It’s that time of year again! Summer is still in full swing, but we’re thinking of the school year ahead and how we can make it as productive and enjoyable as possible. The following is the first in a series of blogs we’ll post to help you plan the upcoming school year. You won’t want to miss these, as we’ll share information and advice helpful for both brand-new and veteran homeschoolers!

As the end of summer approaches, many of us are making plans for the upcoming homeschool year. There is much to consider as you begin your planning. If you’re new to homeschooling, you may need to start out by registering as a homeschool family in your state, province, or territory. Regardless of whether you are new to homeschooling or well seasoned, however, you’ll need to decide on a schedule to follow and choose topics and resources. You may also spend time assessing your child and choosing the grade level at which he will study, taking into account his unique personality and learning style when deciding what you will cover and how you will do so.

Registration

To stay on the right side of the law, you’ll need to learn what is required in your jurisdiction. As a new homeschooler, you may have to submit a homeschool affidavit to your school superintendent or officially declare your intent to homeschool in some other manner. If you are a continuing homeschooler, you may have to document your intent to continue homeschooling this year. (This all depends on where you live.) You can learn the specific requirements via Home Education Magazine’s list or by checking with the department of education (or similar organization) in your area, calling your school district superintendent’s office, or seeking information from a local homeschool group.

Scheduling

One of the beauties of homeschooling is the flexibility you have with scheduling your school year. Some people choose to keep to the traditional school year, which typically begins in August or September and ends in May or June. You could, however, choose to homeschool year-round, which some people find affords them more leeway in terms of scheduling day-to-day schoolwork and all of the other things they like to do. You could even plan to shorten the traditional summer break and take more time off during the regular school year. As long as you comply with your jurisdiction’s laws regarding the minimum number of days or hours of schooling you must complete, you can choose whatever works best for your family (Don’t you love this freedom?).

Another scheduling flexibility you may enjoy involves day-to-day homeschooling. You may find that you have to spend far less time on “school” than traditional classrooms do. Remember, you are teaching fewer students, so there’s less waiting for others to catch up, and there’s no need to wait in line and such. Also, keep in mind that your children may be learning even when they’re not sitting in front of a book or dry erase board. Trips to grocery stores and restaurants; visiting relatives; housework; and gardening all provide learning opportunities we often overlook. Learning about dust and dust mites, as you diligently work to get rid of them, is science!

Grade Levels

As you prepare for a new homeschool year, you may spend some time thinking about grade levels. Are grade levels important when you homeschool? The answer is it depends. In some jurisdictions, you may be expected to choose a grade level, or you may need to choose a grade so that you can obtain a well-matched curriculum. In general, however, you don’t have to stick to a particular grade level when you homeschool. You may choose materials based on your child’s abilities. For example, if your child has mastered the concepts covered in a 2nd grade math curriculum before 2nd grade, why not teach 3rd grade math instead? You can even mix and match. For example, you may choose one grade for science and language arts and another one altogether for history and math. As with all things related to homeschooling, consider your child as the unique individual he is, and do what is best for him.

Personality/Learning style

I have four children, and we are a very close-knit family. We share a lot of similarities, but boy are my kids different! Like many others, I started homeschooling by trying to emulate traditional school. This worked with one of my children, but I crashed and burned with my second oldest and never tried that again. Thanks to some lovely, experienced homeschool parents, I learned that I could be more flexible with homeschooling and make plans according to what works best for my children. This does involve more work than simply grabbing a bunch of books, but my children actually learn and retain what we’re covering now. And we’re all so much less frustrated!

One of my children is the “I-can-do-it queen.” She wants to do it all herself and prefers books, sites, and other resources that make self-teaching easy. I look for these resources and let her go for it. When she needs help, I step in, and this works just fine. My second oldest is incredibly in tune with creating. If it is not hands-on, she will have difficulty remembering it (or at least wanting to remember it). I base her school work on activities and experiments (Thank you, Lesson Pathways!) that apply to the subjects we are covering. She learns best this way. My other children are younger and seem to learn best from a combination approach to homeschooling. When and if this changes, I’ll choose learning tools that cater to their needs. This is my no-tears approach to homeschooling.

I encourage you to consider your child’s unique personality and learning style when you are planning your school year. There are many different ways to learn, and no way is best for all people. Finding what works for your child means homeschooling success.

Topic and Curriculum Choices

Choosing topics is another fun part of preparing for an upcoming homeschool year. There are always so many things I’m interested in that I have this huge list and then have a hard time narrowing it down. Lately, I’ve been allowing my children to vote on what we will cover in a particular school year. If they’re interested, I can’t go wrong! I often refer to the Lesson Pathways Guided Journeys for ideas, but I sometimes use the typical course of study information listed at WorldBook.com as a guideline as well.

Making a curriculum choice can be a challenge. If you’ve spent any amount of time searching for curriculum options, you know the possibilities seem endless. If I tried all of the homeschool curriculum options that caught my eye, I’d be flat broke and out of time to actually teach. Narrowing your choices can be hard, but here are some things to consider when you are selecting resources for the upcoming year:

• Is it affordable?
• Does it cover the topics you want to teach for the year?
• Is it a good fit for your child’s learning style?
• Is it a good fit for your teaching style?
• If you have more than one child, can it be tailored to meet the needs of all the children in your homeschool?
• Will you need expensive equipment or hard-to-find resources for using it?
• Does it incorporate the use of technology? If not, would you prefer an option that does?
• If your child will return to traditional school next year, will this curriculum help to prepare her for doing so?

Thanks for taking the time to read this introductory post of the Planning Your School Year series! Come back soon to read subsequent posts that cover the various aspects of planning your school year in depth. Have fun planning!

Nikki Madison is a happily homeschooling mom with four children. When she’s not teaching or learning herself, she works as a freelance writer.