Review: Ideal Curriculum

Are you looking for a structured curriculum for your preschooler? Ideal Curriculum is a research-based for early kindergarten or preschool.

I was provided with the first month of Ideal Curriculum's year-long monthly curriculum kits as a downloadable kit. Each month provides a full curriculum of reading, writing, and math based on a theme, the first month's theme being transportation. Click here for a list of the other themes available.

Each kit has three sections covering three key areas, literacy, math, science/social studies, through daily lessons and activities. Teaching guides, workbooks and a music CD (or audio file) are provided for the theme. Suggestions for supplemental activities and related science, sight words and concepts coordinated with the print materials.

Unfortunately, I am unable to share any personal experiences with this curriculum. We are well past the preschool stage and this isn't a product that we could actually use. Even so, when I did have preschoolers, I didn't actually use a structured curriculum. Instead, we read books, went on field trips, and played.

While a structured preschool curriculum doesn't exactly fit in with my style of homeschooling in the early years, this sort of product may fit in well with a homeschooling preschool co-op, daycare providers, or anyone looking for a bit of structure for the younger ages. Monthly kits cost $30 for a downloadable version or $55 for a print version. There is also an additional $7.50 for each additional child for the print version. Discounts are offered when purchasing more than one month at a time. Click here to see more about the various package prices. You can try it out with a free 1-week of Ideal's curriculum by signing up for their newsletter. During the month of May, readers can get 10% off on their first order of any product using the discount code welovekids.

Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew's blog to read more reviews on this product and others.

Disclaimer: This review was provided as a result in my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Crew. I was provided the product free of charge in exchange for my honest review. I strive to give a balanced overview of each product, detailing my opinion of both pros and cons and how the product worked for my family. What works for one family may not work for another. I encourage you to read reviews of other Crew members and research sufficiently to determine if any product will be a benefit to your homeschool.