The Best Way To Start Your Homeschool Year

Are you looking for the absolute best way to start your homeschool year? Well then grab yourself a cup of coffee and get comfortable, my friend, because I’m going to show you just how to launch into a new homeschool year filled with learning & memory-making fun!

So put down the planner, and plan to ditch the stress, because we are going to start our homeschool year right.

The Start of Something New

Here we are. The beginning of a new school year is on the horizon. For months now, you have researched everything from learning styles to teaching styles; online curriculum and print; and even searched out the best deals on pencils, paper, and binders.

The months of planning are coming together as you fill in your homeschool planner and carefully organize your supplies. Daily schedules are contemplated. Routines are devised. Books are selected. State laws are referenced time and time again.

All that is needed is your intended start date and this homeschool year will commence.

Hold Up and Slow Down

Yeah, you read that right. Slow down. Before you load your kids up with morning baskets overflowing with books, geography, and Bible studies. Before you dig out each and every subject. And before you even think of adding in all of the personal growth and elective classes, slow down.

Breathe.

And think to yourself, on the first day of a new job, do you jump right in? On your first days of school did you start right out with 4-8 subjects?

I don’t think so.

It would be too much, you would have never succeeded.

And even though you are excited, your kids need you to set them up for success… and that means slowing down.

So before you dig out that amazing history book or fire up that computer for the brand new homeschool math program, let’s plan out a soft start to your homeschool year. One that looks at your goals and dreams for the year, but also realizes that your kids will be better prepared for this year if you spend some time easing in.

Soft-Starting Your Homeschool Year

If you have never heard of a soft start, let me first explain what it means.

Much like an athlete needs to stretch and warm up before they can run a marathon, your child(ren) needs to warm up their brain before they can even think of learning.

Soft starting your year is the act of letting them warm up.

Letting their summer vacation brains ease back into the new school year.

Allowing time for their bodies to adjust from days of running and playing to the routine of your school year.

It’s giving hands time to adjust to writing again, or fingers time to remember how to type. A slow wake-up of their minds as they again need to recall math facts and history dates.

Easing with time, fun, and patience, for all of you – especially if you are returning from a summer vacation.

And even if you school through the summer months, it’s time to adjust to more of a school schedule. Time that is necessary for both your kids and yourself.

But I’m Just So Excited For The New Year!!!

Oh, I know you are. We all are. As homeschool Moms, the first day of school brings the same excitement as a Christmas morning.

Yet our kids may not feel that same excitement.

And even if they do, their excitement tends to wane long before the end of that first day. The one where you start your routine with the first subject and try to keep them excited right through an entire day of learning.

A day where you also try to keep up with the laundry. The meals. The cleaning.

Instead, let’s skip the pressure. Let’s plan a soft start to your school year. One where you spend the first few days or even weeks easing back into the full routine of homeschooling.

Ideas For Soft-Starting Your Homeschool Year

1. Don’t Start on a Monday

For us, we soft-start the first 7-10 days of our school year. The easiest way we do this is by not starting on a Monday. By waiting until Tuesday or even Wednesday, we have already cut our first week down to a 3 or 4-day week. This is easier for all of us and doesn’t require me to spend the last Sunday before school starts working on prep.

2. Plan First Day or First Week Activities

Whether you are filling in All About Me pages, completing a free-write about their favorite summer activity, or taking a nature walk, plan some items that are not related to schoolwork. Take some Back To Homeschool pictures. Plan a picnic or a trip to the park. Go out for breakfast. Visit a museum The list goes on and on.

And it’s not so much about the actual activities you pick, just that you pick some.

3. Read

Yup. This one tops my list for so many things, including a soft start to a school year. Reading to your kids is a great way to engage them without asking too much from them. It’s a way to bring all of your kids together, regardless of age. It doesn’t matter if it’s a brand-new book or a family favorite. Books are a fabulous way to start your school year.

Not sure which book to select? Around here I have found that Charlotte’s Web, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and A Bear Called Paddington are great titles for all ages and you find them, plus some of our other favorites, right here!

4. Don’t Dig Out The Curriculum, Yet

Now I know, you spent a lot of time selecting your materials for the year. And I know how enticing it can be to get the kids started on them. The pressure to complete lesson one on day one is unrelenting… but I promise you, if you wait – even just a day or two – it will go smoother.

What am supposed to do for math then? And what about science?

Look, I hear ‘ya. And I’m here to tell you that math exists outside of that textbook. Remember that book you read? Ask your child to figure out when you will finish it if you read only one chapter per day. What about if you read two chapters a day? You can now check math off for the day.

Remember that trip to a museum I mentioned? Ask your children what their favorite displays were. Did they learn anything new? What did they notice that they didn’t before? History, science, narration… check, check, and check.

Remember that picnic you planned? Ask your kids to help you prepare the sandwiches. Or have them plan the menu. Home ec, health, and nutrition – check!

Take a walk around the block – well that’s physical education. Bring a compass with you and you can work on geography.

Gather leaves for an art project – art and maybe even science (if you identify the leaves).

The possibilities are endless!

5. And Finally, When It’s Time…

And when it’s finally time to dig out the books and workbooks… when it’s time to log in to the online lessons and put paper to pencil, ease in there. Add a subject here, and a subject there.

Work on a math lesson, but only for 10 minutes.

Read from your science materials, but only 3 or 4 pages.

Try a free write for Language Arts, instead of a page of grammar.

Ease back in, a little at a time. Take your cues from your kids. Stop when they are tired, bored, and in need of a break.

Embrace The Soft Start for a More Successful Start to Your Homeschool Year

As someone who has made just about all of the beginner homeschool mistakes possible with homeschooling, learn from our mistakes. Please.

I’ve done the whole start of the year where I gave out planners and routines and assignments on the first day. Years where our first day of school was packed with a schedule that was created with the best of intentions but implemented all wrong. Started early with breakfast, reading, and writing. Segued right into a full day of academics, and kept on truckin’ all year long.

We’ve also had years where our first day coincided with a solar eclipse, and instead spent our first-day creating boxes to watch the event right from our backyard.

And it’s in those years where we soft-start, easing back into a gentle routine. Years where we take our time getting our bearings, adding in a new item every few days. Taking out time transitioning back to homeschool. Learning about ourselves and our curriculum, working together.

These are the years where instead of letting the curriculum dictate to us how we are going to use it, we opt to use it how it suits us. Write a little. Read a little. Play a lot. Focusing less on academics and more on relationship building. All the while, knowing that it’s in the relationship building that we are building the strongest foundation we can we for another year of homeschooling.

Still planning your homeschool year?

Be sure to check out this huge list of amazing homeschool resources!