads, beads, ribbons, feathers, tape, glue, markers, cotton balls, scissors, stapler, yarn, pencils, pens, etc.
clay
stickers
magnets
toy animals
dry beans
water table
Disclaimer: Of course, always supervise and assist young children with small pieces!
If you have homeschooled very long, you know Abeka® is famous for their colorful workbooks. While I do not believe that all learning should be based around workbooks, I do believe they have their place in education. Here is my recommended list of Abeka® workbooks for each age level of preschool and K4. You can choose your favorites and also supplement with other publishers.
My Recommended Abeka® Workbooks for Preschool Age 2:
Learning Numbers with Button Bear
Arts and Crafts with Button Bear
My Recommended Abeka® Workbooks for Preschool Age 3:
Numbers and Skills with Button Bear
Arts and Crafts with Amber Lamb
My recommended Abeka® Workbooks for K4:
ABC-123 K4 Phonics and Numbers
Manuscript Writing with Phonics K4
Animal Friends Books 1-8 (Readers)
As a Christian, I also recommend including Bible instruction in preschool and early kindergarten education. Abeka® has many excellent resources since they are a Christian publisher, but there are really so many various options available online as well. Scripture memory is one of the simplest but most important ways a parent can train children.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
~Psalm 119:11
My goals for preschool and K4 include recognition of colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and sounds; ability to print letters and numbers including the child’s name; reading short vowel words; and a basic knowledge of introductory information in Bible, science, health, safety, manners, community helpers, geography, history, and family. In other words, these are the things I wanted my children to know before entering K5.
Every child is different and has unique learning styles and abilities, but these are goals to work towards, and the Abeka® preschool curriculum will help in meeting these goals.
