The Benefits of Planning Your Homeschool Year

Just like a public school, planning out the homeschooling year is a good plan. (Lokana/Shutterstock)

The ways in which different families approach their homeschooling endeavors vary as much as the families themselves. Some parents begin planning the next school year down to the finest detail before the present one has concluded. Other parents find planning stifling and prefer to take things day by day, taking cues from the interest and curiosities of their children. Almost all homeschooling families find themselves adjusting their approach one way or another as they gain experience and through their children’s various stages.

While there is surely something to be said for leaving ample space for creativity, serendipity, and wonder to take hold by not overplanning and insisting on adherence to a rigid plan, there are also benefits to at least some planning that even the freest spirits among homeschool parents can enjoy.

A Map, Not a Tyrant

If you’re setting out on a journey, you might find a map to be a useful tool. You could plot out the most efficient route to your destination—or the most scenic route, or the most fun route, or a custom route that makes the journey suit the needs of your traveling cohort. Of course, with the help of your handy map, you can change direction along the way, veer off the original route, or even alter the final destination entirely. You don’t feel beholden to the route you originally chose, but identifying it helped you set a course and get moving while also surveying the landscape to better understand the possibilities.

When you take the time to do some advance thinking and mapping out of the route your homeschool might take in the coming year (or years), you actually open up possibility and optionality, rather than stifle your family’s experience.

By aiming at a target and setting a course, you might notice certain events you want to arrange to attend, you might be early enough to secure reservations for popular experiences, you might find external classes you can register for, and you may see other possibilities that require some sort of preparation that will enhance your homeschool experience.

Reduction of Decision Fatigue

Another giant benefit of planning what you can in advance is the subsequent reduction in decision fatigue you afford yourself during the school year. If you’re making decisions about what to study and how to study it, where to take a field trip, what resources to use, and what project to do all on the fly, you’re going to exhaust yourself before you’ve even started. Leading your homeschool requires a lot of decisions. If you make them in advance before school begins, you’ll have greater mental bandwidth to devote to the work (and play) itself.

A Backup Plan

Life doesn’t always feel like a boulevard of green lights. Should you encounter an unexpected disruption, having a plan can help carry everyone through. Rather than scramble or drop the ball, you can have a plan in place for when the going gets tough.

Before your next homeschool year begins, think through the ideas that might make it great for your children and your family as a whole. You don’t need to see your plan as a tyrannical ruler that stunts your freedom, but as a helpful guide that you can choose to listen to or not. Feeling prepared, broadening your options, and being ready for anything makes the up-front effort worthwhile.