A Gentle Kindergarten Homeschool Schedule

This kindergarten homeschool schedule will give you inspiration for creating a daily learning structure your child can thrive in.

It is early spring and like 5 hibernating toads my children and I are emerging from a soggy winter. The fresh spring air beckons us, and I find myself needing to balance our homeschool schedules more than ever!

We rely on a homeschool schedule in order to accomplish what needs to be done while leaving ample time to play and enjoy nature.

This article will give you the outline of our homeschool kindergarten schedule, and then we’ll dive in to the details of how the curriculum unfolds.

Create A Kindergarten Schedule That Works For You

Although we schedule our homeschool days, we are not always routine people. The beauty and benefit of homeschooling lies in the flexibility! We deviate from plan if we need to, then adjust.

My son is 5 and we are rounding out his kindergarten year. My daughter is in 2nd grade, and we complete our small entourage with a 3 year old and a baby. Because of this, we embrace many unit studies in our homeschooling curriculum.

Our gentle kindergarten schedule gives flexibility to our days while ensuring my 5 year has a hearty curriculum. We rely heavily on read out loud books and real life experiences.

Click here for a quality kindergarten read aloud book list!

A gentle daily structure is married to a robust curriculum, which means that a solid education is accomplished easily.

I use the word gentle because our homeschool days are just that, kind and forgiving! If a child is sick, or we get caught up in a special project, we have grace and flexibility.

The schedule is there to help us accomplish what we need, but we are not ruled by it!

I’m excited to take you along on our homeschooling schedule and share what works so well for us, providing both structure and flexibility.

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Our Gentle Daily Kindergarten Homeschool Schedule

We use time blocking for our school days, but our daily routine lends itself to a lot of flexibility. 20-30 minutes are added into each time block to allot for feeding the baby and cleaning up messes!

Homeschool Morning Routine Tips Found Here!

Sample kindergarten Homeschool Schedule:

6-7 am: Wake Up, Get Dressed, Head to Kitchen

7-8 am: Kids and Mom cook breakfast and clean up kitchen, quick chores

8:30-9: Bible Study and Character Trait

9-10: Calendar, Math and Reading (rotate handwriting work)

Rotate through 5 in A Row Books

10:00: Break, Clean Up

10:20: History and/or science rotations (we do not do both everyday- except reading historical novels)

11:00: Lunch and read aloud

11:30: Resting Time

Free play

Insights Into Our Daily Kindergarten Schedule

It’s always helpful to peak into a homeschool daily rhythm and details. Everything really does ebb and flow in our routine, but this is what we aim for!

Morning Hours (6-8 am)

I used to feel pressure to quickly get breakfast on the table and rush to get schoolwork going. But over time the morning hours became a special time of connection for our homeschool.

Mornings set the tone for the whole day. Relax and enjoy the time with your kids, and the whole day will go better.

The morning hours can offer connection and skill building if we approached it wisely.

To foster deeper connections, we spend time snuggling when we wake up and chatting over breakfast. This morning hour is also used to teach the kids basic cooking skills.  Chores are also a focus: clean up, feeding the dog and chickens.

Breakfast is a wonderful time to teach life skills of kitchen prep, cooking, and clean up. Breakfast entrees tend to be fairly easy, making them the perfect meal for a 5 year old to practice with you.

Easy Breakfast Cooking Skills To Teach A 5 Year Old:

• Cracking and Scrambling Eggs
• Making oatmeal
• Using toaster + buttering toast
• Pouring Drinks
• Making pancakes and feedings sourdough starter 
• Rinsing dishes and loading dishwasher

Gentle + Simple Morning Tips: Smile at your kindergartner and say I love you! It does wonders to brighten the day.

Bible Study (830-900)

We all want our children to have a firm Biblical foundation when they leave the home. What better way to do this than having a daily Bible study together?

We use My Father’s World as our base curriculum, which includes a short Bible discussion each day that ties in to the rest of the week’s studies. We start there and add on as needed.

I have found myself searching for the “perfect” kids Bible curriculum, but really just opening the Bible and reading out loud for a few minutes is the most powerful approach of all. If that’s all you do, you are doing enough!

In addition to reading the Bible out loud, we rotate through singing songs, working on a memory verse, and memorizing the books of the Bible. We spend time talking about and praying for our sponsored kids through World Vision.

A character trait is added into the discussion, such as self control or gentleness.

These Biblical kids books have been wonderful supplements:

Jesus StoryBook Bible

The Case for Christ For Kids (this is a little advanced for kindergarten, but we still read portions)

Bible Stories To Read

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible Atlas (my kinder loves this!)

Gentle+Simple Kindergarten Bible Time Tips:

• We always do some kind of Bible study in the morning, even if its shortened. A prayer and Scripture reading when time is short works great! Our longer times are really treasured.

• It’s okay if your child needs to be busy during Bible reading time. In fact, it’s normal! Have blocks nearby, or let them color a Bible worksheet. Busy little hands often equal an open little heart.

• Bible time can be used to set the intent of our heart for the day. It really anchors a child’s soul, as well as mom’s.

Read all about Montessori Parenting here.

(9-10am): Calendar, Math, Reading and 5 In A Row

We then move on to a few core studies: calendar, math and reading. Language arts studies, which is mostly reading out loud at this age, are very flexible and rotated.

Calendar

During this time we spend a few minutes using our family calendar to memorize the days, weeks, and months. We mark off the days and talk about special events.

Math

Math is done every single day, in hopes that a little progress is made.

There is a wide array of skill level at this age for math, but the beauty of homeschooling is you can go at your own pace!

I started using Abeka math this year and my son is thriving in it. The lessons are short enough so he can finish them quickly, but thorough enough that he is getting a solid education.

At 5 years old, my son is able to complete 1-3 pages a day and then he is ready to move on.

Reading

Learn To Read in 100 Easy Lessons is an effective reading curriculum that takes your child from zero to reading at a 2nd grade level. This reading curriculum really deserves its own post, but I’ll give a few highlights here.

Learn To Read In 100 Easy lessons is straight to the point using a phonics based foundation. It is a little dry and sometimes challenging, but… it works wonderfully!

I have taken two children through this curriculum with widely different personalities. It has worked for both of them and we’ve completed it by midway through their kinder year.

We spend about 10-15 minutes on reading lessons a day at the kindergarten level. Nothing intense, and if he is struggling that day we just move on! We also had to take breaks and refresh lessons when needed.

After they have completed this curriculum, they read out loud to me from easy readers for the rest of the year.

I use vintage readers like the Dick and Jane series. They are simple, wholesome, and my kids enjoy them. You can still buy these amazing vintage readers on Amazon. Many early reader books based on site words will be extremely easy for your kindergartner if you use Learn to Read in 100 Easy Lessons!

*If your child is not reading by the end of kindergarten, please don’t sweat it. The average age for learning to read fully is actually 7. Just keep gently working with and encouraging them.

5 In A Row Curriculum

If I can pick just ONE thing to do with my homeschooling children, it would be 5 In A Row. This is a very gentle but comprehensive unit study curriculum.

Essentially, you choose one book and read it out loud for 5 days. Then, you choose from easy activities and discussions to do surrounding that one book. We have made pies, played harmonicas, explored maps, watched bull fights, and more all thanks to 5 In A Row!

5 In A Row curriculum is SO easy and absolutely perfect for the kindergarten age range. It works well with varying ages.

Art, geography, math, English, and culture are all covered in a gentle, fun way through the 5 In A Row books. We rotate through various books and pick and choose which activities to do.

A few of our favorite 5 In A Row Books: How to Make An Apple Pie and See the World, Lentil, Make Way For Ducklings, Cranberry Thanksgiving, Night of The Moonjellies.

Handwriting

I have my kinder practice his handwriting 3 days a week or so. We have been using The Good and the Beautiful Workbooks.

For kindergarten, we are able to get calendar work, math, reading and a 5 In a Row Unit Study done in an hour or less. This is really the bulk of our kindergarten schedule.

From here we take a break, then rotate history and science through My Father’s World read alouds.

History And Science Rotations (10:20)

This year we are using My Father’s World for history and science. This is a comprehensive curriculum that gives a solid structure to each day. My Father’s World works well for homeschooling varying age groups at one time.

My kindergartner has loved the hands on history activities, read aloud and science experiments this program brings. He especially enjoyed making homemade bread and butter this year.

We typically allow about 30 minutes for the history read aloud books suggested in this curriculum. The kids are often eating a snack during this time or playing with play dough. Learning history by reading quality books out loud is a wonderful and easy approach at this age! All of my kids love it!

Science lessons are typically 2 days a week. Easy hands on lessons that encourage curiosity are perfect for kindergarten.

This is the base of our homeschool days for kindergarten! Keep in mind that some days we may miss a subject, and that’s ok. We have enough consistency that we’ve moved forward very quickly in math and reading, and still been able to savor our favorite subjects of history and Bible!

FAQ’s On Homeschooling Kindergarten

What Are The Best Kindergarten Read Aloud Books?

Reading out loud to your kindergartner is one of the most valuable ways to spend your time. When reading together you encourage deep connections, increase vocabulary, expose them to new ideas, and more!

A few of our favorite read aloud chapter books for the kindergarten age:

Charlotte’s Web

Stuart Little

Henry Huggins (and almost anything by Beverly Clearly!)

Little House on the Prairie Series

The Magic Treehouse Series (excellent for history!)

The Boxcar Children

How Do I Create A Daily Schedule For Homeschooling? Best Tips

Every child and family is truly unique when it comes to homeschooling. To create a daily schedule for homeschooling you will want to ask the following questions:

• What are the core educational values for my child? We live in an era of endless curriculum options. The variety can become so overwhelming. Personally, I had to anchor myself or I would be swept away in a sea of education options. To do this, I came up with 3 values in which I base all of my other homeschooling decisions. (These values are: To develop in my children a love of God and humanity, a desire to learn, and a love for nature. Our curriculum and schedule must serve these objectives!)

• What are the needs and interests of my kindergartner? Every child is truly going to be different. A very few personality types can sit for hours at age 5 to craft and listen to stories. Most will not want to sit for long periods and will be very busy. Some kids are hands on learners, and all children will have varied interests. Spend some time thinking about your child and his/her unique needs.

• What other family members will be involved? The variety of siblings in the home and their ages will impact your child’s kindergarten curriculum. But I promise, this isn’t a bad thing! It just means you have to juggle everyone’s needs. When you develop your daily schedule, keep an eye out for nap times, cleaning basics, and free play needed for your other children.

How Do I Homeschool My 5 Year Old?

My best advice for homeschooling a 5 year old: Lean in deeply and soak up the wide world of wonder with them.

Seriously, five is such a fantastic, fun age. No longer a baby yet full of curiosity and innocence, 5 year olds are sponges soaking up the beauty of the world. Take full advantage of that!

Visit the library weekly. Passionately pursue what your 5 year old loves, whether it be dinosaurs or basketball. Teach them to garden, go for nature walks, and cook together.

For help when parenting is hard, read this.

Don’t stress too much about your child’s academic excellence. Instead, cultivate a love for life and learning! This is the foundation for long term academic success.

The world is truly your oyster, and you have the best little buddy to explore it with. Try to see life through their eyes, and on top of a base curriculum, follow what they enjoy learning!

I often ask my kids, what should we study? What are you curious about? What would you like to do? These questions will give a child ownership over their learning experience.

How Many Hours Should Kindergarten Homeschool Be?

In total, homeschool kindergarten should be no longer than 2 hours of formal studies. And those 2 hours should be broken into small, digestible chunks!

You can easily fit in the basics of reading, Bible and math in these 2 hours, as well as rotating through history, science, handwriting, art and more.

From here, give kids lots of free time to play, rest and explore. Augment their learning with real life experiences like fishing, gardening, travel, baking, cooking and hiking.