Sonlight Preschool

Sonlight's Preschool Package, titled Fiction, Fairy Tales, and Fun, is listed for ages 3 to 4. Sonlight says its Instructor's Guide schedules the package's stories, poems, and hands-on activities to be done 3 days a week in a 30-week program.

Last updated: 2026-10-08 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Literature-based. Sonlight says the package provides classic children's books, games, and hands-on Montessori-type materials and activities
Worldview	Christian. Sonlight calls it a Christian preschool homeschool curriculum package, and its book list includes a Bible collection, Family-Time Bible in Pictures, which the page describes as 128 stories from Scripture
Grades	Preschool, ages 3 to 4, per the package page
Formats	Print books, a loose-leaf, three-hole-punched Instructor's Guide, and a supply kit, per the package page, which also says the purchase includes digital access to Spanish audio files
Cost tier	Premium (Every Homeschool classification); prices are in the cost section below, as Sonlight displayed them in October 2026
Parent intensity	3 (Every Homeschool rating, 1 to 5)
ESA-common	Sonlight's ESA page says it is an approved curriculum vendor for select state ESA programs; the page does not list individual products
Accredited	Sonlight says accreditation does not apply to its curriculum because it is not a school or educational institution
Established	No start date for the Preschool Package on the publisher's pages; the company's dates are in our Sonlight publisher review
Website	sonlight.com/products/preschool-package

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	2	Our assessment. Sonlight's Scope & Sequence calls it an informal preschool program with books and games, and the package page calls it a no-pressure program
Ease of teaching	4	Our assessment. Sonlight says the Instructor's Guide schedules all the stories, poems, and hands-on activities and gives lesson plans, materials, activities, and teaching tips
Content quality	5	Our assessment. The package page's What's Included list names 20 books, among them Make Way for McCloskey, Last Stop on Market Street, and Mother Goose
Flexibility	3	Our assessment. Sonlight says the package cannot be personalized, and it sells the Instructor's Guide separately
Value for money	3	Our assessment. The package includes the Instructor's Guide, 20 books, and a supply kit; see the cost section for prices
Worldview scope	3	Our assessment. Sonlight calls the package Christian and lists a Bible collection (Family-Time Bible in Pictures, 128 stories from Scripture) and a missionary story among its books, alongside classic picture books, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales
Visual/design	5	Our assessment. Sonlight says the program works through picture books and Montessori-type materials, and the package includes a supply kit of tactile numbers and letters
Support resources	4	Our assessment. The package page lists a sample file, and Sonlight lists three free weeks of any Instructor's Guide, Advisors, and the Sonlight Connections community

Who the publisher is

The Preschool Package is published by Sonlight, whose contact page lists the company name as Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd. The company's dates, ownership, and stated faith as its pages describe them are in the publisher review.

Sonlight's programs page lists the Preschool Package first, with ages 3 to 4, followed by the Pre-K Package for ages 4 to 5 and then Level K. Its Electives page refers to the Preschool package as Level T. The Pre-K package page says Pre-K bridges the gap between the picture books of Preschool and the early chapter books and early academics of Sonlight K.

The core pedagogy

The package page says the Instructor's Guide schedules all the stories, poems, and hands-on activities in the program to be done 3 days a week, and that it is the guide to complete lesson plans, materials, activities, and teaching tips for the 30-week program. It also says the guide includes hands-on activities connected with most of the stories. The page says the included guide is loose-leaf, three-hole punched, and shrink wrapped, and recommends adding a small binder.

The page's What's Included list names the Instructor's Guide, a supply kit, and 20 books: Make Way for McCloskey; The Bee Tree; Go, Dog. Go!; Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales; Horton Hatches the Egg; Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle; Mike Mulligan and More; Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs; Noah's Ark; Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm; Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?; George and Martha; Family-Time Bible in Pictures; Look Inside Your Body; My First Spanish Word Board Book; A Big Quiet House; Last Stop on Market Street; Mother Goose; The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury; and Richard Scarry's Best Nursery Tales Ever. The page describes Family-Time Bible in Pictures as a collection of 128 stories from Scripture and Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle as the story of a missionary who sees whether God can move a tree through prayer.

The supply kit holds 11 tactile numbers (0 to 10), 26 tactile lowercase print letters, 10 plastic geometric shapes, number flash cards, a nylon knife, bingo markers, 12 colored pencils, a clipboard, and child safety scissors, per the same page. The page says the program builds pre-reading, pre-math, pre-writing, listening, and motor skills, and it lists practical life skills such as cutting food with a safety knife, pouring, sweeping, and washing dishes. It says the package does not qualify as an All-Subjects Package and so does not carry the 20% discount, but does carry the 15% History / Bible / Literature discount.

Signature mechanics: (1) A scheduled 30-week guide. The Instructor's Guide schedules the books and activities 3 days a week. (2) A named book list. The What's Included list names the 20 books. (3) Hands-on materials. The supply kit supports the guide's activities. (4) A Spanish title with audio. The page says the purchase includes digital access to audio files for the Spanish title.

A day in the life

Sonlight does not describe a day's schedule with times on the package page. It says the guide schedules the stories, poems, and hands-on activities 3 days a week, and its Scope & Sequence gives the daily time for the student and parent together as 15 to 45 minutes. The package page also lists topics that the stories and activities cover, including a farm with animals, how food is digested, the five senses, how children grow, and what people do for work in the community, and it says the program introduces music in styles including praise and worship, classic preschool songs, and songs that make you move.

What they do exceptionally well

A specific contents list. Sonlight names every book, the supply kit, and the guide on the package page. In our assessment, a family can decide whether the list suits them before buying.

A scheduled guide with sample access. The package page lists a sample file, and Sonlight offers three free weeks of any Instructor's Guide. In our assessment, families can try the format before committing.

Hands-on materials in the box. The package includes a supply kit that the page says holds the supplies needed for the guide's activities. In our assessment, this lowers the planning work for the parent.

What they do poorly

Price. The cost section lists the package's displayed prices. In our assessment, the package is a significant purchase for a program Sonlight itself describes as informal and no-pressure.

Limited personalization. Sonlight says the package cannot be personalized and does not qualify for the All-Subjects Package discount. In our assessment, families who want to swap in their own materials will not get the same pricing as with later levels.

A stated Christian perspective. Sonlight calls the package Christian and includes a Bible collection (Family-Time Bible in Pictures, 128 stories from Scripture) and a missionary story in its list. In our assessment, families who want a program without those elements will be adapting it rather than using it as designed.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Sonlight Preschool if: you want a scheduled read-aloud program for ages 3 to 4 with a supply kit included; you want a Christian perspective, as Sonlight describes it; you plan to continue with Sonlight's Pre-K package and Level K.

• Skip Sonlight Preschool if: you want a secular or religiously neutral program; you want to choose your own books; you want a program Sonlight describes as structured academics, since it calls this one informal; the price does not fit your budget.

Cost honest assessment

As displayed on the package page and retrieved October 2026, the Preschool Package was about $397 without required resources (15% off a list price of $466.73) and about $404 with required resources (15% off $475.72). The required resource is a binder, which the page lists separately at $8.99. The Instructor's Guide is sold alone at $47.00. The next level, the Pre-K Package, displayed $503.71 with required resources (15% off $592.60) and $422.99 without (15% off $497.63).

Sonlight's FAQ says prices can change without notice, so confirm the figure on the product page before ordering.

ESA eligibility notes

Sonlight's ESA page says Sonlight is an approved curriculum vendor for select state ESA programs and lists Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The page does not say which products each state marketplace carries or which grade levels are covered, so families should ask their program administrator whether the Preschool Package is an eligible purchase for their child.

Alternatives

• Simply Charlotte Mason Preschool, a family comparing preschool programs can read the publisher's own description on its Every Homeschool page.
• The Good and the Beautiful PreK, a family comparing preschool programs can read the publisher's own description on its Every Homeschool page.
• Before Five in a Row, a family comparing preschool programs can read the publisher's own description on its Every Homeschool page.