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The year is gearing up, and it’s time to get school started. Here are some back to school homeschool tips to have your best year ever.
As the summer sun begins to wane and the scent of freshly sharpened pencils fills the air, it’s that time of year again – back to homeschool season!
Whether you’re a seasoned homeschooling pro or embarking on this educational adventure for the very first time, we understand that a whirlwind of emotions is likely dancing through your heart and mind.
We’ve all been there – eagerly preparing to step into a brand new school year, armed with the best intentions, high hopes, and a touch of trepidation.
You’ve done all the planning, purchased all the curriculum, got your new school supplies, read all the books, and nailed down a daily schedule to (hopefully) get all the things done. Even with all these plans in place, you may still be questioning how to find your homeschooling groove.
But fear not, intrepid educators of the homefront, for we’re here to be your guiding light through the back-to-homeschool labyrinth!
With these 5 back to homeschool tips, you’ll get off on the right foot and be all set up for the best year ever.
#1 – Outline Learning Goals
Sometime before your homeschool year is set to start, outline your educational goals. Be sure to include the areas of learning that will require the most attention and the activities you want to do with your children. It’s also a good idea to locate any local homeschool groups or homeschooling co-ops (if any) you may want to join.
One of the easiest ways to go about outlining your educational goals for the year is to use the curriculum and resources you plan on using to teach. In most cases, you’ll be able to use your chosen curriculum to map out milestones. Just don’t forget to plan for a little flexibility and to take into consideration your child’s unique development. It is much easier to go where their needs lead versus trying to pull them in an area they are not developmentally ready for.
Creating a set of realistic and interchangeable learning goals will help you have a smooth start to your new year and create a learning groove that your children will naturally dance to.
#2 – Connect With Other Homeschoolers
Any veteran homeschooler will tell you that one key to a successful homeschool year is connecting with support groups and friends. Finding a supportive group of homeschooling buddies can relieve a lot of pressure. It’s a lot easier to envision yourself educating your children at home when you have a circle of people you can rely on.
With today’s technology, you can join Facebook groups, hire a homeschool mentor, or even opt-in for an online support group membership. There is just something special about being able to glean from other homeschooling moms. And the feeling that comes with sharing your own experiences and ‘giving back’ so-to-speak is surprisingly helpful as well.
#3 – Get (and Stay) Organized
Simply put, being organized will save you time, money, and nerves.
If you’re not new to homeschooling, then you probably have accumulated a huge stash of curriculum and resources. Look through your resources and decide what you’d like to keep, donate, or sell. Make a habit of doing this before the first day of homeschool each school year. It will keep you from overbuying or purchasing duplicates of the same things.
Once you have everything you want, and I’m talking down to each teeny-tiny school supply (pencils and crayons, anyone?) choose a space to put it all. Keep this area as your go-to place for your books, lesson plans, supplies, and the like. This space could be as simple as a drawer or cupboard in your dining room or as complicated as a beautifully organized shelving unit in your homeschool room. But trust me – your school year will go a lot smoother if you have a dedicated space for all your school supplies.
Another idea to help get organized from the very beginning is to have a “command center.” This is the area that will have a calendar, daily to-do task notes, and other things applicable to your child’s homeschool day.
Make sure this area can be viewed by everyone and clearly outlined with weekly lessons, activities, appointments, and so on. This will help everyone stay on track, and especially help your children learn to budget their time and be prepared.
#4 – Stay Focused on the Important Stuff
When getting prepped for back to school, it can be easy to get bogged down with what I call the school system mindset stuff. In other words, you may find yourself stressing about strict schedules, trying to teach every single subject individually, and how to test your child to make sure they are learning.
While all of these things have their place, it is important to stay focused on the things that matter most to you.
For example, some homeschooling moms find the most relevant things to be things such as:
- Holding regular family devotionals
- Learning a second language
- Having a strong foundation in language arts or math
- Life skills
- Regularly reading living books or other quality literature
- Regular hands-on activities (STEAM activities anyone?)
What’s most important to your homeschool won’t be what’s most important to everybody else’s. But that’s okay because you need to do you. Whatever you choose, write it down and keep it the main focus of what you want your children to learn. That’s one of the greatest perks of homeschooling!
#5 – Ease Into Homeschooling
Once you have everything in place in preparation for your first day back to homeschool, all there’s left to do is just start! However, the best piece of advice I have ever been given and will continue to share with others is to ease into it that first week. I can’t tell you how many first days I have experienced that didn’t go as planned. At All.
You know what? That’s going to happen, and it is totally okay.
The idea of easing into homeschooling is to realize that a smooth homeschool year starts and continues with everyone on the same page, understanding what is expected, and being okay with making any necessary changes. Being flexible is one of the hardest things to do because somehow we feel like failures if what we originally planned doesn’t work, but it’s so important to be gentle with ourselves.
Don’t feed into believing the lie that you’re not good enough. Because you are good enough. Don’t be afraid to make as many changes as you need to make and to allow some flexibility in your homeschool, whether it be in curriculum, the time of day you choose to make learning a priority, or even when to start and stop. Always know and embrace that your homeschooling journey should be just as unique as your family.
Bonus #6 – Plan Something Special For Your First Day Of Homeschool
One of the best ways to start off the new year is by coming up with a fun back to school tradition. Be it a special breakfast, a unique field trip, a fun scavenger hunt, back to school photos, or maybe just a special treat after lunch, being a homeschool mom means you can do back to school your way. New books? Check. Fun activities? Check, check.
Don’t try and cram too much school work into your first day back to school or even your first week. And make sure you get your kids involved with their own suggestions for fun ideas or new homeschool traditions.
Enjoy and happy learning!
Related Posts:
Large Family Homeschooling Tips
First Day of Homeschool Printables
The Funniest Homeschooling Memes On the Internet
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