Homeschool Planning Tips

Last week I hosted a giveaway for The Weekly Homeschool Planner by Homeschool Creations (aka Jolanthe). I’ve been printing out pages and inserting them into my binder for next year.  I love that this planner is editable! I can type what I need in the fields and it prints so nicely. Jolanthe graciously allowed me to give one of the planners away and the winner of the Homeschool Planner is:

Jeanine from Blogging and Bored :)  I hope this tool helps you with organizing your upcoming school year.

You can pick up your own planner for $20.00:

As part of the giveaway, I asked for you to share some of your homeschool planning tips. There are some great comments there and I thought I’d highlight several of them.

10 Homeschool Planning Tips
(in no particular order)

1. Faithflower said...  Always jot down ideas or input them in a note on your cell phone. Inspiration can be hard to come by so don't let it slip away! :) I find including a short break mid-day for purposeful laughter or recess to get energy out is a must have in any planner for homeschooling. The laughter factor is especially important with older students & teens who tend to take their work more seriously or have tougher assignments & truly need a break to refresh their spirits. It goes a long way to happier kids too!

2. Danielle Leigh said...   My homeschool planning tip would be that planning too much can be good in a way. If you plan too much, you don't have to do it all. But this way, you are prepared to do more activities on the subject that you are learning about if your kids want to. It may also leave you ideas if you come back to the subject the next year as the kids are older.

3.  Kirsten Hill said...   I like to plan...so far I have found that what works for me is to plan about 9-12 weeks at one time. When I plan the whole year out at once, it is bound to get "messed up" as things change through the year.

4.  Carpenters said...  One thing I have already learned the hard way is to relax and not push certain activities if no one is enjoying it. Perhaps if we revisit it later, we'll have more success.

5.  Cynthia said...  I love to plan! I try to keep everything I'm thinking of as a possibility for future years in one binder, so when I am planning the next year I can pull out my wish list and goals!

6.  Michelle said...   The best tip I could give is to plan something you enjoy ~ that helps me. Then my enthusiasm rubs off on my kids. If I'm not into what we are learning, chances are they aren't either.

7.  Caterina said...   It really is so helpful to have a place to organize lesson plans. But through teaching in a school classroom and now my own children-- flexibility is key. Sometimes things go wrong or take longer to accomplish. Take hold of those teachable moments.

8.  Mandy said...  I have to at-a-glance calenders. They both have all 12 months on them. On one I write each lesson number on the day I'd LIKE to have it done, i.e. "L.45." On the other, I fill in lesson numbers as we go. So it's the "actual" calendar. It helps me see where we are and where we need to be, if we're ahead or behind of where I want us to be.

9.Louanne said...   My best advice for planning is not to be so rigid that you miss amazing moments in your day that are spontaneous.

10.  Jeanine said... My planning tip is to have a specific day and time set aside to do your weekly planning- and stick to it!