ABCJesusLovesMe, now in its third editions, is a five-level program for preschool and pre-kindergarten. It can be used in class groups as well as for homeschooling. The curriculum, titled1 Year, 2 Year, 3 Year, 4 Year, and 5 Year, is for ages one through five, respectively. 5 Year serves as a pre-kindergarten or a kindergarten program with the addition of supplements. (See the publisher's explanation about which level to use.) The program aligns with state standards, is research-based, and includes play-based learning. Each Year has 36 weekly lesson plans that can be used one to five days per week.
This comprehensive program covers Bible, science, reading readiness, beginning reading, introductory math, handwriting, both fine and gross motor skills, character traits, self-care and manners, visual perception, music, and art. Hands-on activities, movement, reading real books, singing, and arts and crafts dominate the activities, although there are some worksheets, even for 1 Year. Activities gradually become more academic. Children's picture books are used for discussion at the youngest level, but, as the levels progress, other aspects of language arts are taught based on the content of the books.
1 Year introduces toddlers to books, Bible stories, songs, animals, sign language, colors, shapes, and the parts of their body. Even in 1 Year, children complete alphabet activity sheets that should be compiled into an ABC book, but they are not expected to learn the letters at this stage. Interactive Bible Story scripts can be used with your own props or flannelgraph figures. Character-related scripture prayers are provided for parents and teachers to pray for children throughout the day.
2 Year introduces the letters of the alphabet in order, counting from 1 through 10, shapes, colors, Bible stories, memory verses, Bible songs, and poems. Among other skills children learn this year are songs with fingerplays, basic courtesy (e.g., greetings, please, and thank you), their own first and last name, self-care (e.g., brushing their teeth, making their bed, washing hands), and the name of their town.
In 3 Year, children are introduced to all of the letters, both upper- and lower-case, as well as their sounds, and numbers 1 through 15. Tactile letters and numbers are used along with formation chants and rhymes for the child to learn how to form the letters, but actual writing starts in 4 Year. Children continue to learn Bible stories, memory verses, nursery rhymes, fingerplays, songs, colors, shapes, sorting, patterns, and both fine and gross motor skills.
4 Year continues in the same vein while developing greater familiarity with letters and their sounds as well as the ability to write both uppercase and lowercase letters. Similarly, they learn numbers up through 25, including how to write numbers 0 through 9.
5 Year is considered pre-kindergarten, but it can be used for kindergarten by adding supplements. Children begin to recognize words that start with particular letters of the alphabet. They can count to 40, write numbers to 20, count backward from 10 to 0, and count by 10s to 100. Coins, the clock, and beginning addition are introduced. They start to learn about community helpers, maps, and their country and state. Science is introduced as they learn to classify things as living or non-living and learn about the five senses.
Check the publisher’s website for more details on their scope and sequence since I cannot list everything here.
ABCJesusLovesMe is comparable to an on-site preschool program and can be used in that setting. For example, learning center ideas are included, such as the "Block Play" set-ups in 1 Year. Many of these are easily done at home as well as in a classroom. Consequently, for homeschool use, the program requires more preparation and gathering of resources than some other programs designed exclusively for homeschoolers. Many supplies are used repeatedly, so using the supply lists to gather resources and have them available up front saves time. However, parents need not use all the activities in a lesson plan and are free to choose those most appropriate and useful, especially with children at the youngest levels. Another time saver for parents is the many videos with Bible songs, memory verse songs, and (coming soon) songs for shapes and colors.
A bundle of the Complete Curriculum for each level includes a printed curriculum guide and a printed activity book, plus digital downloads for other components that include interactive Bible Stories and packets for Bible songs, memory verses (for 2 Year and up), and poems. The first two years also have packets for learning shapes and colors. ABC and Number posters are added for the second and third years, and 5 Year adds a packet for learning phonetic word families. Packets might include a single PDF, but most also include a poster and travel-size cards. You can also purchase printed and digital items individually if you wish.
Weekly lesson plans are typically three pages long. On the first page, they summarize objectives and list required supplies (activity sheets, books, and resources for activities). Other pages have a chart showing suggested activities for each day and provide instructions in blocks under topics like Number, Poem, Book, and Development.
Community Support
There are active social media groups for ABCJesusLovesMe where parents support one another. Heidi, the creator of this curriculum, tells me, "[P]arents are encouraged to pull learning from daily activities instead of letting the learning control the child’s day. Most parents come back and share that when they made this switch, there was very little prep time as daily life provided many opportunities to learn. We discuss this a lot in our very active Facebook Groups. The support that you get from fellow users and myself is what many consider our largest asset."
Free Basic Curriculum
Lesson plans for a limited version of this program are available free online for use by individual families as the Basic Curriculum. Online lesson plans include links to printable activity sheets, special pages on the ABCJesusLovesMe.com website, as well as to other websites for activities and information. Some links are to resources or learning materials that require purchasing. For example, one fine-motor-skill activity in 2 Year links to Peg Puzzles at Amazon. Most lesson plans link to Through the Bible in Felt since the author highly recommends that flannel-board, storytelling approach for teaching Bible stories. The curriculum also incorporates many children’s books and some audio CDs, along with lots of other resources for activities, such as magnetic letters and numbers, sidewalk chalk, craft sticks, glue, coins, cotton balls, and much more. However, families are encouraged to substitute with items they already have on hand as they please. You’ll need to look ahead to gather resources in advance. (Scroll to the end of the lessons to access weekly supply lists.)
The publisher seems to be pushing families who are using or considering the Basic Curriculum toward the more comprehensive and updated Complete Curriculum that must be purchased. In addition, those teaching a group class must purchase the Complete Curriculum. Licensing prices for group classes are listed with purchase information for each level.
The Basic and Complete programs are not compatible. The Basic Curriculum has not been updated like the Complete Curriculum, and the printed workbooks will not correlate with the Basic Curriculum.
Summary
The complete ABCJesusLovesMe is a truly comprehensive curriculum. It should satisfy those who want to provide structured learning for their little ones. It should also be useful for those who want to pick and choose ideas without using everything. In addition, the Christian base of the curriculum makes it an excellent option for Christian preschools as well as families who want to build a faith-based foundation for their homeschooling.
