After the family vacations, barbecues and fireworks have died down, it’s time to prepare for another year of homeschool. “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success,” according to sage-like advice from Henry Ford. This is especially true of homeschooling as we take full responsibility for our child’s education. Here is a checklist of activities to help you enter the new school year more prepared than ever.
• Read curriculum reviews at: homeschoolreviews.com, homeschool-curriculum.org, homeschooling.gomilpitas.com, cathyduffyreviews.com, and time4learning.com.
• Buy new curriculum on Amazon, Craigslist, Ebay, or your avenue of choice.
• Try the library for curriculum ideas with books like 52 Nature Adventures for City Kids and Playful Learning.
• Choose a few fall extracurricular activities. You may choose acting camp, nature camp, art camp, or look into your local history museum’s programming.
• Begin a list of field trips. You can attend concerts, plays, go to the local botanical gardens, visit a science center, visit a dairy farm, and plan a few seasonal / holiday outings.
• Look for flash cards, books, board games, and art supplies at garage sales.
• Read up on the art of homeschooling. Try: 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, Homeschooling for Dummies and The Homeschoolers Book of Lists.
• Revise the kids’ chore chart and your daily activities schedule.
• Ask your kids what they want to learn about or do this this year. It may be making music videos for YouTube and it could be Krav Maga. At any rate it will be an interesting and fun year.
• Add volunteer opportunities with a local charity to the year.
At the end of the day, your kids will be well-rounded if you can pack a lot of diversity into their days. You not only want them to have a strong educational foundation, but you also want to prepare them for real world tasks, introduce them to the arts, and instill a spirit of giving that will transform them into warm-hearted adults. With homeschool you really cater the education to the needs of the child… something you just can’t do with most public and private school options.
What exciting plans do you have for homeschool this year?
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