Many parents and students look forward to the “lazy days of summer”, but if you are a homeschooling family you know that this is not always the case. Many times, for homeschoolers, summer is full of catch up work or finishing last year’s curriculum or even planning for the next school year.

In all that catching up and planning ahead though, it is easy to forget why you chose to homeschool in the first place. Before you get too deep in curriculum catalogs or research, perhaps a quick review is in order. Here are some questions to ask yourself that can guide your preparations for a new homeschool year.

• Evaluate your reasons for choosing home education over public education.  Was it the freedom to learn according to your child’s needs or interests? Perhaps you have a differently abled learner and you wanted them to be able to focus on their strengths while encouraging them in their weaker areas. Maybe your children are more interested in the arts, or they are Olympic bound athletes, or whatever. Every homeschooler chose their journey for a reason, what was yours?
• Consider the results of the previous school year.  Did each student meet their specific goals? Did you meet your goals as a teacher or learning coach? Did the learning environment foster excitement about learning or groans at the start of each day? Did you or your children grow bored during a particular subject or time of day?
• Begin preparing for your next learning adventure. Spend a day or a week just watching them be themselves. What do they enjoy doing? What gets them excited? What makes them bored? What irritates them or makes them fidgety? Are they more engaged in conversation, in activities, in listening? Do they like to create or rebuild or figure out things? These are all clues to how your child will best learn and knowing that makes it so much easier to plan your next “school year”.
• Plan a learning cycle, school year, or whatever term you use to describe your learning time at home.
  • Consider the ages, abilities, and aptitudes of each child you will be teaching. Taking these into consideration, you can begin to decide what subjects and levels to teach and how long each will take for mastery.
  • Will you be teaching any of these subjects together? Are any of your children ready for self-paced work? What times of the day are best for each child and for you as their teacher? What other activities will need to be considered during the learning period?
  • How much help will you as a parent/teacher have with these students and lessons? This is an important factor for the curriculum you choose because even “super mom” or “super dad” cannot make more hours for each day.
  • Finally, when all of these considerations have been made,  you are ready to choose a curriculum or create your own. The most important things to know are topics/subjects your children are ready to learn and how best they will receive and absorb knowledge.

Homeschooling is a worthy pursuit and preparation is necessary to your success and the success of your children. Your investment of time now will reap great dividends in your children’s education and future.  ListPlanIt.com has what you need to plan your year of home education.  Members will find Home Education lists, worksheets, schedules, and to dos in Student Planning.  Or purchase our Home Education ePlanner for just $5.