Scheduling Your Homeschool High School Year Successfully- Special Replay

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week on Homeschool High School Podcast: Scheduling Your Homeschool High School Year Successfully- Special Replay!

Scheduling Your Homeschool High School Year Successfully- Special Replay

Scheduling Your Homeschool High School Year Successfully

We know that many homeschooling moms love scheduling…and many DON’T. Whether you enjoy scheduling, it is a good idea to employ some scheduling skills! High school needs organization and scheduling if you are going to achieve your goals (and your teen graduate in four years).

We often receive questions about the right way to plan and then create schedules for homeschool high schoolers! What is the one right way to schedule your homeschool high school year?

There’s NOT one right way to schedule but there are some tips for developing a schedule that works for you!

Based on what has worked for our 7Sisters families (along with our teens), here are some tips for successfully scheduling your homeschool high school year:

Start with the end in mind.

  • Write out your vision or mission statement (click here for a writing your mission statement guide). For our purposes right now, vision and mission are pretty similar.
    • A written vision or mission statement really does help you keep your homeschooling family on task.
      • It helps you choose curriculum (will it advance the vision or mission? or am I experiencing peer pressure to buy curriculum that just will not fit our needs?)
      • When you remember your vision or mission, you can best choose activities that fit the family’s needs. (These days there are SO many options for our homeschool high schoolers that we are often faced with having toooo many activities to choose from.)
      • It helps you imagine and create an idea of the kind of homeschool environment you want.
        • Do your want a quiet, serious, by-the-book homeschool or a rollicking, spontaneous homeschool (or a mix of both)?
        • When you feel stressed, a vision or mission statement can actually help you keep calm and homeschool on.
  • Next, set four year goals.
    • What do you want your teens to have accomplished by the time they graduated (on the transcript and in real life).
      • When they walk across the stage at graduation, what kind of person do you hope your teens will be?
      • What kinds of experiences  (academic or otherwise) do you want them to have had?
      • Life preparation- what do you want them to definitely know how to do?
    • Read this post on how to set goals.

Organize your homeschool year by scheduling backwards.

Schedule backward for your homeschool

Remember: stay flexible! As Vicki always says:

A mom’s mind plans her way, but God directs her steps.

When life happens or things go wrong, give yourself grace and breathing space! Then get back to the schedule as soon as possible OR choose the create a NEW schedule based on the family’s current needs. (For instance, if a chronic illness has developed, you will probably need a whole new schedule. Thats’s okay! Realistic goals and flexibility are key!)

Remember to include teens in the planning process, so that they can own their education.

  • Be sure to write your goals down.
  • Have an accountability partner.

If you need some support, you might enjoy some coaching from Vicki at VickiTillmanCoaching.com.

Join Sabrina and Vicki for this helpful discussion.

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What to do Senior Year for College-Bound Homeschoolers- Special Replay

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast Senior What to do Senior Year for College-Bound Homeschoolers- Special Replay

What to do Senior Year for College-Bound Homeschoolers

What to do Senior Year for College-Bound Homeschoolers- Special Replay

You and your homeschool teens have been working diligently all through high school. They needed a college-attractive transcript. Not only that, they needed the college-prep study skills and safety skills that college students will use. However, they also needed to be teenagers and have some kind of fun and balanced life. You all have made it this far….to SENIOR YEAR!!

Congratulations!

Senior year is different from the earlier years of homeschooling high school. We are always getting LOTS of questions about what to expect from senior year for college bound homeschool high schoolers. What are the rhythms of senior year?

What needs to happen and when during senior year?

Of course, as we always say: There’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school, so you and your teens need to decide what is best. However, it is nice to have some guidelines that can help you set your own goals. These are the senior year goals we set for our college-bound teens.

June, July, August goals:

July goals:

  • Plan the academics for the year, include your teen in the process. It is SO important to have your teens’ buy-in for their final year of high school!
  • Order your curriculum if possible.

August goals:

  • Have your senior write their college application essays.
    • Most of the online applications have the essay topics posted by August (and sometimes they are the same essay topics as the previous year).
  • Check out this Homeschool Highschool Podcast episode on how to apply to college.
  • ALSO: Please, please, please: Discuss with your seniors how to politely ask for their college recommendation letter!
    • That letter may not be due yet, but when seniors have written that college application essay, they can imagine how much time it will take the person they have chosen to write that recommendation letter.

September goals:

  • Work with your senior to narrow the college choices down to three to five good-fit schools.
  • Make sure your teen has toured those schools.
  • If the school has rolling admissions, your teen can start the application process.
    • Otherwise, find out what the early application timeframe is. Discuss with your teen if they want early or regular admissions.

October goals:

  • If early admissions is open for your teens choice schools, you can probably apply now.
  • Have your seniors take their time and do a good job.
  • Get the reference requests done, if they have not already done so.

November goals:

  • See if your seniors can wrap up the college applications and recommendation letters.

Holiday goals:

  • Have a nice holiday season. Keep those academics on target.

January goals:

  • Keep an eye on status on the online essays….IF you are not obsessing about it. Remember, it is your teen who is headed to college, not you!
  • You really can trust God to open and close the right doors.
  • Please do not share everything cool that your teen with all your social media.
  • Ask you teens first! Remind your teen to be compassionate with their friends who are in different places in the process.

February goals:

  • Send mid-year grades to colleges.
  • Start working on graduation. (Some homeschool graduates do not want an official graduation, that is okay, too!)
  • Are senior pictures done?
  • Pick graduation date.
    • Start organizing your ideas for graduation party and ceremony.

March goals:

  • Financial aid packages have arrived.
    • Time for your teen to make that college decision.

April goals:

  • Plan the schedules to finish off academics and activities to finish in time.

May goals:

  • Wrap things up. All the things!

June goals:

  • Graduation!!! Congratulations!!

After graduation, many people celebrate with a graduation party!

Join Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for an encouraging, empowering talk about senior year for college bound homeschool high schoolers. In the meantime, enjoy these posts and resources:

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What to do Senior Year for College-Bound Homeschoolers- Special Replay

Time Management For Parents | Replay

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

time management for busy parents
Time Management Parents Episode 412

There is hope! Are you ready for time management that will help you to reclaim your day and feel good at the end? Is this too good to be true? No, it is a reality, and if I can do it, you can as well. How does it happen? Well, very easily with one sheet of paper and four squares. Today I will help you figure out the main issues that steal your time and the hope on how to reclaim it.

Thanks to our sponsor CTCMath, a wonderful Math curriculum for the entire family of school-aged children. This one-stop shop has grades K-12; check it out. Homeschoolers can save 50%!

Let’s get our time management back!

Does your day lack focus? Are you overwhelmed with the shuffling of papers, trying to get school “done,” and keeping up with the household chores? You can see why there is such burnout among moms, especially moms who homeschool. Even at the beginning of the year! I have to say I struggled with this for many years, and it left me feeling tired, defeated, and like I wasn’t getting anything accomplished each day. I felt like a young mom with little children. If I kept everyone safe by the end of the day, it was a win!

However, I wanted so much more. Especially for those who are new to homeschooling or even if you are a pro, you need the help that comes from getting all of your ducks in a row. Let me cut to the chase here. I was out of time because my time was managing me instead of the other way around. What was interrupting my day? What’s getting in the way of time management?

Easy, three things:

  1. Talking on the phone (substitute social media here and texting).
  2. No set schedule for household chores.
  3. Disobedient kids

I had a defeatist attitude and could not wait until my husband came home so I could dump all of my daily woes on him, and guess what? That didn’t work out too well. My husband ran his own business and often needed my help to do the payroll or help with management and the details of filing payroll taxes, filling out forms, and so much more.

Fast forward, and we raised five kids and have not one but three businesses that we run out of our homes successfully. How did this happen? Believe me, it was not overnight, but now I can share those tips and techniques with you, and these are even better than what I had in my toolbox at the time.

Rules are made to be broken, but sometimes you can look at them as good suggestions, so take heart as I share some quick ones with you.

  1. Just because you get an idea, it does not mean you have to act on it right now. Write it down and look at it at lunchtime or after dinner, and plan for it. Quickly one thing I do not do, even with a business, is looking at emails in the morning – emails such the life and my day away from me. Unless I have planned for this, I don’t do it until after lunch. People who really need to get hold of me quickly know how to do this. Everything else can wait.
  2. I learned my time wasters. See number one – but there were others. I let myself get sidetracked, and once I learned the keys to keeping myself on track, it worked.
  3. Make a plan and stick to it – I know, for those of you kindred spirits that are spontaneous. But believe me, it works.
  4. Every self-help book or how to get organized is not going to help you get organized if you refuse to do what it suggests (same with this broadcast)
  5. Seek help when needed.

I think that is important to note that many times we think an issue is one problem when it is really something else. Another issue with time management is that we have false expectations or, perhaps, no expectations at all! So first, it is homework time. I am going to encourage you to stop this recording and write out your most pressing need and what you hope to accomplish. What is your main expectation? Is it a peaceful home? Is it happiness that surpasses all understanding? Is it kids that get along, laundry washed, dried and folded, and put away in one day? Is it meals planned? What is that? What is important to you?

So the first thing to do is look at your expectations, hopes, and dreams and break them down into a day, week, month or even a year. Remember the old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in one day.” But I am going to add my Felice twist here –  “But the fires that destroyed Rome were set on purpose.”

What fires are you setting for yourself? I’ve looked at my expectations and goals and realized that they were so grandiose and my expectation so unattainable that I was setting myself up for failure. It wasn’t going to happen even with a household of full-time employees! So, let’s get realistic. I’m not going to tell you the platitudes I’ve read like, “make every minute count,” or “delegate,” or “make easy-to-serve meals.” This is a duh, duh, and double duh. We are talking about surviving the day here. But what I will tell you is that you need to use what you have on hand.

I’m an author, which I do believe most of you know, and years ago, my daughter wanted to write a novel. I told her, “Christina, I don’t know how to write a novel,” and she said, “Mom, we are homeschoolers. We will figure it out.”

Moms and Dads, if you are listening. You may or may not be homeschoolers – but if there is something you want to do, you can figure it out. The one novel turned out to be three and sold in catalogs such as Christian Book Distributors, currently on Amazon and my website, MediaAngels.com, and have been around the world. We figured it out.

Time management is what is important to you. The list usually looks like this:

  1. Need to manage the kids.
  2. Need to manage the home.
  3. Need to teach school (for those who are homeschooling.)
  4. Need time with my spouse.
  5. Need to keep my sanity.

Kids always seem to be number one when they should not hold that revered position. As a Christian, the first thing that should be on the list is a time of prayer. I’ve talked about this before, but the days I did not wake up, grab a cup of coffee, my Bible and have a short prayer session with the Lord was the day that all heck broke loose.

So, we need to rearrange the list and have it look something like this.

  1. Keep my sanity. Begin the day with God.
  2. Time with my spouse – figure out when to have a meaningful conversation, spend time and date night even if it means to put the kids to bed and grabbing some popcorn and watching a movie at home.
  3. Manage my home. What is pressing? Laundry? Food? Use your weekends, bulk cook, and freeze. Just like a copy machine is a blessing to every homeschool family, so is an upright or chest freezer.
  4. Manage my kids. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Follow through. Practice good behavior. If this means having your kids repeat after you, do it. I have several audios on this topic, and I also have audios I have created for the kids. See the links below. Have your kids listen to them. Side note here – Tell your kids you are on the same side. Sometimes I think we are in a battle, and the kids need to know there is one leader, it is you as a parent, and the troops need to file in… if you do not have a set of consequences this is important to think about. Ahead of time.
  5. School! Yes, this is last. My kids learned despite my beautifully created curriculum or lessons. Read, read, and read. If you want your kids to learn life lessons do it in books, if you want your kids to learn math get a curriculum. I have a series of character-quality free downloads I give away every month on the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network, you can sign up to get them and past sets are for sale on my website at MediaAngels.com. Why is this? Because prior to the 1960s, character was infused and morality in schools, families, and churches. Now, it is all revisionist and secular. Interestingly I read a quote recently from a past president that shocked me. In the words of John Adams: “Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any others.”Friends, this is the key; we must bring morality and all that is good and holy into our homes. If that means restricting screen time, do it – if it means only watching good movies, get Pureflix. I realize this is a challenge for some of you, but I have faith in you. You can do it!

Lastly, the key here – how to do it how to get organized. Fast Track.

  1. One week at a glance. Take a sheet of paper and draw a horizontal line and a vertical line. So, it has 4 squares. Faith, Kids, School Household. You can use different headings on each of these squares for whatever you want. This is an overall sketch of what you are going to do and accomplish. The weekly goals if you will. You will not get detailed with the kid’s schooling, other than maybe to put a time frame, or perhaps books you are going to read as a family, etc.
  2. Square one: Faith you can add spouse there as well. But first, you need to get right with God. You need to be filled up before you can pour into others. My show – AFewMinutesWithGodPodcast.com
  3. Square two: Kids – what are your overall goals – is there something in particular or one kid, in particular, that is the squeaky wheel that needs help. Whether it is academic or discipline. At a time of war they always went after the leader, so if there is one child that is leading the others astray begin there.
  4. School. Once again the overarching here – do you have a field trip, are you going to do a science experiment, watch a specific video -put this on your list.
  5. Household. When are you doing the laundry, prepare meals – you can have a start time, etc … list it here:

Whatever you use make it work for you! Make it your own. I really do believe you can figure this out and reclaim your time. Time management is you managing time and making an effort to not allow it to manage you!

Resources: Past Vintage Homeschool Moms Podcasts and Show notes to help you!

  1. I have several past podcasts and if you look at the show notes page, you will see links to download a bunch of forms!
    1. Here is one on Homeschool Forms and another on
  2. Last-minute Christmas prep – contains a 4-square planner
  3. Running Your Home Like a CEO
  4. Easy Way Planning link here

 

 

Scheduling 7Sisters ELA Bundles

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Scheduling 7Sisters ELA Bundles.

Scheduling 7Sisters ELA Bundles

Scheduling 7Sisters ELA Bundles

Working on plans for the new school year? Planning English/Language Arts course for your homeschool high schoolers? If you are like many homeschooling families, your teens are enjoying 7Sisters One-Year ELA Bundles…but how do you schedule them?

As you probably know, 7Sisters One-Year ELA Bundles are complete ELA credits, one bundle for each year of homeschool high school. The distinctive about these bundles is that they are made of collections 7Sisters’ popular literature study guides, writing guides, cinema studies for literature learning guides and built in vocabulary and grammar…even public speaking is included!

Together, these cover the HUGE Language Arts credits.

Note: the bundles are not rigidly ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades. Every teen is different (that is why grade levels are suggested but no hard-fixed.)

Each of the bundles comes with scheduling instructions, but a little bit of encouragement from Sabrina might help homeschool moms feel a bit more confident with the planning.

The easiest ways to get the scheduling of the ELA Bundles completed is to download the FREE syllabus for each bundle.

These syllabi may be adapted for your teens’ needs. Remember: There’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school!

Common questions we receive about scheduling assignments in ELA Bundles

We love to receive questions, so we receive questions often! Here are some of the most common questions:

Question:

ELA Bundles include Literature Study Guide and Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Guides. These guides include essay prompts. However, if my teen has not completed the Essay Writing Guide, how can they handle the essays in the literature and cinema guides?

Answer:

There’s not one right way to handle this.

If your teen is experienced with essays already, start with their knowledge and write the literature and cinema guide essay prompts. Eventually they will be completing the essay writing guide and will add to their already existing their skills.

On the other hand, some teens can skip the essay. This is especially true if they have handled well the inferential skills in the literature guides.

Remember:

You want your teen to be challenged but not intimidated! Do not burnout your teens! Thus, if your teens need to drop an essay-writing assignment or two, they should do that. You want to preserve their love of learning.

Question:

How do you teach ELA Bundles in co-op settings?

Answer:

This is a good question for Sabrina. She taught these bundles to our teens in our co-op and homeschool umbrella school classes for years.

Typically, Sabrina has taught one or two literature (or cinema studies for literature learning) guide per every two to four weeks. This works out well for a nine month school year, since there are usually nine or ten guides in each bundle.

Books vary in length with some being shorter and some longer. Therefore, on longer books, Sabrina weights the longer reading assignments on the first week. This is because the earlier parts of many novels are lighter as far as inferential and analytical questions (which take more time and thought to answer). Why is that? It is because the earlier parts of the book are introducing characters, setting and plot, so questions are more “introductory”.

Therefore, if a your co-op class is taking four weeks to complete a literature study guide:

  • Have students read one third of the book during the first week, along with answering the questions for the reading and completing the vocabulary.
    • In class, introduce the themes and background material of the book and discuss what they understand about those particular themes.
  • During the second week, have your teens read a second third of the book, along with answering the questions for the reading.
    • In class discuss the themes for the book and discuss the questions from their homework.
  • Next, during the third week have your teens complete reading the book. They can then make a notes and outline for the essay in the literature guide. (Remember, you decide whether or not they will do those essays.)
    • In class discuss the themes for the book and discuss the questions from their homework.
  • Finally, teens complete their essays during the fourth week.
    • In class we discuss their essays, review themes and introduce the next book.

Question:

When should students do the vocabulary in the literature study guides?

Answer:

As always, there’s not ONE right way to handle the vocabulary.

  • Some students like to knock it out before they start the book
  • Other students handle the vocabulary in chunks, with each chapter.

Be sure to discuss this with your teens. What would work best for them.

We hope you and your homeschool high schoolers have the best year yet! Join Sabrina for wisdom and encouragement for scheduling 7Sisters ELA Bundles!

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Help! I Don’t Want to Homeschool Anymore! Dealing with Homeschool Burnout

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

It happens to the best of us; homeschool burnout. We grow weary of homeschooling and we’re ready to throw in the towel. Rather than giving up, let’s look at how we got to this state and what actions we can take to get out of homeschool overwhelm.

What Homeschool Burnout Looks Like

Think back to when you first began homeschooling. You were full of hope and excitement and couldn’t wait to pour over homeschool curriculum catalogs. You had a new identity to celebrate, you were now a homeschool mom!

New friends were made, conventions visited, and curricula purchased. Things went great in the beginning, or even for a while.

Then it happens, burnout!

Now you dread getting up to more schoolwork, more laundry, more meal prepping, more of anything. You’re just tired, and there seems to be no end in sight.

How Homeschool Burnout Happens

The truth is, you didn’t just wake up tired of it all one morning. Let’s look at the road to burnout and see if you can identify with any of these:

  • you don’t have a predictable schedule
  • you have an overly stressful schedule
  • your homeschooling a wide variety of ages and levels
  • your partner works long hours
  • you’re not plugged into co-op or homeschool group
  • you are overly committed to a co-op or homeschool group
  • lack of support from friends or family
  • expecting too much of yourself
  • putting everyone else before your own basic needs
  • over-commitment to church
  • neglecting your spiritual life

If any of that sounds familiar, you might be in homeschool burnout.

What We Do About Homeschool Burnout

There are some action steps you can take to help yourself walk out of burnout to relief. Try a few of these to see what works.

  1. Practice the art of saying “no.” You don’t need to do everything. If you feel like you need permission to bow out gracefully, granted.
  2. Understand the difference between roles and responsibilities. Your role is mom, wife, sister, daughter. You have different responsibilities within each of those roles. Make a quick list of what your true responsibilities are. This will also help you learn to say no.
  3. Re-think your identity. Yes, you homeschool. But, your identity isn’t a homeschooling mom. You’re a mom who homeschools, right? And most importantly, you’re a daughter to the One who made you, loves you, and doesn’t want you sit in homeschool burnout.
  4. Make prayer a priority.

PRAYING AND WORKING. I Like that saying of Martin Luther, when he says, “I have so much business to do to-day, that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.” Now, most people would say, “I have so much business to do to-day, that I have only three minutes for prayer; I cannot afford the time.”

But Luther thought that the more he had to do, the more he must pray, or else he could not get through it. That is a blessed kind of logic: may we understand it! “Praying and provender hinder no man’s journey.” If we have to stop and pray, it is no more hindrance than when the rider has to stop at the farrier’s to have his horse’s shoe fastened; for if he went on without attending to that it may be that ere long he would come to a stop of a far more serious kind.—C. H. Spurgeon.

Practical steps:

  1. Keep a simple schedule.
  2. Keep meals simple.
  3. Plan time with friends and don’t talk about homeschooling.
  4. Communicate your needs clearly to your partner, friends, and family.
  5. Partner with an online homeschool provider to handle some of the teaching load.

Working through these 8 quick steps can help you gain clarity for yourself, your relationships, and your homeschooling. Keep things simple!

 

Starting Your Homeschool Over

Listen, I hear you! You’ve already purchased all of this curriculum. You’re determined to use it.

You’ve already purchased the convention tickets and reserved the hotel.

Your church is counting on you.

Your partner isn’t supportive.

All of that can be true, and you can still simplify.

That curriculum? Set a timer and work through it for a set amount of time. No one says you have to do all.the.things!

Let your kids know that for a while school is during the hours of x and x and after that mom needs a recess or reboot.

Go the convention, but change your aim. Have fun! And if you want to, cancel it. No one is judging you. There’s always next year.

Your church probably does need you, that’s the nature of it. But they want the best version of you. Not the stressed-out, burnt-out version. Have a conversation about volunteering boundaries for this season. They will understand.

You’ve Got This!

Just do the next thing. Pick one area to simplify. You’ve got this. And maybe some of these podcasts will help: *scroll to the bottom of the page to play the podcast

Let me know how this article and the podcasts have helped. Have more advice? Leave a comment and bless another mom.

Schedule or Routine?

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

schedulingDo you follow a segmented schedule, complete with time slots, or more of a routine in your homeschool? Or perhaps you relate to Christi’s description of a “rhythm”! On this episode, Christi Deason joins us once again, this time to discuss scheduling. While scheduling is definitely not natural for either of us, Christi talks about how her loose style worked for their family and I share my own experience with my style of minimal scheduling.

As is typical, we take some time for a few necessary rabbit trails, as well! (College proponents, watch out. We’re not anti-college, but perhaps we get a bit opinionated here!) Since scheduling involves curriculum, I cover a bit of what I’m doing with that, too. It’s not fancy or complicated, but it works for a wiggly, kinesthetic seven-year-old!

Here is the general outline we followed for our interview:

Did you follow a schedule or more of a routine? What did that look like?

Did you have it written out or did you use some kind of software?

What subjects went on that list, at what ages?

  • I tend to follow the “better late than early” advice
  • With my youngest, I always do Bible and character training daily, even if we get to very little in the way of formal academics
  • We also regularly do history, as Bible tends to dovetail well into ancient history
  • Science at this age is focused mostly on nature and animal studies, but we also incorporate any interests as they appear (today in our Bible doctrines, we talked about faith being something that can’t be experienced with our five senses, naturally leading into a science reading and discussion about the five sense).

What time did you usually start? Did you take certain days off?

  • We took off Fridays, birthdays, and of course…snow days! Being in the south, snow days are something to be enjoyed as much as possible, in my opinion!

What factors went into deciding the schedule (husband’s work, personalities, early birds/night owls, specific giftings…)?

Were there any years that seemed harder to schedule?

Anything you would change about how you scheduled or did your routine?

HSHSP Ep 123: Successfully Scheduling Your Homeschool Highschool Year

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week on HSHSP Ep 123: Successfully Scheduling Your Homeschool Highschool Year!

HSHSP Ep 123: Successfully Scheduling Your Homeschool Highschool Year

HSHSP Ep 123: Successfully Scheduling Your Homeschool Highschool Year

We know that many homeschooling moms love scheduling…and many DON’T. However, highschool needs organization and scheduling if you’re going to achieve your goals (and your teen graduate in 4 years).

What is the one right way to schedule your homeschool highschool year?

There’s NOT one right way to schedule but there are some tips for developing a schedule that works for you.

Here are some tips for successfully scheduling your homeschool highschool year:

Start with the end in mind.

  • Set a 4 year goal. What do you want your teens to have accomplished by the time they graduated (on the transcript and in real life). When they walk across the stage at graduation, what kind of person do you hope your teens will be?
  • Read this post on how to set goals.
  • Write out your mission (click here for a guide).
  • Create an idea of the kind of homeschool environment you hope.

Schedule backwards.

Scheduling Backwards Freebie from 7SistersHomeschool.com

Click image for information on this helpful freebie.

  • Looking at the end goals, start by working backwards.
  • Decide what kind of educational year you want
  • Mark the halfway point on the schedule. Then ask where should we be in the curriculum by halfway through the year.
  • Mark special dates
    • portfolio reviews
    • missions trips
    • scheduled guests visiting
    • co-op field trips
    • drivers ed
    • sports competitions and performances
    • holidays
  • Now decide how much should be done on each subject day by day
    • The number of pages (or chapters) in the text divided by the number of weeks in the year or number of days in the year
  • Create your syllabi

When life happens or things go wrong, give yourself grace then get back to the schedule as soon as possible.

Remember to include teens in the planning process, so that they can own their education.

Be sure to write your goals down.

Have an accountability partner.

If you need some support, you might enjoy some coaching from Vicki at VickiTillmanCoaching.com.

Join Sabrina and Vicki for this helpful discussion. Also enjoy these posts and episodes:

HSHSP Ep 42: Highschool Goals and Planning

HSHSP Ep 43: Highschool Planning and Teen Personalities

HSHSP Ep 44: Including Teens in Highschool Planning

HSHSP Ep 123: Successfully Scheduling Your Homeschool Highschool Year

Secrets of Scheduling Success

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

How can we get it all done? If that’s your question, you’ll love this episode of The Homeschool Sanity Show. You will want to grab your copy of the scheduling worksheets as you listen. Scroll down to claim them.

Secrets of Scheduling Success

 

Want to read this article as a blog post? READ HERE Or WATCH ON YOUTUBE

I have to apologize AGAIN! I did not have the code set up correctly for you to get the Nature Study printables via text message last week. You can definitely get them in the show notes here. I’ve learned how to prevent this problem in the future, but I’ve learned something even more important. I have the best listeners! I didn’t get one complaint. Not one crabby email about this. You are my people and I love you. Thank you for putting up with all my foibles. I wish I could promise there will be no mistakes going forward, but I can’t.

What did go very well last week was the Facebook Live inside look and giveaway of Our Journey Westward’s Charlotte-Mason friendly materials. We had a great time! You can join me on Tuesdays at 4E/3C/2M/1P for more homeschool sanity goodness at Facebook.com/Psychowith6. Comments and shares during the live video earn double entries, but you can still comment up to a week later for an entry in the giveaway. If you’re not a giveaway lover, there’s still nothing like seeing resources in person and being able to ask questions about them. I love Facebook Live for this purpose. If there’s a discount available, I’ll share that, too.

Teaching Tip of the Week

Last week was a time of grieving Mandy Kelly and three of her family members. This blogger behind Worshipful Living was a friend to many of us in Christian, homeschooling, and blogging circles. We will miss her terribly, but we give thanks to God for using her to minister to thousands of people. The grief that I and many friends experienced prompted me to do a Periscope video on how to manage grief and then a second Periscope on how to help others who are grieving. The second video, in particular, reminded me that we need to teach our children how to help those in mourning. If we don’t, they are likely to make mistakes that will add to others’ pain.  I also recommend the book The Art of Helping by Lauren Littauer Briggs that I contributed to. This book is for your reference and is a great resource when you aren’t sure what to say or do in specific situations.

Links

2:1 conference

Scheduleing Worksheets

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[LISTEN TO: HOW TO HOMESCHOOL IN LESS TIME]

[READ: A YEAR OF LIVING PRODUCTIVELY]

Panda Weekly Planner

Organized Homeschool Life

How many hours did you have left over when you did the exercise? Let’s chat about it on Facebook.

The Art of Schedule Juggling – MBFLP 146

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

 

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Once it was so easy – Dad had his calendar at work, and Mom had hers for the kids and herself. What needed coordination except for holidays and vacations? But when we had kids in high school and heading off to classes and activities all over the place, we realized we had to get better organized or we’d lose track of everything. This episode, we talk about four very simple things we’ve done – and totally for free – that help us keep tabs on everyone’s plans and commitments, so we avoid most of the “Uh oh!” moments we used to have so often!

This program is brought to you in part by
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Homeschooling in Less Time

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

How to Homeschool in Less Time: The Homeschool Sanity Show podcast

Are you stressed because of how much time homeschooling takes? If you feel like you would be a happier homeschooler if you could finish schooling in less time, this is the episode for you.

Can I ask you a favor? Would you share two minutes of that time savings posting a review of this podcast on iTunes? Reviews encourage people to give a podcast a try. I’d be so appreciative if you would let people know that The Homeschool Sanity Show is worth their time. Thank you in advance.

Teaching Tip of the Week

100+ places you can find planner printables for 2016 at CornerstoneConfessions.com. Kathy Gossen not only provides us with a 140-page set of free planner pages she’s designed herself, but a new 180-page premium, color set.

Organized Homeschool Challenge of the Week

This week’s challenge is the the Daily Routine Challenge.

Links

Konos

How to Homeschool in an Hour a Day

Periscope Viewers

Candace

Markie  lifewithmrscooks.blogspot.com

@cmw28

Sarita

Minivanministries.com

Christina

waterproof, Bluetooth speaker

Have a happy homeschool week!