🌱 Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum
June 2026 – June 2027 · Massachusetts Frameworks · North Adams, MA · 🌿 Vegan & Earth-Centered
⏰ Daily Schedule (2–3 hours structured + 30–45 min free)
🌤️ Morning Check-In & Song
Feelings check-in, opening song, review of the day's plan. Sets a calm, joyful tone.
📖 Lovevery Reading (25 min)
Daily phonics game + one Lovevery book reading. Non-negotiable — this is the engine of the reading goal.
🔢 Montessori Math Work Cycle (35 min)
Child selects material from the shelf. Independent or guided. Hundred board → Golden Beads → Stamp Game progression.
🔬 Science / Steph Hathaway Unit (30 min)
Current SHD unit study, experiment, nature journal, or read-aloud nonfiction. Rotates with SS and Arts on Day 4/5.
🌍 Social Studies / Arts (25 min)
Alternates: M/W = SS or Arts project. Connects to current unit theme.
🏃 PE / Recipe / Wellness (30 min)
Yoga, sport practice, hike, dance — or weekly recipe day. Breathing & affirmations close the session.
🎧 Free Time — Yoto / Audiobooks / Play (40 min+)
Unstructured. Child-led. Audiobooks, imaginative play, outdoor exploration, building. No screen requirement.
🎨 Steph Hathaway Designs — How These Integrate
Each SHD unit study is a printable PDF with beautiful illustrations, anatomy posters, life cycle cards, nature journal pages, 3-part Montessori cards, and book lists. They slot directly into the Science block and tie seamlessly to thematic units. Here's the full assignment:
- 🌿 Jun–Jul: Physics in Nature, ABCs of STEM
- 🌊 Aug: Beach Unit Study, Firefly Unit Bundle
- 🍂 Sep–Oct: Forest Animal Homes, Squirrel Mini Study, Wild Turkey
- ❄️ Nov–Dec: Winter Birds, Solar System Unit Study
- 🌍 Jan–Feb: Montessori Continents Bundle, Weather Early Learning Bundle
- 🌱 Mar: Garden Snail, Eastern Cottontail, Human Heart Mini Study
- 🌸 Apr: Pink Moon Nature Study, Frog & Toad Mini Study
- 🐛 May–Jun: June Bug, Weather Bundle revisit
🌿 Vegan & Earth Values — Woven Throughout
- 🥦 All recipes are 100% plant-based with nutritional learning woven in
- 🐾 Woodstock Farm Sanctuary visit — compassion for animals, vegan values in real life
- 🌍 Science framed around environmental stewardship: ecosystems, conservation, why living things matter
- 📚 Book selections include vegan/animal-kind titles: We Are All Animals, Hey Little Ant, Saving Winslow
- 🫀 Human anatomy connects eating plants to body health — "what does broccoli do for your heart?"
- 🪲 SHD insect studies framed around care and curiosity, not harm — we observe, we don't hurt
- 🌱 Garden unit includes planting food for others (animals, birds, people)
📆 8 Thematic Units — Full Year
- 🌻 Unit 1 (Jun–Jul): All About Me, Self & Confidence
- 🌊 Unit 2 (Aug): Beach, Water & Fireflies — Field Trip: Beach
- 🌲 Unit 3 (Sep–Oct): Trees, Forest Animals & Fall — Field Trip: Farm Sanctuary (fall option)
- ⭐ Unit 4 (Nov–Dec): Winter Birds, Space & the Night Sky
- 🌍 Unit 5 (Jan–Feb): Continents, Kindness & Maple Sugaring — Field Trip: Maple Farm
- 🌱 Unit 6 (Mar): Gardens, Heart, Snails & Cottontails — Field Trip: Farm Sanctuary (spring option)
- 🐸 Unit 7 (Apr–May): Frogs, Pink Moon, June Bugs & Physics — Field Trip: Boston Science Museum
- 🎓 Unit 8 (May–Jun): Celebration, Confidence & Looking Forward
Reading & ELA
Lovevery Part II · MA ELA Framework 2017 · Daily 25 min + read-aloud
📗 Lovevery Part II — Starting Point & Progression
Since your child already knows letters, beginning sounds, digraphs (ch, ck, sh, th), and can read simple 3-sound words, you begin immediately with Basic Blending — no review needed. The 3 stages typically take 4–6 months total, so expect to move into Comprehensive Blending around September and Storytelling by January–February, leaving the spring semester for fluency, expression, and joyful independent reading.
📗 Lovevery Stage 1 — Basic Blending
Skills: Blend CVC words with all 5 short vowels. Mystery Pattern game, Crossword Builder, Sound Swap & Drop. Read Lovevery books 1–5. Sight words set 1 (20 words).
📗 Lovevery Stage 2 — Comprehensive Blending
Skills: Longer words, consonant clusters (bl, cr, st, etc.), rule-breaker/sticky words, Lovevery books 6–10. Write complete sentences. Opinion and informational writing pieces.
📗 Lovevery Stage 3 — Storytelling & Fluency
Skills: Read all 13 Lovevery books independently with expression. Begin 1st-grade leveled readers. Comprehension, character analysis, author study. Writing: personal essays, "I am proud of…"
Mathematics — Montessori
Starting with the Hundred Board · MA Math Framework 2017 · 35 min/day
🧮 Starting Point: Hundred Board
Since your child has already worked with number rods, sandpaper numbers, the spindle box, and number cards, we begin this curriculum year with the Hundred Board and move forward from there. The sequence: Hundred Board → Bead Chains (skip counting) → Golden Beads (decimal system + operations) → Stamp Game → Telling Time & Money. Math is always tied to real contexts: recipes, nature counting, and seasonal observation.
📊 Quarter 1 — Hundred Board, Skip Counting & Bead Chains
Materials: Hundred board + tiles, short bead chains (2–10), long bead chain of 100, colored bead stairs. Connects to counting in the natural world on hikes and in the garden.
🪵 Montessori Shelf
🟡 Quarter 2 — Golden Beads & the Decimal System
Materials: Golden bead set, large + small decimal system number cards, teens boards, tens boards with beads, introduction tray.
🪵 Montessori Shelf
➕ Quarter 3 — Golden Bead Operations & Snake Game
Materials: Golden beads (two sets), operation strips, snake game (colored bead stairs + ten-bars), strip boards.
🪵 Montessori Shelf
🍁 February Field Trip connection: Maple sugaring! Count sap buckets, measure in liters, estimate how much maple syrup comes from each bucket. Real-world Montessori math on a working farm.
🕐 Quarter 4 — Stamp Game, Time & Money
🪵 Montessori Shelf
Science — Advanced + Steph Hathaway
MA STE Framework 2016 · 1st–2nd grade level · 30 min/day · SHD unit studies integrated
🎨 How Steph Hathaway Designs (SHD) Work in This Curriculum
Each SHD study is a printable PDF with: anatomy posters, life cycle cards, 3-part Montessori cards, nature journal pages, copywork, and book lists. They drop into the 30-min science block and replace or supplement the hands-on experiments for that week. Print the unit, place on the art table or in a binder, and work through the materials at your child's pace across 1–2 weeks. The beautiful illustrations make them feel special and collectible.
🌻 Unit 1 (Jun–Jul) — Physics in Nature & ABCs of STEM
Use the Physics in Nature unit to anchor forces and motion in the natural world. ABCs of STEM introduces a broad vocabulary of science and engineering — one letter/concept per week is a gentle entry into STEM thinking.
- Complete anatomy posters and 3-part cards for physical science concepts
- Nature journal pages for recording force/motion observations outdoors
- Book list: use library to gather SHD recommended titles
🌊 Unit 2 (Aug) — Beach, Fireflies & Marine Science
The Beach Unit Study provides marine biology vocabulary, ocean anatomy, and life cycle content for the beach field trip. Firefly Bundle is perfect for August evenings — complete the life cycle and anatomy work, then go outside after dusk to find real fireflies!
- Beach anatomy posters (tide pools, shells, marine organisms)
- Firefly life cycle 3-part cards + anatomy poster
- Complete journal pages BEFORE the beach trip — reinforce with real observations during the trip
🌲 Unit 3 (Sep–Oct) — Forest Animals, Squirrels & Wild Turkey
- Forest Animal Homes: Types of animal homes (burrow, den, nest, lodge), anatomy posters, 3-part habitat cards, book list — anchor for fall ecology
- Squirrel Mini Study: Anatomy, life cycle, behavior (caching nuts = memory science!), nature journal page
- Wild Turkey: Anatomy, lifecycle, role in the Berkshires ecosystem. Turkeys are common in North Adams — observe them on hikes!
❄️ Unit 4 (Nov–Dec) — Winter Birds & Solar System
- Winter Birds: Identify birds that stay in New England vs. migrate. Anatomy poster (beak types, feathers). Feeder science — which birds come to which seeds? Life cycle cards.
- Solar System: Planet posters, 3-part cards, scale model activities, moon phases, anatomy of the sun. This is an advanced, beautiful study — SHD's illustrations make space come alive.
🌍 Unit 5 (Jan–Feb) — Weather (Seasonal Track) & Maple Sugaring
The Weather Bundle is designed to revisit across all 4 seasons. Begin in September with fall weather and return to it in each season. By June, your child will have tracked a full year of North Adams weather with science vocabulary for each season.
- Fall (Sep): wind, leaves, temperature drop, animal prep
- Winter (Jan): snow, ice, freezing point, thermometer reading
- Spring (Apr): rain, puddles, water cycle, mud
- Summer (Jun): heat, sun angle, evaporation
🌱 Unit 6 (Mar) — Garden Snail, Cottontail, Pink Moon & Human Heart
- Garden Snail: Anatomy, life cycle, 3-part cards, cutting/tracing practice — perfect for fine motor + science
- Eastern Cottontail: Berkshires-native rabbit! Anatomy, habits, seasonal behavior. Watch for them in March — they'll be emerging.
- Pink Moon (April's full moon): Moon phases revisit, spring equinox, earthworm emergence, anatomy of the moon. Use SHD poster alongside the moon journal started in November.
- Human Heart: Anatomy of the heart, how it pumps, connection to healthy food and exercise. Connect: "Plants are medicine for your heart."
🐸 Unit 7 (Apr–May) — Frogs, Toads, June Bugs & Physics Review
- Frog & Toad: Anatomy, life cycle (egg → tadpole → froglet → frog), habitat needs, frog vs. toad differences. Perfect for April when frogs start calling in the Berkshires!
- June Bug: Beetle anatomy, life cycle, what they eat, why they bump into lights. Find real ones in May/June outside — complete the study and then observe a real specimen.
History & Social Studies
MA Framework 2018 · SHD Montessori Continents Bundle · Vegan & Kindness values
🌍 Continents & Geography — SHD Montessori Bundle
This bundle aligns perfectly with Montessori geography work. Use the continent cards, 3-part cards, and posters as the social studies spine for Unit 5. Pair with a puzzle map of the world.
- 7 continent cards + animal/plant associations per continent
- 3-part cards for continent names and shapes
- Use alongside a Montessori puzzle map for hands-on geography
- Connect each continent to: "What do people eat there? What animals live there? What does the environment look like?"
💚 Kindness, Civics & Community (All Year)
Arts — Accessible, Purposeful & Joyful
MA Arts Framework 2019 · Tied to science units · Confidence-building
🎨 Arts Philosophy for This Child
Knowing that traditional "arts and crafts" isn't naturally his thing, every art activity here is purposeful and connected to something he already loves — science observation, stories, Irish dance rhythm, and nature. Art is framed as a tool for scientific recording, self-expression, and building the kind of work he can feel proud of. No pressure to "make it pretty" — the process is the point.
🖌️ Scientific Illustration (Ties to SHD Units)
Frame art as scientific illustration — what real scientists do. This is how Darwin recorded species, how naturalists drew plants. It has purpose and dignity.
🎵 Music, Irish Step Dance & Rhythm
PE, Wellness & Vegan Recipes
MA Health & PE Framework 2023 · Weekly recipe · Daily movement · 30 min/day
🥦 Vegan Recipe Philosophy
Every recipe is 100% plant-based and chosen to match the thematic unit. Each one integrates math skills (measuring, counting, fractions) and connects to nutrition science ("what does this food do for your body?"). Framing cooking as a values practice — "we cook kindly, for our bodies and the Earth" — builds lifelong food confidence alongside the math and science learning.
🗓️ Weekly Movement Schedule
💚 SEL: Confidence, Kindness & Self-Regulation (Daily)
🌿 Vegan Weekly Recipes — Full Year
🌻 Unit 1 — Fruit Rainbow Skewers
Ingredients: Strawberries, oranges, pineapple chunks, green grapes, blueberries, purple grapes
Method: Thread fruit in rainbow order on skewers (ROYGBV). Count 3 of each fruit per skewer. Make 4 skewers. Serve with coconut yogurt dip.
🌊 Unit 2 — Ocean Blue Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients: 1 cup frozen blueberries, ½ cup frozen mango, 1 cup oat milk, 1 tsp maple syrup. Toppings: granola, banana slices, coconut flakes.
Method: Blend until smooth. Pour into bowls. Decorate toppings as an "ocean scene" — banana dolphins, coconut foam waves!
🍂 Unit 3 — Apple & Cinnamon Overnight Oats
Ingredients: 1 cup rolled oats, 1½ cups oat milk, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 apple diced, 2 tbsp walnuts (optional)
Method: Child measures and mixes all ingredients in a jar. Seals it. Puts it in the fridge. Next morning: it's ready! Magic! Count apple pieces, measure each ingredient.
❄️ Unit 4 — Star-Shaped Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients: 2 cups flour, ½ cup coconut oil (solid), ½ cup maple syrup, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water (flax egg)
Method: Mix flax egg, let sit 5 min. Cream coconut oil + maple syrup. Add flour and spices. Roll to ½ inch. Cut star shapes. Bake 350°F for 10 min.
🍁 Unit 5 — Maple Cinnamon Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes (cubed), 2 carrots, 1 parsnip, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp maple syrup (from your farm visit!), 1 tsp cinnamon, salt
Method: Child cubes vegetables (safe knife, supervised), counts and measures, tosses in maple syrup and oil, spreads on a pan. Roast at 400°F for 25 min. Use the maple syrup from the farm trip!
🌱 Unit 6 — Rainbow Spring Rolls
Ingredients: 6 rice paper wrappers, avocado, shredded carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, fresh mint, rice noodles. Dipping sauce: 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp maple syrup, warm water.
Method: Soak rice paper in warm water (30 sec). Lay flat. Child places fillings in a line. Roll. Count 6 rolls. Mix dipping sauce — practice measuring tablespoons.
🐸 Unit 7 — Lily Pad Cucumber Bites
Ingredients: 1 large cucumber, 1 avocado, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt. Toppings: cherry tomato halves, sunflower seeds, fresh dill
Method: Slice cucumber into "lily pad" rounds (count each one!). Mash avocado with lemon and spices. Spread on each round. Add toppings to make a "frog pond scene."
🎓 Unit 8 — Celebration Chia Pudding Parfaits
Ingredients: 3 tbsp chia seeds, 1 cup oat milk, 1 tbsp maple syrup, ½ tsp vanilla. Layers: granola, mixed berries, coconut flakes, edible flowers (if available)
Method: Mix chia + oat milk + maple syrup. Refrigerate 4 hours (or overnight). Layer in 4 glasses: chia pudding → granola → berries → coconut. Count layers. Divide equally across 4 glasses.
Field Trips
4 planned trips · Pre-trip prep + post-trip follow-up for each
🌊 Beach Day — Ocean Field Trip
- Complete SHD Beach Unit Study — learn shell names, tide pool animals, ocean zones before arriving
- Make a "Things I Want to Find" checklist: 3 shell types, 1 seabird, 1 tide pool creature, wave foam
- Read Hello, World! Ocean Life — identify what to look for at the real beach
- Discuss: Leave No Trace — we observe, we don't take living things. Collect shells only (no animals). This is an environmental value in action.
- Complete the "Things I Want to Find" checklist. Check each off as you find it.
- Collect 5 different shells — compare shapes, sizes. Name them using the SHD chart.
- Measure wave height with a stick in the sand. Is it the same every time?
- Observe tide pool carefully — count the different species you can see (don't touch!)
- Taste the air — is it salty? Why? Discuss how ocean water is different from fresh water.
- Complete SHD Beach nature journal pages using real observations from the trip
- Draw and label one thing you found — use it as scientific illustration practice
- Saltwater density experiment at home (egg float) — "we observed this at the beach!"
- Write or dictate: "My favorite thing at the beach was… because…"
🐄 Woodstock Farm Sanctuary
Fall option: Connects to Unit 3 (forest animals, animal homes, compassion for living things). Animals at the sanctuary in fall include turkeys, pigs, sheep — beautiful connection to the Wild Turkey SHD unit.
Spring option: Connects to Unit 7 (frogs, life science, growth). Baby animals are often at sanctuaries in spring. Stronger emotional resonance for the confidence/kindness theme as the year ends with celebration of life.
- Read Saving Winslow (Creech) or Click Clack Moo — discuss animal feelings and needs
- Research: what is an animal sanctuary? How is it different from a zoo or a farm?
- Practice: how do we approach animals calmly? Quiet voices, slow movements, let them come to you
- Write/draw: "I am going to meet a ___. I feel ___ about it."
- Meet 3 different species. For each: notice one behavior, one physical feature, one sound they make
- Ask a sanctuary worker: "How did this animal come to the sanctuary? What does it eat? What does it like?"
- Connect to SHD units: "This is a real turkey — I know its anatomy! Let me find the wattle, the beak type, the feathers."
- Observe quietly for 5 minutes with no talking — what do you notice that you'd miss if you were talking?
- Draw one animal you met. Label 3 parts using SHD anatomy vocabulary.
- Write/dictate: "These animals deserve kindness because…"
- Add to the Brave Moments Book: "I was kind and patient at the sanctuary today."
- Connection to vegan values: discuss what you saw, how it made you feel, why your family makes the choices it does.
🍁 Maple Sugaring Farm — Tap the Trees!
- Learn how maple syrup is made: why does sap run in late winter? (Freeze-thaw pressure cycle)
- Draw the process: tree → tap → bucket → collection → boiling → syrup → bottle
- Math prep: it takes ~40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup! Calculate on a hundred board.
- Read: Sugarbush Spring (Chall) or Maple Syrup Season (Burns)
- Help tap a tree! Identify the tree (sugar maple anatomy: SHD trees unit connection)
- Measure sap in a bucket — estimate how many buckets to make a bottle of syrup
- Observe the boiling process: what happens to the liquid? (Evaporation — weather unit connection!)
- Taste fresh sap vs. finished syrup — how are they different? Why?
- Ask: does this farm hurt any animals? How is this different from honey?
- Make the maple cinnamon roasted vegetable recipe using syrup from the trip!
- Draw the maple syrup process (sequential art — 4–6 panels)
- Montessori math: use golden beads to represent 40 gallons → 1 gallon ratio
- Write: "The maple tree gave us its sap. We said thank you by…"
🔬 Boston Museum of Science
- Research 3 exhibits to visit: Lightning Show (physics!), Live Animal Center (SHD animal connections!), Hall of Human Life (anatomy unit!)
- Write 3 scientific questions before arriving: "I want to find out…"
- Review: ABCs of STEM (SHD) — "we're going to a place where scientists work every day"
- Frame it: "Scientists ask questions, observe carefully, and write down what they find. That's what we'll do today — you are a scientist."
- Answer your 3 pre-trip questions. Write/draw findings in the science journal ON SITE.
- Find one thing you studied this year in a museum exhibit — "I already know this! We did this experiment at home!"
- Lightning Show: connect to Physics unit — what is electricity? What makes lightning?
- Live Animal Center: use SHD animal vocabulary to describe what you observe
- Find one thing you DON'T know yet — write it as a new question for future learning
- Present your 3 answered questions to a family member — you are now the expert!
- Add your new question to the science journal — "I still want to know…"
- Brave Moments Book: "I was a real scientist today at the museum."
- Draw your favorite exhibit from memory. Label it. Share it.
Building the Classroom Fish Tank
August 2026 · Unit 2 · Science + Math + Responsibility + Compassion
🐟 Why a Fish Tank is a Curriculum Anchor
The fish tank is not just a pet — it becomes a living science lab that teaches biology, chemistry, ecology, math, and daily responsibility all year long. Framed through a vegan lens: fish are sentient beings who deserve good care. We create a habitat that meets their needs, not ours — we serve them. This is compassion made visible every single day.
📋 What You'll Need (Shopping List)
Tank Essentials
- 10–20 gallon tank (bigger = more stable water)
- Filter (hang-on-back style for beginners)
- Heater (if keeping tropical fish)
- Thermometer
- LED light (plants + fish need light cycles)
- Hood/cover
Substrate & Décor
- Gravel or sand (natural colors)
- 2–3 live or silk plants
- 1–2 hiding spots (driftwood or cave)
- No plastic toys — fish prefer natural environments
Water + Chemistry
- Water conditioner (dechlorinator)
- Aquarium test kit (pH, ammonia, nitrites)
- Beneficial bacteria starter (for cycling)
- Fish food (species-appropriate)
🪣 Step-by-Step Build Lessons
🌊 What Do Fish Need? (Before You Buy Anything)
Before purchasing a single item, spend one full science session answering: What does a fish need to live well?
- Clean water (the right temperature, pH, no chlorine)
- Oxygen (filter moves water to add oxygen)
- Food appropriate for its species
- Space — enough room to swim and turn around comfortably
- A hiding place — fish feel safe with shelter
- The right tank-mates — some fish fight, some live peacefully together
Draw a "perfect fish home" in the science journal before you build the real one. Compare at the end!
🧪 The Water Cycle of a Tank — Nitrogen Cycling
This is advanced science — and kids love it. The tank must "cycle" for 2–4 weeks before fish can live in it safely. Here's why:
- Fish produce ammonia (waste). Ammonia is poisonous to fish.
- Beneficial bacteria grow on the filter and gravel. They eat ammonia and turn it into nitrites.
- More bacteria turn nitrites into nitrates, which are mostly harmless.
- Regular water changes (20% per week) remove nitrates.
Draw the cycle: Fish → Ammonia → Bacteria → Nitrites → Bacteria → Nitrates → Water change → Clean water → Fish happy.
🏗️ Build Day — Setting Up the Tank
This is the hands-on build session. Child helps with every measurable step:
- Rinse gravel in a colander — count 5 rinses
- Add gravel to tank — measure 1–2 inches deep (measure with a ruler!)
- Fill tank ⅓ full — place a plate on gravel to avoid disturbing it as you pour
- Arrange plants and hiding spots — child is the designer
- Fill the rest of the way — add water conditioner (measure drops per gallon per instructions)
- Install filter, heater, thermometer
- Turn on filter. Watch the water move. Feel the current.
⏳ The Wait — Cycling the Tank & Testing Water
The hardest lesson: patience. The tank must run for 2–4 weeks before fish can enter. This is real science — rushing will harm the fish. Use this time well:
- Test water every 3–4 days with the aquarium test kit
- Record readings in a data table in the science journal: Date | Ammonia | Nitrite | Nitrate | pH | Temp
- Watch for ammonia to rise, then nitrites to rise, then both to fall — that's the cycle completing!
- Discuss: we are waiting because the fish matter. Their safety is more important than our excitement. This is kindness and patience.
🐟 Choosing Fish — With Care
Research before buying. Good beginner fish for a child-tended tank (vegan-friendly approach — observe, don't over-handle):
- Betta fish (solo tank): Beautiful, personable, recognize their human. Needs a calm tank without fin-nippers.
- Small schooling fish: Neon tetras, ember tetras, chili rasboras (need groups of 6+). Watching a school move is mesmerizing.
- Peaceful bottom dwellers: Corydoras catfish — they "vacuum" the gravel and are endearing.
- Snails or shrimp: Cherry shrimp or nerite snails are fascinating and beginner-friendly.
Use SHD anatomy vocabulary to examine your chosen fish — where are the fins? Dorsal, pectoral, caudal. What do the eyes look like? Scales?
📅 Daily Care & Weekly Science (Year-Long)
- Daily (2 min): Observe for 2 minutes. Are all fish present? Behaving normally? Any changes? Log in 1 sentence. Feed measured amount.
- Weekly (10 min): Test water, record data. 20% water change (siphon gravel as you go). This is science AND responsibility AND care for another being.
- Monthly: Draw one fish in the science journal. Try to capture its exact markings and proportions. Compare to SHD anatomy poster.
- Seasonal: Notice if fish behavior changes — do they eat more in summer? Are they more active? Record observations. This is long-term scientific observation.
🌿 Fish Tank as a Values Lesson
The fish tank is the most powerful vegan values lesson in this curriculum — it is daily, hands-on, and real. Your child will learn that other living beings have needs, feelings, and preferences — that they communicate through behavior, that they can recognize your face, that they are worth waiting for (the cycling lesson), and that their wellbeing is your responsibility. This is compassion practiced every morning before breakfast.
Year at a Glance
Jun 2026 – Jun 2027 · SHD units, field trips, recipes, and daily free time all mapped
🗓️ Reading This Schedule
Lovevery Reading happens every single day (not shown separately — it's always Block 1). 🎨 SHD = Steph Hathaway Designs unit active that week. 🚗 FT = Field trip week. 🎧 FREE = daily free time (40+ min, every day, not shown separately). Weather Bundle revisits each season.
| Week | Unit / Theme | ELA / Lovevery | Montessori Math | Science (SHD + Experiments) | SS / Arts / PE / Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌻 UNIT 1 — All About Me, Self & Confidence (Jun–Jul 2026) | |||||
| Wk 1–2 Jun | Self & Identity | Lovevery Basic Blending beginsCVC short-a, short-i | Hundred Board (start)Tiles 1–100 | Body senses experimentsABCs of STEM: A–E | Who Am I? posterYoga + breathingSelf-portrait #1 |
| Wk 3–4 Jun–Jul | Family & Kindness | Short vowels, Sound Swap gameSight words set 1 | Skip count by 2s & 5sShort bead chains | Physics in Nature SHDRamp + gravity | Kindness jar + family treeRecipe: Rainbow Skewers 🌿 |
| Wk 5–6 Jul | Brain & Growth Mindset | Crossword Builder, blending books 1–3 | Skip count by 10s, long 100-chain | ABCs of STEM: F–LEngineering challenges begin | Soccer beginsNature printing |
| 🌊 UNIT 2 — Beach, Fireflies & Marine Life (Aug 2026) 🐟 Fish Tank Build this month! | |||||
| Wk 7 Aug | Beach Prep + Fish Tank | All short vowels, books 3–5 | Bead stair, colored bead stairs | SHD Beach Unit (pre-trip!)Ocean density layers | Fish Tank: Lessons 1–2 (what do fish need?) |
| Wk 8 Aug | 🚗 BEACH FIELD TRIP | Post-trip: informational writing | Count shells, compare sizes | SHD Beach journal + Firefly Bundle | Beach trip + post-trip artRecipe: Ocean Smoothie Bowl 🌿 |
| Wk 9 Aug | Fireflies + Fish Tank Cycling | Sight words, nonfiction labels | Hundred board: patterns + "what's missing?" | Firefly Unit — evening observation!Fish Tank: Lessons 3–4 (build + cycle) | Yoga: ocean themeWatercolor ocean |
| 🌲 UNIT 3 — Trees, Forest Animals & Fall (Sep–Oct 2026) | |||||
| Wk 10–11 Sep | Forest Animals + Fish Tank Lesson 5 | Story structure B/M/E, retelling | Golden Beads intro: units/tens/hundreds | Forest Animal Homes SHD + SquirrelCapillary action (celery) | 🐟 Fish: choose + introduce fish!Hike: tree ring counting |
| Wk 12–13 Sep–Oct | Wild Turkey + Fall Ecology | Lovevery digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh) | Decimal cards: build numbers to 999 | Wild Turkey SHD + decomposer studyWeather Bundle: Fall | Recipe: Apple Overnight Oats 🌿Seasonal tree drawing #1 |
| Wk 14–15 Oct | 🚗 FARM SANCTUARY (fall option) | Opinion: "animals deserve kindness because…" | Teens board with beads | SHD animal anatomy at the sanctuary | Sanctuary visit + post-trip reflectionRecipe: Roasted Root Veg 🌿 |
| ❄️ UNIT 4 — Winter Birds, Space & Stars (Nov–Dec 2026) | |||||
| Wk 16–17 Nov | Winter Birds + Bird Feeder | Comprehensive blending, sticky words | Golden bead addition (static) | Winter Birds SHD — build feeder, tally chartWeather Bundle: Winter begins | Recipe: Gingerbread Stars 🌿Galaxy art on black paper |
| Wk 18–19 Nov–Dec | Solar System | Fluency: Lovevery books 6–8 | Tens board, golden bead subtraction | Solar System SHD — moon journal beginsScale model (fruit solar system) | Self-portrait #2 (mid-year)Evening stargazing walk |
| Wk 20–21 Dec | Constellations + Celebrations | Poetry writing + recitation | Snake game (addition) | Earth tilt model, moon phases | Winter celebrations globallyIrish dance: performance prep |
| 🌍 UNIT 5 — Continents, Kindness, Weather & Maple Sugaring (Jan–Feb 2027) | |||||
| Wk 22–23 Jan | Continents + Magnetism | Lovevery storytelling stage begins | Stamp game introduction | Montessori Continents Bundle — 1 continent/weekMagnetism investigation | Vegan food by continentRecipe: Rainbow Spring Rolls 🌿 |
| Wk 24 Jan–Feb | Weather Bundle: Winter track | Author study (Mo Willems) | Stamp game addition + time (hours) | Weather Bundle: Winter — water cycle bag experiment | Telling time on analog clockSeasonal tree drawing #2 |
| Wk 25–26 Feb | 🚗 MAPLE FARM FIELD TRIP | Sequential writing: maple syrup process | Ratios: 40 gallons → 1 gallon (golden beads!) | Freeze-thaw cycle, sap science | Farm trip + maple recipeRecipe: Maple Roasted Veg 🌿 |
| 🌱 UNIT 6 — Gardens, Snails, Cottontails, Pink Moon & Human Heart (Mar 2027) | |||||
| Wk 27–28 Mar | Garden Snail + Cottontail | How-To writing, sequence words | Stamp game subtraction + time (half hours) | Garden Snail SHD + Eastern Cottontail SHDSeed planting — begin garden | Recipe: Garden Salad 🌿Botanical illustration |
| Wk 29–30 Mar | Human Heart + Pink Moon | "My Body Book" informational writing | Skip counting chains (5s for money prep) | Human Heart SHD + Pink Moon (earthworm study!)Heart rate experiment | Nutrition + vegan food for heart healthT-ball begins |
| 🐸 UNIT 7 — Frogs, June Bug, Physics & the Universe (Apr–May 2027) | |||||
| Wk 31–33 Apr | Frogs + Vernal Pools | Independent reading — Lovevery books 9–13 | Money: coins, counting, change | Frog & Toad SHD — spring peeper hike!Chemistry: acids & bases | Seasonal tree drawing #3Recipe: Lily Pad Bites 🌿 |
| Wk 34–35 Apr–May | Science Museum Prep + June Bug | 3 scientific questions + author study | Money: vegan market game | June Bug SHDMonthly engineering challenge | Hikes: spring nature missions |
| Wk 36 May | 🚗 BOSTON SCIENCE MUSEUM | Present 3 answered questions to family | Museum math: counting, reading numbers on exhibits | ABCs of STEM: final lettersWeather Bundle: Spring track | Museum trip + Brave Moments entry |
| 🎓 UNIT 8 — Spring, Confidence & Celebration (May–Jun 2027) | |||||
| Wk 37–39 May–Jun | Reflection & Growth | All 13 Lovevery books read ✓Year-end chapter book writing | Review: all materials through games | Tree journal: full year complete!Weather Bundle: Summer track | Self-portrait #3 + art show portfolioRecipe: Celebration Chia Parfaits 🌿 |
| Wk 40–42 Jun 2027 | 🎉 Celebration! | Read to family — child's chosen book🎧 Extra free time week | Math games celebration party | Mini science fair: pick 1 experiment | Seasonal tree drawing #4Irish step dance performance! 💃 |
📝 Massachusetts Homeschool Notes
- Annual notice: Submit to North Adams Public Schools superintendent each year, listing subjects (all covered here).
- Hours: MA requires ~900 hrs/year for K–6. Structured learning (2–3 hrs/day × 5 days × 42 weeks) = 420–630 hrs. Add sports, dance, hikes, field trips, audiobooks, cooking = well over 900 hrs total.
- Record-keeping tip: Take a weekly photo of one piece of work (journal page, recipe measuring, SHD completed poster). This creates a beautiful, low-effort portfolio.
- Vegan note: MA frameworks do not mandate specific nutrition content — your plant-based approach fully satisfies health and PE requirements and models environmental stewardship.