Curriculum Drops
Monthly curriculum packages for Seedlings families. Each drop arrives two weeks before the month begins — everything you need, ready to open.
This month your Seedlings learner steps into the year through the power of words — what they sound like, what they mean, and what they can do. Everything is play-based, read-aloud-driven, and joyful. You do not need a background in teaching. You need this guide, the books, and time with your child.
Children explore who they are, what words feel like, and what it means to belong to a family, a story, a community.
How to Use This Guide
Each week has a focus, a read-aloud, and daily activities. You do not need to do everything. Read the week plan, pick what fits your family, and let the conversation happen naturally. The books do most of the work.
Links throughout open portal pages with printable templates, vocabulary card downloads, and video resources. Full Pilot families: your live session schedule appears at the top of each week.
Gather these before August 18. All books are available at public libraries — check your local branch first.
- Mason jar or small container (Word Jar)
- Paper strips or index cards (word slips)
- Markers, crayons, colored pencils
- Scissors and tape or glue
- Stickers or ribbon to decorate the jar
- Large paper or cardstock for name art
- Finger paints or tempera (self-portrait)
- Watercolors (optional)
- Mirror (for self-portrait reference)
- Drawing journal or composition book
- Construction paper (various colors)
- Glue stick
- Vocabulary picture cards (download from portal)
- Printer + paper for templates
- Ziplock bags (seed germination)
- Bean seeds
- Soil + small cup
- Sensory items: cotton ball, sandpaper, silk, lemon, chocolate
- Magnifying glass
Your first week is about wonder and play. You are not teaching reading yet — you are teaching your child that words are worth noticing, collecting, and loving.
Explore supplies. Decorate drawing journal cover. Talk about what you love.
Counting 1–5 with objects. Sort by color.
The Word Collector, first reading. Word hunt intro. Meet your learning community.
Decorate the Word Jar together.
Close your eyes and listen. Draw one sound you hear.
Counting 1–10. Number songs and games.
"I am made with purpose." Affirmation + verse.
Find beautiful words on books and signs around your home. Add to jar.
Name song: clap the syllables in your name.
This week you go deeper with The Word Collector. Revisiting a book is not repetition — it is what readers do. Each time your child hears it, they notice something new.
Reread The Word Collector. What do you notice this time that you did not before?
Sorting by color and shape. Pattern making with manipulatives.
Each family brings one word they collected. Live discussion: "What happens when you share words?"
Sensory exploration — soft, rough, smooth, bumpy. Texture rubbings with crayons.
Number matching 1–10. "Show me 7 blocks."
Introduce: belong / pertenecer. Use in sentences.
Make a word gift for someone. Write + deliver with one sentence.
Movement song — move your body to the beat.
Names are not just labels. They are songs, stories, and gifts. This is one of the most powerful conversations you will have all year — you do not need a lesson plan for it. Just the book, and time to listen.
Look at the cover of Your Name Is a Song. Predict what it's about.
Counting syllables in names. Bar graph with blocks.
Read-aloud: Your Name Is a Song. Each child shares what their name means. Sing the syllables together.
Large-paper name art. Decorate each letter.
Observation walk. Draw 3 things you notice.
name / nombre. "Me llamo ___." Practice with every family member.
"God calls me by name." Isaiah 43:1.
Reread Your Name Is a Song. What do you notice the second time?
Compose a 4-beat name chant. Perform for the family.
Your final week of Month 1 closes with The Day You Begin — a book about what it feels like to walk into a room as the only one. It opens conversations about difference, bravery, and the moment you decide to belong anyway.
Look at The Day You Begin cover. What does the girl's expression tell you?
Counting to 20. One-to-one correspondence with objects.
Read aloud: The Day You Begin. Discussion: when did you feel brave? Share brave faces on camera.
Begin "This Is Me" portrait — finger paint or markers.
Mystery smell test. Taste: sweet, sour, salty, bitter.
brave / valiente, different / diferente. Use both in sentences.
"Be strong and courageous." Joshua 1:9.
Count all slips. How many words did we collect this month?
Go through journal from page 1. Celebrate every page.
Introduce through read-alouds, games, and conversations. No memorization or testing — just use them, repeat them, and celebrate when your child uses one on their own.
What It Is
A decorated jar filled with slips of paper, each holding one word your child loves. Words come from the books, conversations, signs and labels — from everywhere. The jar is always nearby. Adding is always an option.
The Sharing Moment · Week 8
At the end of Unit 1, each child holds their jar and shares one word: "My favorite word is ___ because ___." Full Pilot families do this live on Tuesday. Curriculum Drop families do it at home and are invited to share a photo or video in The Grove.
SEL This Month: Self-Worth + The Power of Words
The most powerful teaching you will do this month will not come from any activity. It will come from moments like these: "That was a brave thing to say." "I love the word you picked." "Your story matters." Say these things out loud. Often.
Your September curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on September 17 — or watch The Grove for your drop notification.
Your October curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on October 17.
Your November curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on November 17.
Your December curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on December 17.
Your January curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on January 17.
Your February curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on February 17.
Your March curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on March 17.
Your April curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on April 17.
Your May curriculum drop will be ready two weeks before the month begins. Check back on May 17.
