Best Preschool Curriculum for Homeschooling in 2020

We have researched many preschool curricula for those homeschooling during Covid
Recommendations range from full curriculum to frameworks to follow to subscription boxes

Note: I am not affiliated with any of these companies and purchased all curricula myself.

I was never planning to homeschool my kids, but with Covid-19, I just don’t feel comfortable sending them back to school and virtual school does not keep their attention. My kids are 2 and 4, so in some ways I am lucky that they aren’t missing out on “real school”, but at the same time keeping them entertained, learning, and physically active all day while also staying sane is really, really hard! Also spending hours every week googling activities, printing out worksheets, coming up with interesting topics was not a good solution. I am not a trained educator and decided to seek out a curriculum that we could use as a guide. There had to be a better way!

Many of you out there may be keeping toddlers and preschoolers at home right now, or be looking for supplemental learning kits. We at Mama Qs have spent many, many, many hours researching options for comprehensive programs and supplemental kits, and have come up with the suggestions below.

Here’s what we were looking for as we evaluated programs:

Focused on Secular (non-religious) programs (many homeschool curricula are religion-based)
Looking for learning through play
Looking for well-rounded offering with reading, math, music, art, nature, games, etc.
Entertaining and engaging for children, broadening their knowledge
Should resemble a preschool curriculum since kids will be going back to school, hopefully next year!

Best All-In-One Preschool Curriculum:
Mother Goose Time Early Learning

Mother Goose Time Review

If you are looking for comprehensive preschool lesson plans with creative, engaging content with the materials included, this is for you.

The curriculum that we are relying on in our house is the Experience Early Learning Mother Goose Time Curriculum. This is a research-based curriculum that many daycares and preschools across the country rely, and is easily tailored for homeschooling.

Upon opening my box, I was really impressed with the organization, quality of materials and quality of content. I now have monthly themes, materials for my morning “circle time”, instructions and materials for 7 activities for each day, a detailed teachers guide for each day, and music for the month to use with daily lessons. I will post a more detailed review about the curriculum soon!

Here’s why I love it:

Every month has a theme so I don’t have to spend time thinking about topics to teach my children. Examples are All About Me, The Rainforest, Space & Sky, Habitas & Homes, etc.
There are books, art projects, writing, math, science, dramatic play, games, outdoor suggestions and so many activities that support learning about the theme in fun, different ways. There are 7 suggested activities for each day.
This requires minimal prep work as they provide a packet with the materials for each day. I literally open up my packet for Week 1, Day 1 and just go.
I strongly believe in exposing my children to different topics and ways of thinking and this does program does that. Examples include discussing famous pieces of art, and a detailed day-by-day guide with questions to ask children to encourage them to think broadly.
The program’s design brings structure to each day and also to the month. In addition to themes, each month has a focus on specific shapes, colors, numbers and letters.
Mother Goose Time includes posters (world map for this month), flash cards and wall materials for creating your home classroom or circle time.
Their cross-disciplinary model supports social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development and clearly maps out which activities focus on which skills
Since I plan to send my kids back to school, I am looking for content that is similar what they would get in a preschool setting. Mother Goose Time is a nationally recognized curriculum that is aligned with state standards
I have not found any other all-in-one curriculum like this, which is why we have only one recommendation in this category

Mother Goose Time costs around $60-$70 per month plus shipping. I actually think this is a value since given everything that the monthly box includes since the kit saves me time in preparation, allows me to follow a solid preschool curriculum that my kids think is fun, includes the printed materials as well as materials for activities. Many of the items are reusable and now a permanent part of our rotation of activities including games, flash cards, charts, music, etc.

If you have multiple children around this age or a pod, their program works well as you can add in activity materials for additional children for just a few dollars more. I also add on their More Math and More Literacy workbooks for $8 per month that follow the same monthly theme, and provide more games and activities for kids preparing for kindergarten or those like my son who are really interested in reading.

Option for Younger Children (Ages 18 months – 3 years)

Mother Goose Time also has a toddler curriculum that Mom’s love. We have not tried this out, but given how great the preschool program is, I have no doubt that the Toddler Curriculum is equally fun and educational. It also includes the materials and activities, books, and music, follows the same monthly themes, but is developmentally appropriate for this younger age group. Since this is a month to month program, you can always upgrade to the preschool theme if needed.

Downloadable Preschool Curricula

If you are looking for a framework and activities to supplement a virtual preschool, want something more flexible but with some structure, or are just looking for additional activity suggestions to guide your day, then Playing Preschool, Torchlight, or Blossom & Root may work well for you. These programs will likely provide 30 minutes to 1 hour of learning per day so work well if you are looking for with lighter program than Experience Learning. These are all also much lower priced options. That said, the daily and weekly learning suggestions are creative, and a great way for children to connect to nature, art, music and reading and math in unique ways.

I chose Mother Goose Time for my preschooler because I was looking for a more traditional preschool (program) that would give me more activities and structure for my day, but I do integrate activities from these curricula weekly for my kids. One benefit of downloadable Curricula is that they are much less expensive as they provide lesson plans and you purchase or borrow the books and materials for activities. They do require more setup time (getting the books, purchasing materials, printing curricula and activity sheets), than an all-in-one curriculum, but are still great choices.

Playing Preschool Review

Great option for Younger Kids (Starting Age 2.5 – 3 years old)

The Playing Preschool Program is a great choice if you have a child ages 2.5 – 3 years old, and are looking for hands-on activities that are fun and also educational. The curriculum is self-described as play-based, low key, and easy to follow. It is theme based with daily activity suggestions for the school year (190 days), and is sequenced to build in complexity as your child ages. You can see a sample from Week One of their curriculum here. Cost of the curriculum is $40.

I also recommend checking out the company’s Busy Toddler blog that has lots of great free activity suggestions and can give you a better idea of their style of teaching. Overall, I would definitely call this curriculum fun – my kids always enjoy their suggested activities.

Torchlight Curriculum Review

Torchlight is a literature based curriculum that is self-described as eclectic and hands-on learning with a distinctively secular approach and humanist underpinnings. The Pre-K curriculum targets learners ages 4-5 and is structured around themed weeks with daily activity suggestions that follow a seasonal timeline that is designed to take you through the school year for 36 weeks. This curriculum relies on purchasing/borrowing books that will guide learning. There is a heavy focus on nature and emotional intelligence. I also like that they suggest additional story books, videos, games and apps that support these themes. As an example, when we discussed the topic of feelings, we then watched the recommended Daniel the Tiger episode focused on feelings. Some moms in our MamaQs community combine this with the Blossom & Root curriculum. You can view a sample of their curriculum here. Cost is $30 for the curriculum.

Blossom & Root Early Years Review

Blossom & Root is a nature-based secular homeschooling curriculum with 2 offerings for preschool: Early Years 1 targets ages 2-4 years, and Early Years 2 targets ages 4-5 years. This curriculum is also designed for the school year (36 weeks), is downloadable and is broken out weekly with a focus on nature, music, math, art and reading. Some of our favorite things are the suggested activities after reading a book that incorporate art, drama or just encourage children’s creativity. Children are introduced to classical music and famous artwork weekly. There are also great activities for incorporating math and science in fun creative ways. As mentioned above, some moms combine this with Torchlight. Overall, I liked that B&R’s activities are different than what kids may be doing through school or traditional learning. I think this works well as a supplement for additional creative learning for children. You can view a sample from their program here. Cost ranges from $22-$45 depending on which curriculum you choose.

Additional Learning Resources for Children

Reading & Writing: If you are looking for additional resources for teaching your child reading and writing, check out the Logic of English program. Their foundations program is a complete phonics, reading, handwriting and spelling program that targets children ages 4-7. Many moms that we know love their approach.

I have not used this program as my son is doing fine with our current curriculum, but I do incorporate their book Doodling Dragons into our weekly lessons. I highly recommend this book as it teaches letters and all of the sounds that they make in a fun way – for example, ‘A’ makes three sounds: apple, snake, wash, as opposed to just teaching kids that ‘A’ is for apple. This is the only book I have found that teaches like this. Introducing the concept that different letters make multiple sounds has been very helpful in my son’s early reading (Side note: Why is the English language so complicated?!). They also have songs for each letter that you can listen to on Spotify that my kids enjoy listening to.

Educational Resources: Teachers Pay Teachers is a great resource if you are looking for additional activities, content, learning tools and more to download. This is a marketplace where teachers share and sell resources that they use, typically to other teachers. I have downloaded a learning unit on bugs, fun bingo games, educational templates and more. It is also very reasonably priced and you are supporting teachers!

Best Learning Apps for Preschoolers

As much as we want to limit screen time for our preschoolers, balancing everything going on in our lives + being at home is hard. Here are our suggestions for some of the best learning apps for kids.

Khan Academy Kids – This is an amazing product that focuses on reading, writing, language and math through fun, engaging activities, games and books. It is free and very popular with moms. Targets ages 2-7.

PBS Kids App – Educational and fun apps for preschoolers. We love the Daniel the Tiger games, but others all are great too!

ABC Mouse – Many moms like this for alphabet recognition and practice tracing letters. First month is free, and $9.95 per month after.

Subscription Boxes for Kids

If you are looking for additional learning activities for your child, subscription boxes are a great choice. I do these for both my toddler and preschooler and both me and my kids love the variety of activities.

See our Recommendations for Best Subscription Boxes for Kids Activities.

Board Games for Preschoolers

Games are another great way for your kids to play and learn. We have put together our list of our Top 10 Games for Preschoolers.