I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard that we would be reviewing preschool curriculum kits from Ideal Curriculum. Our homeschool philosophy doesn’t include a structured curriculum at the preschool level. Rather, we focus on reading a lot, playing and exploring our surroundings, and talking about everything we see. In fact, I only use the term preschool when I’m talking to those outside our immediate circles, because they seem to need a point of reference for the academic levels of all my children. In our house, school begins the day they are born, as we teach them the ways of God and the knowledge they need to glorify Him in the wonderful world that he created. I find it sad that just being a four year old isn’t enough. All that said, I still determined to be as open minded as possible, hoping that this might have something to offer to new homeschoolers.
Ideal Curriculum has put together research-based kits surrounding a theme that include math, literacy, and science activities/experiments gathered around a specific theme. The theme is emphasized through reading, worksheets, and songs on a CD or downloaded files. Each kit is designed to last a month, with subsequent months sent as you order them. Each kit is available via download or in print.
We received the Transportation theme to review. Because our 4 year old is obsessed with anything with wheels, I figured this might have something we could use. However, I was disappointed. As I looked through the activities, I realized that either my 4 year old already knew the information (his letter sounds, his name, the parts of a vehicle) or the information was not something I felt he needed formal instruction in. I found the songs included, while cute and catchy, were not pleasant to listen to over and over and are not the kind of music we choose to play in our house.
They did include possible read-aloud books on the theme, which I found helpful in trips to the library.
I’m afraid this is one of the more negative reviews I’ve written, but it just didn’t match with our style of learning. Finally, the cost seems high. For what this would cost for even 3 months (see below), I could buy many living books that would share a love of learning and knowledge with my little ones. Even for new homeschoolers who ask me about homeschooling in preschool, I would hesitate to recommend this. There are too many other worthwhile products available at a lower cost that will not promote the conveyer belt style education we homeschoolers are trying so desperately to get away from.
The kids cost $55/month for the print version or $30 for the downloadable files. Three months are available for 156.00 (print) or 85.50 (download). For 9 months (a full school year), the cost is 440.00 (print) or 240.00 (download).
Disclaimer: I received a copy of these materials for the purpose of review. The opinions expressed here are my own. I did not receive any further compensation.
