Kindergarten at home: what it covers and whether it's required
What a kindergarten year at home covers, how long a day takes, and the age your state's compulsory school law starts.
Kindergarten at home covers letter sounds and blending short words, counting and adding within 10, and lots of reading aloud, usually in about an hour of sit-down time a day. Whether it's required depends on your state's compulsory school age: Peabody's state law pages show school starting at 5 in some states and at 6, 7 or 8 in others, where kindergarten is optional.
Checked October 29, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law (each state page links to the statute) and its education department before you act.
What does a homeschool kindergartner learn?
By the start of kindergarten, the CDC's checklist for age 5 says most children count to 10, name some letters and numbers, write some letters in their name and keep their attention on an activity for 5 to 10 minutes. The kindergarten year builds on that in three strands:
- Reading and writing: letter sounds, blending them into short words, a handful of heart words like the and said, holding a pencil and writing their name.
- Math: counting to 20 and past it, more and fewer, adding and taking away within 10, shapes and comparing sizes.
- The world: weather, seasons, plants and animals, and plenty of read-aloud books about whatever your child loves.
Children vary a lot at five; start where yours is. Peabody's gentle kindergarten plan with a sample schedule shows what each of these looks like on a real day at home.
How many hours a day is homeschool kindergarten?
Many families find about an hour of sit-down learning a day is enough, in pieces of 10 to 15 minutes with movement between them, and much of it is you reading aloud. The rest of the day is play, outdoors and projects, which is learning too. Some states set a number of days or hours for homeschools; your state's law page says so if yours does, and the hours log and attendance tracker keep the record.
Is kindergarten required? It depends on your state
Kindergarten is required where your state's compulsory school age starts at 5. Where it starts at 6, 7 or 8, kindergarten is your choice, and so is starting a homeschool kindergarten a year early or late. Here is what each state's law says, in the words of Peabody's state law page, which links to the statute. New York and Rhode Island are still being checked.
Compulsory school age in 49 states and DC (open the list)
| State | What the law says | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Every child between the ages of six and 17 must attend a public school, private school or church school, or be taught by a competent private tutor (Code of Alabama 16-28-3). A parent may opt out of enrolling a six-year-old by telling the local school board in writing that the child will not be enrolled until age seven. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Alaska | Every child between seven and 16 years of age must attend school (AS 14.30.010). A child whose parent or legal guardian educates them in the child's home is not covered by that attendance rule. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Arizona | Every child between the ages of six and sixteen must attend a school and be taught at least reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science (A.R.S. 15-802). The person with custody picks a public, private or charter school, a homeschool, or signs an Arizona empowerment scholarship account contract. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Arkansas | A child turning five on or before August 1 must be enrolled in a public, private or parochial school, or a home school may be provided, and must attend through at least age seventeen. (The Department's fact sheet also says elsewhere that students attend until eighteen or meet other requirements in state law.) | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| California | Children from age 6 to age 18 must attend public full-time day school unless the law exempts them (Education Code 48200). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Colorado | Every child who is six or older on or before August 1 and under age seventeen must attend school (C.R.S. 22-33-104). A child in a nonpublic home-based educational program is not subject to compulsory school attendance. The parent need not give notice until the child is six, need not start the program until the child is seven, and need not continue it or give notice after the child is sixteen. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Connecticut | A child five years of age and over and under eighteen must attend public school regularly unless a high school graduate or the parent can show the child is elsewhere receiving equivalent instruction in the studies taught in the public schools (C.G.S. 10-184). A parent may choose not to send a five-year-old until six, or a six-year-old until seven, by signing an option form at the school district office. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Delaware | Every person with legal custody of a child between 5 and 16 years of age must enroll the child in a public school, unless the child is enrolled in a private school or home-schooled as 14 Del. C. 2703A provides (14 Del. C. 2702, 2703). The Department of Education's registration page says children between 5 (by August 31) and 18 must be enrolled in a public or nonpublic school, which differs from the statute's 16; the same page says you do not have to open a homeschool if your child is 16 or older. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| District of Columbia | A parent of a minor who has reached age 5, or will be 5 on or before September 30 of the school year, must place the minor in regular attendance in an educational institution while DC public schools are in session. The duty lasts until the minor reaches age 18 (D.C. Code 38-202). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Florida | Children who are 6, or will be 6 by February 1 of the school year, and have not yet reached 16 must attend school regularly (s. 1003.21). A home education program is one way to meet that requirement (s. 1002.01). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Georgia | Children must attend a public school, private school or home study program between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays (O.C.G.A. 20-2-690.1). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Hawaii | Children who will be at least 5 on or before July 31 of the school year, and who will not have reached 18 by January 1 of that school year, must attend a public or private school unless excepted. Filing a notice of intent to home school is one of the exceptions (HRS 302A-1132). The state's home-schooling rules (HAR chapter 8-12) define a school age child as 6 to under 18, so the two texts differ on the starting age. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Idaho | A parent or guardian of a resident child who has reached age 7 when school starts in the district, but not yet age 16, must have the child instructed in subjects commonly taught in Idaho public schools (Idaho Code 33-202). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Illinois | Whoever has custody of a child between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17, unless the child has already graduated from high school, must have the child attend public school, unless an exception applies. Attending a private school is an exception, and the State Board of Education says home schooling is treated as private schooling (105 ILCS 5/26-1). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Indiana | The Department of Education says a child attending a nonaccredited, nonpublic school (which includes a homeschool) must be in school at age 7. Under the Indiana Code the duty ends at graduation or age 18 (IC 20-33-2-6). Kindergarten is not mandatory. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Iowa | A child who has reached age six and is under sixteen by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age (Iowa Code 299.1A). A child enrolled in a school district or accredited nonpublic school who turns sixteen on or after September 15 remains of compulsory age until the end of the regular school calendar. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Kansas | Children age 7 up to age 18 who have not earned a high school diploma or equivalent must be enrolled in and attend a public school, or a private, denominational or parochial school, every school year (K.S.A. 72-3120). A bill to lower the starting age to 6 was still on the House calendar and is not law. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Kentucky | Children from age 6 to age 16 must attend a regular public day school unless exempt, and a local school board may adopt a policy that extends this to age 18 (KRS 159.010). A homeschool counts as a private school under KRS 159.030. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Louisiana | A child who lives in Louisiana and is age five by September 30 through age eighteen must attend a public or nonpublic school, unless the child graduates from high school first or the parent deferred kindergarten (R.S. 17:221). A child in a BESE-approved home study program counts as in attendance at a day school. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Maine | People 6 years of age or older and under 17 must attend a public day school while it is in session, unless they have an alternative the law allows, such as home instruction (20-A M.R.S. 5001-A). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Maryland | Each child who lives in Maryland and is 5 years old or older and under 18 must attend a public school regularly during the school year, unless an exception applies. Receiving regular, thorough instruction in the studies usually taught in public schools is one of those exceptions (Education Article 7-301). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Massachusetts | The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education gives compulsory school age as 6 to 16. A child of that age may be educated at home only with the advance approval of the school district where the child lives (M.G.L. c.76, section 1). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Michigan | For children who turned 11 on or after December 1, 2009, school is required from age 6 to the child's eighteenth birthday. At 16 a child may stop if the parent gives the school district written permission (MCL 380.1561). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Minnesota | Every child between seven and 17 years of age must receive instruction unless the child has graduated. A homeschool counts as a type of nonpublic school (Minnesota Statutes 120A.22). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Mississippi | Children who have turned or will turn six on or before September 1 of the calendar year, and who have not turned 17 on or before September 1, must attend a public, private or home school (State Board of Education Rule 30.7, under Miss. Code 37-13-91). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Missouri | A child must be enrolled in a public, private, parochial, parish, home school or FPE school from age seven until the compulsory attendance age for the district: 17, or having completed sixteen credits toward high school graduation, in most districts (RSMo 167.031). In a metropolitan school district the age can be 17 or 16 by board resolution. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Montana | A child who is 7 or older before the first day of school must be instructed until the later of the child's 16th birthday or completion of the 8th grade (MCA 20-5-102). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Nebraska | A child must attend a public, private, denominational or parochial day school, or an exempt school, if the child will reach six years of age before January 1 of the school year and has not reached eighteen (Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-201). The department says a filing is required for a child age 7 up to age 18. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Nevada | Parents of any child between the ages of 6 and 18 years must enroll the child in public school unless the child has graduated from high school; filing a notice of intent to homeschool excuses that enrollment (NRS 392.040 and 392.070). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| New Hampshire | A child at least 6 years of age and under 18 years of age must attend the assigned public school unless an exception applies, and receiving home education under RSA 193-A is one of the exceptions (RSA 193:1). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| New Jersey | New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25) covers children between six and 16. It lets a family meet the rule by public school, a day school, or equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school, which the state says includes the home. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| New Mexico | The Public Education Department says a school-age person is at least five years old before September 1 of the school year, has no high school diploma or equivalent, and has not reached the 22nd birthday on the first day of the school year. Its notification form says a school-age person must attend public school, private school, home school or a state institution until at least age 18, unless they graduate, earn an equivalency credential or withdraw on a hardship waiver (Section 22-12A-4). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| North Carolina | A child between the ages of seven and 16 must attend school (G.S. 115C-378). A home school registered with the state counts as a school. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| North Dakota | A person responsible for a child between the ages of seven and sixteen must see that the child attends public school for the school year, unless an exception applies. Receiving home education is one of the exceptions (NDCC 15.1-20-01 and 15.1-20-02). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Ohio | Ohio's attendance law covers children between six and eighteen years of age (R.C. 3321.01). Home education is defined as the education of a child between those ages that is directed by the child's parent (R.C. 3321.042). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Oklahoma | State law makes it unlawful to neglect or refuse to cause a child over the age of five and under the age of eighteen to attend and comply with the rules of some public, private, or other school, unless other means of education are provided for the full term the schools of the district are in session (70 O.S. 10-105). The Department of Education describes compulsory attendance as ages 5 through 18. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Oregon | Children from age 6 (a child counts as 6 if the birthday is on or before September 1) through age 18 who have not finished 12th grade must attend public school, unless an exemption applies. Being educated at home by a parent or legal guardian is one exemption (ORS 339.010, 339.030). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | Compulsory school age runs from the time parents choose to start their child in school, no later than age 6, until age 18, unless the child holds a high school graduation certificate (24 P.S. 13-1326). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| South Carolina | A child must attend school from the school year in which they turn five before September 1 until their 17th birthday or high school graduation. A parent whose child is not six by September 1 may sign a form to skip kindergarten (S.C. Code 59-65-10). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| South Dakota | A child who is not younger than five or older than six by September 1, and any child at least six by then, must regularly attend a public or nonpublic school or receive alternative instruction until age eighteen, graduation, or an excuse. Each child must attend kindergarten before age seven (SDCL 13-27-1). The state calls home school 'alternative instruction'. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Tennessee | Children between ages 6 and 17, inclusive, must attend an approved public or non-public school; an independent home school counts as one (Tennessee Department of Education home school FAQ). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Texas | A child who is at least six (or younger and already enrolled in first grade) and has not yet reached the 19th birthday must attend school (Education Code 25.085). Texas treats a home school like a private school for this rule, because of a 1994 Texas Supreme Court ruling (Leeper v. Arlington ISD), not because the statute names home schools. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Utah | A school-age child is a minor who is at least six but younger than 18 and not emancipated. The parent must enroll and send the child to a public or regularly established private school, unless an exemption applies (Utah Code 53G-6-201, 53G-6-202). Home school is one of the exemptions in 53G-6-204. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Vermont | The parent or guardian of a child between six and 16 years of age must have the child attend a public school, an approved or recognized independent school, an approved education program, or a home study program for the full number of days the school is held, unless an exception applies, such as having completed the 10th grade (16 V.S.A. 1121). Vermont calls home school 'home study'. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Virginia | A child who will have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year, and who has not passed the eighteenth birthday, must attend a public, private, denominational or parochial school, be taught by an approved tutor or teacher, or receive home instruction under Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Washington | Parents must send any child age eight and under eighteen to the public school of the district, unless an exemption applies. Approved private school and home-based instruction are two of the exemptions (RCW 28A.225.010). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| West Virginia | Compulsory attendance begins with the school year in which a child's sixth birthday falls before July 1 (or when the child enrolls in a publicly funded kindergarten) and continues to the 17th birthday, or longer for as long as the student stays enrolled in a school system (W.Va. Code 18-8-1a). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Wisconsin | Children between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend school regularly. Instruction in a home-based private educational program that meets the legal criteria may be substituted for attendance at a public or private school (Wis. Stat. 118.15). The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) says a child who will not be six by September 1 does not need a PI-1206 report for that school year. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Wyoming | Children whose seventh birthday falls on or before August 1 (or September 15 if the child started kindergarten early under an approved request) and who have not reached their sixteenth birthday or finished the tenth grade must be enrolled in a public school, private school or home-based educational program (W.S. 21-4-102). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
Some states let a parent wait a year on kindergarten even where school starts at 5 (South Carolina and Louisiana, for example, in the lines above). Read your own state's line, then its page.
Do I have to tell anyone I'm homeschooling kindergarten?
Only if your child is of compulsory school age in your state, and your state asks for notice. Some states ask for nothing; others want a letter or a form by a date. Your state's law page says which, and Peabody's state checklists and letter makers do the paperwork.
How do I teach a kindergartner to read at home?
Play with sounds by ear first, then teach letter sounds a few at a time in a planned order, then blend them into words, then give your child books that use only the sounds they know. Peabody's free phonics order starts with s, a, t, p, i and n because they make dozens of short words at once. The decodable readers are sorted by sound pattern, and how phonics works on Peabody Parents explains it all in plain words.
Is my child ready for kindergarten?
At home, "ready" means ready for short lessons, and you can start gently and slow down. Peabody Parents has what a Pre-K child learns and what a kindergartner should know by the end of the year. If something worries you, the CDC says to talk with your child's doctor and ask about developmental screening.
A free plan
A free kindergarten homeschool plan puts it together: Peabody Year's 180 days, the shape of a week, and the free Peabody practice for each part of the day.
Sources
- CDC: Milestones by 5 years (checked October 29, 2026)
- Peabody's state homeschool law pages (each lists its statutes and education department pages) (checked October 27, 2026)