The Unlikely Homeschool: 5 Days of Scheduling Your Entire Homeschool Year {Day 2}

If you are joining me today for part 2 of this 5-day long look at scheduling your homeschool year, I can assume, you've already taken a peek at WHY I choose to schedule this way. (This post contains affiliate links.)

That being said, I'd like to moderate the following thoughts by reminding you that this is just ONE way of scheduling your school year. It is by no means the ONLY way or the RIGHT way. You, obviously, have completely different dynamics to deal with than I do and will need to adapt any/all of my thoughts to your home. Now that we've agreed upon that and have solidified the deal with the "homeschool moms' secret handshake", let's jump right into our planners. Shall we?!

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)

Here are two short videos detailing the first step I take in planning my school year. (Ummm...many apologies for the annoying buzzing sounds in the background. Since I'm sure Steven Spielberg frowns upon loaning out his cinematography equipment, you're stuck with mine!)

If you are having trouble viewing the video, click here.

Just a few final thoughts...

Once I create my lesson plans for the year, I don't hang on to that hastily written out chart. That is merely for me to use as a guide while I fill out my planner. When I'm finished with my plans, the chart gets tossed in the trash. (Just didn't want you to think I made my poor children look at that every day!)

Because I live in a region that has a very short outdoor season (I live in a snow globe for 80% of the year.), I refuse to do any traditional schooling much past May. We still get plenty of learning done in the summer, it just comes much more organically. If, however, you live anywhere but here, I'd highly recommend the idea of Sabbath Schooling, a schooling style that mirrors God's pattern of six portions of work and one portion of rest. There are actually many different school calendar styles apart from traditional and Sabbath Schooling, so research all of them and choose the one that will work best for you and your family.

While my local school district has always been very gracious and helpful (in my experience, anyway), I recognize that not everyone can say the same. For more information on your state's homeschooling laws and/or attendance requirements, I'd recommend seeking the counsel of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.

Since creating this video I've switched to an even better planner. I now use the Brave Homeschool Planner, a planner made by homeschool moms for homeschool moms.

Day 1: WHY I Schedule My Entire Year?
Day 2: Creating a Year-Long Homeschool Calendar
Day 3: Scheduling Traditional Curriculum
Day 4: Scheduling Non-Traditional Curriculum
Day 5: FAQs of Scheduling

If you're still in need of help for putting a plan into place, here's how you can put your entire homeschool day on autopilot>>>

15 comments:

HeidiJune 11, 2013 at 2:45 AM
Tried to watch the videos, but it said they are "private". Thought I'd let you know.
FriendJune 11, 2013 at 3:42 AM
Same thing happened when I tried to watch them! :( Hopefully they can be fixed, because I REALLY want to watch them! Thanks so much for doing this!
mmeblueJune 11, 2013 at 5:14 AM
Yep, same here. I would also love to watch the videos!
MN MomJune 11, 2013 at 7:43 AM
I would not contact the school district to ask about the law. The districts often don't keep up with the homeschool laws. They have plenty of other information to keep up with each year. I would recommend hslda.org for information about state organizations that can help with knowing the laws. They have a list of state organizations. They also have the laws for each state available. They are graciously willing to answer any questions. I suggest this because some states require very little interaction with the schools. An organization that focuses on homeschooling can walk people through the process. The districts cannot require things outside the state laws. (I love you blog!)
AnonymousJune 11, 2013 at 11:59 AM
I'm so glad to have found you, Jamie! I've been combing through the archives of your blog for the past couple of days. So much helpful stuff here. We are missionaries and live overseas, so sometimes homeschooling can feel pretty lonely and isolating. I love the communities and the inspiration and the ideas I find on the homeschool blogs I read. I especially like all of your art tutorials. You have inspired me to try to add that into our homeschool day next year. Love this series on planning out your year. Keep up the good work! Blessings -- Laura
Kim WellsJune 12, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Thanks for your videos - and for this series! I, like you, love to have things planned out as much as possible before hand and am in the process of working on next year's plan as I type :) I have 4 girls (ages 2-12) so preschool through 8th grade and have to have a pretty detailed plan and schedule if I am going to make it through the year!
Thanks for sharing your own methods for planning!
TashaJune 12, 2013 at 2:14 PM
Had to LOL @ your comment (in the post) about living in a "snow globe." I LOL'd because when I first clicked on the video, my very.first. knee-jerk reaction was, "Why the heck does she have on a sweater???" Not even kidding! So, glad you addressed that, ROFL! Here were my thoughts (when I totally should have been listening to the video instead of critiquing your wardobe, LOL!):

1) Why does she have on a *sweater*??? It is JUNE.
2) Well, maybe she actually filmed this last year and just now has them on the blog.
3) Well, no, that can't be. She's using a current WPD Planner...
4) What in the world? Does she keep it freezing in her house?
5) Well, she *does* seem to sound like she has a Minnesota accent. I bet that's what it is...
6) But my gosh, it's still JUNE!

And, so, about 45 seconds into the video, I started paying attention to what you were saying... :) {And I wonder why my kids daydream and get sidetracked from my oh-so-fabulous "I was up til 3am making these plans" lesson plans....}

Ah well. ;)

FWIW, we're in FL...where today our heat index was nearing 100 degrees. Where, this afternoon (around 4pm) when I got into my van to head to Walgreens, I literally could not touch the steering wheel for a few minutes because it was like grabbing my flat iron. Where, I had to warn the kids not to burn themselves on the buckles...and where we all felt like we were suffocating when we first sat in the van (til I got the windows down to release some of that hot air).

So, yeah...

On the upside, we're so close to Disney we can see the fireworks from our master bedroom window! Yes, we're passholders (premium, actually, so we do the water parks as well as Disney Quest--three things that provide relief from the heat in the summer!).

But still, it's JUNE! Do you not get some relief wherever you live? Holy moly I would DIE if I needed a sweater in June! No wonder you're so adamant about starting in Sept. and stopping at the first sign of summer! You poor things!!

JanellDecember 6, 2023 at 5:26 PM
Hi Jamie, the link in the sentence "There are actually many different school calendar styles" seems to no longer go that article. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on planning the year!