For many parents, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out how to structure their day around their homeschool curriculum. When you are in the early education years, there is a lot of play-based learning and as you break out of the ‘traditional’ structure of many schools, a parent can feel left wondering if they are doing it right. The good news is that your homeschool can look however you want it to. There is no right or wrong way! I will share with you our curriculum and give insight into how we structure our day as well.
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Monthly Themes for January Preschool and Pre-K Homeschool
Music: Each month, we put focus on one composer. We will be studying Mozart throughout the month. I personally do not go in-depth with this study; rather I put music from this composer on during breakfast or during crafting and let the kids listen. We will discuss what story they think the music is playing and also identify how it makes them feel. The music is very emotional and we also try to identify what emotion the music is displaying.
This month’s life skill is picking up our rooms. This typically involves having a parent assisting but by having your child pick their room up everyday (not just mom) it will create a calm and welcoming environment for the child and give them responsibility that will eventually take a load off of you! In my experience, my kids will actually play in their room when there is space to spread out AND they sleep better when their room is picked up.
We will be starting our 1000 Hours Outside Challenge! I put a tracker in each child’s binder and we track our time outside throughout the year. You can find out more here.
You will notice that I mention Exploring Nature with Children in each week’s theme. We use this curriculum to help guide our studies. The curriculum itself is packed with incredible resources and in depth activities. It is an extremely affordable curriculum and is a great resource to have if you are homeschooling OR if you are just looking for educational resources to help you get outside with your kids.
Don’t forget to make your DIY Dry Erase Homeschool Binder. You can put your scavenger hunts, weekly workbooks, and 1000 Hours Outside Tracker in these. These binders are great for your child so they can do the activities independently and also be able to wipe everything clean to save on printing costs.
Week 1: January Preschool and Pre-K Homeschool
In Exploring Nature with Children, we will be studying the Winter Sky. You can grab your FREE Wint
er Sky Scavenger Hunt here and you can find the Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten Printable Winter Sky Workbook here. These worksheets will have tracing activities, Letter Aa recognition, counting, Number One recognition, and other activities
to use throughout the week.
We will also be going on a sensory walk where we go outside and observe the 5 different senses. This will help them wonder out loud, tap into all of their senses, and will expand their spatial awareness. You can utilize the scavenger hunt along with this walk if you would like. Throughout the week, we will go to different locations to explore and we will use our 5 Senses and Scavenger Hunt at each. If you would like to journal each of these hikes and reflect on the differences with your kids, you can do so!
On our reading list we have Little Blue Truck, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and Mother Goose. Within Mother Goose, we will be focusing on Little Boy Blue. After each story, I ask questions like, “Why didn’t anyone want to help the Big Dump Truck?”, “What was Peter feeling when this happened”. This week’s sight word for the Pre-Kindergartener is THE. While we are reading, they can read along and find the sight word (and read it). It is a great way to have them start watching the words and being hands on during reading time. With Mother Goose, we recite the poem each day and also sing the song that goes with the poem. We use Dr. Suess’ ABC Book year round when we are working on our letter tracing and recognition. We read the book and then go to the letter that we are working on this week and I have the kids repeat that page.
Every week, I let the kids bake or cook. Sometimes we do this as a joint effort and sometimes they each get to participate individually. I also include them in my meal planning for the week and when we do our grocery run, they can assist in finding the foods – when we do this, I have them try to identify what we are getting and then count as they load them into the cart.
This week we will be making Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here is our favorite recipe. I will help from behind and let them take the lead. Let your children find the ingredients, measure them out, mix, and bake. Be sure to share your experience and tag @mommacamping on Instagram on baking day!
Week 2: January Preschool and Pre-K Curriculum
In Exploring Nature with Children, we will be doing a Moon Study. You can grab the FREE Night 
Scavenger Hunt and the Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten Printable Moon Study Workbook here. During our daily walks and hikes, we will be observing shadows. If the weather works in your favor, you can observe how shadows appear on sunny days but not on cloudy days. I do encourage you to go out and do a night walk so you can observe the moon and the stars at night.
Our reading list has Little Owl’s Night, Owl Moon, and Mother Goose’s The Clock and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Like the previous week, we will discuss aspects of the story. The sight word for the week is OF. The children can read along and try to find the word 
within our stories. This week we will be focusing on the Letter Bb and the Number Two. You can grab this week’s bundle that will include tracing, letter recognition, number recognition, and counting and assigning quantities. For the Letter B, we will be using Dr. Suess’ ABC Book to reiterate the letter in a fun way.
Our baking/cooking excursion this week will involve breakfast. We will be making French Toast and they will take the reigns in following directions, measuring, mixing, and making! Be sure to share your experience and tag @mommacamping on Instagram on baking day!
Week 3: January Preschool and Pre-K Curriculum
In Exploring Nature with Children, we will be doing our Winter Tree Study. You can grab your FREE Winter Tree Scavenger Hunt here and grab the Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten Printable WInter Tree Study Workbook here. This week we will be focusing on tree parts, doing bark rubbings, and also turning our eyes to the skies to watch clouds!
Within the workbook, we will be focusing on tracing, the letter Cc, the Number Three, recognition, and count and assigning quantities. Our reading materials include The Giving Tree, Runaway Bunny, and Mother Goose’s Jack and Thirty Day Hath September. Our sight word for the week is THAT. I will have the kids read along with me and try to identify and read their sight word.
This week we will be making our own lunches. A house favorite for us is Peanut Butter and Jelly. I will have them gather the ingredients, get the materials needed to make them, and let them do all of the work. It may not be pretty and get a bit messy but these are crucial skills for your kids to learn! Be sure to share your experience and tag @mommacamping on Instagram on baking day!
Week 4: January Preschool and Pre-K Curriculum
In Exploring Nature with Children, we will be doing our Winter Pond Study. We will be using our Scavenger Hunt (grab your FREE one here) and going to different areas of water. You can also grab your Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten Printable Winter Pond Study Workbook here. It is fine if you only have one spot but I love being able to compare the differences with the kids (pond, stream, lake, river, etc). We have a stream and creek on our property but our local parks have ponds and lakes that we can go explore too!
Our reading list has A Tree is Nice, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, and Mother Goose’s Pat-A-Cake and Robin Redbreast. Our sight word of the week is AND. I will have the kids read along with me so they can find and read THE. In the workbook bundle, you will have tracing, the letter Dd, the number 4, letter and number recognition, and counting and assigning quantities.
This week we will be making dinner. Spaghetti and Meatballs is a house favorite and is a fun and easy meal for the kids to help make. I will have them gather all of the ingredients and I will assist with getting the water boiling. We use an airfryer to do our meatballs which makes it super easy for the kids to put them in and punch in the appropriate temp and time.
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Let’s Connect!
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