I could totally play the pregnancy card here, but I really don't think that's what it is.
I've been obsessively getting ready for this upcoming school year.
Maybe it's because it's our first year "full blown" homeschooling. Maybe it's because an infant will be arriving in our home on November 6. Maybe it's because my third trimester is peeking around the corner and I remember how it feels and I can't say I'm at my best during it. Whatever the reason, I had to relax a little bit and realize God is still in charge; yes, He's even in charge of when my backordered curriculum is going to show up.
That doesn't mean no responsibility on my end though.
So I took a breath and tried to refocus not on exactly how I want this year to go but what do I need to do to get ready to start.
Here's some things I'm doing to get ready for this year...
Purchase:
When ordering curriculum, I ask these questions:
Can I use something I already have?
Can I find it used?
Is it consumable or reusable?
Do I need any kits with it? Is this the first year I'm teaching this?
Try to find curricula you hope to use more than once. This will help your dollars stretch by buying a starter kit that will last multiple years for multiple kids.
Don't forget to factor in costs like cover school fees, HSLDA membership, and supplies.
Sales are already starting at Wal-mart and Target - you know, the blessed $.10 folder kind of sale? Us homeschooler's favorite time of year sale...the Back to School sales! Stock up to last you throughout the year.
****A note...I like to buy even extra not just for homeschool but for Christmas shoeboxes. You can get a lot more crayons for $1 this time of year than you can in November. :)
Plan:
Lesson Plan
Ah, the fun part of opening all of those beautiful new books and translating them into lesson plans. Most teachers manuals are wonderful about saying how many times a week to do it or even laying out what to do each day.
Using Excel, I came up with a lesson plan template for the boys. It is split up into group time, 1-on-1, and workboxes and I did one for each child. We've expanded workboxes from summer to include general, math, handwriting, geography, spelling, and phonics/reading. We have a morning and afternoon schedule. Things that require our best must happen before lunch (for us) and then there's activities like puzzles, me reading to them, computer time and going to the park that are fine to take place after we have our rest time.
Schedule
I also put together a 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. schedule. I start by filling in rest times, meal times, scheduled weekly events, and working around those. School time naturally fit in the morning in between breakfast and lunch as well as after our rest time, finishing up before I get dinner ready. I made sure to account for things on my to-do list and where to plug those in.
Take a look at your landscape
Where do you do the bulk of your homeschooling? Do you have a homeschool room? Or like us, do you homeschool in your dining room? Either way, by now I'm sure you've accumulated some maps or calendars or posters and they are up on the walls where you teach.
Are there things that you won't use this year? Did your kids outgrow the need for an ABC chart? Do you have new pullouts that came with this years' curriculum that will need some wall space? Do you use what is up? Is it interactive for the kids and if so, is it at their level?
We keep up a dry erase posterboard (love this and I found it at hobby lobby for about $3!), calendar, chore chart, weekly calendar, daily schedule, books of the bible poster, the pledge with our flag and our ten commandments. This year we also had to make room for the timeline that we're doing and some Geography pullouts.
Pray:
And first and last and all throughout, I PRAY!! In the end, it'll take daily prayer to even be able to teach my children anything. Why not consult the big man on the preparing process, as well?
What do you do to get ready for your homeschool year?
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