Summer is coming to an end – and for those of you who do not homeschool year-round, getting back into a day-to-day schedule can be a struggle. Here are some easy tips for planning a back to homeschool school routine!
Make sure you check out the giveaway at the end of this post!
Start your school bedtime routine early.
To get back into the swing of things – going to bed earlier and waking up earlier – we start getting into the hang of our school bedtime routine about two weeks before school. This slowly helps our bodies readjust.
Get back into the habit of eating breakfast every morning.
In the summer, we very rarely eat breakfast. Throughout the school year, we try to eat breakfast every morning. This prevents snacking during school time. You can also make a quick smoothie to drink during school.
Go back to school shopping.
Going back to school shopping for new colorful pencils, notebooks, and glue is always a fun way to get in the back to school spirit.
Create a daily schedule for each child.
I have began creating a daily checklist for myself. If it’s not on the checklist, it’s most likely forgot about. Creating a basic family spreadsheet with chores, daily subjects, and outside-of-the-house classes makes a back-to-homeschool routine less stressful. Will you all do Bible as a family, and then math individually? Do you know one student who might finish a subject faster than another? What subjects will you do everyday, and which ones only on certain days? Sort out your thoughts, and then make a final “master” spreadsheet to hang on the fridge for the first few weeks.
Our schedule basically went like this:
Monday – Math, English, Spelling, Science
Tuesday – Math, English, History
Wednesday – Math, English, Science
Thursday – Math, English, Piano lessons, catch up History/Science
Friday – Math, English, and any catching up or tests
Order curriculum.
Figure out what curriculum you need for which child. Making a spreadsheet, on Microsoft Excel or on paper, always helps me. Mark your children’s names across the top. Down below, write what subjects you are covering. And in the boxes, list each curriculum, if you need to buy/rent textbooks, if you already have them, or if you’re totally creating your own curriculum.
Here is a sample.
Homeschool Classifieds, Slugbooks, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook groups are great ways to find homeschool curriculum for cheap.
Start reviewing last year’s material.
Although we keep the traditional August-June school schedule, we do learn year round. (I’m addicted to history.) To get back into the school mentality, we recap the past year’s studies. There are so many fun, textbook-free ways to learn and memorize. Instead of hitting the books hard the first day, slowly begin reviewing last year’s material, briefing over old curriculum, and specifically your weak points.
Get organized.
Getting organized always puts me in a more productive mood.
- Sell or give away old textbooks. (Facebook, Amazon, eBay, etc.)
- Go through school papers, and purge the unnecessary.
- Throw away unusable school supplies, and figure out what you need to start the new school year.
- Sort through books, and get rid of what you don’t need.
- Invest in a bookshelf or bins, and sort curriculum, supplies, and crafts.
- Make a list of all the curriculum and supplies you need to buy.
- If you’re creating your own history/science curriculum, buy a year-at-a-glance calendar, and loosely sort out your Pinterest and blog findings.
Buy a planner
Buying a planner (and using it until it falls apart) can easily organize day-to-day plans. Or get a FREE online one!
What are some of your favorite ways to plan for the new school year?
Back to homeschool giveaway!
Another homeschool year is right around the corner! Many homeschool moms are busy preparing, planning, and finalizing curriculum choices for the upcoming school year. And many are trying to squeeze every last penny out of their homeschool budget, hoping to afford all the books and resources they will need.
Whether you’re living on one income or are buying curriculum for multiple kids, homeschooling can put financial strain and stress on a family. So I’ve gotten together with a great group of homeschool bloggers to give you a chance to win a gift card to a major online homeschool retailer. Our hope is that we can bless a few homeschool families (although we wish we could bless many more) so they can decrease that burden and buy the curriculum and supplies they need.
Three people will win a $250 gift card to either Rainbow Resource Center or Christianbook.com – two great places to shop for homeschool curriculum and resources, with the best prices around!!
To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Now I know this is quite a few entries, but each of these bloggers has generously chipped in their own money to make this giveaway possible, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries. And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are of winning!
Giveaway ends July 19, 2024 at 11:59pm. Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada to enter. Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers (see the Terms & Conditions on the Rafflecopter form).
My best homeschooling years are those that I have organized before starting. After two and a half years of homeschooling, my son started embarking on a new adventure. I had great memories of homeschooling. Now my family is using online curriculum.
I usually like to start gathering my curriculum at the annual used curriculum sale in July. Then, I try and find more used books on facebook. Then, I buy new what’s left on Christianbook.com