Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum - Year 1 NZ

One of the wonderful attributes of homeschooling is the ability to individualise your curriculum to suit your family’s interests and abilities. To help you do this we have created our Global Goodie resources. Offering an international focus, these resources will continue to inspire your child in a wide variety of subjects.

Our Global Goodies are not part of our core curriculum but are available to give you an additional element of flexibility to our courses and to give international families an alternative to some of our Australia specific resources. They are also for families looking for additional Charlotte Mason inspired resources.

You can swap out similar resources or add them as extension work. These resources are not written into your Weekly Planner and are only found in our Full Year programs.

The Kindergarten Global Goodies include:

History

In Museum Visits your child will enjoy a range of virtual fieldtrips, all inspired by the many encouragements Charlotte gave to students to enjoy the British Museum.

Geography

Travel to our southernmost continent through Antarctic Adventures as we encourage our Global Citizens to learn more about the world around them.

Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum: English

Learning to read is a key focus for Kindergarteners.  While some may know some basic sounds of the alphabet others can already read words, but all require practice and guidance. Reading is something that requires consistency and learning to read is a development milestone for children of this age. There are some great resources to help teach your child to read in our Kindergarten course, including our Teaching Reading the Charlotte Mason Way so you too can use Charlotte’s methods to teach your child using principles of phonics and whole word recognition. For those interested in other methods resources and suggestions are provided, along with help to teach your child the Dolch and common words by sight.

Learning to Write: Copywork is a key element of the English program in My Homeschool courses and in Kindergarten students begin this journey by learning how to form their letters correctly through our Blinky Bill Alphabet and Numbers Copywork.  This prepares and equips your child to be able to develop this important life skill.  The full Copywork program is provided in both the Full Version and the Lite Edition, allowing your child to learn and practice all their letters and numbers.

Learning to spell simple words is something your child will learn in Kindergarten, so supporting them with a strong phonics base is key at this age.  Our Dolch and Core Word Lists will furnish your child with a range of frequently used words they can begin to learn to read and spell. We also provide support to teach you how to teach your child how to spell words correctly using the Charlotte Mason method, a teaching technique you will continue to use throughout our graded courses.

Primary Language Lessons is a key resource used within our My Homeschool graded courses from Kindergarten to Year 6. This resource is used three times per week throughout the year. It includes a variety of lessons that follow a Charlotte Mason approach to learning English. Comprehension lessons are done using narration and conversation. Children are encouraged to explain what they are seeing as a pre-writing skill. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are taught by using sentences and Dolch word lists. In our Primary Language Lessons – Foundation Year reading begins with phonics principles and simple consonant-vowel-consonant words and your Kindergartener enjoys the delights of picture study, poetry appreciation, dialogue and conversation and so much more to give the foundation they require in language arts.

This resource has been written so you can pick up and start the lesson without preparation. Lessons are short, taking a maximum of 15 minutes. Many lessons can be done orally so your child will not get bogged down in worksheets. You don’t need to buy any other books to complete this resource as all of the relevant passages are all provided. Written lessons are completed in a notebook (or exercise book) so there is no extra printing of worksheets. An answer guide is provided to help parents with quick checking.

Please Note: Our Kindy Lite offers a condensed 2 term version (18 weeks) of this resource.

Picture Book Links: With living books forming the cornerstone of our approach to learning, we use a selection of picture books in our curriculum that tie in with the themes we are teaching in science, history, geography and English. Some of these are recommended purchases and essential to complete the course, while others are complementary titles to search for at your local library.  Where possible, we link to our selected titles in a video format, so you can watch them being read online.  This can be helpful if you can’t find a book, are homeschooling on the road, or if you are watching your budget.

First Maths Lessons – Foundation Year is included in our homeschool kindergarten curriculum maths program for your child.  Offering 3 lessons per week, this is a full year maths course aligned to the Australian Curriculum and NSW Syllabus, inspired by the Charlotte Mason method and current good practice, it provides a range of hands-on activities so your child can practice and enjoy maths. This maths program is exclusive to My Homeschool and has been developed specifically for the homeschool setting. It will give you the confidence to teach the foundation of maths well.

In addition to this full maths program, our Kindergarten course also includes Foundation Maths, a very practical, hands-on resource that shows you how to incorporate math-based activities in your homeschool. It is perfect for Morning Time and starts kids loving maths from the beginning.

Please Note: If you purchase the Lite Edition, you will receive the first two terms (18 weeks) of First Maths Lessons – Foundation Year.

Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum: History

We have used a living book approach for our history and geography studies using a selection of wonderful books to inspire and educate young children. Our Kindergarten and Year 1 courses are designed to lay a foundation for your child’s historical understanding to prepare them for the chronological approach to history that is taught from Year 2 and continues through to our high school graded courses. Portions of Australian history are taught in all years through literature and poetry, offering a uniquely Australian approach to homeschooling.

Reflecting the approach to history in the Australian Curriculum and NSW Syllabus for children of this age, within our Kindergarten course, your child will examine their own personal history in our unit All About Me. This encourages them to learn about the history of their own family and consider how that fits into broader historical periods.

Following from this is History with Marguerite which provides another opportunity to embrace beautiful living history books to make the past come alive for your Kindergartener.

Please Note: All About Me and Travels and Treasured Objects are only available with the purchase of the Full Version of the Kindergarten graded course.

There are two term-based history resources for you to enjoy with your child in our full Kindergarten course.

Bonus Global Goodies for History

In Museum Visits  your child will enjoy a range of virtual fieldtrips, all inspired by the many encouragements Charlotte gave to students to enjoy the British Museum.

Please Note: All About Me and Museum Visits are only available with the purchase of the Full Version of the Kindergarten graded course.

Nature study is a practice and pursuit that you may associate with the Charlotte Mason method. It is something that is encouraged throughout your child’s education, and continues through to our high school graded courses.  We offer you the beginnings of this wonderful journey in natural science in Kindergarten, focusing on insects, our skies, the Australian bush and rivers.  There is plenty of support and tips and tricks to help get you and your child started, even if you don’t know anything about nature yet.

Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum Resources

Our science program focuses on Australian animals, plants and gardens, the lives of great scientists, and how your Kindergartener can start to think like a scientist through our literature feasts.  Plants and Gardens offers your child a delightful introduction to gardens and concepts of habitat through a literature-rich approach, including the book Miss Rumphius by Barbara Clooney, a popular title with Charlotte Mason homeschoolers. Your child will explore the basic needs of plants, soil, the need for water and nutrients, the role of seeds and pollination and much more.

Extending this focus on biology from plants to animals, our Animal Tales highlights some well-known and less familiar animals for your child and gently lays a foundation of zoology for your little scholar.

While we know that many homeschooling programs provide you with a huge long list of ingredients and various supplies to purchase and have on hand to do complicated (and messy!) science experiments at home, we are happy to offer Hands On Science. Guaranteed to inspire, not exhaust, Hands On Science teaches your child simple ways to think and work like a scientist, with an emphasis on biology and the natural world. Swap expensive shopping trips for the simple delights of thinking and approaching the world around you with a thoughtful, intentional and considered approach.

Please Note: Plants and Gardens and Hands On Science are only available when you purchase the Full Version of our Kindergarten course.

Whether you choose to use the Full Version or Lite Edition, the literature feast, Scientists and the Australian Animals Minibooks will be included for your use. The Australian Animals Minibooks introduces your child to a range of Australian animals in a format that also supports the development of their fine motorskills, and Scientists uses a suite of beautifully written and illustrated living books that focus on the lives and contributions of great scientists and the role of thinking scientifically.  This is an excellent beginning for your Kindergartener to help them grasp some important ideas in a way that they can understand.

Before she wrote her volumes on education, Charlotte Mason was first and foremost a writer of Geography books, sharing her love of new places with her students. This love for adventure and understanding the world around us is a constant theme across all My Homeschool courses and in our Kindergarten course your student is introduced to the foundational principles of studying geography.

Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum: Geography

Out-of-doors Geography, such a key aspect of Charlotte’s teaching of Geography, is commenced in Kindergarten through our Geography Rambles.

Students also get to learn about places well beyond their local area through Places of Wonder, a literature feast designed to introduce your child to geographical concepts in way that they can relate to. This includes beginning with mapping, considering distance and location and identifying the similarities and differences in places across the world.  The books in this unit are sure to delight your child! Also, a blank world map with map markers is included for your use, so no searching the Internet for appropriate maps to use.

We also have bonus resources in our Global Goodies.

They can also travel to our southernmost continent too through Antarctic Adventures as we encourage our Global Citizens to learn more about the world around them.

Given your child will continue to study geography and history up to Year 10, their Kindergarten year focuses on beginning that journey and grounding your children in concepts and ideas that they will develop and enjoy in the years to come.

Please Note: Antarctic Adventures and Geography Rambles are only available with the purchase of the Full Version of the Kindergarten graded course.

Your child can begin their foreign language studies in Kindergarten through our Living Books in Foreign Languages online resource.  Featuring well-known and well-loved picture books being read in French, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Mandarin, as well as English, this shows your child a range of different languages to help them appreciate their differences.

We also provide information, tips and recommended resources for those families looking to pursue instruction in a foreign language. We are happy to include this resource in both our Full Version and Lite Edition so your child has a great start in learning languages.

Creative and Practical Arts are taught with other subjects including: nature journaling, literature based unit studies, picture study and music appreciation.

Art and Music Appreciation courses are provided with My Homeschool membership, so you have a choice of rotations, including some specifically developed for young learners. You can simply choose one rotation for your family to use.

Some rotations have additional books to purchase while others have everything you need provided online. Your My Homeschool membership also gives you access to our Handicrafts resource which includes a range of practical art and craft ideas with instructional videos.

Physical Education

We have included a series of fun kids exercises in our online WOW – workout world classes.

Personal Health & Development 

This commonsense subject is taught through the activities of daily living and participation in local sports and community events.  Healthy Conversations checklists are provided for each stage of the syllabus so you can teach respectful relationships and personal growth as you deem appropriate.

We do not do your registration plans for you. Registration applications are meant to be specific for each individual child and so you, as the parent, are the best person to do this.  Registration remains your responsibility.

My Homeschool provides you with plenty of support for preparing your registration documentation, including:

• An Education Plan outlining our curriculum for 12 months in the Primary Full Version and 6 months in the Lite version. This is a Microsoft Word document that you can adjust to suit your own needs.
• A comprehensive Scope and Sequence document using Australian Curriculum and NSW Syllabus codes and outcomes.
• End of Term report templates that are mostly done; you just need to add a few details specific to your child and their progress.
• A week by week planner that you can print off, with plenty of space to make notes specific to your child. This means no need to keep a daily diary!
• An end of year Certificate of Completion (Full Program).
• Our Community Forum where you can have your questions about registration answered by experienced homeschoolers.
• Prompts and reminders to collect work as part of your child’s portfolio to show progress and development.
• Tips on a smooth re-registration process.

The My Homeschool State Rego and Planning course guides you through your state or territory’s application process for homeschool registration when using our courses.

The My Homeschool team includes experienced home educators who provide mentor support and help you deal with issues as they arise. We don’t provide tutoring or specific lesson support on an individual, one-on-one basis.

We are always happy to answer questions about our curriculum and how to implement it and we encourage our members to get involved in the Community Forum.

We have a vibrant online community where you can share stories and help others, purchase books you might need and connect with other My Homeschool families in your area.

You are the teacher and you oversee lessons. We provide homeschool teacher training as well through our self-paced courses How To Homeschool 101 and for our more experienced members the Boost Your Homeschool.

We are continually adding to our collection of resources to help support you in your role as teacher to your children.

Should I skip kindergarten?

Unfortunately, kindergarten is sometimes dismissed as unnecessary, confused with preschool, melded into Year 1, or simply viewed through different education philosophies, such that the real wonder, meaning and purpose for kindergarten has been forgotten or cast aside.

Some home educators misunderstand kindergarten to only be a formal school construct and miss the opportunities that come from enjoying and exploring learning at this age.

Kindergarten is not only an important step in the life long journey of education, but a wonderful way to gently step into home education. It is not to be missed!

While learning to read and setting a good foundation in maths is important for a child of this age, there are many other aspects of a child’s development that are key and you don’t want to skip them.

For example, the inclusion of our Nature Study program will support your child’s learning in a number of subject areas. One comment we get from mums who have been doing our kindergarten curriculum for a while is that their children, in learning to observe plants and insects and birds in nature, quickly became far more observant when reading and doing maths and other subjects. All aspects of our course have been carefully designed to help your child thrive and give them a strong start in their education.

Children using the My Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum are usually around 5 or 6 years old. It is not generally recommended for 4 year olds or as a pre-school alternative. 

Here are two tools to see if your child is ready.

Kindergarten Readiness

Kindergarten Course Skills List

Documentation and ongoing assessment

Our Primary Full Version course is 36 weeks of study, organised over 4 terms.  8 weeks are set topics and the 9^th week is an assessment and review week that often includes a project. Our Lite Edition gives you 18 weeks of study, enough for 2 terms.

Each week has its own Weekly Planner checklist which is available in an online format or as a downloadable PDF to print and store in a folder, making record keeping easy.

At the end of each term there is a downloadable report of work achieved over the term. Parents add comments and assessments of their child’s progress in each area of learning.

We know that parents want their children to thrive and that testing is popular in many school environments as a measure of progress.  When you homeschool you do not need to test your children as much as they do at school, as you are assessing as you go.

We give you tips and support on how to assess your child in a way that suits homeschooling, so you can be confident that your child is progressing well in your homeschool.

There are no formal tests until Year 5.