This year, we’re experimenting with curriculum, learning through play, and fostering an environment that “plants the seeds” for a lifelong love of learning. We believe play is the work of the child, and we’re leading with that philosophy, but we also recognize the importance of ensuring our children get the education they need and deserve.

The research is clear—homeschooled children often outperform their peers in key areas like academic achievement and social-emotional development. But just as important as a strong educational foundation is tracking milestones to ensure progress and catch any challenges early on.

“Overall, 78% of the 45 peer reviewed studies found that homeschooled students of graduates performed significantly better than their conventional or institutional school peers in terms of academic achievement, social and emotional development, and success into adulthood (including at college/university).” – Brain D. Ray, Ph.D. NHERI

That’s why, even in a homeschool setting, it’s essential to track milestones to ensure your child is progressing in line with their developmental stage. Monitoring these milestones not only helps you compare their progress to peers, but it also helps tailor their learning experience to their unique pace—one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling!

For the purposes of this post, since we are heading into preK and Kindergarten, I will be focusing on those milestones. There are a wealth of resources available to help parents track these milestones.
Here are a few that I found particularly useful:

• ASQ 3 for PreK: This tool is very informative. Just be aware that milestones at young ages can span a wide range, as development happens quickly. However, it’s designed to catch potential issues early, allowing for early intervention if necessary.
• Homeschool.com offers a printable checklist for K-8^th grade milestones
• HSLDA recommends curating your own checklists based on other parents’ experiences, scope and sequence lists, and state and government education standards.

These checklists and guides helped me feel more confident in our approach and ensured we were covering all the necessary bases for PreK and Kindergarten

When looking at milestones for Baby Blossom and Baby Root, we focused on four main categories:
1. Cognitive and academic
2. Social and emotional development
3. Language and communication
4. Physical and motor skills

For Baby Root, these will be basic, after all he is only 2 and will not be 3 until late in the year – we are mainly starting the preK curriculum to give him structure and a flow for his day. For Baby Blossom, we’ll dive deeper into the academic area, focusing on core subjects like math, reading, social studies, and science..

Baby Root – PreK (B&R Early Years)

Cognitive and academic
– Recognize letters, numbers, colors, shapes
– Understand basic concepts like opposites
– Develop early math skills (counting, sorting, patterns)
– Early problem solving and logical thinking  
Social and emotional development
– Recognize and express emotions
– Share, cooperate, and take turns
– Start to understand social rules
Language and communication
– Expand vocabulary
– Form complete sentences
– Start to understand basic grammar (plurals, etc)
Physical and motor skills
– Develop fine motor skills (grasping, drawing, cutting)
– Gross motor skills (running, jumping, balance)

Baby Blossom – kindergarten (B&R Level 0)

Cognitive and academic development
1. Math
– Recognize numbers and count to 100
– Basic addition and subtraction
– Create and understand patterns
– Learn calendar components (days, weeks, months)
– Understand time concepts (hour, half-hour, yesterday, tomorrow)
2. Reading
– Identify the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make
– Understand phonetics (how sounds go together)
– Learn simple sight words
– Write  letters (capital and lowercase)
– Write simple stories or journals
– Understand how to rhyme words
– Build vocabulary and descriptive language
– Begin reading simple sentences and stories
3. Social studies
– Learn about the world – start with family
– Learn about extended family and community helpers
– Explore different cultures
– Memorize personal information (phone number, address)
4. Science
– Study plants and the animal kingdom
– Learn about health habits
– Understand weather
– Study the human body/five senses
– Conduct simple science experiments
Social and emotional development
– Understand empathy and recognize other people’s feelings
– Gain independence and continue developing self-regulation
– Follow multi-step instructions and routines
Physical and motor skills
– Master handwriting basics
– Developing coordination and strength for complex activities (bikes, scissors)

We’re fortunate that the Blossom and Root curriculum covers most of these basics for us. However, looking forward, we will continuously evaluate the curriculum to ensure all recommended milestones are met and to add any additional supports if needed.

Monitoring Progress

There are various tools to monitor your child’s progress, including apps, milestone charts, checklists, educational websites, or even journals/portfolios. We plan to document our milestones on the blog and also maintain a portfolio of projects and themes.

It’s important to remember that children progress at their own pace. Some may need extra help in certain areas, while excelling in others. I’m a firm advocate for early intervention—it never hurts to get an evaluation! Both of our children have been in speech therapy for tongue ties in the past, and I honestly wish we were able to continue – that level of support is unbeatable.

We’ll also be involving both children in various extracurricular activities to complement the curriculum and their interests. These activities will also provide valuable outside perspectives on their development compared to other children in their age groups.

Final Thoughts

As a homeschooling parent, you are your child’s greatest advocate. Your role is to continuously evaluate their strengths, challenges, and interests. By tracking milestones and customizing the learning experience, you can ensure that your child’s educational journey is tailored to their unique needs.

What milestones are you tracking that you don’t see here? What milestones are most important to you?