Streamline Your Homeschool Take 2 ~ Episode 505

Today, we will discuss how to streamline your homeschool – take two! There is so much to homeschooling because we do it in the home. There is almost no way to thrive as a homeschool parent unless you take time to plan.

Media Angels, a company dedicated to bringing you self-paced classes, books, and podcasts, sponsored this show. Visit the Media Angels store here.

Our Streamline Your Homeschool is available on your time~ topics such as streamlining your laundry routine, one-on-one teaching, curriculum buying and planning, virtual field trips, dealing with distractions, and even a bonus, streamlining your work-at-home.

I recently did a podcast with this same topic, but I had SO much more I wanted to say – and here it is in part two.

Streamline Your Homeschool

The key to finding the perfect curriculum is understanding there is NO perfect curriculum.

I’ve made mistakes. When my son was five, I purchased a math curriculum, and he was struggling so much that I decided to buy another one mid-year at someone’s recommendation. That, too, turned into a disaster. The best way to buy a homeschool curriculum is to know what you want. One of the best websites for homeschool curriculum review is CathyDuffyReviews.com

Prayer is essential when deciding what you will teach and what books you’d like to use. All curricula will not work for all kids. One child may love a math program, while another will struggle to get through a lesson. Look at your kids, note what they can or cannot do, and then go from there. We work to remediate weaknesses and build on their strengths.

Parents, knowledge retention will not be great if your kids struggle all day. If your child is struggling academically, get help. This can mean beginning your introduction to education with a hands-on approach. Encourage your kids to learn, especially in the younger years, by setting up their day in small chunks of learning. With younger children, work plan ahead of time to alleviate as much frustration as you can. We will talk about planning a bit later in this presentation.

Streamline Your Thought Process:

1. Think about each subject you’d like to teach.
   
2. Refer to a scope and sequence. This is an overview of what subjects should be taught in specific grades. Still, you will learn in homeschooling that many subjects overlap, especially if you are preparing using a unit study or themed-based curriculum.
   
3. Consider activities such as field trips or lessons.
   

What are your homeschool goals?

1. Discuss with your spouse.
   
2. Pray about what you want to accomplish
   
3. Chose a family motto and “test it out” with the kids
   

Our family motto or saying is part of a Scripture Verse: As For Me and My House, we will serve the Lord…

How will you plan?

Let’s take history, for example:

1. How will you teach history? Books or theme-based?
   
2. What are you teaching? Ancient, World, American?
   
3. Are you interested in incorporating faith, relationship, family, and worldview values?
   

Here are some handouts to Streamline Your Homeschool

Handout: Back To School Planning List

Example of Check Off Lists Example Check Off Lists-2

More lists on Lists For Back To School

Movie Review Lists – Watching Movies Paper—podcast

Four Square Planning:

There are four main parts of any homeschool mom’s life. Faith, Kids, School, and Household. In that order for me! Here are some squares to get you started. I’ll include some blanks for you. You can do a week in review like me, or do this daily. Each month, these priorities may change.

• God – Pray
  
• School
  
• Household
  
• Errands
  
• Field Trips
  

 

Yearly Plan

• Divide out the year
  
• Plan holidays, birthdays, and other days off
  
• Schedule backwards
  
• Notable events – graduations, anniversaries, reunions, etc.
  
• Months you will school
  

Be sure to add dates that you can – block these off

Have a clear idea of how many days you will be schooling – most states require 180, but the hours will vary depending on your condition.

Planning OVERVIEW

Once you have decided what to do … Remember – if you are finished in 2 or 4 hours – you are done as long as the work is completed. You may need to be creative if you have a state where you must record specific hours.

Plan it and forget it.

• Schedule school times
  
• Time for meals
  
• Read Aloud
  
• Keep work samples
  
• 3-Ring Binders
  
• Folders, school supplies
  

Streamline Your Outings ~ Go out bag—Backpacks

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 ensure nothing was out or replaced.

• One for field trips
  
• One for the park
  
• One for church
  

Friends, I can say so much more, but homeschooling is a journey. It is not a race or a comparison of who did what better. Enjoy your time with your kids.

 

 

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