Simplifying Homeschool Planning

This week I was cleaning out all of the stuff from the last school year. I don’t “have” to make a portfolio but I am choosing to keep one for nostalgia’s sake in memory of our first year homeschooling.  This process brought into context how much I have learned in just 1 year and I can only imagine how much more I’ll evolve over the coming years.

Last year I planned so much… and wasted so much time doing so.

It is interesting to see the progression of our homeschooling style from a very organized and planned beginning of the year to an “anything goes as long as there is learning” at the end of the year so this year I am adapting my planning accordingly.

Here is my simplified homeschool year planning:

1. Familiarize yourself with the curriculum resources. I didn’t want to leave this to the last minute because I can’t plan what I don’t know!
2. Pick a start date and an end date. When I told Shammy that we would start school in August, he took that to mean August 1st. I didn’t have the heart to argue so we compromised on August 3rd which is a Monday.
3. Pick a date to have portfolios or any reporting submitted to the county/state, if needed. We are 99.9% sure that we are taking the Umbrella school route so I’ll only have to worry about reporting attendance every quarter.
4. Block off known vacation times and holidays. I highlighted in the year at a glance calendar and included birthdays since those are holidays in our house.
5. Add known field trips and/or co-op dates.
6. Add lessons or other extra curricular activities that happen through the week.
7. Gather your curriculum, pick a subject and dig in!
When you are finished with your major planning, then you can go back and add in fun days to spice up the week like National Doughnut Day (it’s the first Friday in June) or National Popcorn Day (January 19th).

The point is you have your outline complete and then you can customize your schedule for your own family’s needs. It’s what makes homeschooling in your house unique!