Preparing for a new year homeschooling is always a process for me.
There are things to think about, things to gather, and things to buy. After 15 years I have a pretty good system of planning that works very well.
This post contains some affiliate links which do give me a tiny (pennies!) commission if you click over and buy something. I just have to put that out there for you, says the FTC. So without further adieu, here are my…
1. Decide with your husband and family what your goals are for the year. Pray about them. A simple conversation about what you want to cover (if your husband is involved in this aspect– mine isn’t) will go a long way to being on the same page, so to speak. My husband and I do discuss certain goals for the boys, vacations, and bigger projects or outings he plans to do with them that I will need to work around.
2. Pre-read your teacher’s manuals. Many of them give preparation instructions for getting started. Plan ahead!
3. Get to know your book lists. Verify that your library carries the titles you need. If they don’t, order your remaining books far enough ahead that you will have them when you start school.
4. Print out all worksheets and instruction guides from any eBooks you are using. In this day of digital curriculum, like All American History Jr. and Illuminations , it’s not unusual to have a long list of things to print out.
5. Buy pre-punched printer paper for printing! I can’t stress this enough. Even if you have a 3-hole punch, if you’re planning on printing hundreds of pages you will appreciate having printer paper that already has the holes in it. I found some pre-punched printer paper at Amazon that is a full $3 cheaper than I paid at Office Depot the other day. (Darn it!) Shop around!
6. Take advantage of the those back-to-school sales. Do you have to? No, of course not. But at what other time will you find glue sticks at three 2-packs for $1? You can get everything from spiral notebooks to pens and pencils and really nice binders dirt cheap right now.
7. Start gathering project and science experiment supplies. You can collect them in labeled shoeboxes or gallon freezer bags and store them for when you need them. Better to be prepared than have to skip a neat experiment because you forgot to save a jar or purchase something simple!
8. Make use of binder tabs. The ones I prefer to use can be written on with permanent marker. I get the 8-packs, and use them for my printed out curriculum instruction manuals and for the kids’ school notebooks. Again, shop the sales. The prices on these can range anywhere between $2.29-$8 depending on where you go.
9. Set aside a place to keep all of your curriculum, and a place for your kids to keep their own books and supplies. I find that when things are scattered around, we can’t find what we need and things end up being skipped due to disorganization. Sad excuse, but it happens!
10. If you are using a lesson planner or lesson plan software, begin entering your information into those. Get a jump on things! Pre-write as much as is reasonable for your teaching style. Even a simple list of every grammar assignment for the year is a help, because you can plug those assignments into your planner where they fit later on. That may sound like a lot, but later on you’ll be glad you did it!
That's all good advice. I ordered my books a little early this year just so my husband and I have time to review everything before I have to jump in and begin teaching.
This is a great list! I had no idea you could get pre-punched printer paper. I'll have to look around for that!
YES Lisa, and it's my life saver!!! 🙂
Good advice!! I have a quick question..I just hopped over to read more about All American History JR and it sounds like what I'm looking for, I've got 3 kids between K and 4th and would like to start American History with them. The website says they are "christian-oriented", can you tell me if they would work for a secular family with a little modification or if it would be better for us to find something else?
Meg: Bright Ideas Press is a Christian publisher but American History is thoroughly covered using AAH/Jr. I would think you could skip what you didn't want to use, but really you should spend some time on their site and download the product samples so you will have a good idea of what they are like and how they cover things. I have used secular materials as often as Christian, and either way I still use what we can use and skip what we can't. Remember you don't work for the curriculum, you make the curriculum work for YOU. 🙂
Great advice! I never thought about using pre-punched paper, but that is a great idea. I do #10 in an Excel spreadsheet and it saves me a lot of time and effort later in the year.
I love the idea of pre-punched paper. I need to try and find that.
What practical advice!
Even though this is my last year of homeschooling (sniffle, my last senior) I still need to be reminded to plan ahead.
Maybe I should say, **I absolutely needed** the reminder to plan ahead this year.
There is a temptation to wing it since it's the last go-around, but planning always paid in the past, so it's best to finish well. Thank you for refreshment as I head around the final lap.
Wow Suzanne! I never made it through finishing Witt a senior… or I haven't yet but plan to. Our older kids all went to high school, although our last one only had 1 year of PS, then 1 year private and her last 2 years of high school have been in the running start program at the community college. She will finish her AA degree and her high school diploma winter quarter this year. She is happy she did the both together. We plan to keep the boys home for high school, with running start and a option when sat least one off them is 16. I commend you for sticking through it! I will have to stalk your blog archives for tips for us! 🙂