New Sonlight Preschool Review: 3 Reasons Why You’ll Love It

This post is sponsored by Sonlight and I have been compensated for my time in exchange for an honest review of Sonlight’s Preschool curriculum.

I tend to balk a little bit when it comes to preschool. I firmly believe little kids learn best through play, but sometimes they want to feel big by doing “real” school. To them, nothing says, “I’m a big kid” quite like a worksheet.

So when I look for a preschool program, I want something that incorporates the values we follow and lends itself to the natural curiosity and interests in children. I don’t want something so academically driven children aren’t allowed to be children.

My perfect preschool program is full of good read-aloud books, hands-on activities and is super easy to use. Sonlight recently released a new preschool curriculum and we got to try it out in our homeschool.

Sonlight’s Preschool Program checks all those boxes, which is why I love using it for preschool in our homeschool. Let me share a little more about the three reasons I love the Sonlight Preschool Program and I think you will too.

Sonlight Preschool Literature-Rich Homeschool Curriculum

Sonlight is known for its literature-rich curriculum. A child with a stack of books next to them is typically the image that comes to mind when I think of Sonlight. Their preschool curriculum is no exception.

Picture books, story books, books with good morals and values. I love to fill our days with good books. My youngest kids especially enjoy being read aloud to. And my older kids enjoy being the storyteller.

We’re a family full of bibliophiles and I love it. So of course, I love that Sonlight includes a bundle of great books with their preschool program. Some are ones we already love and others are ones were eager to read for the first time.

Since books are normally a part of our day, having it woven into our Sonlight Preschool Program only seems natural.

Books Included in the Sonlight Preschool Program

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Sonlight Hands-On Preschool Program

Little bodies are meant to be busy. Like I said children, especially preschool age, learn best through play and movement. They aren’t meant to sit still behind a desk. So I want a curriculum that capitalizes on a child’s natural desire to be busy doing things.

Sonlight’s Preschool program lets my daughter learn by doing. We both love the sensory approach, such as tracing sandpaper flashcards to learn letters and numbers or using the shape stencils to trace shapes.

She also really, really likes the hands-on elements where she learns practical life skills. She could hardly wait to use the safety knife found in the Supply Kit for Preschool. Right now, I’m enjoying that she’s excited to learn how to wash a cup because she uses one million a day. Experience has told me it won’t last though (the excitement about doing dishes–they use just as many cups when they’re older).

The hands-on opportunities make this feel less like a structured curriculum and more like the exploratory play I like for this age. And it has the obligatory worksheet for her to do when she wants to do “real” schoolwork. (She doesn’t consider the books or hands-on activities school. For whatever reason, she decided only worksheets count as school.)

Activities Included in Sonlight Preschool Program

In the Arts & Crafts section there are a variety of activities kids do. Some are geared towards a creative outlet and others toward learning a practical life skill. Here is a sampling of what you might find.

• Cut a cucumber
• Cutting strips (scissor practice)
• Sweeping grains into a dustpan
• Peel/cut an Orange
• Wash a cup
• Tea party
• Measure flour

Songs You Will Find in Sonlight’s Preschool Program

I consider music a hands-on activity because, for my kids at least, it is filled with movement. Even if the song doesn’t have action, you can bet they’re going to be spinning and twirling. The songs recommended are either Christian songs or educational songs. If you don’t know them, they are easily found in a search, or you could supplement with your own favorite songs for kids. Here is an example of some of the songs recommended:

• The Phonetic ABC Song
• The Blessing
• Made for This
• And One and Two
• Father Abraham
• Five Little Ducks
• Make Me a Servant
• Our God is an Awesome God
• The Bible Alphabet Song

Easy, Open & Go Homeschool Preschool Curriculum

I am busy. You too may be busy.

I don’t have time to run around finding preschool printables or crafts to do. Perhaps you feel the same.

I have multiple children and I’m going to be honest–preschool is not my top priority. I am not going to spend time lesson planning for it. No matter how good my intentions, I know it won’t happen.

For me to be successful homeschooling preschool, I need a curriculum I can open and begin.

Sonlight Preschool has a detailed 3-day lesson plan that I can easily follow. The worksheets I’ll need are nicely placed behind the lesson plan I’ll need them for so I don’t have to search for them or wonder if this lesson contains a worksheet. I don’t have to put any thought into it. It’s just there, ready to go. The only decision I have to make is what days to do it on and what time.

And the lessons themselves are not time-consuming. I can even spread them out throughout the day in between working with older siblings if I need to.

Bible and letters, numbers, and shapes in the morning. Check.

Arts & Crafts, Music, and Spanish after lunch. Check.

Read-alouds at bedtime. Check.

And if I do have a solid block of time to work with her, it is still only about 30-40 minutes, depending on how long she takes on the activities. Perfectly doable and not overwhelming for her or me.

We have loved using the new Sonlight Preschool Program in our homeschool. If you are looking for a top-notch homeschool preschool program that is literature-based, hands-on with an open and go format, this is the one for you.