6 Things You Don’t Want to Forget While Preparing for Your Homeschool Year

Today we're talking about some little essentials that I think make a productive homeschool year.

Back to School is here and for us that's also Back to Homeschool. We try to keep a schedule that allows us 2 months off in the summer to regroup and reorganize for a successful school year. In addition to all the organizing of supplies and curriculum, I like to remind myself of 6 to keep in mind. I'm sharing my list of things to remember while preparing for your homeschool year.

Things I try to Remember While Preparing for your Homeschool Year

1. A Morning Routine:

   I find that if I wake up late, with no plan, and no idea of what should be done next it sets us up for a bad school day. Most important is waking before my daughter and getting a few things off my plate so I can devote the school hours to her.  A Morning Routine is a mother's secret weapon to adding more hours to her day. If you need help putting together an effective Morning Routine I highly recommend Crystal Paine's Make Over Your Mornings ecourse .

2. Flexibility:

   While planning is good sometimes things do not go as planned. Whether it's needing to scrap a curriculum, spending some extra time on a difficult subject or just taking the day and making it a field trip school day being flexible will help you to roll with the punches. I admit I'm one of those homeschool moms who likes to dot all her i's and cross her t's, but I learned early on that sometimes I have to make changes mid year or even mid-lesson in order to meet my child's needs. Roll those shoulders back and get to it. You'll be glad you did.

3. Your Child's Learning Style: Keep your child's learning style in mind whether it's buying your curriculum or teaching a lesson. My daughter has always learned best from listening and watching. She's an audial and visual learner. That doesn't mean we ignore other learning styles it just means that when she's having particular trouble grasping something I know what methods to turn to best present it to her for better success next time. For more on Learning Styles, I recommend this article by the HSLDA.

4. Learning doesn't always happen at home:

   Yes you can take your books and be on the go with homeschooling but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about every situation having the potential to be a learning experience. We don't want to overwhelm our children by quizzing them at every errand and outing but think of opportunities. Maybe that next boring trip to the dentist can instead turn into a day of learning what it takes to become a dentist or dental hygienist. Learning about teeth and how they change through your life. What it takes to keep teeth healthy.

5. Learning Can be Fun:

   It's not all books and tests.  You can have lessons many different ways. Math in the kitchen. Science in the backyard. Social Studies in a restaurant. Board games are a fun way to reinforce concepts and sneakily get in some math. Think outside the box as you teach your child. Many times your curriculum will also suggest fun ways to teach. Don't neglect these. We want our children to love learning.

6. Make Room in Your Plans for the Unexpected:

   So you've got that Morning Routine down and your lesson plans are going like clockwork. Then something upsets your day. It's going to happen. Don't let it get you down. Know that every day won't be perfect and that you can pick up and resume tomorrow or even next week.