Time to Get Back to Homeschool

Well we have had our break and it is time to get back to homeschool. How do we decide what to do in the next year?

Follow these three steps to remove some of the stress of learning at home.

Prayer

The first step is to seek God's direction. You might be worried about your child attending classes away from home. You might be thinking about what curriculum you should use. Some might be even thinking if homeschooling is still right for their family.

Before you make a decision you need to ask God what His plans are for your family. This will take some prayer and study of the Bible. You should also seek counsel from your spouse. Then you should discuss ideas with your children.

Develop a Plan

Decide what is important to teach your children. When I was working outside the home my plan was to teach the basic of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Now I want to make sure that we do some fun subjects such as art and science. I also have older children and I need to make sure that they are doing enough so that they can eventually go to college.

While planning we need to find out what our children want to study. What are their interests? There are many unit studies and lapbooks in different subjects. Teaching to your child's interests can help your child be motivated to learn.

We also need to assess where our children are. Do they need to practice math facts or learn spelling? We need to go over our child's strengths and weaknesses.

Stay on Budget

It would be nice if our back to homeschool budget was unlimited. There are so many good resources for homeschoolers today.

With your limited budget determine what subjects you will need curriculum for. I usually want a math book so that I can teach math in a systematic way.

You can teach most subjects for elementary age children with the free worksheets from the internet and using the library.

If you do use free worksheets and the library you will need to develop a plan. Place at least a week's worth of worksheets in a file. Make sure the library has the book you want when you need it.

Remember to include school supplies in your budget. Your child will need at least pens, pencils, art supplies, and paper.

Start School

Going back to homeschool can be difficult after a long break. You can ease into it by doing one subject for a day or two. Add more subjects as you get further into school year.

Return for Back to Homeschool to Homeschool Organization.

Return to Homeschool Life Situations the home page.