The Best Tips To Avoid A Homeschool Planning Crisis

We all try, but planning a homeschool year is daunting! Whether you like to plan a full year in one fell swoop, prefer monthly or weekly planning, or opt to skip the planner all together, there undoubtedly comes a time when a planning crisis looms on the horizon.

I’m here to tell you though, it doesn’t have to be that way! And to help prove it, I’m sharing with you the best homeschool planning tips to avoid a planning crisis at any point in the year!

Planning Done With The Best Of Intentions

Whether you are a veteran homeschooler, or just getting starting, preparing for and planning out a new homeschool year can be a daunting task. Curriculum, supplies, and materials all need to be thought about, researched, and selected. Teaching styles and learning styles need to be considered, along with time and budget.

And all along the way, everyone from well-meaning friends to homeschool blogs to curriculum companies are telling you about the latest, the greatest, and the best options out there. All of this advice, all of this information can really leave you questioning your selections. It can make you wonder if you are making the right choice.

Worse, it can leave you unsure of yourself at any point in the year. All of this noise clouds your mind and goals and you find yourself thinking…

This curriculum made math click for little Suzi… maybe we should try it.

This curriculum only takes 10 minutes… surely we can squeeze it in.

This curriculum is recommended by my favorite homeschool expert… so it must be the best out there.

Round and round we go from now until the school year starts and after a while, it just plain gets exhausting.

Shiny Object Syndrome – The start of a homeschool planning crisis

Even with years of homeschooling behind us, I still get hit with a big case of Shiny Object Syndrome.

Every. Single. Year.

I still wander through stores contemplating every purchase. Checking prices before I buy, making sure we truly need an item, and thinking about how it will fit into our homeschool year. I peruse the internet checking options, reviews, and looking for free samples before making my selections.

All of this after spending weeks thinking about our goals for the upcoming year. Revamping our homeschool mission statement. Asking the kids for input on courses, our direction for the upcoming year, and what their goals are.

Yet, over the years I have also come up with some tried and true methods to help combat the S.O.S. that occurs every year. Methods that help keep me focused and on track, even when a new curriculum shows up advertised in my inbox or mailbox. Even when a great limited-time-only sale hits before I am ready to purchase. And especially when an excited friend calls me up to rave all about this miracle curriculum that saved their homeschool.

How To Avoid A Homeschool Planning Crisis

So what’s a homeschool Mom supposed to do when she’s being inundated with tips, advice, and options? How can she stay on track and be confident in her plans and choices?

I’ve come up with three tips to help you combat the draw of every recommendation, tip, and option out there. A system that will help you quickly and efficiently know when to stay focused on your goals and when to pause and evaluate. These are the same tips I give to myself as I too work to avoid Shiny Object Syndrome in my own homeschool planning and purchases.

1. Start with goals and stick with them.

Before you start making purchases for the upcoming school year establish your goals for the year. Think about each child individually and consider their strengths, their weaknesses, their interests, and their passions. Write these items down and organize your thoughts. With older kids, you can talk with them about their goals, how they thought last year went, and where they would like to go this year.

By creating goals for your homeschool, and for each child, you can quickly and easily see if a curriculum or homeschool item will fit with your homeschool. Even if you love it, if it won’t fit, skip it.

2. Evaluate your child and not just the curriculum or supply.

Have a child who hates reading, but you are in love with a curriculum that requires lots of it? Did you find the best online curriculum, but have a child who learns best from textbooks? Does your child roll their eyes at project-based learning, yet your neighbor has been raving about a project-based option? This tip is just for you!

The best curriculum on the market won’t be best for your household, your family, and your children if it doesn’t teach them in the way they learn. Period.

It makes no sense to load up on materials, supplies, and curriculum that will only lead to tears and frustrations on both sides of the kitchen table. Find the options that teach in the way your child learns best, even if they aren’t the most popular choices. Even if other’s didn’t like it.

This is also where you want to consider your time – as in, the time you have to homeschool. Will you be busy with other commitments? Do the kids have extra-curricular activities that will take time away from your school day? Are you, or your older children, working and not available at set times? Is there a big family change coming up (birth of a new child, move, or even a vacation) you need to consider?

In short, be mindful of the type of items you chose and how they will work with your children and your life.

3. If it’s a big change, wait a week.

This one has probably saved me the most when it comes to a new option. And it goes something like this…

I learn of a product, supply, or curriculum AND a big, short-term sale price. Everyone is talking about it and telling me to buy now. The adrenaline rushes as I research and find I do like it, that it will work. The pressure to buy builds as I look at the savings that are offered if I buy right now.

Now, if this is something I have considered in the past and already know its good, I’ll go for it.

BUT, if this is new to me, new as a possibility, it’s always best to wait. Marketers and advertisers are big on creating scarcity, the fear of missing out, so they create this drive that tells you to grab it now while it’s on your mind and on sale.

The reality though, these sales come around quite often. Sure, there are some sales that are truly only once a year, but that is the exception – not the rule. Odds are, if the item is on sale now, it will be on sale again. Meanwhile, you can do some better research on the item, compare it to your goals and your child, and be sure this is a purchase you actually want to make – not one you feel pressured into grabbing right this moment.

When In Doubt…

Planning out your homeschool year is rarely an easy task. In fact, homeschooling, in general, is not an easy task. Yet we do it. Year after year we search for the best solutions to our individual homeschool problems. We research, join groups, and try new methods. And we show up each day ready to teach and learn with our children.

Each year we set out to make this the best year ever. Whether that means keeping things the same, changing up a few things, or starting from scratch, we try. With the best of intentions we begin our year confident.

We simply have to get there. We have to get past the doubt, the second-guessing, and the shiny object syndrome that threatens to derail us at each and every step. These three tips can help you to avoid the doubt. Help you stop with the second-guessing. And keep the shiny object syndrome at bay.

Or at least, help you stay on track as you work to plan your best homeschool year.

Are You New To Homeschooling?

Then you are going to want to check out The Complete Beginner’s Guide To Homeschooling! This 92-page ebook contains everything you need to begin your homeschool journey with confidence and support.

Inside the guide, I will walk you step-by-step through the process of establishing your homeschool, learning how to teach your children, and transitioning smoothly from a public or private school. There is also information on state laws, workbook pages to help you prepare, curriculum comparison pages, and more all designed to help you educate your children at home.