Simple Pre-K Curriculum

Dependable Preschool Language Arts Curriculum

Homeschooling preschool can feel overwhelming with all the curriculum choices readily available!

This is why it’s incredibly important to take the time to research, ask questions, then research some more.

If teaching your preschooler at home using a curriculum is part of your homeschooling goals, finding the right curriculum for your little one is essential.

First, look for one with a simple, open-and-go approach. Teaching pre-k lessons shouldn’t be drawn out, elaborate, or stressful.

Young preschool-aged children can’t be expected to sit for longer periods of time, so short and sweet lessons are a must!

Secondly, look for a dependable preschool curriculum that focuses on building important foundational skills while encouraging simple hands-on learning.

Our Favorite Preschool Language Arts Curriculum

When I first started homeschooling I had no idea what I was doing!

Our schooling journey actually started in a brick-and-mortar setting when my oldest son started attending a private preschool. A few years down the road my middle kid joined him at his private school and that was our life for 8 whole years!

We eventually switched to online schooling at home (which was not a good fit) and then transitioned over to full-time homeschooling 2 years later. 

I was completely lost though.

I had no clue what I was doing and no idea where to begin my search for a great language arts curriculum for preschool, or for any of my kids for that matter.

When we left the K12 program last winter, our whole family was in need of some major change on the homeschool front. Plus, I was on the search for something eye-opening & beautiful!

I researched, asked other homeschool moms what they were using, then researched some more.

The one curriculum couldn’t get out of my head was The Good and the Beautiful.

I spent a lot of time looking over sample PDFs and watching all the videos I could. There was just something about this curriculum that I craved.

I seriously couldn’t stop thinking about it!

Teaching Pre-K Using The Good and the Beautiful

After tons of research and much-needed prayer, I came to the conclusion that I needed to take the plunge and try this curriculum for not just my preschooler but all 3 of my kiddos.

I absolutely loved the idea of bringing beautiful art and poetry into a language arts program, alongside good values and amazing literature!

The thing I was most looking forward to though? Using only 1 book per student – seriously a huge win for this homeschool mom!

Coming from the K12 program, where my elementary-aged son was using 5 different course books for language arts alone. I absolutely loved the idea of spending less time on schoolwork and more quality time enjoying the learning process together.

S0, I jumped in head first, and let me tell you, I was not sorry.

This amazing curriculum was a total game-changer for our entire family!

It didn’t take long for me to discover how much I absolutely loved teaching each one of my kiddos with these incredible books.

Peek Inside Our Preschool Language Arts Curriculum

Before starting this curriculum, I had been teaching pre-k using all the things and I was completely overwhelmed!

I way overcomplicated the whole preschool thing, which ended in complete disaster!

I felt like I had failed my young daughter in some way, so I took a little time off and attacked her pre-k year with a whole new approach.

Needless to say, The Good and the Beautiful K Primer was a welcomed change for both of us.

 

What We Love About This Preschool Language Arts Curriculum

Before we dive right in, I want to share one single piece of advice with you.

When researching to try and find the best preschool language arts curriculum for your little one, you can easily be drawn to large overwhelming packs that include tons of extras.

Just know that bigger isn’t always better.

Sometimes simple is exactly what you need!

Now, on to the things I absolutely loved about teaching Prek using this amazing curriculum. 

• It’s Little to No Prep

Seriously, this was a huge deal for me!

When we first started our homeschool year, I spent several hours each week printing, cutting, and preparing my pre-k daughter’s school work.

It was exhausting, to say the least!

I mostly used online resources or created my own lesson plans, but let me tell you — it got old real quick!

I slowly began letting things go or putting stuff off because I just didn’t have the time or energy to prep every single little thing each and every week.

The fact that this curriculum is open and go is incredibly amazing.

You can easily open up the workbook, grab a few items if needed, work through a few pages or even just a single activity, then close up till next time.

Huge win in this homeschool mom’s book!

• It Doesn’t Require Supplements

The Good & The Beautiful Level K Primer is a full language arts curriculum course, no supplemental materials are required!

While it may look small, this primer was the only language course I used and needed for the second half of my daughter’s Pre-K year and it met all of her needs! I say the second half only because we switched curriculum mid-year when I pulled my boys out of their online schooling program and wanted to start over with everyone at the same time.

With that said, because of its simplicity and shorter lesson times, you can easily incorporate other supplemental activities if you wish! I thoroughly enjoyed adding hands-on activities, storytime books, and lots of outdoor play to this course.

However, I also completely loved the fact that I didn’t need to add any additional bookwork or other curriculums to the lineup!

The rest of our homeschool year was super simple and light – I not only loved this, but I also embraced it.

This preschool curriculum has all the core foundational skills for language arts built in – it even touches on math and art just a bit.

• It’s Incredibly Beautiful

YES! This is one of my absolute favorite things about The Good & The Beautiful curriculum as a whole – not just the K primer.

Even the simplest of lessons became something to look forward to because of the artwork that was involved.

As silly as it sounds, my young daughter would squeal and smile when she saw a new painting coming up in her book — especially those with animals. 

I’m not sure why this was such an exciting part for her, but it quickly became one of her favorite parts of this curriculum!

I seriously never knew that discussing art with a 5-year-old could be such a joy.

• It Teaches Responsibility

Who knew that something as simple as a check box could teach your preschooler responsibility?

It wasn’t something I expected when we first started using this course, but I instantly fell in love with the concept.

Throughout the lessons, you will find these simple little (completed) checkboxes listed next to each and every activity.

This quickly became my daughter’s responsibility — and she totally loved it, you guys!

She knew we couldn’t move on till the box was checked and it kept her motivated to finish each task.

As a list-making, planner-loving, productivity-addict mom, I totally loved this part!

Nothing accidentally gets missed or skipped over.

Plus, my daughter has become aware of responsibility and order at a very young age.

Stuff like this totally makes my heart super happy!

I will always, always be a huge fan of checkbox marking – not even joking!

• It’s the Perfect Price Point
  

If you’ve been homeschooling long, you probably already know that many curriculum options can break the bank.

One of my favorite things about The Good and the Beautiful curriculum as a whole, is the fact that I don’t have to spend a ton of money to give my children the quality education they deserve.

Their language arts levels 1-5 are completely free for PDF download!

This option makes it a wonderful choice for those that are just starting out, working with a small budget, or for someone that simply wants to test out the curriculum before buying.

Honestly, it’s one of the big things that had me sold on this curriculum in the first place.

Even though none of my children were currently in any of those levels, being able to download a full copy to look over helped me make that final decision – and I immediately knew it was something we had to try.

*Note: The Good and the Beautiful K Primer is not free like the levels mentioned above, but the price is incredibly budget-friendly!

• It Has Amazing Core Values
  

While the k primer book doesn’t have nearly as much content as some of the older levels, the content that is there still has wonderful values and morals tied into each lesson.

I recall one activity in particular where a family was donating money for hurricane relief victims.

Not only was my child learning coin concepts in a language arts lesson, but she was also learning about giving from the heart!

This was completely incredible to me.

While we are a Christian homeschool family, I feel like the values and morals presented in The Good and the Beautiful curriculum can easily be appreciated in a secular homeschool as well.

It’s incredibly important for children to learn compassion & giving at such a tender age.

• It’s not Common Core

While common core methods usually start in kindergarten or first grade, I knew with certainty I didn’t want to start my young daughter on a curriculum that would eventually follow those standards.

Considering I was shopping for a new curriculum for all of my children, I had to find something that not only worked for preschool — but something that would work far beyond preschool as well. 

I wanted to start my older boys on something that was already non-common core based and make sure my daughter was lined up to experience the same.

The Good and the Beautiful curriculum delivered on that front — it is free from common core standards. 

I cannot even begin to describe how great that has been for our homeschool.

I firmly believe that kids learn at different paces and in different ways and I refused to entertain the thought of sticking my own kids in a bubble just to adhere to someone else’s standards.

Skipping common core also meant my children were understanding and retaining information at a much faster (and more enjoyable) rate.

• It Doesn’t Take Much Time

I totally loved this aspect.

I found myself spending less time working on school with my daughter each day, and yet somehow she was actually retaining more information than she had before!

How is that even possible?

The approach is incredibly simple and so very gentle which allows children to learn in a whole new way.

Preschool language arts was no longer over complicated and complex in our home and I was definitely a big fan.

Not going to lie, the feeling of ease definitely carries on throughout the older levels a bit as well — especially when comparing it to our old language arts program.

Preschool Language Arts Curriculum Results

This is the good stuff, you guys!

We took things super slow with this curriculum and I only opened our course book when my daughter felt like doing school. She worked through this course at her own pace and finished it around the 5-month mark.

During this time she learned and memorized how many letters are in the alphabet, how to say the sounds of all her letters, and how to easily recall the difference between vowels and consonants.

There wasn’t a single day we sat down to do language that I had to force my daughter or beg her to do her work.

She thoroughly enjoyed using this preschool curriculum and was incredibly proud when she made it through to the end!

But wait, there’s more…

This curriculum surprised me in a way I never expected.

My recently turned 5-year-old was reading short sentences.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t taught to have a love for literature and struggled with reading my entire childhood.

So teaching a child to read was literally one of my biggest fears as a new homeschool mom.

With that said, I figured with my youngest in preschool and my older 2 already being readers, I had a good year or 2 before tackling this issue.

Boy was I wrong.

Thankfully, the Good and the Beautiful took my fear of teaching my child to read and completely demolished it.

This curriculum was so good that it actually helped my young daughter learn to read in a matter of months.

It wasn’t something I planned to tackle at such a young age, but it was incredibly beautiful.

If you are craving something simple and beautiful for your preschooler, this is definitely where it’s at!

Simple Goals for Teaching PreK

While my youngest did learn to read during her preschool years, that should never be the main goal for any preschool parent.

Preschool should be simple and foundational.

These are the few areas I like to focus on while teaching PreK.

• Colors & shapes
• Numbers & letters
• Fine motor skills
• Beginning letter sounds

Anything after that is just cheddar.

Bridging the Gap Between Pre-K & Kindergarten

If you’re looking for a supplemental reading program to use alongside or after this curriculum, check out our favorite!

We used Usborne’s My First Reading Library to bridge the gap between my daughter’s pre-k and kindergarten years. This was super simple to start over the summer months and we will be finishing it during her kindergarten year.

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