Once vacation is over there is a new school year to consider. A few tips here and there from others really help in shaping up yours. All you have to do is tailor it for your own situation and circumstances AKA family. Here I share a few tips on planning for a new school year that I have gleaned over these few short years-both from my own experience and others’.
5 Planning hacks to consider
1. Don’t plan too far ahead
The thought of planning for a new school year is daunting because when you say ‘year’ that is surely a long time. But cutting it down into smaller chunks will make it easier to swallow. Don’t plan too far ahead, or you risk becoming overwhelmed. Activities for the year can be sectioned weekly or monthly.
2. Evaluate the past year
To get ahead in the current or coming year you need to evaluate the past year. How did you do it? Was it working for your family? What can you adjust this year so the year progresses better? An evaluation makes it easier to assess what you will keep and what you will tweak.
Questions may arise if you are starting either homeschooling, after transitioning from institutional schooling. Or you may be starting a level such as kindergarten, first grade or high school. No one has it figured out when starting. Ultimately, it’s just going to be trial and error.
3. Plan in pencil
Other than planning in manageable time frames you also need to plan in pencil! Changes may be needed during the course of the year; it is easier to use an eraser than blotting out ink or chipping off stone!
I know sometimes when planning for a new school year you may have come up with a grand plan, but learn to not be too attached to it. Life happens, and you need to let things flow.
4. Make a list of subjects
Making a list of all subjects and activities gives a perspective of the work to be covered and how you are going to do it. You see what you can manage by yourself and what needs external help like a tutor, a co-op or online classes.
The biggest decision would be which curriculum to use among the many commercially available ones. For the little ones my advice is to hold off buying, you will regret it when you don’t finish it, yet it cost you quite a bit. There are some free resources online that you can try out as you figure out your child’s learning style– auditory, kinesthetic, or visual.
Trying to do all subjects everyday is recipe for disaster. In our experience, we have lessons that are listed but do not follow a particular schedule. Our 6 year-old son is in a season of intense interest in countries of the world and their flags, making Geography/Social studies an all day/any time subject.
5. Combine classes
After making a list it’s easier to combine classes, especially with more than one child. Subject content can always be shared, and done at the same time. The only difference, if need be, would be difficulty according to grade level.
Field trips accomplish more in terms of learning and combine different subjects in one. I struggle with planning for field trips at the start of a new school year. Most will come up when some family mention a place on social media, and that’s how that trip gets into our weekly planner; right after checking the weather for the week!
Take it easy!
Lastly, you just need to take it easy. It will take more effort to plan for some subjects than for others. But one needful thing is documenting- through writing, pictures and videos!
No matter how laid back your homeschooling is, you do need some level of planning. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail! Planning for a new school year gets better and easier the longer you do it. What seems to be working for our family has been to make short-term plans, assessing the previous year’s schooling, being flexible with our plans, listing what needs to be done and combining the kids’ lessons. How do you do it in your family?
This is quite insightful and will surely use it
Thx Chiedza