Our Faith-Based Homeschool Curriculum Plan: Pre-K & First
This post may contain affiliate links.
Following are my faith-based homeschool curriculum picks for a first grader and preschooler.
Choosing a homeschool curriculum can be both exciting and overwhelming—especially in the early years. When I first began homeschooling my children, I wanted something that integrated our faith with a strong academic foundation. This post reflects our journey when my oldest was in first grade and my younger child was in preschool. I’ve updated it to share some timeless insights and curriculum ideas that still hold value for families today!
Core Curriculum: Faith-Integrated Classical Approach
We chose a curriculum called L.I.F.E. School, which offers a full-year, literature-based program rooted in gospel teachings. It follows a 4-year history rotation from an L.D.S. perspective, beginning with Ancient History and the Old Testament. It also includes:
- Language Arts & Grammar
- Reading and Literature
- Creative Writing
- Spelling and Vocabulary
- Scripture-Based Science
- Geography and Social Studies
- Paleography (history of writing)
- Handwriting (Palmer Method)
- Art and Music
I appreciated how it wove scripture into all subjects—a great fit for our family values and spiritual goals.
History: Story of the World Vol. 1 – Ancient Times
To enrich our history studies, we also used Story of the World Volume 1 along with the activity guide. This engaging narrative history curriculum added depth to our timeline and gave us hands-on projects and mapwork to explore.
Science: Apologia Zoology – Land Animals of the Sixth Day
My son is an animal lover, so we used Apologia’s Land Animals of the Sixth Day, which was a huge hit. We had previously used Swimming Creatures and loved the faith-based science and rich detail. The experiments and notebooking activities kept learning exciting.
Art & Music Enrichment
We kept things creative with these low-prep, high-enjoyment ideas:
Art:
- World’s Greatest Artists Study (download from Confessions of a Homeschooler)
- Used the Mike Venezia artist series from the library
- Focused on one artist per month with hands-on projects to match
Music:
- Classics for Kids – short composer segments and music appreciation activities
- Monthly composer studies with themed music and picture books
Math: Saxon + Miquon
We used both Saxon Math 1 and Miquon Math to keep things flexible and varied. Saxon provided structure, while Miquon offered more creative, hands-on problem-solving. This combo helped keep math interesting and adaptable to our child’s mood and pace.
Morning Devotionals & Scripture Study
To start our days, we used:
- Scripture Study for Latter-Day Saint Families: Old Testament (beautiful insights and family-friendly discussion prompts)
- Old Testament Stories for Children (also available as animated videos online)
Geography Adventure: Globe Trackers Mission
We loved using the Globe Trackers blog-based program—an imaginary adventure following two kids around the world. It taught geography through storytelling, introduced cultural elements, and was a great jumping-off point for country studies.
Community & Co-Op Involvement
Our homeschool co-op offered weekly enrichment through:
- Friday classes and book clubs
- Field trips and park days
- A new weekly P.E. class through our local rec center
This group provided a supportive community for both learning and friendships. It became a highlight of our week!
If you’re just starting out, know that your homeschool plan will grow and shift. What matters most is creating a joyful learning environment that reflects your values, fits your children’s needs, and brings your family closer together.
Whether you’re interested in classical education, gospel-based learning, or building your own curriculum, I hope this peek into our early years offers helpful ideas for your journey!
I’m using Saxon Math 1 for the first time this year. My other kids used Horizons, but it doesn’t work well for my youngest. Stopping by to wish you and your kids a great year!
Apologia Zoo 3 is one of our favorites! Have fun 🙂
I’m interested in seeing how you like life school and learning more about it. I’m always interested in other curriculum and incorporating the gospel, more specifically into History. We will be doing a more classical approach next year with 1st grade, and at this time plan to use History Odyssey.
I’ll be so interested to find out how you like LIFE – I’ll let you be the guinea pigs 🙂 Congrats on being so organized. Kickin’ my butt 🙂
Hi again, I found this post that answered my question about which curriculum you went with. I am curious how you like it? I am also curious if it would work well for multiple levels of children? I have a 4th, 1st and kinder. Thanks