The key to a smooth start of the school year is to begin planning early. Yes, I know the summer is just beginning, but the end of August (or even the beginning of September) comes quickly. In order not to feel overwhelmed the weekend before I plan to start school with the kids, and in order not to feel like I’m completely missing my summer vacation, I do a little bit of planning at a time. This is an unnecessary step for those of you using a prepackaged curriculum, but for those of you using a combination of curricula or making up your own, this will save many prep hours during the year.

There are several types of planning that make homeschooling go more smoothly: long-range planning, mid-term planning, and short-term planning. They can be detailed, but let me just give a brief summary of each for now.

Long-term planning involves choosing curriculum/publisher for each child (for each subject) that matches her learning style and will be used for several years in order to have continuity in each subject. This doesn’t necessarily lock you and your child into curriculum you both hate. You can always change (even, gulp, mid-year). It can also involve planning which science classes and which history and literature periods will be covered during the four years of high school (or grade school). Deciding which method of homeschooling (classical, Charlotte Mason, traditional, eclectic, etc.) suits your family best falls under long-term planning, too. These types of planning are not to make you feel boxed in. Rather, they are to give you a road map for where you’re going. You’ve looked at where you want to be (what you want your children to learn while they’re under your roof, and what things are most important to pass down to them), so this plan is the map for how to get there.

Mid-range planning involves breaking the school year down into quarters (or whatever units you use), then into months, then into weeks. I plan which books will be read when and which projects go with which history and science units. I also look at every textbook, workbook, and living book we’ll be using to see approximately how many pages and chapters need to be done every quarter, month, and/or week. It saves time when I do my short-term planning during the school year, and it also helps me keep the children on track to finish each book by the end of the school year (but not three months early, unless we want to do it that way). Again, this is just a framework, not a rigid box. This is what I do during the summer months. I’ve got my master plan, the main roadmap for our overall goals; each year, I need to refresh my memory and make sure we’re actually headed towards our goals and haven’t gotten sidetracked by the latest and greatest each, but not meeting our overall needs, curriculum or fun class. You will be much more relaxed throughout the school year if you take a little bit of time during the summer to plan ahead.

Short-term planning involves planning specific pages, chapters, lessons, and projects for each day of our school week. I have found that it works best for me to do this once every two weeks. I don’t do this nitty-gritty stuff during the summer, but I just want to give you an idea of how you can use the mid-range summer planning to your advantage during the school year. Doing it every week tends to feel cumbersome and never-ending. If I do it only every three or four weeks, we tend to get out of sync too easily by an unexpected field trip or illness. It may take you a few tries to figure out what timing works best for you.

Many tools exist to help you with all this planning. You can go to a teachers’ supply store or a homeschool convention and find many different types of paper planners. If you like to have a physical notebook in your hands, this is the way to go. Take the time to choose the style that will best suit your needs: large family, unit studies, high school, and many others are available. When I used paper planners, my favorites were these two: The Home Schooler’s Journal, published by Fergnus Services Foundations for Learning, and Homeschool Teacher’s Plan Book, by Grace Publications. If you’re computer savvy and don’t want extra papers cluttering your desk, then check out the wide selection of electronic planners available. Some are web-based, meaning that your computer has to be connected to the internet in order to access them. Some can be downloaded from the Internet, and some can be purchased on a CD-ROM to download onto your computer yourself.

The Old Schoolhouse recently introduced a homeschool planner that promised to have every conceivable form you could imagine. It’s a combination deal: it’s a digital download to your computer. You can fill it out on the computer and leave it there, or you can print it out to have a hard copy in your binder. I currently use Homeschool Tracker Basic, a great basic planner. An upgrade with more features is available for purchase. I can keep track of both kids’ lesson plans on my laptop and print out separate weekly plans for them. Printing out the plans enables my children to work more independently. There are many freebies online, so if you’re trying to decide whether or not planning on the computer is for you, that’s a good place to start.

Check out my article on page 14 of the funky flipbook edition of Heart of the Matter Magazine.

Bethany S. LeBedz has been married for over fifteen years and is the homeschooling mother to two delightful girls, ages thirteen and eleven. She lives in North Carolina. In addition to homeschooling, she is also a freelance editor and writer. She posts homeschool organization tips and educational reviews to her blog momishome2. In her (very limited) free time, she enjoys reading, participating in Daughters of the American Revolution and Children of the American Revolution, and performing in musical events.