Stream A

Fresh kindergarten. Five to six years old, never been in school.

A short, focused start. No Latin yet. No formal academics five days a week. The bar is reading readiness, outdoor time, and habit formation. The first ninety days build the daily rhythm. The first year proves the family can sustain it.

Publishers, by tradition

By worldview, publishers with products for this stage include:

• Christian (evangelical, non-denominational)

  Sonlight Pre-K and Kindergarten.

• Christian (Reformed, Presbyterian)

  Veritas Press Phonics Museum.

• Christian (Catholic)

  Mater Amabilis (free Catholic Charlotte Mason), Catholic Heritage Curricula Preschool and K, Seton Pre-K, Kolbe Academy Kindergarten.

• Christian (denomination not stated)

  Memoria Press Junior Kindergarten or Kindergarten Customizable Set, Abeka K5, BJU Press K5, Bob Jones K5, AmblesideOnline Year 0 (free), A Gentle Feast K, Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (free).

• Christian (Mennonite-Plain)

  Christian Light Education K, Rod and Staff Preschool.

• Latter-day Saint

  The Good and the Beautiful Kindergarten or Level K, Family School Latter-day Learning K.

• Jewish

  Mosdos Press for literature, Ani Ve-ami for Jewish Charlotte Mason, supplements via Torah Umesorah.

• Secular

  Wildwood Curriculum K (free secular Charlotte Mason), Build Your Library Level 0, Blossom and Root Early Years, Khan Academy Kids (free).

• Faith-neutral

  Logic of English Foundations.

The first 90 days

• Week 1

  Orientation. Visit the library. Set up a reading nook. Order one phonics program, one early-math program, one read-aloud spine. No formal lessons yet. Take an outdoor walk every morning. Read aloud for thirty minutes after lunch.

• Weeks 2 to 4

  Begin phonics for fifteen minutes a day, five days a week. Begin early math for ten minutes a day. Continue the morning walk and the after-lunch read-aloud. Add a weekly nature notebook entry (pencil drawing of one outdoor thing the child noticed). End the day with a Charlotte Mason habit-training conversation: one habit at a time, named and discussed.

• Weeks 5 to 8

  Settle into a four-day rhythm. Phonics + math four mornings a week. Read-aloud daily. One picture-study day per week (pick one painting, look together for ten minutes). One music-study day per week (pick one composer, listen and discuss). Outdoor time daily. The fifth day stays open for library trips, museum visits, doctor appointments, or simply rest.

• Weeks 9 to 13

  First portfolio entries. Save samples of phonics work and math work. Take a photograph of one nature notebook page. Record one read-aloud the child loved. Add one outing per month: zoo, museum, library children's program. Review the morning routine: keep what is working, drop what is not.