planning

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. 

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.

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.

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?

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,