The best homeschool planning tips are the ones we often forget. With this simple outline your year will begin with a great start! Often, what we do is we get laser focused on school and forget we have a life. We are so excited we have our books – our schedule laid out and then when the afternoon rolls around we are FREAKED OUT we don’t have anything planned for dinner. In this episode I cover three simple guidelines.

Visit our podcast sponsor! NOW Programs.

Show Notes: The Best Homeschool Planning Tips

1. 
   
2. The best advice I can give you about planning your school year is don’t forget about the REST of your life.
   

• 
  
• God
  
• Spouse
  
• School
  
• Meals
  
• Laundry
  
• Meals
  
• Doctors
  
• Field Trips
  

2. 
   
3. Do take time to plan your entire year – yes, your year
   

• 
  
• Do you seasonal themes especially if you school younger children – older children love this too.
  
• Do plan breaks and save days for field trips as they come up
  
• Do plan time for family chores
  
• Do plan time for meal prep – mega cooking and FREEZE or can
  
• Utilize cooking in your schedule –
  

3. Think through things once and forget it!

Just like the crock pot recipe commercials would say the set it and forget it – the same thing with your planning.

1. 
   
2. School Schedule. Times!
   
   1. 
      
   2. Break fail – after lunch very hard to get back to work
      
      1. 
         
      2. Finish math – or writing projects
         
      3. Science experiments
         
      4. Read
         
      
      
      
   3. Year End Notebook
      
      1. 
         
      2. Keep work samples for each subject ALL YEAR LONG
         
      3. Put in pocket sheets and clear vinyl slip sheets to keep things like pictures, samples of math, writing, history, and science papers. Art projects etc.
         
      
      
      
   
   
   

• 
  
• Tests and progress
  

1. 
   
2. Go out bag. Put in all the things you will need. Pick it up and go. If you have older kids put a laminated card on the outside and someone can double check the bag to be sure nothing wandered out or was not replaced. (Tell forgetting diaper bag – had the baby!)
   
   1. 
      
   2. One for field trips
      
   3. One for the park
      
   4. One for church
      
   
   
   
3. Chore chart –
   
4. Meals
   
5. Laundry Day