Literature-Based Preschool Curriculum for Homeschool

This literature-based preschool curriculum for three- and four-year-olds offers the perfect blend of high-quality children’s literature and hands-on learning activities.

Homeschooling your preschooler is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. Nothing compares to seeing your little one’s eyes light up as they learn something new.

However, it can be challenging to find a program that doesn’t push young learners ahead of their level of development. For example, many preschool programs require far more writing than any three- or four-year-old is ready for.

I recently learned about a Montessori-style preschool curriculum that allows young children the freedom to explore and discover, all while enjoying a wide variety of classic children’s literature. This is exactly what I wish I had had when my kids were preschoolers!

Literature-Based Preschool Curriculum from Sonlight

Sonlight Preschool is a complete literature-based preschool curriculum for three- and four-year-olds. The combination of high-quality literature and hands-on learning encourages a love of learning from an early age.

We are first-year Sonlight users, but both my daughter and I have absolutely loved Sonlight’s literature-based science curriculum. And this preschool program is just as wonderful!

Sonlight Preschool has three main components:

• Instructor guide
• Hands-on learning kit
• Classic children’s books

Instructor Guide

With the Sonlight Preschool Instructor Guide, you’ll never have to worry about lesson planning. You can literally open up the Instructor Guide, grab the books or supplies listed for the lesson, and start learning right away.

Each week’s lesson plans are clearly presented on one-page overview. Every book, page number, and activity is listed there for you at a glance.

This detailed weekly schedule is followed by a few pages of notes and instructions pertaining to the lessons. Alphabet or number worksheets are included immediately following the instruction pages.

Hands-On Learning Kit

The Sonlight Preschool supply kit includes all the tactile learning materials that you will need to help your child develop pre-writing, pre-reading, and pre-math skills as well as important daily life skills.

Every item in the supply kit is high quality and specifically tailored for little hands. For example, the colored pencils are triangular-shaped, allowing preschoolers to grip them more easily, and the included clipboard is a smart way to hold tracing shapes still for little ones.

I love the convenience of having all the hands-on supplies included in one box—no more last-minute rush to order things that are needed for the next lesson!

Classic Children’s Books

My favorite part of the Sonlight Preschool program is the emphasis on high-quality children’s literature as the foundation of learning. Three- and four-year-olds will absolutely LOVE these read-alouds—and parents will, too!

These books are not boring, mediocre-quality books that you might find at a dollar store. These are beautifully illustrated children’s classics that will help you make life-long memories with your child.

Some of the preschool books include:

• A flap book about the human body (my daughter loves this one!)
• A hardback collection of classic picture books such as Goodnight Moon
• The Dr. Seuss favorite, Horton Hatches the Egg
• The much-loved fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen

What Your Child Will Learn with Sonlight Preschool Curriculum

1. Bible

Every day the parent reads several Bible stories from the Family-Time Bible in Pictures, a colorful, engaging book that is written at the perfect level for this age group. This is followed by several age-appropriate discussion questions found in the Instructor Guide.

2. Letters, Shapes, & Numbers

Next is a hands-on lesson about letters, shapes, and numbers. For letters, the emphasis is on phonetic sounds to prepare preschoolers for learning to read. For numbers the focus is on one-on-one correspondence.

There is minimal writing in the Sonlight Preschool program, which I appreciate. Instead, the focus is on sensory learning through things like sandpaper letters, sand trays, and shape tracers.

3. Read-Alouds

After the hands-on lesson is read-aloud time. This is my favorite part of the entire program! Generally the parent reads two new stories a day, along with several old stories that the child has previously enjoyed.

As new words are introduced in the books, they are listed in the Instructor Guide along with a child-friendly definition. Often there will also be optional activities suggested to go along with the read-alouds.

4. Arts & Crafts

During the arts & crafts block, preschoolers do fun activities that develop fine motor skills: cutting, gluing, using tongs, and more. They also learn age-appropriate, real-life skills, such as slicing a banana with a safety knife or washing a cup and plate.

I really love how Sonlight Preschool introduces simple life skills in a systematic way. I know we as parents teach our kids life skills as they grow, but it is really helpful to have some of the basics covered right in the Instructor Guide.

5. Music/Spanish

Sonlight Preschool includes a colorful picture book of Spanish words is arranged by topic, so kids aren’t just trying to learn random lists of unrelated words. These words are reviewed regularly throughout the year, and objects are pointed out (in Spanish) in real life.

Music lessons involve listening to and singing classic children’s songs. Sources for the music are listed in the Instructor Guide and include groups such as Cedarmont Kids and Kid’s Praise.

Sonlight Preschool is the BEST homeschool preschool curriculum that I have seen. If you have a three- or four-year-old, you’ll definitely want to check it out!

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