I hope you have been following along in my 31 Days to a Better Planned Homeschool series where I’m sharing everything that I do to get ready for the new homeschool year. I’ve also added some great printables as well for you to use. You now know what homeschool curriculum you’ll be using and how to get it on a budget.
Plan your holidays
What weeks will you need off for holidays for the year? Go ahead and set those aside for the year. I know December can be hectic so I plan for a very light December schedule and we take two weeks off at the end of December which by mid-year is a welcomed break. Remember to add any other holidays you know you’ll take off for the weekend or earlier so that you have time to prepare and perhaps have a lighter day scheduled.
Weeks of school
I’m in Ontario so we don’t have to keep any records but for those that do, how many hours of school will you need to get in for the year. How many weeks does that correspond to? Will you school through the summer or take it off completely? Great things to consider when planning your year.
Examine your curriculum
How many lessons does your math book have or your history curriculum? How many days will you do that subject each week? Can you get through one lesson in one week or will it take two? Figure this out for each of your books so that you have a rough idea of where you should be in the book.
Leave room for interruptions
If you know you’ll have 40 weeks of school this year and you plan 40 weeks of lessons, it’s likely you may get behind and freak out if you’re not on track. If I’m planning for 40 weeks of school I’ll have 35 weeks of lessons planned. This is because there will be times other than a vacation that will be lost due to illness or other things that pop up due to normal life things.
Use pencil
If you’re a paper planner then use pencil, I use my excel sheet to plan our year overview to see if we’re on track. If we do get off track I move things to the next week and it’s not a big deal. I don’t stress it.
Be realistic
You don’t have to do every subject every day, be realistic if you have a newborn, you schedule will look very different from someone that has elementary aged students. If your child will be competitive swimming, then make sure what you’ve planned can be catered to your child and their schedule, it’s about priorities. You don’t want to burn out and you don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on your kids to finish the year either.
Homeschooling is a journey and a lifestyle, it won’t look the same for everyone to find what works for you and your family.
Get the How to Create a Monthly Homeschool Schedule Printable Here >>
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Be sure to grab the free printable homeschool planner.
Follow along in my 31 Days to a Better Planned Homeschool series.
You’ll also want to check out the other 26 bloggers in this series as well and join our Homeschool Tips 4 Moms Facebook group if you’d like to connect with other homeschooling mothers.
Lissette says
This is perfect! Having a schedule was actually one of my New Years resolutions so that I can schedule time for everything, including teaching my 2-year-old new things.
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Kristy as Giftie Etcetera says
If you want to color-code your schedule (for different kids, for example) you can use Frixion ink pens (by Pilot, I believe?). They are completely erasable.
Sherry says
Thanks for sharing your ideas with us at Merry Monday.
My Bored Toddler says
Some great ideas. A very useful resource. Thanks for sharing on #ToddlerFunFriday