5/01/2019

Our Updated Full Kindergarten Curriculum - Ihsaan Home Academy


If you regularly follow this blog, then you've most likely come across the post where I detailed our Kindergarten curriculum. Well, guess what? There's an update! I intended to write about this months ago, but as you probably already know, I was away for a while. Now I'm back, so let me update you on our curriculum.

One of the reasons why I like sharing our homeschooling journey on this blog is to give ideas to other homeschoolers or aspiring homeschoolers. It is to also to encourage others to not be afraid to explore, make plans, change plans, take a break if needed, and know that each family experiences home education differently. 

In the previous full Kindergarten curriculum, the daily plan was to go through a list of subject curricula that I authored, each one taking no more than a few minutes at a time. Although that was all nice and easy because it took almost no time, it did get a bit stressful for me to constantly keep track of the next subject to cover and where we had previously stopped. It seemed too rigid for me, especially for Kindergarten!  
So, I decided to make it more flexible and fun!

Here's what we ended up doing instead and still continue to do...
We now start the day by going over the weekly Surah of our choice and learn the meaning.
Next, I let my daughter choose at least 1 or 2 subjects she would like to do after making sure that we do something in Math and Language Arts. But, here's another major change, I allow her to choose whatever page she prefers. She could literally choose the first page today and go to the last page tomorrow. 

What I find fascinating about this new method is that it keeps us both stress-free and allows my daughter to feel in charge of what she's learning. She enjoys it more and is excited about the new lesson. Another interesting observation was seeing her more focused and willing to do more pages than required. I literally have to sometimes force her to stop. It's now a 'game of learning' for her. She always says, "I want to do more!" She even cries sometimes when I stop her. 

Since I created each subject curriculum keeping in mind what I believe she should know or be familiar with by the end of Kindergarten, I'm not stressed about what she learns first or last. By the end of the school year, we would most likely cover all pages and even go over many of them multiple times, in shaa Allah. 

At the end of our homeschooling day, I read aloud from her preferred book and we do Arts and Crafts if she wants to. We go out to the garden or park as often as possible for Nature Walks or to enjoy the fresh air. I also allow her to help me with Cooking and Baking at least once a week (still working on it). We do homeschooling 3 to 4 days a week and remember to keep it fun!

Don't be afraid to make changes along your homeschooling journey. Try different things and see what works best for you, and most importantly, your children. I hope you've enjoyed reading this post and got some tips out of it. Until next time in shaa Allah, assalaam 'alaikum!

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Umm Sumayyah is a mother of two and a former teacher who turned into a home educator after becoming a mother. She is also an editor and a researcher who loves collecting and sharing information on social matters, education, career, and entrepreneurship.

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