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planning

The Sticking Power of a Solid Homeschool Schedule

June 6, 2014 | 7 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The staying power of a homeschool schedule cannot be underestimated for the organized homeschooler. It takes time and self-discipline though to stick to a schedule.

POWER OF A HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULE

Too, I have a bit of trepidation in sharing about this topic. 

It has been my experience that homeschoolers obsess worry about this topic more so than some other homeschooling issues. 

Deep down they truly care how to fit everything in a day, maintain their sanity and identity, and strive to make the homeschool journey a memorable one for the right reasons. 

The staying power of a homeschool schedule cannot be underestimated for the organized homeschooler. It takes time and self-discipline though to stick to a schedule. Click here to grab these tried and true tips for planning a schedule!

Sometimes they feel isolated because they think other homeschoolers manage their schedules better.

Doing what I love to do and sharing with you just two points that help me to organize and what sometimes {not always} comes easier for me, I hope to give you a gentle sweet nudge in the right direction. 

You are not alone in your struggle to make it all fit in a day.

Homeschool Schedule Equals A Plan of Action

Visible Schedule.  Achieving success starts by creating a visible schedule.  I know, you may think that is stating the obvious, but I promise there is a fundamental, but powerful point here. 

Understanding that your schedule needs to be visible is the first step to a well-defined plan of action.

This is a very fine and let me emphasize that again—very fine point—that makes a huge difference between the organized homeschooler and the wanna be organized homeschooler.

Having good intentions by going through your schedule in your mind keeps it just that – a thought.

It is not a call to action or a plan. 

Staying in your mind is sort of like keeping it at brainstorming level or at a mulling over stage. 

Too, if you have a creative solution for a hiccup in your schedule, then you want to quickly commit that to a point of action.

When a schedule is committed to paper (or any other location in your house) it becomes a plan of action.  It has gone from abstract to concrete.  Does that make sense?

Paper method is just one way that a schedule is visible.  It is my preferred way, but it does not have to be your way.

Shocking Invisible Homeschool Schedules

Avoid schedule type mayhem. In addition, what type of schedule you create depends on which family members you want to make aware of it.

Don’t just jump out there in your enthusiasm to organize and create something that hems you in. 

Carefully scrutinize the needs and ages of your household.  It will change and your need for different schedules will change.

Homeschool Schedule

For example, when the kids were little and though I hadn’t moved away from stepping in sync with a public school schedule.

I still presented what worked for them at a very young age which was simply something hanging on the wall to talk about each day.

At that time though I still had my schedule down on paper though it was not necessary to share it with my young kids.

Also, having more than one place or location for your plan of action is a recipe for success. 

How? Because you have just doubled your efforts to help you accomplish each task day by day by sharing it with your children.

Many hands do make the work light or in this case, keep all on task.

Children have a natural bent toward routine.  If you want to be more organized, use that natural bent toward helping you to flow through a day with a better plan of action.

Homeschool Organization Means Communication

As your children grow older, they become self-starters and built in motivators when they don’t even know it. 

On more than one occasion when my sons were very young, they would prod me by asking if it was time to start our school or task.

Temporary Command Center

Then last year, I shared my Woo-Worthy Big Calendar by NeuYear that I had visible in my house for a while. 

Even though I had already started downsizing for our move, a temporary command center was a must.

The ages of my children have now changed dramatically, but the need of a visible place to communicate my plan of action has not.

Whether you put your schedule in a student planner, your homeschool planner, on a wall, on your refrigerator, or a central place in your home, it needs to be visible to accomplish your plan of action for that year.

A homeschool schedule is the backbone of homeschool success and a visible schedule has helped me over more than one homeschool hurdle through the years.

However, a common mistake in creating a homeschool schedule that has sticking power is to plan hour by hour, minute by minute and what seems second by second.

Next, I will share a few tips so that your plan of action keeps you organizing instead of agonizing.

How many places do you post your homeschool schedule?

The staying power of a homeschool schedule cannot be underestimated for the organized homeschooler. It takes time and self-discipline though to stick to a schedule. Click here to grab these tried and true tips for planning a schedule!

Want some more tips about scheduling?

  • How to Plan EVERYTHING in Your Homeschool Video
  • {Homeschool Organization Series} Where do you begin?
  • Must-Haves for the Organized Homeschooler. What to Keep & What to Skip
  • 6 Ways to Organize Your Homeschooled Teen
  • Homeschool Organization – Preschool/Kindergarten Free Morning Routine Flip Cards
  • 100 BEST Ideas to Organize Your Homeschool Area – Storage, Spaces, and Learning Places
  • 3 Ways to Instantly Gain More Time in Your Homeschool Day

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschool Organization The Sticking Power of a Homeschool Schedule

7 CommentsFiled Under: Organization, Schedule/Balance Home & School Tagged With: homeschool challenges, homeschool planning, homeschool schedules, homeschoolorganization, organization, organize, organizedhomeschool, planning, schedules, year round homeschool planning, yeararoundhomeschool

What is Year Around Homeschooling? Part 1

May 24, 2013 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The full meaning of year around schooling wasn’t clear to me. You would think the definition is self explanatory, but not so fast. Also, look on my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

I couldn’t entertain the thought to school year around until I learned if it was a negative or a positive for me.

What is Year Around Homeschooling? Part 1

Does it mean giving up summer when we might think that is the time for summer fun?

Did it mean schooling ALL the time? That sounds EXHAUSTING! How were the kids going to react to this?

When was I going to clean and organize? Does it mean no rest for the weary?

I used to think so, but I don’t anymore.

What is Year Around Homeschooling

About 7 years ago, I started homeschooling year around.

At first, I made the mistake probably a lot of homeschoolers do and that is keep the same momentum in summer as I do during the regular school year.

I was faithfully keeping a 4 week “on” (meaning actually homeschooling) 1 week “off” (meaning doing little to nothing) schedule regardless of what was going on in my life.

Swimming lessons in the summer, what was that? How crazy is that to think I didn’t even have time for swim lessons for the kids?

Thinking about this later, I now see the advantage of keeping the routine of “4 on, 1 off” the same for that one year, my “beginning year”.

Until I got used to the year around schedule, the “stricter time period” helped me to see the “ebb and flow” of things going on in my life.

It was not wasted BUT a valuable learning experience so I could embrace year around schooling.

More importantly, I could pick and choose what works for my family and our circumstances.

Also, look at these books which will help you to understand what is homeschooling year round.

5 BEST How to Homeschool Books

I've rounded up some of the best books to help you get started homeschooling.

Homeschooling for New Homeschoolers: When You Don't Know Where to Begin

Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is a real eye-opener on homeschooling. It will alleviate a lot of the anxieties about getting started homeschooling. Reading each chapter’s highlights will give you encouragement, knowledge, guidance, and peace of mind to homeschool with confidence. The best part is that you’ll be educating the person who loves your kids the most in this world--YOU! Armed with the knowledge to make better choices in curriculum will empower you to continue the path of home education. Unlike many books based on one family’s experience, Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is also based on Tina’s many years of mentoring hundreds and hundreds of new homeschoolers at live workshops. When you don’t know where to begin Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers equips you to successfully homeschool your children.

The Unhurried Homeschooler

Homeschooling is a wonderful, worthwhile pursuit, but many homeschool parents struggle with feelings of burnout and frustration. If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone! Most of us need to be reminded of the “why” of homeschooling from time to time—but "The Unhurried homeschooler" takes parents a step further and lifts the unnecessary burdens that many parents place on themselves.

Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace

Those who have made the decision to homeschool their children have done so out of great love for their children and a desire to provide them an excellent education in the context of a warm, enriching home.

The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life

Parents who are deeply invested in their children's education can be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day-to-day grind, it can seem impossible to muster enough energy to make learning fun or interesting. How do parents nurture a love of learning amid childhood chaos, parental self-doubt, the flu, and state academic standards?

Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom

Education has become synonymous with schooling, but it doesn’t have to be. As schooling becomes increasingly standardized and test driven, occupying more of childhood than ever before, parents and educators are questioning the role of schooling in society. Many are now exploring and creating alternatives.

More Homeschooling Year Around Tips

  • What is Year Around Homeschooling? Part 1
  • What is Year Around Homeschooling? Part 2
  • Homeschooling Year Round – Chaos Or Calm?
  • How a Homeschool Planning Calendar is Superior to a Regular Calendar
  • 4 Benefits to Planning Early for the Next Homeschool Year

Here are some questions that I needed to answer before I could commit to year around schooling.

Maybe some of these same questions will help you to “hone in” on just what year around schooling is. I will “talk schedule” in the second part.

1. Vacation means, depending on which dictionary you use, “a period of time devoted to rest and pleasure”. Do I REALLY want or need to “vacation” for 3 months CONSECUTIVELY?

2. DO I want to spread my “rest” out during the year?

3. What summer activities here in Texas, besides the heat, were we missing out on?

If you live where the weather is milder, are the camping grounds more crowded during the summer or are the theme parks more crowded during summer?

Can I utilize part of the summer to be more relaxed but maintain some routine?

4. Did I WANT to take my “vacation” during the summer OR have choices during the fall or spring when we might want a longer break and when the weather is milder here in the south?

5. Does my husband (or spouse) work for the public school or university or other type of place where it benefits my family to keep to the Aug to May school schedule?

6. How about family reunions, special occasions and holidays with my extended family?

What is that “ebb and flow” during the year when I am expected to attend?

How much am I expected to partake in?

7. Do I allow my children to dictate our family rhythm? Caveat:

It is much easier to say “my way” when the kids are very young.

To take them out of public school when they are middle school or older and where the whole family is accustomed to a “summer vacation” is much harder to change.

The children have friends “vacationing” and see them having fun during summer.

The question then is “Do I want to get off the public school treadmill and now find MY family’s routine?Has this schedule been the best schedule for my family in the past?

What is Year Round Homeschooling Part 1

Leave a CommentFiled Under: How To - - -, Plan For & School Year Around, Schedule/Balance Home & School Tagged With: new homeschool year, planner, planning, year round homeschool planning

Free Homeschool Editable Progress Report Card for Teen

May 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have an editable progress report card for a teen. Also look at my page Homeschool Planner and my 7 Step Curriculum Planner for more homeschool planning forms.

I had planned to share all my graduation ideas with you by now too. But, I cave, I am totally a sobbing wimp. I have embraced the full meaning of homeschooling with heart.

Free Homeschool Editable Progress Report Card for Teen

You just can’t homeschool and teach your son from his first tiny baby step, to his first hold of a pencil, to his first feel of a car steering wheel and come away unscathed.

I need to look at all of this project graduation objectively instead of how I feel now.

Too, you know how up/down this past year was with the hubby. 

So I savor every precious moment of life and I get spikes and shots of overflowing feelings when I get ready to write. 

Stay tuned as I know I will eventually share but I keep myself reined in about project graduation lest I sound like I have totally lost it and possible unsound words make their indelible marks on the world wide web.

Free Homeschool Editable Progress Report Card for Teen

Enough of that. So what does this have to do with what I am sharing today?

Well I did want to share this picture with though it’s a tad bit out of focus. Tiny was on the other end but I do kid friendly pictures. 

But, this was the day Mr. Senior 2013 finally got his driver’s license.  What a patient kid when all of that stuff hit us while I was in the middle of teaching him to drive.

After that jubilant day, the fun day came for insurance.

The insurance company gives a discount for good grades in school and needed a current progress report.

Oh yippee, I needed another form and figured you would need one like this too sometime or the other.

Since I need something a little more official looking than the pretty progress report  (Option 16)

I already have on the site which is basically used to satisfy reporting for those that live in countries/states like this, I put this report together. It really acts as our final report card too.

The sample above is what eventually will go on the site. I left what I could on it from when I used it last year and added a few notes to explain how it is set up.

It is editable and I am in love with it. It worked just perfectly when I sent it to our insurance guy.

The only parts not editable are the comments and the signature which are normally done hand written.

Now that I have confessed all about Mr. Senior 2013, if you have a senior this year give him or her a hug today. You he or she needs it.

Still in the homeschooling trenches with you as I have two more sweet sons to go.

How to Get the Free Homeschool Progress Report Card for Teens

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) Sign up on my email list.

2) Grab the freebie now.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Begin building your free 7 Step Homeschool Planner below.

You’ll never go back to downloading one planner that may fit your needs this year, but not the next.

7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color” Begin building your planner.

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 3. {5 Days of . . . Blogging Series}, Homeschool Planner, Tina's 7 Step DIY Customized Curriculum Planner Tagged With: curriculum planner, lesson, lesson planner, lessonplanning, planner, planning

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