Daily Plan — K–2
Kindergarten through grade 2 about two hours of focused work
How to use this plan
It fits one child or many. With several children, teach the shared subjects (stories, nature, Bible) together, then rotate your one-on-one help through phonics, handwriting, and math while the others work or play nearby. Adjust by energy, not age alone: a tired five-year-old needs a shorter lesson, not a different grade. Two short sessions beat one long sit.
At a glance
- About two hours of core work across six subjects, split with movement between lessons
- Two short sessions beat one long sit; adjust by energy, not age alone
- Real objects, paper, and outdoors carry the plan — beans, dice, notebooks, no screens needed
- One short memory verse per week; traits practiced as household jobs
- Sick-day minimum: Reading Readiness + the Bible story — then count the day done
The daily rhythm
| Subject | Minutes | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Readiness | 20 | You read aloud — picture books, folk tales, poetry. The child retells the story in their own words and guesses what comes next. |
| Phonics | 25 | One new letter sound or review of a few; blend short words on paper; read two or three easy sentences you wrote yourself last night. |
| Handwriting | 15 | Pencil grip check, form three or four letters carefully, copy one short word or sentence neatly once — not five times sloppily. |
| Early Math | 30 | Count real objects, build and compare numbers, one short page of written problems, finish with a dice or card game. |
| Nature Study | 15 | Outside or at a window: watch one thing closely, draw it in the notebook, tell one thing you noticed. |
| Bible Stories & Character | 15 | Read one Bible story aloud, recite this week's memory verse together, talk about one character trait in the story and at home. |
Guard the gaps between lessons: two minutes of running to the fence and back, ten jumping jacks, or carrying the math beans to the table keeps wiggles from becoming wall-climbing. At these ages the movement is part of the lesson plan.
What each subject covers this year
Reading Readiness
- Sit happily through full read-alouds and retell beginning, middle, and end.
- Name most letters; hold a book right-side up and follow print left to right.
- Hear and make rhymes, clap syllables, and pick out first sounds in words.
- Narrate — speak in complete sentences about what was just heard.
Materials: any picture books you own or trade for; flashcards cut from scrap paper; longer read-alouds from the bundled classics in the Book Library.
Simple assessment: the child retells a story you just read, in their own words, without help.
Phonics
- Say the main sound of every letter quickly, on sight.
- Blend consonant-vowel-consonant words (cat, mud, ship) smoothly on paper.
- Build simple words from letter cards and read them back aloud.
- Move from sounding out to recognizing common short words instantly.
Materials: letters handwritten on paper scraps; a tray of salt or flour for finger-writing; short word lists you write the night before.
Simple assessment: the child sounds out an unfamiliar three-to-five-letter word on paper without help.
Handwriting
- Comfortable pencil grip and paper position, checked briefly every lesson.
- Form all capital and lowercase letters correctly, top to bottom.
- Copy a short sentence with even spacing by year's end.
- Write their own first name legibly from memory.
Materials: pencils, blank or wide-ruled paper, and one model alphabet sheet you write out once and reuse forever.
Simple assessment: the child copies a short sentence neatly, no reversed letters, without help.
Early Math
- Count by ones, tens, and fives; read and write numbers into the hundreds.
- Add and subtract within 20 — first with objects, then on paper.
- Name basic shapes; measure length and volume with rulers and kitchen cups.
- Tell time to the hour and half hour; count coins; understand half versus whole.
Materials: dried beans or buttons for counters, an egg carton as a ten-frame, dice and playing cards, a ruler, measuring cups, a clock face drawn on paper.
Simple assessment: the child solves 9 + 7 or 15 − 8 with beans or on paper, without help.
Nature Study
- Look closely and describe color, shape, texture, and sound.
- Keep a nature notebook: one drawing and one sentence per outing.
- Track daily weather on a homemade chart.
- Learn the names of common local trees, birds, and insects as a family project.
Materials: any notebook, a pencil, a jar for catch-and-release watching, a magnifying glass if one is around — none of it required.
Simple assessment: the child draws something observed outside, labels it, and states one true thing about it without prompting.
Bible Stories & Character
- Hear the main stories of the Bible in order across the year.
- Memorize one short verse each week and review old ones until they stick.
- Name the character trait inside a story and inside daily life at home.
- Practice gentle habits: gratitude, honesty, kindness to siblings and neighbors.
Materials: a Bible in any translation you have — public-domain ones ship in the site's Faith & Bible reader — plus a verse list you write once per season.
Simple assessment: the child recites recent verses and tells one Bible story in their own words.
The week's shape
| Day | Shape |
|---|---|
| Monday | Core day — the full rhythm above. |
| Tuesday | Core day — full rhythm. |
| Wednesday | Core day — full rhythm; hardest new material goes here while everyone is fresh mid-week. |
| Thursday | Core day — full rhythm, plus reciting all memory verses learned so far. |
| Friday | Outdoor day — only reading and a math game in the morning, then a long nature walk, collecting, and notebook drawing. |
| Saturday | Life-skills day — cook together (measuring is math), write a shopping list together, sort and mend, read signs and labels. |
| Sunday | Rest — worship and family, a read-aloud for pleasure, no formal lessons. |
Scripture memory & character
Keep a one-verse-a-week cadence: introduce Monday over breakfast, recite it at the start of school each day, let each child say it alone Friday, and recall old verses casually at dinner. Short verses, joyfully done, beat long ones endured. Pair each trait below with its verse and give the trait a household job so it is practiced, not just discussed.
Trait practice & starter verses
| Trait | What practice looks like at home | A verse to start with |
|---|---|---|
| Honesty | Thank a truthful confession louder than you scold the fault; adults admit their own mistakes out loud. | Proverbs 12:22 |
| Diligence | One small chore finished before play each day; the habit of checking your own work before saying "done." | Colossians 3:23 |
| Kindness | "Say it kindly" as the household rule; make something for a neighbor or grandparent each month. | Ephesians 4:32 |
| Patience | No interrupting — a quiet hand on the arm means "my turn next"; grow something from seed and wait. | Galatians 6:9 |
| Gratitude | One specific thank-you at every meal ("thank you for the beans," not "thanks"); drawn thank-you notes for gifts. | 1 Thessalonians 5:18 |
| Self-control | Hands to yourself during lessons; stop and count to ten before reacting; careful with borrowed things. | Proverbs 25:28 |
When the day goes sideways
Sick child, broken routine, long errand: keep only Reading Readiness and the Bible story, and count the day done. A short honest day beats a long resentful one. Bad weather turns Nature Study into window-watching; a missing supply is an invitation to invent one.
Today's flow — tick as you go
Keep going
- Readers for practice and read-alouds live in the Book Library.
- Record each day's work in the Progress Tracker.
- Other bands: Daily Plan: 3–5, Daily Plan: 6–8, Daily Plan: 9–12.
- Teaching several ages at once? See the One-Room Primer.
- Back to the Schoolhouse hub.