Well, as this homeschool year starts wrapping up and we’re all counting down the math lessons, I love to start looking forward to next school year! If you are newish to homeschooling, I’m hoping this will help you feel a little more prepared and put a little spark in your planning.
First thing I do is look over what each of my students used for curriculum and did for activities this year. I want to keep doing what worked and what they enjoyed, and whatever didn’t work - well now I know what I need to find a replacement for! It may be I attempted to cram too many things in the schedule too, so in that case I’ll see what we didn’t have time to get to and decide if it’s a priority or not. Many times I can see what priorities rose to the top and what fell to the bottom.
The next thing I’m going to think about is if my students are going to participate in any co-ops or paid classes next year. If I already know the answer is yes and what they are taking, I will put that into the students weekly schedule, and note whatever books or materials are required.
Usually, at this point, I start a spreadsheet to keep my info together in one place. On the first tab, I list my students across the top and the subjects down the side, giving plenty of space between each. As I figure out what curriculum or books I’ll be using I plug them into this grid. I also try to put links for where I plan to buy from and costs as I’m researching.
I’ll make another tab that’s just for the budget, and I’ll make separate tabs for each student’s weekly schedule. If you only have youngers, and you’re all together all the time, separate schedules won’t be necessary, but I have 2 high schoolers, and even though we all have the same co-op day, they are taking different classes, and also have different extracurriculars. They also need more time in their schedules for math and Spanish homework, and I leave them at home one morning a week while I take the younger two brothers to our outdoor hiking club. So customize your weekly schedules as needed.
When all my peeps were still pretty little, like 9, 7, 3, and 1, I also did a “normal day” schedule where I did the times down the side and made a column for each student plus myself. I put who was doing what subject, what child I was working with and what younger siblings were doing to stay busy. It was necessary for my sanity and also forced me to think through having enough “centers” and activities for my littles ahead of time. I’ll try to do another post on just the topic of schooling with littles soon!
If you haven’t decided yet on what co-ops or outside classes you want to do, start gathering your options and find out how to visit the ones you are most interested, or when their info meetings are, or email the leader with whatever questions you have. Make sure the group is a good personality fit as well as the amount of academic vs social security emphasis you are looking for. Make sure you like the leader and feels like she listens to and understands you and what your family needs. If you make a year long commitment, just know you will probably at some point need advice, a hug and a shoulder to cry on. Of course, if you can meet your kids teachers and observe their class, do it!
Maybe you aren’t interested in a co-op but you want some other social opportunities or extracurriculars. Get recommendations from friends and start making a list. I usually prioritize these things lower in my budget, but if you are doing sports or music lessons make sure you count the costs: both money and time! There are also so many free options these days and always remember if there isn’t what you need, you can always start one yourself! Think: hiking groups, park days, book clubs, rubix clubs, drama productions, science fairs, art shows and so many more! Honestly, these are often the things your students enjoy and remember the most!
Your weekly schedule might suddenly start looking full! Hold on! Before you start saying “yes” to all the fun, what about the basics? Generally, math, language arts, science and social studies are considered mandatory. But really, for elementary, you should mostly focus on math and LA, and plan on incorporating the science and history in your read alouds and hands on activities. Other subjects like geography, handwriting, music, art etc are fun things to include and I usually manage to weave those in with the other subjects. Unit studies and “Morning Baskets” are great for this, and you can have fun and be creative designing what will awaken the wonder in your students. This is a good time to get lost on Pinterest.
If you have a middle or high school student, I suggest making an “ideal transcript” listing the classes you want your student to take from here til graduation. Remember the “core 4” but don’t forget 2 years of foreign language, and start looking into duel enrollment with your local community college, and other cheep college credit options.
If you expect your student will want to choose a path other than college, I’d still get the recommended high school credits in, but look for certificate programs in your student’s area of interest. Real Estate, beautician’s, electrician, plumber, EMT and many other liscenses can be obtained as soon as they turn 18, so make the book and practice hours part of their high school curriculum. No matter what your student plans to do, having a solid grasp of budgeting and personal finance, maybe even helping file your taxes and getting insurance quotes will make the transition to “Adulting” a little easier. That’s just my opinion, but maybe your family has different priorities and values they want to be sure get mastered before graduation? Start planning as early as possible how you plan to accomplish them!
Back on your middle and senior high plan: by this point you probably know your student pretty well. Maybe you have pulled them out of school recently, but I suspect that even in that case you have some ideas about what makes them tick. MS and HS is the time that they transition from needing you to teach them almost everything to being able to teach themselves everything. Besides having a plan and holding them accountable, there are a few other things you can do to help your student do that. 1. Know your students’ primary learning mode: visual, auditory, kinetic or subparts or combinations of them. 2. Understand what motivates them: social, internal perfectionism, praise, reward/punishment. 3. Have a realistic understanding of how quickly they can efficiently work. This includes how often they need breaks or how to get them into “genius mode”.
Why do we need to know these things? Why so that we can pick the best curriculum and classes, so that our students can get the most out of them, and hopefully enjoy them a little and be successful. I am not in any way implying that it is your responsibility to insure your student enjoys every class! That is actually an attitude choice that they must make. But we want to work with our students to support them in achieving their best outcome.
Case Study 1 - Introverted, engineer-brained son, visual learner, perfectionist. Needs challenging math and science curriculum, with video instruction preferably but does well with textbooks too. Struggles with Spanish and needs extra time for it in his schedule so he doesn’t stress out. Needs to be encouraged to read for fun and pursue hands-on hobbies.
Case Study 2 - Extroverted, dyslexic/ADD creative-brained daughter, auditory learner, socially motivated. Needs organization and structure to help her focus and keep track of tasks. Needs visual reminders such as check lists. Retains read aloud or audiobook information better than written. Works harder in classes with her peers, and does better holding herself accountable. Needs more time to get work done, but also needs breaks and time to be free and creative. Needs to be encouraged in her entrepreneurial endeavors, praised and rewarded for hard work and good attitude.
See why I wouldn’t necessarily choose the same curriculum or classes? Even better, give them feedback on what you’ve observed about their learning styles and encourage them to help you pick what they study next year. No, they can’t choose not to take Algebra 2, but do they wish to study it with Math U See, Teaching Textbooks, an online tutor, or in a class with other students? If you have a teen who loves literature, why not study “World History” based on British Lit? Or if you have a student who wants to be a missionary, “World History” might mean a year of reading missionary biographies. Or to a future med student “World History” might be the history and evolution of medicine around the world. Just a few options to consider as you fill in your curriculum grid!
Okay, you’ve got your curriculum picked out, what else do I need to plan? Somewhere during the selecting curriculum phase, I print out a calendar of next school year. I pick when I want to start and when I want to end, and the breaks I know I will take. If I’m using a co-op or classes, I’ll plug in their dates as soon as I know them. Hopefully I’ve got somewhere between 30-36 weeks of school to work with. Any subjects that aren’t being taught by someone else must now be divided up by that many weeks.
I start a new tab in my spreadsheet. The weeks get numbered down the side, each curriculum gets a column, and I start breaking things down by what needs to be done per week. I might write “Lessons 1-4” or “pages 45-72” or “first half” of a novel, or “gardening project” if it’s part of the unit study. I’m not lesson planning to a very detailed extent, I never do, I just break down what needs to get done into week-sized bites.
I don’t really care that much what gets done each day. In the beginning I think I wrote all that out, but I’m a perfectionist and seeing that I didn’t get to check something off on a particular day made me feel like a failure. If I know my weekly goals, then I can still make sure I’m on track for the year, but I can swap things around during the week if anything comes up. I always know what my bare minimums are: math and LA for elementary, and whatever homework needs to get turned in this week for my teens. The other subjects can get sped up or slowed down for busy seasons, sickness, or field trips. You’ve got to stay flexible.
The dreaded “Summer School” - what if I don’t get it all in? Honey, nobody gets it ALL in, especially not public school teachers, so why do you expect yourself to? If you make a reasonable plan, and faithfully work it, you will accomplish a ton. Not everything! You’ve got to prioritize. Sometimes having a baby takes precedence, or moving. Plan ahead some easy learning that your younger kids can do mostly independently. Listening to audiobooks, workbooks, educational apps and just reading can keep learning moving forward. Have checklists for older kids and use online or other options that you don’t have to grade. If you don’t feel like that’s enough, then sure, have them do schoolwork during the summer. Just make sure you plan some break time for yourself to recharge and refresh!
So I don’t have to buy a planner? Nope, sorry. I enjoy Happy Planners and keep one with our weekly activities and appointments, but I don’t lesson plan except what I’m covering for the whole week in the spreadsheet. I make a weekly meal plan and “to do” list for my planner, plan vacations and keep track of other stuff, but not daily school. I do print each student a copy of their weekly schedule, including what times they are supposed to be working on what subjects. I usually update this a month or 2 in, and again at the semester, and after spring break, if needed.
I also print off the portion of my weekly curriculum breakdown that covers their work and go over it with each individually at the start of school. I check in regularly to make sure they are on track and create a personal catch up plan if a student is falling behind. If your students are young, you really just need to have this meeting with yourself, but I’d say starting in 3rd grade is a good time to start holding the student accountable for getting their work done.
If I’m doing a unit study, I print stuff out ahead of time and organize it in a folder or binder. I pick out as many read alouds as I can before school starts, shopping my own bookshelves first, then checking used homeschool book fairs, the library and Amazon used. After I’ve figured out my curriculum and classes and whittled my budget in the spring, I shop homeschool curriculum sales at the convention, christianbook.com, and curriculum fb pages in my area. Books trickle in all summer and I make a crate for each student. For the youngers’ read alouds, I make a big “book buffet” - it’s a metal trough that I fill with “forbidden” books that they can’t read until it goes with what we’re studying in school. It helps me stay organized and excited and I love tantalizing my students!
Everything is ready to go when school starts back up, and although there’s always little tweaks to make and bumps in the road, it keeps the journey pretty relaxed.
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