Tis the Season for School Planning

Recently I spoke briefly to some homeschool moms who are feeling the pressure of their summer break ending but not feeling prepared for the start of schooldays. I certainly understand their plight. Normally, by March, I have a good idea of what we are doing for the next school year and start searching for materials. But, like many others, this past year has not been normal.

Most of us require some quiet hours to coincide with brain cell energy to adequately plan for school. This is an elusive collision of events for homeschool moms—whether that is because of an overloaded schedule or quiversful or chronic illness or any combination of the above.

We tentatively assign a random date to resume school with the hopes that a “deadline” will prompt a quicker aligning of the random lesson plan atoms. Of course, the deadline seems to slide as we face reality or unexpected guests.

Maybe one of these methods will help:

Find time alone: Exchange with another mom to watch children; Enlist your husband; Find a grandmother whose grandkids live far away.

Get out of the house: There are too many distractions and too many things that are easier than planning school! I think you need at least two hours once you reach your off-site destination because your brain cells need time to focus.

Start a list: Someplace prominent place start to write down your ideas as you walk along the way. If possible take a few moments and make a book marker of these ideas and place in your favorite novel or the Bible.

Pray: Off your prominent list or the bookmark, pray about these decisions. When I do this steadfastly (and I am NOT always steadfast) God directs my thoughts, corrects my direction, crosses items off my list, shows me a resource I already have and boosts my confidence.

Start the year with a few items: Accepting that I will start only a few subjects the first two weeks allows us all to adjust to the school year and gives me more time to plan for the reminder. Ah, realism sets in better with this approach because it keeps my eyes from being bigger than hours in our day.  If we honestly look at most “traditional” schools this adjustment period happens because kids need to learn the new rules, set up their desks, and find the bathroom. We also need the adjustment time because of a new baby, adding another student, and remodeling the kitchen.

Select a special project for the first two to three weeks: Scrapbook summer events, read those books you  thought you would read on vacation, evaluate what was lost over the summer, make a resource book for facts you want to remember,  use educational games for review or incorporate field trips you might consider disruptive to your regular schedule. This can also give you time to polish up preparation for other studies.

This past summer has been very intense for our family. Besides major family events I have been sick and the completion of last year took longer than I expected. I am very behind on preparation for next year. I am glad that I spoke with these other moms because it is a gentle nudge I need to tackle this task—with joy, of course.