About four years ago (when we switched to year-round schooling), I began planning and prepping for one year at a time. It has taken me a few years, but now I think I have finally found a system that works well. Now, I want to share it with others and help them to do the same. These little steps are not lesson planning in the traditional teacher's way of planning things. This planning allows things to run smoothly and for me to be organized enough to travel as we do each year.
Step One: Establishing Your Calendar Year
I usually print out a 12-month calendar on one page for the upcoming school year. For me, that is a one-year calendar from January to December. For others, it may be from August to July, or what every month you start in. The 12-month calendar allows me to do the following:
Determine a start date and end date. Basically, when do you want to begin and end your school year? Also, block out, on your calendar, any days you will take off for holidays, vacations, or other days off you will take in your school year.
Remember, if you are required to have a certain number of days, according to your homeschool regulations/requirements, you allow that in your calendar.
The last thing to do with our calendar to make planning more accessible is to divide your year into manageable chunks. I divide our year into quarters over the 12-month calendar year. You can do semesters or weeks, and this dividing allows the rest of the steps to fall into place. You can divide your year into semesters or weeks, whatever works for you.
Step Two: Break Down Your Curriculum
Depending on your curriculum, your curriculum may be partially done for you already. Depending on how you split your calendar year, you can then divide the curriculum further if you need to. Our extensive curriculum is divided into 36 weeks, so I take those and break them down into 9-week chunks. For things that aren't easily broken down into weeks (like using a mastery approach to learning), I set reasonably expected goals and try to divide things as best I can. When doing this, be realistic and allow for grace and sick days. Breaking down the curriculum into manageable chunks helps in the next step of my year-planning process. Go through and do this with each curriculum that you choose.
Suppose you create your curriculum or follow a less structured approach to your homeschooling. Then this might be a little more difficult. Instead, you can use this to lay out your intentions for the year according to your chosen calendar. Lay out each week or month's theme, subject, or unit. Then gather the materials you will need for each as best as possible.
Step Three: Organization and Storage
Now that you have everything divided up visually on the calendar, it is time to do it physically with all of your materials. Go through everything, get out all the worksheets, project requirements, and experiment materials (that won't spoil or make a mess when stored), and put together how you have divided up your school year. I put things into page protectors and a five-star flex binder for each quarter. I also sort books (text and readers) into totes (1 tote each semester). You can break things down by week or month, whichever works best for you, and how you will store your items.
As mentioned, I use two file box-sized totes to store all our materials and books for the year. I put them away where I can easily access them as needed throughout the year. They are easily carried and stored within our 5th wheel as we travel. You may use bookshelves, filing cabinets, or whatever works for you.
While these three steps seem simple, the first year or two of the system takes getting used to and can feel overwhelming. Still, as you get used to things, it becomes quicker and more accessible each year.
As always, keep following our journey on our Facebook Page or Instagram. If you want more in-depth conversations, check out our Facebook Parent Group.