A free kindergarten homeschool plan that actually works
Kindergarten needs about an hour a day, most of it away from a screen. Here is the whole plan, the order to teach it in, and free resources for each part.
Written and checked September 2026. No affiliate links anywhere on this site — we make nothing if you choose a competitor, which is the only reason a comparison page is worth reading.
The reading sequence, in order
This is the part people most often get wrong, usually by teaching the alphabet in alphabetical order. Do this instead:
- m, s, t, a — and immediately build at, am, sat, mat. Four sounds is enough for real words, which is the whole point.
- p, f, i → short-i words.
- n, o, d → short-o words.
- c, g, u → short-u words.
- b, e, h — e comes late on purpose because it is easily confused with i.
- the rest of the alphabet, then digraphs sh, ch, th, wh, then blends.
Alongside, about forty high-frequency "heart" words — the, a, I, is, of, to, was and so on — learned as wholes because parts of them break the rules.
The maths sequence, in order
- Subitising — seeing 1 to 5 without counting, then 6 to 10 on a ten-frame.
- Numerals and number names to 20.
- Comparing: which is more.
- Number bonds to 5, then to 10.
- Adding and subtracting within 5.
- Teen numbers as ten-and-some-more — the seed of place value, and the most important idea of the year.
Free resources for each part
Phonics: Teach Your Monster to Read (free on the web), the free portion of Starfall, and the Ladderbug phonics pages — every one is playable with no account.
Maths: Khan Academy Kids (free, tablets), and the Ladderbug maths pages.
Reading aloud: your library card. This is the highest-value item on the page and it costs nothing.
A weekly rhythm
| Block | Time | What |
|---|---|---|
| Read-aloud | 20 min | Picture books, well above their reading level. Talk about them. |
| Phonics | 10 min | One new sound or a review, then build words with tiles or on paper. |
| Screen practice | 12 min | Blending, heart words and number sense. Then stop. |
| Maths talk | 10 min | Count things. Compare things. Split a snack into equal parts. |
| Everything else | the rest of the day | Outside, drawing, building, playing. This is not filler. |
Questions people actually ask
What should a kindergartener learn?
Reading: all 26 letter-sounds, blending and segmenting three-sound words, and roughly 40 high-frequency words. Maths: counting and cardinality to 20, comparing numbers, addition and subtraction within 5, and understanding teen numbers as ten-and-some-more. Everything else — read-alouds, drawing, playing outside — is at least as important and cannot be done on a screen.
How long should kindergarten take each day?
Around 45 to 90 minutes of focused work, in short blocks. Ten to fifteen minutes of screen-based practice is plenty.
What order should letter sounds be taught in?
Not alphabetical. Start with continuous sounds that are easy to stretch and blend — m, s, f — before stop sounds like t and p; introduce one vowel at a time; separate confusable pairs like b/d and e/i; and use every new sound in real words immediately. Our full order is on the method page.