This will be my 5th year homeschooling! I can’t believe it myself because I do not in any way consider myself an expert home educator, but I do now however have some street cred in the homeschool world. (Hollaaaa!) 5 years is pretty much an entire elementary education!
About 5 years ago I found myself in front of YouTube with a pen and paper, carefully watching video after video of homeschooling moms reviewing curriculum and go over how they planned to school and the schedules they use and it was all quite overwhelming and daunting to say the least. I actually made an entire post on how to start homeschooling from scratch. If you are completely new to the world, I don’t recommend the info I’m about to give, it has to do with reviewing your previous homeschooling year…So THIS POST may help you gain your footing to start the dive into the homeschool world! (hint: the YouTube videos didn’t help much!)
Planning your homeschool year, by looking back…
I have never been a “planner person”, I love a plan, but planners and I just don’t jive. It always end up half used and me left feeling guilty that I only wrote a weeks’ worth of plans in August when I find it lying around the house sometime in January. I don’t need a nicely bound pile of guilt papers to plan my homeschooling year. But to not plan at all is to be foolish. My children’s education hangs on my back and I have to have a vision and a secured plan forward to ensure I am taking my role seriously. That doesn’t mean rigorous structure, but it does mean a planned DIRECTION. So every year sometime mid-summer, I take a look back and I ask myself some questions.
1.) What does my family need in this upcoming season? Will there be a life change? a Move?
This question is multi-faceted, but I first ask this question because its foundational. I’m not going to sign up for a years worth of hardcore rigorous “new to me” curriculum the year I have a newborn and am teaching 3 other grades. I’m going to meet the needs of the entire family and sometimes that looks different year to year.
In the past, during years with the most foreseeable changes and disruptions, I chose to plan the year more “open and go”, slightly less parent lead even though we consider ourselves Charlotte Mason based, homeschooling isn’t and should never be every single year a one size fits all. It needs to be crafted and arranged to meet needs and bring the most peace. This also includes examining your budget and time requirements for the days ahead. How can you sculpt your homeschooling to meet the demands of your home in the upcoming season without going insane? Be realistic!
2.) What did or didn’t work for EACH child the past homeschool year?
Might seem obvious but one of the main reasons I homeschool is to individualize my education approach to each child. It is something that requires observation and often stings a bit, it’s not fun to revisit why math lessons wanted to make you and your child rip their hair out, but it is wise to fix what IS broken and don’t attempt to fix what isn’t! What I do, is make a mental or physical list per child and recant what they excelled in, and struggled in.
Was LA too easy they were getting bored? Are they needing a different approach to grammar or maybe something more foundational needs supporting like multiplication facts, math tutoring or a few more reading lessons? This is the part of homeschooling that allows your kids to thrive, you get to educate them in the way THEY need. And I can attest to the fact that most of my children DO NOT learn the same, nor do they excel and struggle in the same areas. Take inventory of your wins and losses and adjust the year based on that!
3.) What did or didn’t work for YOU the past homeschool year?
Asking this specific question is newer to me. Once upon a time, I didn’t even factor myself in the homeschooling equation. I didn’t look at my needs as something to plan for or examine. Que the burn out, the overly emotional dumping on my husband about how feral the kids were that day, or how exhausted I am. I still tend to have those lovely little dramatic episodes just as a mother in general. But factoring in my humanity isn’t something to be ashamed of, or to ignore. We are HUMAN, we are with our children 24/7. MOM NEEDS TO BE OKAY no matter how you school your kids! But especially as the teacher, we need to acknowledge our limitations, or requirements for rest and social interactions.
What didn’t work: Since we don’t have a ton of family or outside “free” support. This upcoming year I’m trying to figure out how to manage a babysitter for myself once a week or two. Because this last year I realized I was burning out from lack of time to myself, lack of adult interaction, and because I was struggling, everything felt harder. I decided this next year, I will need more support. Currently and part of the last year, I’d been in trauma therapy, and it’s. been. mentally and emotionally exhausting. I need to plan for some buffers and margin to make sure I am as available and present to homeschool as I can! This is wise if we want to have a peaceful year.
What DID work: I have things that DID work for me that I plan to not adjust because it was lifegiving to my homeschool! For example, I refuse to put off starting school until late afternoon. I have friends who work this out beautifully. They love starting school late into the day, it works well for them. For us? My husband is home in the mornings and can wrangle the toddler and help some with breakfast, my energy is at its peak, and I enjoy jump starting with productivity. I also won’t change figuring out a way to go to the gym 3 times a week. It helps me feel so much more able to tackle the days. These will be non-negotiables as I plan.
Make a list of what did and didn’t work for YOU and approach the year with these in mind, plan for the differences you need.
Lastly the details….
So, after noting many changes to be made, solidifying what stays the same, factoring in my children’s seasons, ages, activities…THEN I purchase curriculum based on these evaluations.
And just for kicks, I’ll share what I decided! This year I will keep the same (Charlotte Mason based!) core curriculum we used last year and tweak it a bit (this might be switching the time or order of day we choose to do a certain subject).
We use A Gentle Feast for our core curriculum and combine different grades on a spreadsheet to organize our literature books for each term. This prevents the need to check multiple planners every morning. We also use various math curriculums since each child learns differently; currently, our 6th grader is studying pre-calculus online. While some curriculums have their own “Morning time materials,” I prefer to select my own. Learn more about a “Morning Basket” here. “Morning time” is a ritual many homeschoolers use to start their day, and it can include hymns, art, poems, books, quotes, recitations, scripture, or any family learning activity. The possibilities are endless.
As far as an actual schedule, I begin by taking a good look at what our commitments are, these are the things I consider to intentionally craft our days/weeks:
- What will the day to day will look like with mine or my husband’s work schedule, co-op days, practices, etc.
- Will there be enough time to eat a meal together with my husband daily if possible?
- When are we the most energetic and able to focus?
- How many extra curriculars are too much?
- How do we piece together a week that is peaceful, yet fulfilling?
- Will we still have time for family time and playdates?
You CAN create the homeschool life you want. It just takes some intentionality!
And as promised, here are my FREE daily printable PDFs you can fill them out on your own in whatever way you choose! (I keep a master calendar on my fridge for the week!) Reading log included!
