A Quiet Simple Life | Sallie Borrink

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

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A Sample Kindergarten Homeschool Schedule for a Creative, Dreamer Child


Remember the post How a homeschooled dreamer does preschool math? A year later, here is a rough breakdown of how my kindergarten homeschool schedule with Caroline might go on any given day.

Calendar Time: 10-15 minutes

Five minutes of actual learning and five to ten minutes of adding color and embellishment to everything we do. It is not enough to cross off the number on the chart with a single color. It must be filled in, striped, or otherwise colored with three to ten different colored markers.

Bible and Prayer: 10-15 minutes

This pretty much goes as is. I read a Bible story and pray.

Reading: 10-20 minutes

We read a couple of small readers and/or do other reading/phonics related activities. Every other page is a request for “Make the dog say something” or “Make the bear talk to me” or “Make the turtle tell me something” or “The zebra told me about the time when he…” or “Yesterday Big Bear went to see this squirrel and they…” Somewhere in the midst of all of it, reading instruction happens. She constantly surprises me with how many words she has already learned on her own via Starfall.com, Leapfrog videos, reading to her, looking at books, etc. (Update: I discovered she’s a right brain, visual-spatial learner which explains a lot.)

Biscuit Phonics Fun (My First I Can Read)Biscuit Phonics Fun (My First I Can Read)Biscuit: More Phonics Fun (My First I Can Read)Biscuit: More Phonics Fun (My First I Can Read)Reading Fun with Curious George Boxed Set (Green Light Readers Level 1)Reading Fun with Curious George Boxed Set (Green Light Readers Level 1)

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Math: 10-20 minutes

We do a math activity and/or page or two. Every other problem provides an opportunity for “Make the cat say something” or decorative embellishment of whichever number she last wrote.

Handwriting: 5-10 minutes

This usually goes pretty normally except when she wants to first make a dotted line outline of the letter or number so she can trace it. Or there is a picture on the page which provokes “Make the horse say something” or “Make the pig talk to me.”

Storytime: 10-20 minutes

I let Caroline choose a book or two from a basket of books I would like us to read together. This usually goes pretty normally. (Here is a list of classic kindergarten picture books I put together.)

Craft Time: 1-3 hours

I set her free with her craft supplies and whatever else she is interested in doing. She lives for getting the other stuff done so she can draw, color, paint, cut, glue, etc.

I’m really okay with most of it. The thing that gets to me is the “Make the xxxxxx say something.” Truth be told, I’ve reached my max with it. Keeping a creative dreamer focused is like adding a part-time job to the homeschooling.

To be fair, I remember just wanting to get my work done so I could read. And David remembers just wanting to get his work done so he could draw. So the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

But all in all we are having a good time. I’ve learned to adjust my times to what works for Caroline. She isn’t ready to do school until much later in the morning.  Sometimes we do some before lunch and some after. I always thought I would get school done early in the morning to get it done, but she isn’t wired like that at all. So I’ve made adjustments and it works fine. (See update on scheduling here.)

The good thing about the craft time is that she’s perfectly content to do her own thing as long as I’m nearby. So I work on planning and organizing my things while she’s doing crafts. We turn on Mozart or Songs for Saplings and have a nice time together.

Songs for SaplingsSongs for SaplingsSongs for Saplings: 123Songs for Saplings: 123Songs for Saplings ABC and 123 [2 CD Set]Songs for Saplings ABC and 123 [2 CD Set]

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I’ve gathered my best posts on creating a peaceful, customized, relationship-first homeschool in one place. Start here: Relaxed Homeschooling.

If you are planning your homeschool year, you may also want to visit my Homeschool Planning Help page.

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Planning Our Relaxed Homeschooling Kindergarten


Like most homeschooling moms, I’m currently in the midst of planning. For our family, I am in the middle of planning our relaxed homeschooling kindergarten year. After doing a lot of research about the different kinds of curriculum packages available, I decided to purchase… nothing. But first let’s look at something fun we did take care of!

Last summer, Caroline became absolutely enthralled with a student desk set at Office Max. It was a white desk, hot pink chair, and flowered mat. She was only three (!) and it was way too big for her. But every time we have been in Office Max over the past year, she has literally ran to see that set-up. The last time we were in there, I had her sit down to see if she might be tall enough to use it. She was tall enough if the chair is put all the way to the top.

So I emailed David’s dad with the picture and asked if he could make her a desk like it. He whipped it together (he’s a master craftsman) and we painted it this weekend. The chair and floor mat went on sale on Sunday so we bought those. We finally got it all set up yesterday in her room and Caroline is a Happy Camper. I still need to find some pretty baskets to use on the shelves, but in the meantime I gave her a few Rubbermaid containers to use. So she’s very excited about having real school work and “homework” to do at her desk. (She got the idea of homework from watching Laura on Little House on the Prairie DVDs.)

Relaxed Homeschooling Kindergarten Planning

As I looked over the different packages, I simply could not convince myself that I needed to spend hundreds of dollars for a kindergartner. I was also not convinced that Caroline would enjoy a lot of what was in the packages. I was most tempted to purchase Sonlight, especially because of their money back guarantee. But, in the end, I decided that between what I already have, what is available for free or nearly free online, what I can get from the library, what I can make myself, and what I can selectively purchase that I don’t need the whole shebang from one company.

So here’s my kindergarten homeschool planning in progress.

Relaxed Homeschooling Kindergarten

Homeschool Co-op

Caroline will participate in two classes at the homeschool co-op. One is a phonics class and the other is a literature class that uses Five in a Row. They are both enrichment classes and basically I’m just glad she can go and have fun with other children her age and learn something in the process. (She’ll even get to eat lunch at the co-op so she has a Hello Kitty! Lunch Box. She’s very excited.)

Themes for the Year

I’ve been putting together a list of themes to use for the year. I’m going to do one theme a week and build around that. I’m creating a file folder for each theme and putting ideas in the folder as I come across them in either my own files or online. My goal is to have the file folders filled with ideas for the first two months by the time we start school. Then I’ll just pull whichever ideas seem best for us at the moment.

Hands-on Pocket Chart

Caroline is all about hands-on activities so my one big splurge is going to be a couple of pocket charts and a stand. I’m going to purchase a Monthly Calendar Pocket Chart like I saw on another site. (Update: I’ve since created this series of fun fact cards in many different topics.) I’m also going to purchase a Sentence Strip Pocket Chart that will give me a lot of hands-on flexibility with Caroline in terms of reading, math, poetry, etc.

Kindergarten Classic Picture Books

I’ve been going through several books and online sites to compile a master list of picture books for preschool and kindergarten. We have read a lot of the books that I see on the list, but I’m still going to make a list and we’ll work our way through the rest of them this year. Some of them we will just read for fun and some we’ll do lapbooks to accompany them.

Hands-on Math

Math is going to be mostly hands-on and worksheets. Caroline thinks worksheets are actually fun so I don’t feel badly using them in conjunction with other hands-on activities. I have learned that the worksheets need to be in color though in order to engage her and keep her focused. The black and white ones don’t work nearly as well (unless they are a coloring activity). I have a list of math objectives for kindergartners and we’ll simply go through that over the year and I’ll pull whatever materials I need to cover those concepts.

The Benefit of Homeschooling an Only Child

While there are many challenges to having an only child, I think this is where having only one is going to be fantastic. I don’t have to plan extensive lessons for multiple children and attempt to keep multiple children on task while trying to offer direct instruction to one of the others. I just sit down with her, figure out what she knows, determine what she needs help with, pull something from my files or online to cover that concept, and do it. A way that having an only is a big positive!

So that’s a bit about my relaxed homeschooling kindergarten plan. I still haven’t completely decided what I’m going to do about reading/phonics. I’m also still deciding on Bible. I’ll share more as I find resources and compile some of my lists and such. We’re going to start the last week of August so I have about a month to get everything ready.

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Our Relaxed Homeschooling Preschool Year


I mentioned in April that we were going to give homeschooling preschool a try for a bit and see how it worked. It has been interesting. Here are some random observations from our relaxed homeschooling preschool year in no particular order.

What Hasn’t Worked Well – Repetition

Caroline does not enjoy doing the same thing or similar things more than a few times. We started out making those cute foam letters and by the time we got to about F or G she had totally lost all interest. It didn’t matter that they were different or super cute. She just didn’t care to do the same kind of project again. She craves variety and thrives on new experiences.

So that means the preschool curriculum I purchased was not really helpful. It has not worked well for us for a couple of reasons. One, Caroline was already well past a lot of what was in it. And, two, many of the activities are ones that are repeated multiple times with multiple letters. Again, Caroline has no interest in doing something again and again and again for weeks.

I’ve also realized that a great deal of what I have saved from teaching will probably never get used. I have lots of files that I am going to pitch because they won’t be relevant with the child I have.

This past week David and I talked again about whether or not we should consider sending Caroline to preschool this fall. I admit that part of it would simply be for a break, even if just for this year. But now that she is already reading words all over the place,  I think she would be bored. She’s definitely not ready for a kindergarten class. But when I read the four year old curriculum online for the place I was researching, I think she would be bored.

I have lots of little readers that she’ll be reading in probably another week (as soon as I sit down and work on some basic sight words with her). And even when I think about the fact that I would get a break, I think of the running back and forth to drop her off and pick her up and the volunteering in the classroom, etc. It really would not be a break. So I think we’ll just stick to hiring a babysitter to come in once a week for a break for all of us.

What Has Worked Well – Variety

Starfall.com has been a great tool. Caroline is thoroughly enjoying it and has learned a lot simply by playing games on there. Using the LeapFrog videos was also very instrumental in helping her. We have had the first two since last winter.

Leapfrog: Letter FactoryLeapfrog: Letter FactoryLeapFrog: Talking Words FactoryLeapFrog: Talking Words Factory

We haven’t bought this one yet, but will since it focuses on long vowel sounds and I know it will be helpful.

LeapFrog: Word CaperLeapFrog: Word Caper

 This weekend we bought this one and she’s already talking about commas and periods.

LeapFrog: Learn to Read at the Storybook FactoryLeapFrog: Learn to Read at the Storybook Factory

 I looked at this at Target this weekend, but am not sure.

LeapFrog LeapReader Reading and Writing System, GreenLeapFrog LeapReader Reading and Writing System, Green

It has two sets of phonics books you can buy to use with it (one short vowels and one long vowels) which could be helpful.

LeapFrog LeapReader Learn to Read, Volume 1 (works with Tag)LeapFrog LeapReader Learn to Read, Volume 1 (works with Tag)LeapFrog Tag Learn to Read Phonics Book Set 4: Advanced VowelsLeapFrog Tag Learn to Read Phonics Book Set 4: Advanced Vowels

But so much of the rest of it is marketing propaganda (Little Mermaid, Dora, Cars, etc.) and I don’t want to go in that direction. (We do Hello, Kitty! and Pooh. That is enough.) The books are kind of pricey so I’m not sure I want to open that can of worms. Ten bucks for a DVD is one thing. The entire Tag thing will get a lot more expensive and I’m not sure it will make that big of a difference. So the verdict is still out on that even though we’ve really liked the other LeapFrog things we’ve used.

What Should We Do This Fall?

So now I’m trying to decide what to do about the fall. I’ve been looking at the Sonlight curriculum this week, but I’m not sure we really need that much for a four year old. I’m thinking just an organic, teachable moments-based learning approach will probably still work just fine for this year.

One of the other big things I’ve learned admitted to myself is that I do not want to spend a lot of time in planning. Reading through the 27 Reasons Families Love Sonlight and 27 Reasons Not to Buy Sonlight was helpful in a few different ways, especially after doing our practice preschool.

While I thoroughly love doing research and planning out units, I do not have the time to do it at this point in my life. When I went through my elementary education program, I was in a selective, specialized program called Academic Learning. The focus was on developing curriculum. I ab.so.lute.ly. love to develop curriculum. But if I am honest with myself, I just do not have the time and energy to devote to it. So I think we will eventually end up with an all-in-one type curriculum where everything is basically planned and then we’ll supplement as necessary. But I’m thinking we are still a year away from that (at least). (Update years later: Ha! This is exactly the opposite of how things turned out. LOL!)

So that’s where we are after our relaxed homeschooling preschool year. Learning is happening all the time because we’re just three learning type people. And it will all continue to evolve as we move forward!

Relaxed Homeschooling Preschool Year

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Our Relaxed Homeschooling Preschool Plans


We started our relaxed homeschooling preschool this week and we are off to a good start. Caroline is excited each morning to come down and see what is planned.

I have to say that none of these preschool ideas are original to me. I’ve done a lot of surfing, looking for ideas that I thought would work well for us. I am keeping it pretty low-key to start with. My main goal is to get off to a fun start with this. Yes, Caroline will be learning as well. But given her personality, my biggest goal is to get her hooked on learning and find it enjoyable.

So here is what we are doing!

Homeschool Preschool Learning Area

We set up a corner in the dining room for our homeschool area. There is absolutely nowhere else in the house to do it. I would dearly love to have a separate room, but that just isn’t meant to be. I have literally an entire room’s worth of stuff in our basement from my teaching days and since having Caroline. It’s frustrating, but I’m just trying to make the best of the situation.

Relaxed Homeschooling Preschool

So we purchased a table and chairs which we love. That’s Caroline sitting at it the first day we bought it, trying it out with a coloring page. We purchased it at Toys ‘R Us and it is great! It should fit Caroline for at least a few years. We also purchased a small bookcase. (We already had twelve in various sizes in the house, but they were all being used.) And a palm tree. (More on that later.)

Caroline coloring at the table 2

Organizing for Relaxed Homeschooling Preschool

The rolling cart is an idea I got from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I am also using her Letter of the Week Preschoool Curriculum. It was only $10 and it is worth every penny just for how it has so many ideas I can quickly use and print off.  The curriculum is written to be used with one new letter a week. We’ll probably do two a week only because one a week will be dragging it out too much for Caroline. Some of the activities are too easy for Caroline, but there is plenty there to give me a good foundation on which to plan around. (Please read my follow-up post about our experience!)

So the rolling cart. If you go to her post The Workbox System, you will see some examples of how she organizes her children’s work each day. Since Caroline and I are both a sucker for anything organizational, I knew this would totally appeal to both of us. I wish I had had the video camera on when we set up the rolling cart (before it was even filled). Her eyes got big and she could hardly wait to start pulling the drawers open and rolling it around. Now the first thing she does every morning when we come downstairs is open all the drawers to see what is in there!

Ok, so the palm tree now residing in my formal dining room… Yes, it is a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree. We’ll be adding a letter each time we learn about it. Caroline and David made coconuts and Caroline was more than proud of them.

We’ll be using Chicka Chicka Boom Boom along with the Letter of the Week Curriculum. We’re making a lapbook and I’ll post about that shortly as well.

Let’s see… What else…

Oh, we are making these adorable little foam letters. This is where I am really grateful for David. I could never cut these out and make them look anything remotely like the picture. I just gather the supplies, print out the picture from the internet, hand the stuff to him, and he cuts all the pieces that I need. Gotta love being married to an artist!

Well, there are a number of other neat little ideas I plan on sharing, but work is calling me so I should stop here. I definitely won’t be posting pictures of everything we do, but I will share some of the ideas I find in case anyone else would like to use them.

So far I’m pleased with how things have gone. One thing I know for sure. Anything that uses a dry erase marker or scissors and glue will be a big hit. She loves them both.

And I’m also pretty sure that Caroline is going to be a lefty. She goes back and forth, but she almost always writes with her left hand now and cuts with her right. So I’ll have the added challenge of trying to teach a southpaw how to write!

(Please read my follow-up post!)

Relaxed Homeschooling Preschool

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