Description
What does a Charlotte Mason Kindergarten day look like?
A typical “school day” for us was only about 45 minutes long, including Morning Time, and generally looked like this:
- Morning Time ideas, including hymns, folksongs, Bible readings, poetry, and more
- math time (I’ve laid out the entire MEP Reception Math year for you!)
- one to two readings chosen from history, geography, literature, science, or nature study
- one handicraft per week
- optional time for copywork every day
The beauty of this curriculum is that you can truly make it yours. If you find a book that you’ve either read before and don’t want to read again or just don’t like, feel free to substitute it (and I do offer suggestions for substitutions in a few subjects in the book as well)! If there’s a part of the curriculum that you don’t want in there, leave it out! Use this as a framework from which to build your own, unique kindergarten that fits your family’s (and your state’s, depending on your local homeschool laws for kindergarten) needs.
Finally, if you have any questions at all about the curriculum, feel free to contact me and I’m happy to help however I can!
A little background on the curriculum…
I have always been of the mindset that it was better to wait on “school things” for my son, following a better-late-than-early approach. I hadn’t pushed him to start reading at an early age or tried to force any kind of structured preschool program on him and was quite happy with those decisions. When he turned six in August of 2016, I wanted to do something more “official” with him that fall, but I didn’t think he was quite ready for any of the Charlotte Mason curricula I could find. So, I started to look around for some kind of alternative.
If anyone else reading this has tried searching for a good Charlotte Mason Kindergarten curriculum, you’ll know that it can be pretty frustrating. I’d find a post that someone had put up with a beautiful book list, but no idea how to implement it on a weekly basis. I found posts with very intense curricula that looked like they’d take longer than even a typical Year 1 week would. And I found others that claimed to be Charlotte Mason but had pretty questionable book selections.
For this reason, I decided to make my own Charlotte Mason Kindergarten Curriculum! And because it was so difficult for me to find one that I liked, I’ve decided to share mine with others who might be in the same spot!
Charlotte Mason Kindergarten Curriculum Notes
I want to emphasize that Charlotte Mason did not recommend any type of formal education for children before the age of six.
How much time daily in the open air should the children have? And how is it possible to secure this for them? In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mothers first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air. And this, not for the gain in bodily health alone––body and soul, heart and mind, are nourished with food convenient for them when the children are let alone, let to live without friction and without stimulus amongst happy influences which incline them to be good.
vol 1 pg 43
I wholeheartedly believe that “education” is being forced on children at far too young of ages in modern times, especially as young children should be spending large parts of their days outside. However, for the child approaching their sixth birthday who is showing interest in “school,” I do not necessarily think that these “full six years of passive receptive life” and including a simple and gentle kindergarten have to be mutually exclusive. In Home Education, Ms. Mason wrote specifically about the Kindergarten Method (as Friedrich Froebel had established it), suggesting that the home was an ideal place for a year of kindergarten and a mother the ideal teacher:
If the very essence of the Kindergarten method is personal influence, a sort of spiritual mesmerism, it follows that the mother is naturally the best Kindergartnerin [or kindergarten teacher]; for who so likely as she to have the needful tact, sympathy, common sense, culture?
Though every mother should be a Kindergartnerin, in the sense in which Froebel would employ the term, it does not follow that every nursery should be a regularly organised Kindergarten. Indeed, the machinery of the Kindergarten is no more than a device to ensure the carrying out of certain educational principles, and some of these it is the mother’s business to get at, and work out according to Froebel’s methods––or her own.
My original impetus for creating this curriculum was the fact that my son’s birthday falls in August and as we prepared for his sixth birthday, I didn’t think he was quite ready for first grade. However, I did feel that he was ready for something a little more structured than what we had been doing ﹣ though nothing too rigorous as is the case with most kindergarten classes these days ﹣ which is why I began to determine how to work out my own “educational principles.” And that is how this curriculum was born.
That year, we spent our days being exposed to beautiful ideas by reading books together, playing simple math games (as well as counting and coloring together), developing relationships with the natural world through observation, and making handicrafts together. All of this while also allowing plenty of time for him to spend outside every day. Nothing was rigorous or demanding for either one of us and we were able to ease ourselves gently not only into the world of “school” for him, but also into the world of homeschooling for both of us.
Shannon Fidero (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Haley (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Heather Elder –
Amazing and well thought out curriculum. It’s sweet and beautiful and fun! Hands-down, I recommend this product. It’s very easy to customize it to your child’s strengths, hobbies and interest! I’m so grateful for this package!
Bethany S. (verified owner) –
I was looking for something transitional prior to Ambleside online year 1.
I like this document. It’s reasonably priced and it helped layout a weekly routine to help a new homeschool mom get a feel for rhythm.
It’s not a ton of books and all were easy to find used online. It offers a simple and gentle routine that is not overwhelming, especially as a mom of multiple young children. I also appreciate giving some form to ideas like “morning time.”
The pdf download was delivered in a timely manner and it prints well in black and white.
Very satisfied.
Kari Blankenship –
Was this review helpful to you?Jem Schouten (verified owner) –
Great product, very comprehensive overview and reasoning for choices made and allowed for flexibility within the curriculum. Any questions were answered really quickly and resolved via email promptly and politely. Rebecca has been most helpful during the purchasing process and I’m very happy with the layout and book choices.
Rachelle G. (verified owner) –
We are beginning our journey in Charlotte Mason and homeschooling and I absolutely love how Reb has pulled together such a beautiful curriculum. Even if we only get through half of it, it is so rich and full. Such a feast. Thanks, Reb for all of your hard work with this and for passing it on. Well done.
Vicki (verified owner) –
This curriculum looks lovely! I love that it uses good books that are found online for free.
Christina Hernandez (verified owner) –
This year 0.5 curriculum is perfectly put together with helpful tips and a list of supplies, a great resource for prepping your student for year 1.
Lara C. (verified owner) –
We are so excited to use this valuable resource for our son next year. It’s full of good resources, excellent advice and solid encouragement. It’s also organized in an easy to understand manner!!
abeanward –
Was this review helpful to you?Марина Тарасова (verified owner) –
Thank you!!!)
Graciela Colon (verified owner) –
So far I’ve loved the content of this curriculum! Looking forward to read it completely and start planning for the next academic year.
Lyndsey M. (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Christina F. (verified owner) –
It was received in a timely manner and with great customer service. Rebecca is quick to answer any questions. The product itself is thoroughly lovely and easy to use without being overwhelming. Its very well thought out and perfect for those with multiple children and a busy household.
Joanne (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Annie (verified owner) –
The cover on this is gorgeous and the book was well bound with a plastic spiral. I work in a creative services group and can vouch for this reprographic work. Well done, A Humble Place!
Christabelle Villanueva (verified owner) –
Great help! I like the summary over all. 🙂
Huibrie P. (verified owner) –
Excited to get to start this curriculum in a couple of weeks. I’m still gathering some of the books, but I’m pleased so far with each one I’ve looked through. The curriculum is so nicely worked out which is a great way for us to start out our homeschooling journey. Thankful to have found this as my oldest son is a new 6yo and I want to do actual school with him this year, but felt like AO y1 would have been just a bit too much yet.
Brittany (verified owner) –
Looking at the Ambleside book list gave me anxiety. I had no idea how to make sense of it or make “it” happen. I am SO thankful for this taste of the structure of Ambleside for my very bright kinder. It is thoughtful, informative, and well laid out- whether you’re type B like me or type A.
andrea simi (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?David (verified owner) –
Thank you for such a well thought out plan. As a first time homeschooling parent, I was overwhelmed by the volume of choices for a Kindergarten curriculum. At first, I thought some of the readings were going to be too “old” and uninteresting to my son, but he has taken to them quite well. I think this curriculum will work quite nicely and leave him excited to start a Charlotte Mason First Year!
Wyndi (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Lindsay Hamby (verified owner) –
We are in Week 4 of Rebecca’s kindergarten curriculum and it has been such a gift! My creative, DIY self was terrified of a restrictive curriculum but I work part-time and do not have capacity to start from scratch doing all my own research. This curriculum was exactly what I needed! Thoughtful suggestions, well curated book lists, materials I already keep on hand, handicrafts that dont involve gobs of toxic glue and plastic shiny things that end up in landfills hours after they are made… I feel adequately resourced, but with plenty of wiggle room to add things that are meaningful to my specific family and scratch the things that don’t make sense for us. I have not yet used Rebecca’s art resources, but intend to and I’m so grateful for the wealth of knowledge and time she has generously shared here.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Joselin Blair (verified owner) –
As a new to the CM teaching methods, this curriculum was so informative and perfect for my 4 year old son as I prepare him for K. All the perfect links for the right information! Will be purchasing 2020-2021
Katie (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Amanda S. (verified owner) –
I bought this in preparation for my youngest son who will be starting Kindergarten in Fall 2020. With 3 other homeschoolers at home, I am all about having such a detailed plan already done for at least one of them!! And the supply lists are great! I don’t have to look through all the lessons and figure out what I’m going to need and hope I don’t miss anything. I honestly cannot wait to start this with my son in September.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Stephanie Stanger (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Jessica Phillips (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Marianne Lunel (verified owner) –
Was this review helpful to you?Melissa (verified owner) –
This was just the motivation I needed to get started with plannning. We have not begun using this just yet, but I have looked everything over and gathered materials. I was able to get most of the books from the library and others free on Kindle. We will be customizing it a bit but it makes it very easy to do so. Thank you for putting this resource together!
Julia (verified owner) –
1 out of 1 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?Christina K. (verified owner) –
I absolutely love this kindergarten curriculum and we can’t wait to start! Everything is broken down into weeks and then even further to days. There is a supplies list, book list, morning time explanation and more! Every time I had a question while reading it, it was soon answered in the content! We may be changing some of the reading but overall, I love everything about this curriculum.
Angelina S. (verified owner) –
I’m a first-time homeschooling mom and I’m so glad I got this curriculum for my kindergartener! Everything is so thoughtfully laid out and she goes above and beyond with tips, recommendations, and alternatives to the wonderful books suggested for this curriculum. For me it was a great, budget friendly choice for kindergarten curriculum. I work remotely part-time and also have a toddler and this “open and go” is going to be perfect. The only prep I’ve had to do is put bookmarks in books…and she also sends you bookmarks as a thank you!!
Nadia (verified owner) –
This product is excellent and just what I needed as a gentle start to formal education for both of us. Thank you.
Toni E. (verified owner) –
This curriculum has been such a blessing. We decided to homeschool this year due to the pandemic, and I am loving the time that I get to spend with my kindergartener. He’s learning so much, and I’m so appreciative of the thoughtfulness put into this curriculum. It encompasses everything that we need – art, poetry, nature study, science, reading, literature, and much more. I was lost in the multitude of options out there for homeschooling, and this has been a breath of fresh air.
Katya (verified owner) –
We absolutely love the curriculum! it’s all we are using for my kindergartner. We love everything about it. I’m so thankful for coming across your curriculum. It has changed our world!
Jennifer Notary (verified owner) –
So excited to get this started with my daughter. It’s all laid out for me… No more planning by myself. Thank you!
Caitlin (verified owner) –
Beautifully laid out & arrived quickly! I cannot wait to start!
Annie Schnackenberg (verified owner) –
This gentle guide was exactly what I needed to put a little heart back into our school days. We were stuck in a rut, and this brought some truth, goodness, and beauty back to our days.
Sonrisa H. (verified owner) –
I absolutely love using this curriculum with my 6 year old twin boys, it is just what I was searching for to set us in the right direction.
Alissa Pousha (verified owner) –
The customer service was above and beyond my expectation, thank you!
JANET SENATORE (verified owner) –
This looks to be wonderful! I look forward to using it with Emma in the fall.
Bec L. (verified owner) –
I was hesitant to purchase at first, because although I loved the look of the content, I am from Australia and thought it might be too difficult to implement into our curriculum here. But I found myself in the same boat as a few here, my son wasn’t quite ready for AO 1 after purchasing the book list and I didn’t want him to become frustrated and dislike home school. I went ahead with this purchase and I am very glad I did! It’s simple and straightforward to follow, unlike some other curriculum’s I looked at in the past. I didn’t need more thinking, this was perfect and I have used most of the books suggested too for extra learning this year! It’s actually been very helpful to the start of the year with a new baby and health problems, I’ve just added a few extra things to cover Aussie curriculum. And Bec has been helpful and responsive to emails. Thank you!
Sesha Farina (verified owner) –
This is a beautiful, well organized curriculum and I cannot wait to use it! I wish you had a similar product for the elementary levels. Also, I am missing the resources webpage code. That was not included in the printed copy of my curriculum.