The ABCJesusLovesMe Preschool Curriculum is a comprehensive, research-based preschool Curriculum focusing on Bible, academics, and development. Each of the Curricula contains goals and objectives to gauge the child's learning and growth. Beyond the weekly lesson plans, ideas and materials are provided to support parents and teachers along the way.
To equip and empower adults to be intentional and enable children to learn through play.
Intentional learning through play.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
I believe children are blessings from God. He has created each child unique and special. Learning should be incorporated into the child's day instead of controlling his/her day. I believe preschoolers should be able to explore, play, and learn new things through trial and error, not through "drill and kill." The comprehensive and research-based ABCJesusLovesMe curricula allow success for the most energetic child while allowing for supplemental material to be added for the child who prefers more sit-down activities.
Using the five ABCJLM Preschool Curricula the child will be exposed to the following subject matters through play-based activities, crafts, and teaching:
Each Curriculum and Lesson Plan features clear objectives, supplemental materials, and suggested activities for the week. To support diverse learning styles, developmental delays, and those with English as their second language, you can find additional teaching strategies in the Supportive Ideas section. Finally, creating a Preschool Notebook serves as a portfolio to organize the child's work, track progress, and share their achievements with others.
ABCJesusLovesMe chooses to leave technology education to families and later school years.
The ABCJesusLovesMe Preschool Curriculum is a comprehensive, research-based program built on educational theory with a biblical worldview. Designed around a play-based, whole-child philosophy, it supports age-appropriate academic, social-emotional, language, physical, and spiritual development.
Each level includes age-appropriate goals and objectives to guide a child's growth and learning, while providing practical ideas, materials, and support for the caregiver in a home or preschool setting. The Curriculum aligns with child development research by incorporating expectations set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, state early learning standards, and feedback from kindergarten teachers on readiness skills.
"A research-based early childhood curriculum is consistent with research on how children develop and learn. It provides rich content and teaching practices that are shown to support children's learning and development. A research-based curriculum focuses on domain-specific, developmentally appropriate content and skills that contribute to children's later development in that domain. A research-based curriculum is also content-rich, meaning that it provides broad and varied experiences and activities that promote children's learning and development. A rich curriculum invites children to think deeply about content that interests them and builds on their prior knowledge and experiences. Finally, a research-based curriculum offers a sequence of learning experiences based on children's developmental progressions."
Research-Based Curriculum. HeadStart. Source
"Without doubt, reading with children spells success for early literacy."
Simple Strategies for Creating Strong Readers -- Helping Your Child Become a Reader. US Dept of Education. Source
"Children who can recite eight nursery rhymes by age four often become a strong reader and speller by age eight. This is because rhymes help build awareness of the sounds inside words - a key skill for reading." Fox. M. (2005). Reading Magic. Pan Macmillan.
"Toddlers can begin to learn simple songs and nursery rhymes. These teach them how to play with words, recognize patterns, and develop rhyming and rhythm skills. As toddlers are exposed to books, they will begin to recognize letters and pictures and start identifying concepts of print while they read with adults or look at books independently. Older toddlers also begin recognizing alphabet letters, words, numbers, colors, and shapes in their environment. There are many PLAY BASED activities that parents and caregivers can use to expose children to these concepts in open-ended and creative ways. Kids are naturally curious and learn so much through play!" Kristina. 6 Skills Toddlers Need to Learn. (2022, August 25). Toddler Approved. Source
"Parents typically introduce color by saying “look at the green ball,” or “that’s a red apple.” However, the Stanford study found that reversing the order—“the ball is green” or “the apple is red”—made a significant difference in a toddler’s ability to identify colors. ...Learning colors and shapes sets the foundation for learning letters and numbers. ...Fill a series of boxes or bins with distinctly colored items that match. For example, the first one has all red items, the next one all yellow, etc. Allow the child to take things out and put them back, letting them get the hang of grouping items together." The better way to help your toddler learn colors. LoveEvery. Source
"A great way to really reinforce color recognition is to just work on one color at a time. Every week choose one color, and then have everything you do that week be related to that color." 7 Fun Ways to Teach Colors to Preschoolers. (2025, August 1). Green Kid Crafts. Source
Reading Books: "Repeat familiar words and phrases, and then get your toddler to fill in the words in familiar stories. Or try pausing and letting your toddler finish sentences for you – for example, ‘Moo said the …?’ Ask your toddler to name, describe or act out what they see on the page. For example, ‘What’s that? That’s right – it’s a monkey. What is the monkey doing? Can you jump up and down like that monkey?’ ...Use your voice, gestures and facial expressions to engage your child, and to help them understand the meaning of words and pictures. Turn the pages slowly, give your child plenty of time to look at the pictures, and talk with your child about what they see." Reading with Toddlers: 18 months-3 Year. RaisingChildren. Source
"Reading to babies is important for healthy brain development and lays the foundation for language and writing skills." 12 Tips to Boost Early Literacy. StartEarly. Source
Word Families: "Creating a word family chart with the whole class or a small group builds phonemic awareness, a key to success in reading. Students will see how words look alike at the end if they sound alike at the end — a valuable discovery about our alphabetic writing system. They’ll also see that one little chunk (in this case “-an”) can unlock lots of words!" Between the Lions. Meet the Word Families. ReadingRockets. Source
"Phonemic awareness helps children get ready for reading and writing by helping them understand that words are made of smaller sounds. It also helps them sound out words as they read and write. One of the key differences between readers who struggle and those who don’t is strong phonemic awareness." Phonemic Awareness: What Is It and Why Is It Important? National Center on Improving Literacy. Source
"Reading aloud to your child every day for at least 15 minutes helps to build your child’s vocabulary, pre-literacy skills, and form social-emotional bonds." Read for 15: The Power of Reading Aloud to Your Child. Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County. Source
"If nothing else, the simplest and most efficient way to help children engage, apply, and love God's Word is to read it with them regularly." Smith, Brandon and Jeremy Writebol."Tips for Teaching Kids the Bible." Lifeway. Source.
"By modeling your dedication for God’s Word; creating a consistent routine; teaching the Bible text; connecting the lesson to real life (their real lives!); making it interactive, interesting, and fun; and praying together, you can help children grow in their knowledge of and love for God’s Word, as you also equip them with the tools they need to grow in their faith and make a positive impact within their home and in their community." O'Donnel, Douglas. "7 Tips for Teaching the Bible to Children." June 12, 2023. Source.
"Repetitive activities and routines: Knowing what to expect and being able to use skills are both comforting and confidence-building to young children. Children of this age rarely get “bored.” Infants and toddlers have a great time when teachers sing the same songs over and over and bring out familiar teaching objects one-by-one." Mission Bible Class. Source.
"When you select the lessons for your loop, pick big picture lessons that lay a foundation of the character of God and the truth of God’s Word. This helps even the youngest children know the “basics”: who God is, what he has done for us, and how we should respond. Later lessons in preschool and beyond will build on this foundation." Ham, Ken. 5 Tips for Teaching Babies and Toddlers Biblical Truth. July 29, 2023. Source.
Comprehension Questions: "When you ask simple questions, you’re doing much more than “quizzing” them to ensure they were paying attention. You are actually leading them, interactively, in a time of interpreting and applying God’s Word. And you are preparing them to engage the Scriptures directly on their own in the years to come." Nielson, Jon. 6 Ways to Teach Your Kids the Bible. July 26, 2017. Source.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Developmental Milestones per Age:
Preschool State Standards:
"Fine motor skills activities for children are the best way to ensure proper development and practice of fine motor skills to promote the most functional use of a child's hands. ... Childhood is the critical time to properly develop these muscles... ."
The Secret to Making Fine Motor Skills Activities for Children Fun. Source
"Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word."
Cullinan, B. & Bagert, B.
"Getting preschoolers to take over the brushing, scrubbing and rinsing themselves is an important step in the development of a preschooler's independence. Not only does it give parents a welcome break and help ditch the dirt in the short term, but teaching basic hygiene concepts to children at a young age will form the groundwork of a healthy lifestyle in the future."
Wingerden, P. (2013, December 6). Wash, Brush, Comb! Hygiene Habits for Kids. Source
"Movement is at the very center of young children’s lives. It is an important facet of all aspects of their development, whether in the motor, cognitive, or affective domains of human behavior. To deny children the opportunity to reap the many benefits of regular, vigorous physical activity is to deny them the opportunity to experience the joy of efficient movement, the health effects of movement, and a lifetime as confident, competent movers."
Gallahue, D. (1993). Developmental physical education for today’s children. Dubuque, IA: Brown & Benchmark.
"Music encourages the ability to listen and concentrate. Songs encourage speech and auditory discrimination."
Silberg, J. (2011, July 26). Enriching a Young Child's Life. Source
Writing Development by Age:
"Process art is engaging and exploring with art for the creative process and the joy of creating rather than getting an end product. Unlike traditional art projects where the goal is to create a perfect frame-worthy masterpiece, process art emphasizes exploration, experimentation, and expression. Children are encouraged to use various materials and techniques to create their own unique works without any set expectations or guidelines." Why Process Art Matters: Encouraging Creativity in Kids. Source
Sign Language: "Toddlers need to learn how to communicate using their body language and their words! They will start out with a word or two and eventually can use full sentences! Some toddlers will also use sign language to help them as their words develop." Kristina. 6 Skills Toddlers Need to Learn. (2022, August 25). Toddler Approved. Source
Egg-Shaped and Broken Crayons: "Egg shaped chalk...fit the whole hand without forcing the fingers to grasp the writing tool. One-two inch crayons are the best for children through elementary school. It is almost physically impossible to get a fist around a one inch crayon. This promotes a tripod grasping pattern." Wood, Victoria. Crayons for Toddlers. The OT Toolbox. Source
Pencil Grip: "Students need to be taught the correct way to grip a pencil so they can have optimal control over the pencil point. A tripod grip can support this where the index finger and thumb hold the pencil against the middle finger. Students with a poor pencil grasp may benefit from using tools such as a pencil grip." Sedita, Joan. Teaching Handwriting. (2022, March 1). Keys to Literacy. Source
Handwriting: "Encourage students to begin all uppercase letters from the top and lowercase letters from the middle or top. Practice letters in groups that have similar shapes so students have practice reinforcing the same motor pattern." Sedita, Joan. Teaching Handwriting. (2022, March 1). Keys to Literacy. Source
"Research shows clearly that children are more likely to succeed in learning when their families actively support them. Families who involve their children in activities that allow the children to talk, explore, experiment and wonder show that learning is both enjoyable and important."
Helping Your Preschool Child. (2005). U.S. Department of Education. Source
"High-quality programs empower young children by encouraging them to initiate their own learning activities. The idea that young children initiate their own learning activities rather than act as mere passive recipients of information from others is central to developmentally appropriate practice for young children. Such active learning encourages children to solve their everyday intellectual, social, and physical problems and to assume a measure of control over their environment."
Schweinhart, Lawrence J. (1994, January). Lasting Benefits of Preschool Programs.
"Play is your child's work. Through play children practice the basic skills needed in the classroom -- and in life. Guided play in the right environment will help your child gain the tools she needs to sharpen her thinking, and heighten her sensitivity."
Auerbach, Stevanne. Dr. Toy's Smart Play: How to Raise a Child with a High P.Q. (Play Quotient), The Importance of Play and Toys. Source
"When play, love, and work are all involved, learning and development are the most effective. Play is not a luxury but rather a crucial dynamic of healthy physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all age levels."
Elkind, David. (2007). The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children. Da Capo Press.
"Early childhood education is rooted in the belief that learning through doing is fundamental for young children."
Henninger, M.L. (2009) Teaching Young Children: An Introduction. Pearson.
"Recognizing play as critical for children to experience joy and wonder, early childhood educators incorporate frequent opportunities for play in their teaching strategies. They plan learning environments that provide a mix of self-directed play, guided play, and direct instruction. Direct instruction—for example, providing children with relevant academic vocabulary, pointing out relationships, helping children recognize specific phenomena, or suggesting an alternative perspective—is an important tool for supporting children’s learning." DAP: Teaching to Enhance Each Child's Development and Learning. NAEYC. Source
*With exception to the Bible, listing a quote does not equate to an endorsement by JLM Media, LLC for other ideas promoted in the books and articles mentioned above.
