Dear Sis,

I read countless reviews while selecting homeschool curricula for our family. It’s nice to give back! I hope our experiences can help you make well informed decisions for your families future homeschooling adventures:)

Torchlight is a fairly new, Socratic literature based secular curriculum. The information is shared via a teacher guide, downloadable as a PDF. The primary book list is public on the creators website and includes, program spines and weekly readers.  In the teacher guide, additional titles are listed if you desire to, or need to, substitute a weekly selection. Additionally, there are weekly list of suggested media, apps, and games. This review is for Level Pre-K: Curiosity & Character.

Product & Cost

The teacher guide alone is around $30, plus printing costs, if you want a hard copy. Add-ons to the program can be purchased separately, or in a bundle with the curriculum.  We purchased the bundle for just over $40. I estimate spines cost about $150, and we didn’t buy all of them. Weekly readings can also be purchased or borrowed from your local library. We do a little of both. The literature selections are relatively new publications, which many reviewers have found problematic in their community library system, or when trying to purchase used books. Additionally, materials for art, nature studies, and science, incur cost. In the end, the cost reflects an all-inclusive curriculum purchase, such as BookShark or Beautiful Feet. That’s not to say, compromises can’t be made, to be a bit more thrifty along the way. However, I think its good to dismiss unrealistic expectations as early as possible, when curricula shopping.

Program add-ons available for purchase and download:

Mindful Moments Badges are reminiscent of a sticker chart, if your learner likes that sort of thing. They go along with the emotional intelligence portion of the program. We have it, but don’t use it. It’s easy to live without. Especially, since we have heavily modified the way the emotional intelligence is scheduled! 

Monthly Math Inquiry Tables is a separate teacher guide, most ideal in hard copy form. I find the scheduled math in the program misses the mark, and strongly suggest this add-on! For whatever reason, the creator didn’t include the table of contents or a topic list in the visual sample of this product. Here’s the break down:

Monthly Math Inquiry Tables

1. Month 1 – Numbers
2. Month 2 – Sequence & Sort
3. Month 3 – Patterns
4. Month 4 – Size
5. Month 5 – Weight
6. Month 6 – Measuring
7. Month 7 – More or Less & Counting On
8. Month 8 – Shapes

This add-on has separate book lists for each month/topic, none of which are spines. Each month/topic, contains four hand-on prompts. These activities can be put out all at once or one at a time, depending on your learning space/learner needs.

We only put out one activity at a time. It’s all we can do to keep my 18-month-old, out of one bin full of little pieces. We have actually stretched this program over a 14 month timetable, so many topics will be stretched over two months for us.

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Curriculum Content

Each week is loosely themed around weekly reading. Sometimes other elements of the weekly schedule relate, but often times not. Theme names are often very adult, and not as direct as my four-year-old would prefer. For example, what I’ve titled “Thanksgiving,” she calls, “Innovation and Tradition.”

I was anticipating stronger themes and have made a lot of changes to make the weekly readings a spring board for a unit study. That being said, here’s the break down of the structure which does exist:

1. Week 1 – Habitats
2. Week 2 – Colors
3. Week 3 – Dinosaurs
4. Week 4 – Problem Solving
5. Week 5 – Ponds
6. Week 6 – Seeds
7. Week 7 – Insects
8. Week 8 – Bats
9. Week 9 – Cultural Celebrations
10. Week 10 – Thanksgiving
11. Week 11 – Kindness
12. Week 12 – Learning Through Failure
13. Week 13 – Science
14. Week 14 – Imagination
15. Week 15 – Family
16. Week 16 – Opposites
17. Week 17 – Diversity
18. Week 18 – Winter
19. Week 19 – Libraries
20. Week 20 – Space
21. Week 21 – Words
22. Week 22 – Shapes
23. Week 23 – Friendship
24. Week 24 – Butterflies
25. Week 25 – Names
26. Week 26 – Snakes
27. Week 27 – Flowers
28. Week 28 – Construction
29. Week 29 – Immigration
30. Week 30 – Gardens
31. Week 31 – Culture
32. Week 32 – The Differently Abled/Community Helpers

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Program Structure

I don’t imagine the suggested programming schedule is realistic for many families. Luckily, the only elements of the curriculum that require weekly progression are the phonetic and mathematic lessons. All other programming can be done in any sequence, which allows a lot of flexibility in scheduling. 

Honestly, I was expecting more structure in general. In reality, the program is designed to be learner driven, containing opportunities and suggestions for exploration more than actual scheduled content. We find that content, as scheduled can be completed in just one or two days.

My teaching style is best defined as considerately structured. I always build to William’s interests, learning styles, and preferences, and involve him in final selection of our curricula. He always has power of veto. That being said, this program inspires our homeschool, more than it directs it. 

Overall, I feel the curriculum is worth the money. Because I only spent around $40, I’m okay with the fact that I’m spending time adapting things for our family.

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Our Family Schedule

We don’t have a homeschool routine. Each morning we dress and eat breakfast. Our morning hours are used to play, do chores, run errands, or do big school projects. Lunch happens when we get hungry, sometime between 11:30 and 1:30. My 18-month-old naps sometime after lunch, creating quiet time for my 4 year old and myself. Sometimes we spend the time together doing school, sometimes we don’t. In the late afternoon, we prepare dinner. After dinner we play and/or do more school. I usually like to use a sit down school activity or reading to help us wind-down before bath and/or bedtime. My 18-month-participates in all of our read-aloud time and enjoys being included in any other schooling activity she can.

We don’t do morning baskets or schedule specific subjects. Maybe we will as the kids get older, but for now, we operate with a series of checklists. 

Our School Year

We started schooling right after William potty trained at three and a half. It happened to be March, so that is when we began our preschool year. We finished in March the following year.

For pre-k, our 36 week Timberdoodle curriculum is divided into 36 check lists. (We’ve also done a start of year review on our Timberdoodle pre-k curriculum kit.) Our 32 week Torchlight curriculum is divided into 32 units. It is my goal to stretch our pre-k year over  14 months, so we can catch the Timberdoodle new release in Mid-April, instead of always playing catch up with resources. 

William’s Pre-K Timeline

April 2021 

Torchlight Units – Dinosaurs and Problem Solving

Math Inquiry Prompts – Numbers  1-2

Timberdoodle Checklists 1-3

May 2021

Torchlight Units – Habitats and Colors

Math Inquiry Prompts – Numbers 3-4

Timberdoodle Checklists 4-6

June 2021

Torchlight Units – Seeds and Ponds

Math Inquiry Prompts – Sequence & Sort 1-2

Timberdoodle Checklist 7-8

July 2021

Torchlight Units – Insects and Bats

Math Inquiry Prompts – Sequence & Sort 3-4

Timberdoodle Checklist 9-10

August 2021

Torchlight Units – Kindness and Learning Through Failure

Math Inquiry Prompts – Patterns 1-4

Timberdoodle 11-12

September 2021

Torchlight Units – Science and Imagination

Math Inquiry Prompts – Size 1-4

Timberdoodle 13-14

October 2021

Torchlight Units – Family, Opposites, and Diversity

Math Inquiry Prompts – Weight 1-4

Timberdoodle Checklists 15-17

November 2021

Torchlight Units – Cultural Celebrations and Thanksgiving

Math Inquiry Prompt – Measuring 1

Timberdoodle Checklists 18-19

December 2021

Torchlight Unit – Winter

Math Inquiry Prompt – Measuring 2

Timberdoodle Checklists 20-21

January 2022

Torchlight Units – Libraries, Space, Words

Math Inquiry Prompts – Measuring 3-4

Timberdoodle Checklists 22-24

February 2022

Torchlight Units – Shapes, Friendship, and Names

Math Inquiry Prompts – More or Less & Counting On 1-2

Timberdoodle 25-27

March 2022

Torchlight Units – Snakes, Flowers, and Butterflies

Math Inquiry Prompts – More or Less & Counting On 3-4

Timberdoodle 28-30

April 2022

Torchlight Units – Construction and Immigration

Math Inquiry Prompts – Shapes 1-2

Timberdoodle Checklists 31-33

May 2022

Torchlight Units – Gardens, Culture, and Helpers

Math Inquiry Prompts – Shapes 3-4

Timberdoodle Checklists 34-36

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We fell upon a spring school year start by accident, but now use it by choice. Fall is a chaotic time to try to form new habits. Spring is perfect!!!

We also tailor our workload based upon how busy we usually are in a given month. We like to start gently, and stay relaxed through summer. We get busy in the fall, with holidays and both the kid’s birthdays, so we step back a bit. Then we amp up in winter, and plow through to completion in the spring.

I find that the second half of the school year is the best time to bump up the work load because the learner is more mature and is well acquainted with the materials by then.

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A Sample Unit

We started with dinosaurs because William is crazy about them! I figured the overall excitement would help us push through the newness of the structure and materials.

Our Reading Selections

1. The Dinosaur Expert by Margaret McNamara
2. The Truth About Dinosaurs by Guido Van Genechten
3. Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning by Laurence Anholt

The first selection, is the primary choice on the book list, the others are additional reading suggestions. Really, any dinosaur book you enjoy or find educational can be used! 

Book one is very relatable. We’ve all been intimidated by someone’s words and have learned to overcome what others may think as we pursue our path to success. This young dinosaur enthusiast and her classmates learn that girls can be scientists too. 

Book two is narrated by a chicken. As you walk through the chicken’s family photo album, you learn about dinosaur evolution. It’s a silly way to teach kids that earths history is as big as can be imagined and always full of new discovery. 

Book three is a narrative biography of Mary Anning, from her first moment of interest in fossils, to her big discovery! My son found her father’s passing very sad, but we were able to talk our way through it. We discuss life cycles, of many life forms, as a way to help him understand, and cope, with the inevitability that we all depart from this world at some time or another. I find that little ones relate better to a tangible understanding of their world. Spiritually is something we grow into as we mature. Some of us anyway… I’m still not very spiritual:) 

Our Unit Check List

In addition to our reading selections we do an art project, poetry selection, phonics lesson, math lessons, nature study, science experiment (not every week), and a guided research project. Here is a sample unit checklist:

• Art Lab for Little Kids – “Drawling on Fabric” (pg. 42)
• Outside Your Window Poetry – see reading schedule
• Doodling Dragons – read and listen “Sounds of A”
• Socks Like Pants – do (10-12), variations (16-17)
• Little Bit of Dirt – “Leaf People” or dinosaurs (pg. 89)
• Look I’m an Engineer – “Gravity Painting” (pg. 6)
• Nature’s Wonders – fossil research (pg. 93)

Our emotional intelligence, referred to as “executive function” in the guide book, materials have been worked into our 36 week checklists. We’ll share our scheduling below, when discussing program spines.

Our Themed Activity Add-Ons

Free Printable, Dinosaur Pattern Block Templates by Teaching Where You’re Called

FREE Printable, Dinosaur Fossil Match Game by Teach Beside Me

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Spines

Let’s talk about the reoccurring books that this curriculum is built around. These are the primary expenditures for the program and although they are all wonderful in their way, some are more expendable than others! Without further ado:

Art

1. Goodnight Songs: A Celebration of Seasons by Margaret Wise Brown
2. Feel What U Feel by Lisa Loeb
3. Art Lab for Little Kids: 52 Playful Projects for Preschoolers by Susan Schwake

We opted out of the first material, having never used it, we don’t miss it. To me, it seemed disjointed from the program schedule itself, so it was easy to overlook.

The second material is songs which are never scheduled. I just found out I can stream them for free on Amazon Prime, through the app. Maybe we will check it out sometime.

Art Lab for Little Kids is an impressive book. It contains units for drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed media arts. Each “lab” or project is presented in a two page spread. A section of that space is used to “Meet the Artist,” and the work of art that inspires the project. It is not a book of the classics, but I appreciate its tie to actual artists and artwork. 

For our first unit, we did the project that was recommended in the Torchlight schedule, but there is no reason why projects can’t be scheduled as you choose.

If you as a parent, are good at providing unstructured art time for your kids, you may be able to pass on this item. We always have craft kit, crayons, markers, and stickers, but this book adds something special to the development of William’s artistic experience, and for our family is well worth the investment.

Executive Function/Inquiry

(Emotional Intelligence/Parent Guided Research Prompts)

1. Breath Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere by Kira Willey
2. Nature’s Wonders by Alejandro Algarra
3. A Whole Bunch of Feelings: What do they mean? by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
4. What’s Going on Here? conversation cards by eeboo

We really enjoy Breath Like a Bear. It is a bunch of fun breathing exercises to help children find their way back to calm and focus, when emotions run hight. Nothing has become habit yet, but we are planting good seeds in our garden of coping skill. 

The program schedules this item in no particular order, and just one exercise at a time. It takes less than five minutes anyway, so I decided to make a weekly reading cycle that would feature all of the great skills this book has to offer.

Breath Like a Bear

2 (18 week) cycles

1. Be Calm and Candle Breath (page 3-5)
2. Hot Chocolate and Flower Breath (page 6-8)
3. Count to Five and Bear Breath (page 11-12)
4. Your Favorite Color and Focus (page 14-19)
5. Rainstorm and Snake Breath (page 20-23)
6. Waves on the Water and Be a Bumblebee (page 24-27)
7. Listen! and Where is Your Breath? (page 28-31)
8. Imagine and Clouds (page 35-37)
9. Kindness and Imagine You’re a Tree (page 38-40)
10.  Send Good Thoughts and Create Something New (page 42-44)
11.  Today I’m Going to Be… and Make Some Energy (page 46-51)
12.  1-2-3 Clap! and Bunny Breath (page 52-55)
13.  Wake Up Your Face and Twister (page 56-59)
14.  Hot Soup and Lion Breath (page 61-62)
15.  Relax and Get Your Grumpies Out (page 67-69)
16.  Kitty Cat Stretch and Scrunch and Let Go (page 70-73)
17.  Gentle Neck Stretch and Shoulder Rolls (page 74-77)
18.  Do Nothing Moment and Conclusion (page 78-81)

Nature’s Wonders is the inquiry spring board for the child-lead portion of the program. The inquiry for our first unit was “Stones that used to be plants and animals.” The program suggests going to the library with your child to find research materials.

We use it as an adult lead research project instead. I order a variety of non-fiction using the online library catalog, pick it up, a put the books in a special basket. William leafs through at will, and asks me to read with him. I can see how some topics will even lead to nature study!

Although we are happily using this material and find value in it, many of the reviews I read during my curriculum research, found it to be an expendable material. 

A Whole Bunch of Feelings is a wonderful book! Like Breath Like a Bear, we find it to be under-scheduled in the program. To get the most out of this material we will be reading on this schedule:

A Whole Bunch of Feelings

4 (9 week) cycles

1. Calm, Frisky, Cozy, Grumpy, Lazy (page 4-13)
2. Anticipation, Disappointed, Proud, Safe, Guilty (page 14-23)
3. Joyful, Jealous, Nervous, Tense, Worries (page 25-33)
4. Frustrated, Loved, Dread, Ecstatic, Ashamed (page 35-42)
5. Embarrassed, Silly, Impatient, Shy, Confused (page 44-53)
6. Lonely, Scared, Playful, Blah, Mad (page 55-62)
7. Mischievous, Thankful, Brave, Heartbroken, Intimidated (page 64-72)
8. Bored, Strong, Content, Diligent, Withdrawn (page 75-83)
9. Awkward, Rotten, Sorry, Curious, Conclusion (page 84-93)

What’s Going on Here? conversation cards are a wonderful tool to discuss very real life situations, what everyone may be feeling, and possible solutions. We love them, and schedule 2 cards per, because we found they were also under-represented in the Torchlight schedule.

Language Arts

Aside from the literature provided by the ever changing weekly reading selection…

1. Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature Poetry by Nicola Davies
2. Doodling Dragons: An ABC Book of Sounds by Denise Eide
3. Doodling Dragons ABC Songs by Jill Pearson

We enjoy the poetry book, but have scheduled it to fit our unit studies and our seasonal timeline, instead of using the schedule suggested in the program guide. 

Outside Your Window, Poetry Schedule

Spring 2021

• Dinosaurs – Nesting (pg. 21), Lizard (pg. 48)
• Problem Solving – Spring (pg. 6), Catkin Song (pg. 12)
• Habitats – Dens, Things to do in Your Den (pg. 59)
• Colors – Cherry Blossoms (pg. 23), Rainbows (pg. 24)
• Seeds – Planting Seeds (pg. 26), Seed Saving (pg. 104)
• Pond – Listen to the Pond (pg. 10), Pond Dipping (pg. 42)

Summer 2021

• Insects – Summer Song (pg. 32), Honey (pg. 35)
• Bats – Baby Birds (pg. 36), Night (pg. 51)
• Kindness – Making Hay, Milking (pg. 38)
• Failure – Tide (pg. 47), Feather (pg. 67)
• Science – Worms (pg. 70)
• Imagination – Summer (pg. 30)

Autumn 2021

• Family – Growing (pg. 57), Acorn (pg. 68)
• Opposites – Dandelions (pg. 13)
• Diversity – Tide Pooling (pg. 45), Spiderlings (pg. 66)
• Celebrations – Harvest (pg. 80), Just Ducks (pg. 98)
• Thanksgiving – Autumn (pg. 60), Wind, Leaves (pg. 62)
• Winter – Winter (pg. 84), Winter Trees (pg. 86), Snow Song (pg. 92)

Winter 2022

• Libraries – Squirrel (pg 74), Deer in the Dawn (pg. 96)
• Space – Moth (pg. 54), The Stars Show (pg. 100)
• Words – Apples (pg. 72), Patchwork Pigeons (pg. 94)
• Shapes – Shell Song (pg. 46), Beach Combine (pg. 102)
• Friendship – Chickens (pg. 53), A Bird Feast, Bird Cakes (pg. 106)
• Names – The Horse (pg. 90)
• Snakes – Fungi (pg. 77)
• Flowers – Flowers (pg. 34), Berry Picking (pg. 82)
• Butterflies – Caterpillars, Butterflies (pg. 40)

Spring 2022

• Construction – Bulbs (pg. 8)
• Immigration – Migration (pg. 15), Geese (pg. 64)
• Garden – Water (pg. 8), Making Compost (pg. 29)
• Culture – Lambs’ Tails (pg. 18), Startlings (pg. 89)
• Helpers – Gull Flight (pg. 16), The Loaf that Jake Baked (pg. 78)

Both the doodling dragons book and songs are part of a larger language arts program, Logic of English, Foundations A, although the songs are an add-on purchase. I went ahead a purchased the whole program, so we can use some elements in pre-k. I plan to start the program, in full, our kindergarten year. 

The song purchase includes a PDF download of the lyrics to the songs. We have printed and laminated lyrics cards, so that we can sing the song together without the music. The auditory addition is really helping phonograms click for my son!!!

Mathematical Thinking & Numeracy

1. Preschool Math at Home: Simple Activities to Build the Best Possible Foundation for Your Child by Kate Snow
2. Socks are Like Pants, Cats are Like Dogs: Games, Puzzles and Activities for Choosing, Identifying, and Sorting Math by Malke Rosenfeld and Gordon Hamilton
3. Moebius Noodles (Natural Math) by Yelena McManaman and Miria Droujkova

I really like Preschool Math at Home, but it is a bit late to our homeschool party. If this is your child’s very first experience with organized mathematical instruction, this may be great for you. Here is an overview of what the book covers, so you can decide if it is a good fit for your learner and their skill level.

1. Chapter 1 – Counting to Five (11 activities)
2. Chapter 2 – Counting to Ten (8 activities)
3. Chapter 3 – Numbers from 0-5 (8 activities)
4. Chapter 4 – Numbers from 6-10 (7 activities)
5. Chapter 5 – Written Numerals from 0-10 (10 activities)
6. Chapter 6 – Comparing Quantities and Numbers (8 activities)
7. Chapter 7 – Addition and Subtraction Stories (7 activities)

I haven’t decided if I want to use this material from chapter 5. However, I do intend to save the book for my daughter when she starts preschool. 

Sock and Like Pants is super unique. We are two lessons in and my son is begging for more! This book is scheduled weeks 1-12.

Moebius Noodles is not used until week 13, so we haven’t purchased it just yet. We’ll share our thoughts in our end of year review.

Monthly Math Inquiry Tables add-on can replace Preschool Math at Home, if your learner has surpassed what that book has to offer!

Science

1. A Little Bit of Dirt: 55+ Science and Art Activities to Reconnect Children with Nature by Asia Citro
2. Look I’m a Engineer by DK
3. Look I’m a Scientist by DK

I was looking for a curriculum that incorporated nature study. It was a toss up between Torchlight and Blossom and Root, for a long minute. Although A Little Bit of Dirt is not a nature study in its purest form, it achieves our goals to get outside and explore. One or two projects are scheduled each week. This is one part of the program schedule we haven’t felt compelled to restructure.

You can read more about our first outdoor lesson here.

The Look I’m a… books by DK are not scheduled every week, but they do provide some experiments to do at home with your kids. Will they all go perfectly!? No, but sometimes the journey is important enough that it doesn’t matter.

If project prep isn’t your thing, and you know you will flake out on these books, invest in a ready-to-use science kit instead:) Your learner won’t care how long it takes you to get ready, they just want to do!

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Although we have heavily tailored the Torchlight Pre-K curriculum to better suit our parent/learner needs, I have no regrets. Check back next spring for our end of year review. 

Happy Homeschooling!

Love,

b