Published by Glydevia | glydevia.store
Homeschooling a young child is one of the most rewarding and most logistically demanding things a parent can do. The rewards are clear: individual attention, flexible pacing, curriculum chosen for the specific child rather than the average student, and a learning relationship built on genuine connection rather than institutional necessity.
The logistical demands are equally clear: curriculum selection, daily planning, materials preparation, progress tracking, and the constant question of whether what you're doing is actually working.
Glydevia books were designed with homeschool families specifically in mind. Every book in the catalog is self-contained, requires minimal preparation, covers clearly defined skills, and provides built-in progress indicators. This guide explains how to use each book within a homeschool context — how to pace them, how to supplement them, how to assess progress, and how to combine them into a coherent early learning program.
Part One: Building a Homeschool Program with Glydevia Early Learning Books
The three Glydevia Early Learning books — Forest ABC, Forest Shapes, and Fruit Stand — cover the three foundational skill areas of pre-K and kindergarten readiness: literacy (letters, phonics, handwriting, vocabulary), mathematics (number sense, counting, numeral writing), and geometry (shape recognition, real-world spatial thinking).
Used together, they form a complete early learning curriculum for children ages 3–7.
Using Glydevia Forest ABC in Homeschool
Recommended pace: One letter section per week (26 weeks total, approximately one school year)
Daily schedule (suggested):
Day 1 — Discovery: Work through the Letter Discovery Scene together. Read "Say it with Fox" aloud and have your child repeat. Name things in your home or outside that start with the same sound. Keep it informal and playful.
Day 2 — Tracing: Complete the Trace Then Write page. Watch the stroke guide carefully together before starting — which direction do the arrows point? How many strokes does the letter take? Have your child trace all rows, then attempt the "write it yourself" boxes.
Day 3 — Words: Complete the Words That Start With page. Read each word aloud together, tracing the first letter as you say its sound. After writing each word, ask: "Can you think of another word that starts with this sound?"
Day 4 — Sound Hunt: Complete Fox's Sound Hunt. Before starting, say each picture name aloud together to confirm your child knows what each image represents. After completing, review any items your child was unsure about.
Day 5 — Surprise Activity: Complete the surprise activity page (coloring + hidden letters, maze, connect-the-dots, hidden objects, etc.). This is typically the most exciting page of the week — save it for last as a reward. Color the stamp on the Forest Journey Map together.
Review weeks: Every fifth week, a Review Checkpoint page appears. Use this week to:
- Complete the Checkpoint page
- Review previous letters using the Forest Alphabet reference chart
- Do informal oral review: "Fox is thinking of an animal that starts with /b/. What could it be?"
Assessment: Forest ABC includes built-in assessment throughout:
- The Sound Hunt pages show which sound associations are secure
- The "write it yourself" boxes show letter formation progress
- The Review Checkpoint pages assess retention across 5 letters
- The Alphabet Review pages (near the end) provide comprehensive A–Z assessment
Supplementing Forest ABC: The book covers all foundational literacy skills but doesn't provide reading instruction — that's a separate program (phonics readers, decodable texts, etc.). Forest ABC works best as a daily skills practice component alongside any phonics reading program.
Using Glydevia Forest Shapes in Homeschool
Recommended pace: One shape per 2–3 days (approximately 3–5 weeks total)
Daily schedule (suggested):
Day 1 — Discovery + Real World Hunt: Complete the Discover page together. After finishing, go on a "shape hunt" in your home or yard. How many circles can you find? Triangles? Set a timer for 5 minutes and count them.
Day 2 — Trace and Draw: Complete the Trace · Then Draw page. Focus on the Nature Connection box — talk about each real-world object and why it has that shape. The moon is a circle because... pine trees look like triangles because...
Day 3 — Find and Color: Complete the Find · Then Color page independently. After finishing, ask your child to explain where each hidden shape was hiding.
Integrating shapes into everyday life: Forest Shapes is most effective when the shapes don't stay on the page. Make a habit of noticing shapes during normal family activities:
- Cooking: "What shape is the pizza? What shape is the slice?"
- Driving: "How many triangles can you see on road signs?"
- Reading: "What shape is the book? What shape are the pages?"
- Building: "What shapes are the LEGO bricks? What shapes do they make when you combine them?"
Assessment: The Shape Matching activity and Shape Parade review near the end of the book provide natural assessment points. Watch for:
- Does your child name shapes correctly without prompting?
- Can they identify shapes in new, unfamiliar contexts?
- Can they draw the shapes from memory with reasonable accuracy?
Using Glydevia Fruit Stand in Homeschool
Recommended pace: One number per 2 days (approximately 4 weeks total)
Daily schedule (suggested):
Day 1 — Count and Color: Complete the counting page. Before coloring, count the fruit together — point to each one, say the number, and check: "How many did we count? Does that match the number at the top?" After coloring, practice the hand gesture for that number.
Day 2 — Trace and Write: Complete the tracing page. Watch the stroke guide together before starting — which direction does the number go? Are there any tricky turns? After completing, practice writing the number from memory on a separate piece of paper.
Bonus challenge pages: The three "How Many?" pages at the end work best as a mini-assessment. Do them after completing all 20 counting and tracing pages, without looking back at the book. Time doesn't matter — accuracy does.
Extending number learning:
- Count real objects daily: "Can you put exactly 7 grapes on your plate?"
- Number word recognition: Point to number words in books, labels, and signs
- Numeral identification: Play "I spy" with numerals in the environment
- Simple addition readiness: "You have 3 grapes. I'm giving you 2 more. How many now?"
Assessment: The bonus "How Many?" pages are the built-in assessment tool. A child who can count groups of unfamiliar objects and write the correct numeral has internalized the number-quantity connection. A child who can only count familiar arrangements is still building the connection — continue practicing with real objects.
Part Two: Using Glydevia Animal Kingdom Books in Homeschool
The seven Animal Kingdom maze books — Ocean Explorer, Farm Friends, Jungle Quest, Sky High, Bug World, Reptile Run, and Pond Pals — serve a different function in a homeschool program than the Early Learning books. They're not skill-building workbooks with a developmental sequence. They're content-rich independent activities that build scientific vocabulary, natural curiosity, and fine motor skills simultaneously.
This makes them extraordinarily flexible: they can anchor an entire thematic science unit, supplement any existing curriculum, provide independent work time, or simply serve as the most engaging quiet activity in your daily schedule.
Option 1: Thematic Science Units
Each Animal Kingdom book covers enough material to anchor a 2–10 week thematic science unit, depending on how deeply you extend each page.
Example: Ocean Unit using Ocean Explorer
Week 1 — Introduction and Ocean Zones:
- Pages 1–10 (coral reef creatures)
- Supplementary activity: Draw and label the three ocean zones
- Read-aloud: Any ocean-themed picture book or non-fiction reader
- Map work: Mark each creature's habitat range on a world map
Week 2 — Open Ocean:
- Pages 11–25 (open ocean creatures)
- Research project: Choose one creature and find 5 additional facts
- Science activity: Demonstrate water pressure at different depths with a plastic bag experiment
- Writing: "If I were a [creature], I would..."
Week 3 — Deep Sea:
- Pages 26–40 (mid-water and deep sea creatures)
- Discussion: Why is the deep sea so little explored? (cost, pressure, darkness)
- Art project: Create a diorama of a deep sea scene
- Vocabulary review: Bioluminescence, adaptation, pressure, ecosystem
Week 4 — Review and Assessment:
- Pages 41–50 + Grand Ocean Gala finale
- Vocabulary quiz: Match 10 terms to definitions
- Oral presentation: Each child presents their research project
- Celebration: The child earns their Ocean Explorer Champion certificate
This framework can be adapted for any Animal Kingdom book: Farm Friends for a 3-week farm and agriculture unit, Sky High for a bird and migration unit, Bug World for an insect and ecology unit.
Option 2: One Page Per Day (Ongoing)
For families who prefer a lighter touch, one Animal Kingdom page per day serves as a consistent, low-preparation science warm-up:
- 10–15 minutes of independent work
- Read the fun fact aloud together
- One follow-up question: "Did you know that before? Does that surprise you? Why do you think that is?"
At this pace, Ocean Explorer (50 pages) takes 10 school weeks. The complete Animal Kingdom series (295 pages total) takes a full school year of daily 10-minute warm-ups.
This approach requires almost no preparation and builds a substantial base of scientific vocabulary and curiosity over time.
Option 3: Interest-Led Deep Dives
For children who develop intense specific interests — in sharks, in birds, in insects — the relevant Animal Kingdom book provides a structured entry point for interest-led learning:
- Complete the book (or the relevant pages) at the child's pace
- Use the fun facts as research prompts: "That says sharks can detect one drop of blood in a million drops of water. How do you think that works? Let's find out."
- Build a research notebook: Draw the animal, write known facts, add new ones from library books or documentaries
- Visit: Zoo, aquarium, natural history museum, botanical garden, nature preserve
The Animal Kingdom books don't replace library books, documentaries, or live animal encounters — they spark the curiosity that makes those experiences meaningful.
Part Three: Planning a Complete Glydevia Homeschool Year
Here's a sample structure for a full homeschool year using the complete Glydevia catalog, suitable for a 4–6-year-old:
September – October: Shapes and Numbers Foundation
- Forest Shapes (39 pages): 3 pages per week, 13 weeks → complete by November
- Fruit Stand (23 pages): 2 pages per week alongside Forest Shapes → complete by November
- Animal Kingdom: One page per day from Farm Friends (easiest starting point for ages 4–5)
November – January: Alphabet Introduction
- Forest ABC begins: One letter section per week (26 weeks to complete)
- Safari ABC: One page per week alongside Forest ABC for reinforcement and coloring
- Animal Kingdom: Continue one page per day — transition to Ocean Explorer or Jungle Quest
February – April: Alphabet Deepening
- Forest ABC continues (letters N–Z)
- Review Checkpoints: Use the built-in checkpoint pages as formal assessment
- Animal Kingdom: Sky High or Bug World
May – June: Review and Extension
- Forest ABC finale: Alphabet Review pages, Parent Guide review, Certificate of Achievement
- Animal Kingdom: Reptile Run and Pond Pals to complete the series
- Extension: Begin independent reading with decodable readers, using Forest ABC as phonics reference
Tracking Progress Without Tests
Many homeschool families prefer not to use formal tests with young children — and the Glydevia catalog supports this preference through built-in informal assessment:
Observation during activity: Watch how your child approaches each page. Are they scanning before starting? Backtracking without frustration? Reading the fun facts independently? These behaviors indicate skill development that no worksheet score can capture.
The Forest Journey Map: Stamp or mark each letter as it's completed. The map gives children — and parents — a visual representation of cumulative progress that is immediately motivating.
Review Checkpoint pages: These appear every 5 letters in Forest ABC and provide a natural assessment of retention without the pressure of a formal test.
The "How Many?" pages in Fruit Stand: A genuine knowledge check — do the correct quantities appear on the page, or is the child guessing?
The Shape Matching activity in Forest Shapes: Can the child correctly match all 8 shapes to their forest equivalents without help?
Oral conversation: The single most reliable assessment tool for young children is simply talking with them. "Tell me everything you know about octopuses." "What letter does 'elephant' start with?" "Draw me a rectangle." These conversations reveal understanding — or its absence — more clearly than any worksheet.
Frequently Asked Questions from Homeschool Families
Can I use Forest ABC as my complete literacy curriculum? Forest ABC covers phonemic awareness, letter recognition, letter formation, phonics (beginning sounds), and vocabulary — the foundational literacy skills for pre-K and kindergarten. For most families, it works best as a daily skills practice component alongside a phonics-based reading program (Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, All About Reading, Bob Books, etc.). Used together, they form a complete literacy foundation.
How do I handle a child who wants to move faster than one letter per week? Let them. The pacing suggestions are guidelines, not rules. A child who completes two or three letter sections in a week is building skills just as effectively — and following their interest is always the right call in homeschool.
What if my child hates tracing? Some children genuinely resist pencil-to-paper activities at certain ages. Try: larger pencils, triangular grips that reduce hand fatigue, doing the tracing at a vertical surface (wall or easel) rather than flat on a table, or simply taking a 2-week break and returning. The skills will develop — the timing varies significantly between children.
Can I use these books with a child who has a learning difference? Glydevia books work well for many children with learning differences because of their multi-sensory approach, variety, and the absence of performance pressure. For children with specific diagnoses (dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, etc.), consult with your child's specialist about how the books fit within their individualized program.
How do I use these books if I'm not homeschooling full-time? Glydevia books work equally well as after-school supplements. One Forest ABC page per evening (10–15 minutes) maintains literacy skills alongside school instruction. One Animal Kingdom page as a Saturday morning activity builds the scientific vocabulary and curiosity that enriches school science lessons.
The Goal Behind the Curriculum
Every Glydevia book was designed around a conviction: the goal of early education is not to produce children who can perform on assessments. It is to produce children who are curious, persistent, and capable of sustained independent thought.
The skills these books build — spatial reasoning, phonemic awareness, number sense, fine motor control, scientific vocabulary, executive function — are not ends in themselves. They are foundations for the curiosity and capability that make a child genuinely educable: ready not just for the next worksheet, but for a lifetime of learning.
If a child finishes a year with Glydevia books and can write all 26 letters correctly, count and write numbers 1–10, name 8 shapes in the real world, and tell you that dung beetles navigate by the Milky Way — that child is prepared. Not just for kindergarten or first grade, but for the experience of encountering the world with genuine interest and the tools to understand it.
That's the curriculum.
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