Focus on Pre-K 3s: a free curriculum for 3-year-olds

Boston Focus on Pre-K (3s) at a glance

Checked October 28, 2026 on the owner's site.

What it is and who made it

Boston also publishes a separate edition of its pre-K curriculum for 3-year-olds: five units of 34 to 41 school days, compared with four units of 43 to 45 days in the 4s edition. Like the 4s, each unit has an arc document with a week-by-week plan and links. The 3s edition has no separate Vocabulary, Writing, or Home Links components. The topics stay close to a young child's world: family and friends, color, wind and water, light and dark.

It's still a classroom document, so it assumes a teacher, a group of children, and a full school day. At home, use it as a menu rather than a schedule.

Units and length

1. Family and Friends — 41 days
2. The World of Color — 34 days
3. Wind and Water — 34 days
4. Light and Darkness — 34 days
5. Growing and Changing — 34 days

School days per unit from the owner's pacing calendar. At home, a unit often takes less time.

What's inside

5 themed units, each with a week-by-week plan; read-alouds, centers, storytelling, Building Blocks math.

Parts of the day the program plans for:

• Community Meeting
• Read Aloud
• Centers (including art, science and engineering, and Building Blocks math)
• Foundational Literacy
• Literacy Small Groups
• Storytelling and Story Acting

Areas of learning covered:

• Language and literacy
• Math
• Science and engineering
• Art
• Social and emotional routines

How a parent could use it at home

• Read the pacing calendar first to see how long each unit runs, then open only the unit you're starting.
• Keep sessions to short stretches, a few times a day, rather than one long block.
• Use the unit's theme as a lens for ordinary days: on a color week, name colors at the store; on a wind and water week, watch puddles and leaves.
• Repeat favorite books. Reading the same story many times is normal with young children.
• Let your child lead the storytelling part: write down a story they tell you and act it out together.

These tips are ours, not the program's.

The license in plain words

It's licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. In plain words: you may use, copy, and adapt it if you credit Boston Public Schools and share any changes under the same license. You may not use it commercially (for example, in a paid class or product). The license covers the owner's own material; third-party items, such as children's books or Building Blocks, may carry other terms.

Is there a free curriculum for 3-year-olds?

Yes, there are two free full-year programs written for 3-year-olds. Boston's Focus on Pre-K 3s has five units with a week-by-week plan for each and is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for noncommercial use. New York City's 3-K Explorations offer guidance for three Explorations; they may be used for educational, nonprofit purposes only, and other users are asked to request permission.

How is the 3s edition different from the 4s?

The 3s edition has five units of 34 to 41 school days, while the 4s has four units of 43 to 45 days. The topics differ, too: family and friends, color, wind and water, light and dark, and growing and changing. The 3s edition has no separate Vocabulary, Writing, or Home Links components, which the 4s edition includes.

Similar free programs

• Focus on Pre-K: 4s · 4-year-olds · 4 units of 43–45 school days (about 175 days, 2026–27 calendar)
• NYC 3-K for All Interdisciplinary Explorations · 3-year-olds · 3 Explorations over 10 months
• NYC Pre-K for All Interdisciplinary Units of Study · 4-year-olds · 10 units over a school year (Unit 1 runs four weeks)

All 17 free preschool curricula compared →