Are you a seasoned homeschooler and just need a quick process to create a homeschool plan? Or maybe you’re brand new to this, and all the big long planning articles are overwhelming.
Perhaps you hate to plan. But you know you need to think about a few things in advance so your days can go a little smoother during the year. No matter the reason you opened this article, I’m glad you did.
And before we go any further, I have to say I’m glad you’re here. I’m proud of you for taking on this homeschooling thing. You’re totally gonna rock it!
Planning your homeschool year can help you approach each school day with more ease. It can reign in all the chaos and uncertainty and help you be confident going in to your new year. It can even free up more time on the daily.
Take care of your future self by creating a homeschool plan this week.
So without any more gabbing, here’s a quick break down of how to create a homeschool plan in 7 simple steps!
Step 1: Evaluate
The first step in creating a plan for anything requires figuring out where you are and where you want to go.
- What are you looking to accomplish this school year?
- What do your children need extra help in?
- Take a look at the big picture of your family and try to work out where things are at in every area, not just school, but also in relationships, character, structure and discipline, and anything else that God puts on your heart.
Write these thoughts down as a starting point.
For some direction on working out your goals, check out my free download of pre-planning and goals worksheets.
Step 2: Find resources
Once you know the basics of what you want to accomplish within your school year, it’s time to find resources to go along with all that. You can go down so many rabbit holes, including curriculum options, extra-curriculurs, and co-op involvement.
And don’t forget about finding a planner option that works for you!
Read: 10 Easy Steps for Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
I usually start out with a list of general subjects I want to do then I find several options for each subject. At that point I spend time to narrow it down until I feel like each subject has a good resource chosen or plan of attack.
Keep in mind that sometimes a resource won’t be a specific book. For instance in cooking, maybe the resource is you!
If you want some helpful worksheets to guide you through this step, check out my homeschool curriculum planning worksheets!
Read: Where to buy homeschool curriculum
What we use
For a run-down on what my family uses for each grade level, check out my posts below.
Homeschool curriculum: preschool
Homeschooling Kindergarten
Step 3: Schedule
This is a good time to pencil down – yes I said pencil – how many days each month you plan on doing school and generally when you’ll take breaks.
Keep in mind what laws you need to follow as you work this out. Check out the Home School Legal Defense Association for more info on homeschool laws in your state.
Read: How to Plan Your Annual Homeschool Attendance with free worksheets!
There is no right way to do this. Some parents school 4 days a week, others school 15 days a month and go year-round, while others want as long of a summer break as possible. You do what works for you.
Read more in-depth on tracking homeschool attendance in this blog post.
You also may want to think about what your weeks and even days may generally look like with other activities or work you may have happening.
Unless you’re a very strict planner, try to stick to generalities and don’t tie yourself down to any sort of strict hourly schedule. That can be added in later if it works for you, but there’s no reason to feel locked down before you even begin the school year.
I have created a great bundle of basic planning pages to help you! Grab my free download of printable homeschool planning pages.
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
– Colin Powell.
Step 4: Plan Resources
Once your resources and general schedule are nailed down, next is to figure out how to approach these in your school year.
Starting with the big picture, I figure out how each resource can be broken down into smaller bites.
Like a workbook, I may look at the number of lessons or pages included, then divide by my 180 school days planned. This will give me the number of pages to be accomplished each day. Sometimes this number is not achievable, so perhaps you could consider (gasp!) not finishing the book in one year, or maybe even ever.
Other resources may require a little more brain work if you want everything laid out in advance.
- Like working on a loop schedule for history.
- Or lesson plans for art.
- Maybe you would like to block all your science days into a few weeks of the year or one dedicated day each week.
- Also consider combining some subjects when you have multiple kids. Many accomplish this through planning a morning time. There are many options in how you approach your resources and the key is to find what works for your family.
Step 5: Present
Don’t get caught up on the title of this step. This “presentation” doesn’t have to be fancy or formal in any way, it’s just how you plan to present your daily materials. It often involves some sort of basic checklist.
Read: 17 Ideas for Organizing Daily Homeschool Work so Your Kids Know What to do
The way you approach your day will of course look different for each family. Some curriculums will come with a pre-planned schedule. But not everyone will want to be tied to that schedule.
I have developed a whole process that works for us with my own DIY chart and an accordion folder for my kids with their daily work inside.
Others may present their child with a checklist of work to accomplish each day.
Then others may work through the day without a written list.
Whatever you find works for you still has to be chosen and for some approaches will require a bit of prep work. Now is the time to get all that ready.
“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.”
Robert Schuller.
Step 6: Track
Let’s move on to some paperwork. This is, in my opinion, a vital step in creating a homeschool plan. It can save you future turmoil.
But don’t fret, this step is simple!
Tracking your homeschool day is just simply writing down what you and your child did for school that day, particularly academically.
Read: Planning, Tracking, and Record-keeping: What’s the Difference?
It may be as easy as checking off the list of things you planned out in step 5. Or it may be writing down each thing after the fact. Easy peasy.
If you have a child that will be receiving letter grades and more official transcripts, this is a good time to also track grades for each assignment, test and project.
Writing these things down as you go will save so much time at the end of the semester when you look back to gather and calculate final grades.
Step 7: Report
Now what does a report entail? Traditionally, this is going to be a report card or transcript with each subject listed and the child’s earned grade next to it.
There should also be a record for the number of school days attended.
If your child is in high school, the transcript should include a section for credits received.
You may also want to include a portfolio, which is almost like a small resume, though not as formal.
Many parents also like to store a sampling of work for each subject covered.
As mentioned earlier, tracking your days well with grades included can keep your end of the semester/year reporting so much simpler! Just look back, calculate and record. Boom.
For more great info on record-keeping for homeschoolers, check out my post The Essential Guide to Record-Keeping for Homeschool.
If you’d like some free templates for keeping homeschool records, be sure to download my free worksheets.
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”
Alexander Graham Bell
Wrap it up
So there you have it. My 7 step system for creating a homeschool plan. From evaluating where you currently are, to finding and planning resources for the year.
I’ve even included ideas to schedule, track and report your homeschool days. I hope you have found this helpful as you plan your next homeschool year!
Is this how you plan your homeschool year? Comment below with any other tips you would include!
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