Homeschooling kindergarten in about an hour a day

Keep it short. For most five-year-olds, kindergarten at home is thirty minutes to an hour of lessons a day, broken into small pieces, plus a lot of reading aloud and a lot of play. Letter sounds, counting, and holding a pencil are the heart of it.

In many states kindergarten isn't even required, since compulsory school age often starts at six or later. Check your state's rules. Either way, it's a good year to start gently.

What to teach

• Reading. Letter sounds first, then blending sounds into short words like "cat" and "sun." Some kids read small books by spring, and some aren't ready until six or seven. Both are normal.
• Math. Counting to 100, recognizing and writing numbers, and adding or taking away small amounts with real objects like blocks or snacks.
• Handwriting. Holding a pencil, then forming letters. Short practice, five or ten minutes.
• Read-alouds. Every day, as many as you both want. This is where vocabulary and a love of stories come from.
• Everything else. Nature walks, drawing, building, cooking, singing. Science and history at this age are mostly curiosity and good books.

How a morning might go

Ten minutes of phonics at the table. A snack. Ten minutes of counting with a pile of buttons. Outside for an hour. A stack of picture books on the couch. That's a full kindergarten day for a lot of kids, and it's over before lunch.

Watch for readiness

You've met the five-year-old who can't sit still for two minutes of letter sounds and can build a Lego tower for an hour. There's nothing wrong with him. Short lessons, lots of movement, and hands-on work suit most kindergartners better than worksheets do.

If a lesson ends in tears, stop and try again tomorrow. If it ends in tears every day for two weeks, the lesson is probably too hard or too long, so make it smaller.

Don't buy too much

Kindergarten needs a phonics program, some simple math materials, paper, crayons, and a library card. Almost everything else is optional. The fancy boxed sets are lovely, and you don't need one.

Enjoy it

This is the year a lot of parents fall in love with homeschooling. You get to be there the first time your kid sounds out a word by themselves, and you'll remember the book it was in.

Keep the lessons short and the read-alouds long.