Kindergarten homeschool plan: 180 days, day by day
A free kindergarten homeschool plan: 180 days of phonics, math, science and history and read-alouds, with a checklist to print each day.
Kindergarten is the year reading and math begin. This plan takes a child from the first letter sounds to reading short books, and from counting to 5 to adding and taking away within 10, a day at a time.
What the year covers
Reading
Two letter sounds a week through the fall, starting with m, s, a and t because they make real words quickly, so by week 3 a child is reading a whole little book on their own. Then the letter pairs sh, ch and th, blends such as st and fr, and in spring the silent e. Two sight words a week cover the 40 Dolch pre-primer words by week 20, then the primer list.
Math
Counting to 10 and then 20, writing numbers, comparing groups, flat and solid shapes and position words in the fall; teen numbers, counting to 100 by tens, and adding and taking away within 5 in winter; parts of numbers, making 10 and adding and subtracting within 10 in early spring; then measuring, sorting and a review of the year.
Science and history
One topic a week, mostly science (the five senses, weather, sun and shade, day and night, what plants and animals need, pushes and pulls, seeds, bugs, sink or float) with history and social studies between (all about me, rules, maps, community helpers, then and now). Many days use Peabody's Body, Planet, Kitchen and Workshop pages.
Read-alouds
A read-aloud every day from Peabody's free library, above what a kindergartner reads alone: fables, old tales and true books, most of them tied to the week's topic, with one question to talk about.
How a day goes
A kindergarten day takes about 70 minutes: 20 for reading, 20 for math, 15 for the topic and 15 for the read-aloud. Short sittings work well at this age; many families do reading and math in the morning and the topic and story after lunch.
Each day has a page with the four parts, the links it uses, and a checklist to print. About 70 minutes in all.
The year at a glance
| Week | Reading | Math | Science or history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Letters m and s | Counting to 5 | All about me |
| Week 2 | Letters a and t | Counting to 10 | My five senses |
| Week 3 | Letters p and i | Writing numbers 0 to 10 | Seeing and hearing |
| Week 4 | Letters n and d | More, fewer and the same | Rules and getting along |
| Week 5 | Review: m s a t p i n d | One more and one less | Weather watch |
| Week 6 | Letters c and o | Flat shapes | Sun and shade |
| Week 7 | Letters g and h | More shapes: hexagons and solid shapes | Day and night |
| Week 8 | Letters e and l | Where is it? Position words | Fall changes |
| Week 9 | Review: the first fourteen letters | Counting to 20, and review | Maps of my world |
| Week | Reading | Math | Science or history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 10 | Letters r and u | Numbers 11 to 15 | Living and nonliving |
| Week 11 | Letters f and b | Numbers 16 to 20 | What animals need |
| Week 12 | Letters k and j | Counting to 50 | What plants need |
| Week 13 | Review: eighteen letters and every short vowel | Comparing numbers to 10 | Animal homes |
| Week 14 | Letters w and v | Adding: putting together | Pushes and pulls |
| Week 15 | Letters x and y | Taking away | Ramps and rolling |
| Week 16 | Letters z and qu | Parts of 5 | Snow and ice |
| Week 17 | Review: all twenty-six letters | Counting to 100 by tens | Animals in winter |
| Week 18 | Review: short vowels in short words | Review: adding and taking away within 5 | Community helpers |
| Week | Reading | Math | Science or history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 19 | Two letters, one sound: sh | Parts of 6 and 7 | Needs and wants |
| Week 20 | Two letters, one sound: ch | Parts of 8, 9 and 10 | Water on Earth |
| Week 21 | Two letters, one sound: th | Making 10 | Land on Earth |
| Week 22 | Word endings ck and ng | Adding within 10 | Getting around, then and now |
| Week 23 | Review: sh, ch, th, ck and ng | Taking away within 10 | Homes, then and now |
| Week 24 | Blends with s: st, sp, sn, sk | Story problems within 10 | School, then and now |
| Week 25 | Blends with l: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl | Teen numbers: ten and some more | Bones and muscles |
| Week 26 | Blends with r: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, tr | Counting to 100 by ones | Heart and lungs |
| Week 27 | Review: blends and letter pairs | Review: facts within 5 and 10 | Healthy habits |
| Week | Reading | Math | Science or history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 28 | Blends at the end: nd, st, mp, nt | Longer and shorter | Seeds and growing |
| Week 29 | Double letters at the end: ll, ss, ff, zz | Heavier and lighter | Bugs and small creatures |
| Week 30 | More than one: adding s | Sorting and counting | Life cycles |
| Week 31 | Silent e: a_e | Solid shapes in the world | Sink or float |
| Week 32 | Silent e: i_e | Making shapes from shapes | Build it strong |
| Week 33 | Silent e: o_e and u_e | Numbers to 20, in order | Taking care of Earth |
| Week 34 | Review: sight words in stories | Mixed review: adding and taking away | Wind and air |
| Week 35 | Two short words make one | Counting and writing review | Summer and sun safety |
| Week 36 | Review: the year's sounds and stories | Year review and math games | Looking back on my year |
Records, without an account
Press "Mark this day done" and the day is ticked off in this browser. If you keep Peabody's Record Book, the same button writes the day into it: a school day on the attendance chart, the minutes for each subject in the hours log, and the books in the reading log. It all stays on your device; nothing is sent to us.
More than one child
Teaching more than one child? Turn on family mode and pick the grades you teach. The science or history topic and the read-aloud are for everyone together, and each child's reading and math come from their own grade on the same day.
Questions
My child doesn't know any letters yet. Is this the right place to start?
Yes. Week 1 starts with the sounds of m and s, and the first weeks read the stories to your child while they find the letters they know. If your child is not ready for letters, the read-alouds, counting and topics still work, and you can begin the reading weeks later.
My child already reads. What then?
Skip ahead in reading: look at the year at a glance, find the first week with sounds your child doesn't know well, and start the reading there while keeping math and the topic on the same day.
What does a kindergartner need to know by the end of the year?
Most standards expect every letter and its sound, reading short words and simple books, counting to 100, and adding and subtracting within 10. Our page on what a kindergartner should know lists it in plain words.
Is it really free?
Yes. There are no ads, no paid upgrade and no account. The plan is built from Peabody's own free pages, so it costs nothing to use and the links don't break.
Do we have to start in August?
No. The days are numbered, not dated. Start on day 1 whenever you begin, skip a day when life happens, and pick up where you left off: the plan shows the next day you haven't marked done.
How long does a day take?
About an hour and ten minutes in kindergarten: twenty minutes each for reading and math, and fifteen each for the topic and the read-aloud. Split it into short sittings if that suits your child better.
What if the reading is too easy or too hard?
Children vary a lot. If the letter sounds are already known, move faster through the reading weeks; if blending is hard, stay on a week longer. The reading level finder on this site can help you see where your child is.
Related
Peabody Year needs no account. Which days are done is kept in this browser, and the Record Book keeps its records on this device. No child's name or work is ever sent to Peabody.