As a homeschooling mom and homeschool alumni, recently I have been getting messages and in-person questions about home education overseas and our curriculum choices.
We do not have older kids yet so I cannot speak with authority on homeschooling the elementary years (beyond my personal experience growing up), but we have been homeschooling our oldest son through preschool for a few years, and soon our second-born will begin home learning as well!
As a result I thought I would put together a list of homeschool curriculum that we have tried in the past and share my thoughts about each with you here! I also will go into what we plan to use over the next school year with our middle child, and why I am excited about it!!
Why use a preschool homeschool curriculum at all?
Some people say that preschool is unnecessary, and that children who are pre-K do not need any formal schooling. That is a valid point! You do not need a curriculum for your preschool aged child and are certainly not missing out if you choose not to use one. Your child may also not be “ready” for it, and that’s okay, too!
On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with using a preschool curriculum if your child will benefit from it! Preschool does not have to be formal, stoic lessons spent entirely around a desk. It can be nature, movement, and play-based, and a natural extension of the learning and living we do in our homes!
We decided to start using a preschool curriculum with our oldest son when he was 2 years old because he had insatiable curiosity, and kept asking for activities and crafts so frequently that I realized it would be easier buying an actual program with a weekly schedule than coming up with things constantly on my own. So, we jumped into preschool at home with no regrets!!
I am also the type of person that gets disorganized very easily (it feels like there are always 100 “tabs” open in my brain), so having a family routine / rhythm is better for my mental health and time management.
Using a curriculum really helps set that gentle rhythm and adds a lot to our family culture and the overall atmosphere of our home.
Once you decide to homeschool, the next step is choosing or creating a curriculum. Selecting materials can be challenging! I find it helpful to ask a few questions when curriculum shopping.
Does it align with our family values? Can I access / purchase the curriculum while living in Japan? Is it nature and play-based, gentle, and level appropriate (note that I say level, not age)? Is it affordable for our budget? And so on.
I try to address some of those factors in my curriculum reviews below.
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The Peaceful Preschool
The first homeschooling curriculum that we tried with my oldest was The Peaceful Preschool by The Peaceful Press. This is a fairly well-known curriculum, and with good reason! I did enjoy using this curriculum for a time, and think it can be an excellent choice for many families, especially those living overseas.
This program says its target age group is 3-5, but we found it perfect for our 2-3 year old. I would say the program leans toward younger students, though of course that very much depends on the child.
I won’t go into all of the specifics about the program’s contents as you can read that here, but instead will share my thoughts about what I did or didn’t enjoy below.
Some things I liked about the curriculum:
- It is available in a digital format for a reasonable price, and you can easily print it out to use at home
- The books on the booklist can be purchased through Amazon Japan
- It is play-based and incorporates arts and crafts, recipes, and motor skills
- It comes with digital printables and flashcards
- It provides a good overview of the alphabet for early learners
- It’s great for preschoolers who need practice with fine motor skills
While I did enjoy aspects of The Peaceful Preschool and think it is a wonderful program, I did not complete it and decided not to use it with our other children in the future (except perhaps for supplemental activities). This does not mean that there is something wrong with it, just that it was not the best fit for our family.
I know lots of people love this program, and having the flexibility to choose different options is part of the beauty of homeschooling!
Although the creator of The Peaceful Preschool is Christian, the program itself is essentially secular. That being said, The Peaceful Press does offer theological resources such as The Good Gospel. We really enjoyed The Good Gospel, and I plan to go through it again with our other children! There is also a group license available for Sunday Schools or co-ops.
Another thing I realized part-way into using The Peaceful Preschool is that despite it being a very Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum, some of the books on the booklist were just not my “favorite” (example: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom).
In addition, while the curriculum is reasonably “open and go”, it felt bulky to me. Activities like “wash dishes together” and “do a 10 minute tidy” felt redundant and unnecessary, as we already do these kinds of things in our daily life and don’t need them scheduled. I could have just ignored these parts or crossed them out, but as someone who is very visual, it was distracting overlooking so many activities in the schedule.
On the other hand, this makes the program great for people who are new to homeschooling and may need more “hand-holding” through the process or who lack confidence about how to teach their child. So if you are very new to homeschooling or prefer more guidance, you may find this to be a positive!!
Gentle + Classical Preschool
Another preschool curriculum that we used with my oldest son is Gentle + Classical Preschool by Gentle + Classical Press. We are nearly finished with this curriculum and LOVE it.
The program is geared toward ages 2-4, and we used it with my son while aged 3-4 years. We found it to be really great for that range!
Some things I love about the curriculum:
- I love the way the schedule is laid out visually, and the program includes thoughtfully written teaching manuals that you can access for FREE to see if it is right for your family
- It is nature, movement, and play-based, but also theologically robust
- It is available in a digital format for an affordable price given the overall value, and you can easily print it out at home
- It includes books that can be found on Amazon Japan, and some of them are available as ebooks, audiobooks, or you can watch them being read on YouTube
- It incorporates aspects of both CM (Charlotte Mason) and Classical education methodologies
- It comes with flashcard printables with really beautiful illustrations
- It includes morning binder dry erase activities (reducing paper waste is a plus for big families!)
Gentle + Classical Preschool is a breath of fresh air if you are a visual person, or are easily overwhelmed by the typical “weekly schedule” layout offered in most curriculums.
The schedules are very streamlined and easy to understand, and although there are quite a few “parts” to the program, the teacher’s guides do a good job of explaining exactly what you need, how to print it out, etc.
One of the biggest draws for our family is that Gentle + Classical Preschool is theologically robust.
The author is a non-denominational Christian, and incorporates a Christian worldview into the materials in a way that is balanced and gospel-centered. You could certainly ignore that part of the program if you are a non-believer, but for our family it is a big bonus.
I am also often deeply encouraged by the emails that the Gentle + Classical Press creator puts out to subscribers, which are reflective of her values and show how her family seeks God instead of focusing only on financial gain.. even when that means publishing fewer materials, or taking a step back from social media.
This really made an impression on me, because one of our own family values is not to place work above God and family, which is something that I see happen even among Christian creators. Erin continues to show so much grace and thoughtfulness in her newsletters, which I can see poured out in her curriculum as well.
I would definitely recommend this program, and hope to use it again later with our middle child!
If you are interested in Gentle + Classical Press, use this link to get 5$ off your purchase of 20$ or more if you are a new customer!
The Magic of Childhood
This year I was on the lookout for something that aligned more closely with our family needs and values for our middle child’s first year of preschool instead of using The Peaceful Preschool, and stumbled across The Magic of Childhood by Claire Murray.
I cannot write a complete review as we will be using this curriculum for the upcoming school year and have not yet started using it, but in the meantime here are some things that I find attractive about the program:
- It is VERY “open and go” – perfect for families that need a simple, streamlined curriculum with little outside preparation
- It comes with a set of gorgeous flashcards with watercolor-like illustrations (already printed and ready to be cut!)
- It is available through U.S. Amazon, but ships to Japan and is still affordable compared to preschool curriculums in digital format – especially since this one is already printed out so you don’t have to spend on paper/ink
- The curriculum is year-round and covers 52 weeks, which is more material than offered by many preschool programs
- The curriculum is informed by a Christian worldview and includes devotionals, Bible verses, prayer, and Biblical encouragement
- It is gentle and nature / play-based, and seems to truly capture the wonder of childhood
The Magic of Childhood comes in a beautiful keepsake box (such a sweet touch!) that you could use to keep the curriculum and flashcards neatly together or even to store your child’s schoolwork, and the schedule is spiral-bound, so you can easily take it with you anywhere, even outdoors. I much prefer this to the binders I have put together with printed digital curriculum!
It also features a lovely selection of suggested books, BUT you can use different books if you prefer, which is great if you are homeschooling overseas and want a curriculum that is flexible to what you have available.
The schedule covers various nature/life/seasonal topics, but you do not have to follow the weeks in chronological order. This is especially convenient if you want your preschooler to study a topic in tandem with an older child, or adjust based on a field trip you will take (such as to the ocean), etc.
The Magic of Childhood is less focused on the alphabet / numbers compared to other programs I have reviewed, so if you really want to hone in on teaching the alphabet and need guidance on how to do so, this might NOT be the right curriculum for you.
It is not a “formal” curriculum by any means, and instead is more explorative. However if you are looking for something that is focused on “joy, wonder, and connection”, then this curriculum might be an excellent choice for your family.
What about the Japanese language?
Since our family is bilingual and we live in Japan, it was important to me that our children have appropriate exposure to the Japanese language. In Japan it is common (though not mandatory) to enroll children in preschool, and often foreign and mixed children have poorer language skills compared to their peers.
Hiragana at Home is a one year home education resource I created to fill that gap, and to provide my children with gentle exposure to the Japanese “alphabet” (hiragana), Japanese culture, books, and songs.
The program is designed to take up no more than 30 minutes most days (or less, depending on how much you prefer to implement), and can be used in tandem with any English language preschool program.
If you are looking for a Japanese language resource for preschoolers, you can read about my program here.
Whether you are just getting started with homeschooling or a homeschool “veteran”, I hope you found this information helpful!!
In a future post, I plan to share what we will be doing with my oldest son as well. If you’re interested in our curriculum choices for the upcoming school year, make sure you subscribe to our blog using the subscribe box on the right hand side of this site (or at the bottom of the post, if you are viewing on your phone) to make sure you don’t miss a post!
If you enjoyed reading or have a question, I would also love to hear from you on Instagram at @happilyeverharuna!
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