A free Pre-K homeschool plan, week by week
Thirty-six weeks for a 4-year-old in four terms, with 25 to 40 minutes of together time a day, built on Peabody's free games, first books and printable sheets.
This free Pre-K plan runs four nine-week terms of 25 to 40 minutes of together time a day, plus play. It moves from rhymes and counting to 5, through first sounds and counting to 10, to six letter sounds and first blending, using Peabody's free preschool games, level 0 books and printable sheets. The goals follow the CDC's milestones for ages 4 and 5.
Checked October 29, 2026.
How does the plan work?
Four terms of nine weeks, for a child of about 4. Each day has four short together times, Monday to Thursday, and Friday is for favorites and a trip out. Read aloud every day on top of that. If a term's skill isn't sticking, stay on it another few weeks. Nobody is checking, and a year that takes 45 weeks is a fine year.
What does a Pre-K day look like?
| Together time | What you do | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Read-aloud | Two or three picture books, with talk about the pictures | 10 to 15 |
| Sounds | This term's sound game, by ear | 5 |
| Numbers | This term's counting or shape work, with real things | 5 to 10 |
| Hands | A printable sheet, playdough, cutting or drawing | 5 to 10 |
That's 25 to 40 minutes, best split across the day. Peabody's games can stand in for a sounds or numbers time on some days; keep it to one short round. The World Health Organization advises no more than an hour of sitting screen time a day for 3- and 4-year-olds, and says less is better.
The four terms
Weeks 1 to 9: Listening and counting to 5
- Sounds and letters: Nursery rhymes every day. Rhyme games by ear: does cat rhyme with hat? With dog?
- Numbers: Count to 5 with real things: spoons, blocks, steps. Which pile has more?
- Hands: Playdough, stringing big beads, tearing paper, crayons.
- The world: A walk every day; talk about the weather.
Free on Peabody: Rhyming games · Pre-K math: Counting to 5, More or fewer · Memory match (easy)
Weeks 10 to 18: First sounds and counting to 10
- Sounds and letters: What does sun start with? Find three things that start like ball. All by ear, no letters yet.
- Numbers: Count to 10. One more, one less. Name circles, squares and triangles on walks.
- Hands: Dot-to-dot by counting, simple patterns (red, blue, red, blue), cutting with child-safe scissors.
- The world: Cook together: wash, pour, stir and count.
Free on Peabody: Critter Farm (first sounds and numbers) · Pre-K math: Count to 6, One more, one less, Name the shapes · Dot-to-dot · Patterns · No-bake recipes
Weeks 19 to 27: Six letter sounds: s, a, t, p, i, n
- Sounds and letters: One letter sound every week or so, in this order. Trace it in sand or salt, find it on cereal boxes, say its sound (sss, not ess).
- Numbers: Adding to 5 with fingers and blocks. Sort toys and count each group.
- Hands: Mazes, shadow match, drawing a person with a head, body, arms and legs.
- The world: Grow a bean in a jar and draw it each week.
Free on Peabody: Peabody's phonics order (the six first sounds) · Pre-K math: Adding to 5, Sort and count · Maze · Shadow match
Weeks 28 to 36: Blending and first books
- Sounds and letters: Blend the six sounds into words by ear and then on paper: s-a-t, sat; p-i-n, pin. Read a level 0 book together, pointing under each word.
- Numbers: Taking away from 5. Longer, shorter, taller. Measure the table with paper clips.
- Hands: Odd one out, coloring, writing the first letter of their name.
- The world: A library trip every week; let your child choose one book.
Free on Peabody: Reading level 0 books · Beginning reader books (pattern books) · Preschool reading passages to print · Pre-K math: Taking away from 5, Measure with paper clips · Odd one out
What should my child know by the end of Pre-K?
The plan aims at the CDC's checklist for age 5, which says most 5-year-olds:
- count to 10, and name some numbers between 1 and 5 when you point to them;
- name some letters when you point to them, and write some letters in their name;
- use or recognize simple rhymes;
- answer simple questions about a book after you read it, and tell a story with at least two events.
Blending sounds into words is a stretch goal; many children get there in kindergarten instead. If you're worried about your child's development, the CDC says to talk with the doctor and ask about developmental screening.
A week to print
| Day | Read-aloud | Sounds | Numbers | Hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Tuesday | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Wednesday | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Thursday | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Friday (favorites and a trip out) | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
Keep the printed weeks in a folder: with a few drawings and a reading log, that's a Pre-K year on paper.
What books should we read in Pre-K?
Any you both enjoy, and lots of them. Peabody's lists of the top 25 books for a Pre-K child and chapter books to read aloud to a Pre-K child make a good library list, and reading aloud by age on Peabody Parents has what to ask as you read.
What comes next?
The free kindergarten plan, built on Peabody Year's 180 kindergarten days.
Sources
- CDC: Milestones by 4 years (checked October 29, 2026)
- CDC: Milestones by 5 years (checked October 29, 2026)
- World Health Organization: To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more (24 April 2019) (checked October 29, 2026)