Can you see a season of stress ahead of you? I’d love to show you how to plan ahead. When you know it’s coming you can survive the stress when you plan ahead for a challenging homeschool year.
Oftentimes a homeschool parent will see that a dark and difficult future is ahead. You may see from a mile off that something truly disruptive is heading your way: a planned surgery, an impending divorce, a major move, or a life-altering health crisis. Take evasive action and plan for independent school work for the coming challenging year.
Today can you create an assignment sheet with the curriculum you plan to use. By spending the day creating a simple checklist, your child will be able to work independently on lessons throughout the year.
Order curriculum immediately, emphasizing textbooks, literature, and homeschool curriculum that is intended to be used independently by the student. Avoid anything you have to “sign up” for, because you can’t be sure your child would be able to attend. Homeschool simply—the old fashioned way—so your child can work consistently and independently.
Put each curriculum item into a box labeled “Schoolwork 2022-2023.” This will be the box they will use for all school assignments. It’s helpful to have a single, easy-to-carry box, so it’s portable enough to be carried to grandma’s house, hotel, or kept in the car. If you have one, throw in a tote bag, so they can easily carry what they need to a hospital room, library, or coffee shop for a few hours at a time.
Then fill in the assignment sheets you created and the child will use. With the curriculum names already inserted, calculate how much the child needs to accomplish each day. Create 32 assignments sheets, copying the one you made, and divide your curriculum choices into 32 weeks. Put these 32 assignment sheets into a notebook with some notebook paper. Add that to your school box. Each assignment sheet page might have details like this example.
By the end of the week, you will be ready to handle the coming year while educating your child and maintaining your sanity.
Your child will complete one assignment sheet per week, and actually finish all high school work this coming year. Everything is kept in the box. The opposite spouse checks homework, if possible. In times of crisis, the stay-at-home parent is too tired and emotionally exhausted.
I have a Coffee Break Book that talks about how to plan high school classes when you are facing difficult times with your student. Planning High School Courses: Charting the Course Toward High School Graduation
These suggestions are best when the parent is facing a challenge. When a child is facing a serious health or psychological crisis, scheduling schoolwork and requiring independent study isn’t going to be appropriate. But if you are homeschooling, and you need a path through the coming dark times, hopefully this will help.
You can have a bright future ahead – see my Ebook How to Be a Better Home Educator for encouragement!
