10 Things I’m Doing Differently Next Homeschool Year

 

 

For starters, I’m going to get a planner.

 

It wasn’t a hard decision for us to homeschool this past year. For one thing, the pandemic. For another, we did it the year before (albeit Pre-K and Pre-Nursery).  As a second generation homeschooler, I jumped into Kindergarten and Nursery school with both feet.

 

And no planner.

 

I absolutely made plans. And I stuck to them (obviously there was some natural reality adjustment).  But I didn’t write any of them down. WHYYYYY?

 

Now that I am one year wiser, and since we are planning to homeschool next year, these are the 10 things I’m doing differently next homeschool year (ESPECIALLY #10). Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which means that if you click and make a purchase, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.

 

 

10 things I’m doing differently next homeschool year

 

 

1. BUY the planner

 

I already mentioned this one. I really wanted to buy a planner last year. I even shopped for them. But after going low-waste, and in an effort not to box my kids’ education in, I didn’t write my curriculum down in a planner. It was something I really wanted to do before the year started. And throughout the year, it would have been so helpful! Now that the school year is over, I wish I had that to look back on! Bottom line: I’m getting a planner this year and highly considering this one.

 

 

2. combine subjects

 

This year, I think over-individualized subjects. I separated most of them from each other. And with separate times for coloring, writing, reading, math, etc., it became hard to fit all the work in sometimes. But it recently occurred to me that I could really enrich each subject if I combined skills. (duh, but new to me) I’d definitely like to improve that next year, by combining things like writing and science, math and crafting, puzzles with pattern identification, etc. I think it could really deepen our comprehension/grasp, as well as stack skills for enriched progress.

 

 

3. take more field trips

 

I wish I could say it was totally the pandemic’s fault for this, but in reality I didn’t make field trips a priority. We took advantage of a lot of outdoor environmental studies instead (ZERO regrets). But next year I think we can improve by adding some “marked” field trips. I’d like to take them to museums and historic sites. And of course, even more environmental areas!

 

 

 

 

4. expand my homeschool resource collection

 

Last year, I purchased a handful of homeschooling resource books. My absolute favorite was Julie Bogart’s The Brave Learner. Seriously, read that book if you are home schooling, have homeschooled, or are contemplating it. I need to do a whole book review on that! But besides The Brave Learner, I also purchased Maria Montessori’s The Montessori Method which read much more like a training manual than a self-help book. This upcoming year, I’d like to read The Montessori Toddler by Simone Davies as well as Waldorf Education: A Family Guide. I’m spending the summer reading For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaffer Macaulay, and would like to learn more about the Charlotte Mason methodology as I research for next year’s curriculum.

 

 

5. delve into creative writing

 

As a Lit major, I’m ashamed by our lack of creative writing assignments (read: zero). eek! Part of the reason we didn’t do creative writing this year was because of our grade ages (Kindergarten and Nursery). However, 1st grade is the perfect time to start writing creatively, and I’d also like to work it in for my preschooler too. (Maybe with my first grader writing the words and my preschooler illustrating it).

 

 

6. visit the library

 

Oof. We failed in the library category this year. And it was absolutely excruciatingly the pandemic’s fault for this one. With curbside pickup only at some libraries, and book limits at others, the library situation was a nightmare. We bought more books this year than probably any year before. No regrets. We buy 90% of our books used anyways, for low waste reasons. But if we can start frequenting the library again next year, it would be even better. The experience is half the fun, too.

 

 

7. invest in Montessori tools

 

Our nursery school (before we moved into a two-bedroom apartment) was actually pretty well set up for Montessori learning. I had a shelving unit set up Montessori-style for my toddler to utilize while my Kindergartner and I were working. I rotated the items on the shelves every week or so (not all at once), and the system worked well. However, I definitely didn’t invest in all the Montessori things I wanted. I wasn’t sure how she would like Montessori, and if it would work, so I thrifted some supplies and then used what we already had at home. This upcoming year, I’d like to add/replenish our inventory since we really liked embracing the method last year. Etsy is like mine field of amazing options. I could pretty much shop for dark wood open-ended toys all day. haha

 

8. embrace poetry tea time

 

If you’ve ever read The Brave Learner, you know what I’m talking about. (Elevated texts with less engaging subject matter are enhanced with warm beverages and tasty edibles). Poetry is pretty special to our family anyways, but I usually read them poetry sprawled out on the carpet in the middle of the school day. Separately, we’ve done etiquette tea parties. I would love to combine the two, with handmade invitations and formal place setting. Perhaps substituting tea for hot chocolate too. hehe

 

update: MY KIDS LIKE TEA. happy days!

 

 

 

 

9. join extracurricular clubs

 

I don’t know if this technically counts as part of homeschooling or not, but it’s going on the list! Our kids really enjoyed taking gymnastics classes, and joining a nature club this past year. I’d love to find something like an art club or a story club that they could participate in.

 

 

10. be more gentle to myself

 

Yikes. If I take away anything from my own list of 10 Things I’m doing differently next homeschool year and ensure that I actually do it, it needs to be this one. Since I was homeschooled myself, I’m not really “learning the ropes” of how this whole homeschooling thing goes. (cue inner judgement, majorly) However, it is my first experience being a homeschool mother. And I wish I remembered that more.

 

Instead of focusing on the workbook page we didn’t do, I wish I had delighted in the poems we read. Instead of beating myself up because we didn’t do any science experiments, I ought to have rejoiced in our reading progress. Mostly, I should have reminded myself that homeschooling doesn’t focus on checkmarks, but rather concepts. It’s not about having a spelling test every Thursday at 2pm sharp. It’s about my 3-year-old sharing the stats of an Okapi and my 5-year-old identifying dinosaurs that I forgot existed.

 

Homeschooling is about taking a three-hour hike and birdwatching along the way. It’s about combing the sea for shells and identifying them on the back porch with books and a magnifying glass. It’s about getting lost in a book of poems and painting illustrations afterwards.

 

Homeschooling is a gift. I try to remind myself of that, constantly. And this past year, I think I unwrapped the gift and loved it (minus my list of 10 total fails). I’m really looking forward to next year though… I think it’s going to be even better! If nothing else, embracing these 10 thing I’m doing differently next homeschool year should help! ha.

 

What are your goals for the upcoming academic year? (Homeschooling or not!)

 

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