I started doing my preschool letter of the week curriculum when my kids were around 3 1/2. I think it’s kind of dependent upon what your child is ready for and their maturity level. Some kids are ready to start sooner, and some later!
When do you start preschool?
We tried when he was 4 - even got Calvert’s full curriculum… and he was just not ready! I wish I had known about your letter of the week curriculum back then! So we just worked “school” into every day play… he was ready for “school” when he was 6.
My oldest started in a part time preschool, so I began using a prek curriculum with him when he was 4. My next little girl is now just over 3 and BEGS to do school every day including weekends. We have been giving her activities, tot packs, manipulatives, etc. to incorporate “school” into her play and I am starting the Letter of the Week with her this week. She’s SO excited! LOL It’s quite amazing how much the littles can pick up just by listening to what their brothers and sisters are doing!
I have a 3rd grader and a 5 year old she has DS (Down Syndrome) so with her its a little different , but i am starting my 3 year old and he is doing great we do school work (as he calls it) 
and then we use ABCMouse.com they love it …
I started preschool with my oldest a couple months before her 3rd birthday and with my youngest at 2.5. I think it just depends on your kids.
With our oldest we started when he was 4 because he didn’t show interest until then. Our middle kiddo started preschool at 3 but decided to join brother doing kindergarten so she kind of skipped it. Our youngest has been joining in and listening since she was a baby but I’ve been doing some more formal stuff with her since the beginning of our school year when she was 3. She’s chomping at the bit to get started with school books though so we’ll be doing that soon.
My youngest two boys love to learn! I started topics when they showed interest, at around 2. I will do a more structured preschool when my youngest turns 3 1/2.
I started my daughter a few weeks before she turned three. Her two older siblings attend public school and she really wanted to go. She can’t go to preschool because of severe food allergies so I looked into homeschooling. She loves it!
We do sporadic schooling with the little’s from age 2 or 3. It looks more like games and fun bonding for the most part until they show that they are ready. We officially started with my oldest this year after she turned 4. It looks like my 2 year old may start a bit sooner because she wants to be a part of what her big sis does. 
Thank you for this forum! I’ve been wondering when to start my daughter. She’s 28 months. I don’t think she’s quite ready yet. And neither am I! I’ve got my hands full with a newborn!
My Girl will be 3 mext month and my boy 4 the next. They both know all their shapes and colors,and my girl can say her Alphabet. I am starting more routine studies. I have purchesed the Letter of the Week curriclum and love it.
So far I’ve started 3, or just a little over. It worked well for my oldest, okay for my second, we stopped halfway through the school year with my third and restarted when he was 4. With my youngest I am going to try in the fall and he will be just over 3. I am going to take it slow and see how it goes. This is the first time I’ve started a 3 year old when older ones were home though so I will be interested to see if that changes anything. Maybe seeing his siblings working will make him more eager to do school. Or maybe he will run screaming, who knows?
I usually start when they are around 3 1/2, too. My daughter I started at 2 just because she wanted to sit and do “school” with her big brother. My younger boys do not want to sit still for anything! LOL
I used to teach preschoolers so It was just play from about 1 years old I started flashcards teaching numbers, letters and colors. But, as young as we started it was very relaxed. We started actual official school time at 4. The only thing I would change is I would of started foreign languages as babies instead of later it comes so natural to them.
I was pushing to start with my oldest but we managed to keep it pretty relaxed for 3-4-5. My second was not at all interested (& I had learned that it wasn’t an area to stress about) so he didn’t start much formal until 6. The third started right with him so he was 4 and very, very ready. My now 4 year old joins in when he likes but we don’t have anything formal for him yet. I can tell he will soar with K in the fall. And little sis will probably try to keep right up with him even though she will not quite be 3. I think she will be my real challenge as she is determined that she can do anything the big kids can but is often frustrated when it doesn’t quite work out.
We started Letter of the Week with my oldest when she was 4. At the time, my 2 1/2 yo wanted to “do school” too so I started her on the coloring pages and she would listen in. By halfway through the school year, she was able to do more of the work. This school year she is doing the complete LotW and loves it. She will be turning 4 by the end of the school year.
Mine were just like this! My son was interested but not all that excited. My younger daughter knew all of her colors and numbers just by listening to him do his work, so we started her this year (she was three). She loves it and gets bummed when it’s not her day to “do school.” Now my youngest son, who is two, has been showing us he will probably be ready “early” too!
I officially started my girls when they 3, they were ready to sit & listen for short periods of time a few days a week, and craft times were/are a lot less messy than when they were 2, haha. My youngest is still too little yet.
I think age 3 but it depends on the child. I have my 3 year old in nursery school 2 mornings a week. I am thinking about keeping her home next year instead of 3 mornings a week.
I also have a child with DS, He is 7 and learning is such a struggle with him. He is still learning on a preschool level. What are you using for your 5 year old curriculum wise?