Homeschool Planning For The Rest Of Your School Year
Starting the new year off right in your homeschool is so important. Planning is key to making things run smoothly throughout the year. Take my advice, spend some time planning and preparing even if it means you start later than you originally planned.
Homeschool planning for the second half of the year gives you a chance to tweak things. It’s a chance to discover what’s working and what’s not and make changes to help the rest of the school year go smoothly. Check out my favorite tips for homeschool planning and get awesome resources to help make sure the rest of your school year is awesome.
Starting The New Year Off Right In Your Homeschool
So how do you start off right in your homeschool this winter? How do you manage to do all the things and make the year totally awesome for the whole family? I’ll let you in on my secret: you actually don’t.
NOT doing all the things and over committing yourself gives you the freedom to do things that are important to you really well. Plus, it’s the best way to avoid the inevitable stress that comes from trying to do “all the things.” For example, we have a soft start in January that helps us transition into your second semester perfectly.
Every January, my family commits to a book and a game a day. No more and no less for all the homeschool days in January. There’s so much to learn from family game nights and great books, so we spend the month taking advantage of all these wonderful resources as much as possible.
Approaching January in this way gives us a great way to ease into the second semester without a lot of stress, especially after a busy holiday season. Plus, it’s a fun way to spend time together introducing new concepts and topics I plan to study for the rest of the school year.
Want to join our challenge? Check out our January book and game challenge to learn how you can participate with us this year too.
Homeschool Planning For February Through May
After a slow start in January, you’ll have had some time to think about what you liked last semester and what you want to change. This is the perfect time to consider tweaks and planning for February through May (or whenever you end the school year). Where do you want to start this semester?
I like to check in with our daughter Emily and make sure what we are learning still lines up well with her interests and passions. For us, using interest-led lessons and unit studies has been the best way to ensure that Emily is engaged and developing a lifelong love of learning.
I also like to take this time to reference my grade level skills checklists and evaluate where we are overall. Are there things I can check off because she’s mastered them? Are there things I need to make sure we focus on? Do I need to look for any new resources for the next half of our year?
This year, we plan to start with an interest-led human body unit study. This unit study (more details coming soon) was inspired by Emily’s interest in anatomy and the human body. In addition to our new unit study, we will keep doing all the fun things that work for us such as hands-on activities, read alouds, games, learning lunches, field trips and more.
Helpful Resources For Homeschool Planning
Planning for your homeschool and making changes to the way you do lessons can be challenging! I’ve got some helpful homeschool planners that are perfect for tackling this new challenge and getting all your ideas on paper. Plus, they’re customizable for what you need.
Print what you love and leave what you don’t. You’ll get everything from idea pages to places to keep all those internet passwords, and meal planning pages too. There are all kinds of different pages to customize your weekly homeschool plans with lots of fun themes like Harry Potter, flamingos, and rainbows.
Pastel Rainbow Homeschool Planner
This simple layout is beautiful and easy to use with checklists to help you stay organized. Plus, tons of options to fit your unique homeschool mom needs.
Bright Rainbow Homeschool Planner
This simple checklist layout comes in super bright cheery colors you’ll love! Plus, there are monthly and weekly pages in various formats to keep you organized.
Harry Potter Inspired Homeschool Planner
Are you a Harry Potter fan? Then, you’ll love this Harry Potter inspired planner for the homeschool mom who belongs at Hogwarts. This planner has the same great customizable pages as my other planners with a fun wizard theme.
Flamingo Homeschool Planner
Who doesn’t love flamingos? This cute planner is just as adaptable as the other three with the addition of inspiring quotes and beautiful pink flamingos too.
So what’s your favorite way to tackle homeschool planning? Will you be making changes midyear? Share your experiences and tips in the comment section for everyone. I can’t wait to read your wisdom and put it to good use too!
