How to Never Fall Behind in your Homeschool Schedule!

As we dive into a new school year, it doesn't take long before our perfect plans begin to get a little muddled and messed up. I've heard mom after mom stress about 'staying on schedule' and how 'behind' they get throughout the year. I can be crazy type A one who needs organization and structure so I have to admit, I am sometimes one of those moms! So what's the solution? How do we make everything run like a well-oiled machine so we can keep on schedule? Well... we don't! And here's why:

Whether you have ever had your children in a classroom or you've homeschooled from the beginning, I invite you to revisit why you chose to homeschool. I'd like be clear that I believe clasroom teachers have both a daunting task and my utmost respect. That being said, the fact remains that 25 students cannot be held up for the one student who is struggling to understand; teachers are not permitted to just toss a week's lesson plans to dive into a topic that a student is fascinated by; and that last day of school can't just wiggle down the calendar! But great news, fellow homeschoolers - we can!

Schedules are great, but they HAVE to be flexible or we risk sacrificing those amazing opportunities to build our children's confidence by giving them time to really master their academics or to draw our children into the enchantment of exploring their unknown world. 

In our first year of homeschooling, my second grade daughter became completely enamored by bats! So, we put our studies on hold and jumped in with both feet. We watched bat videos, read bat books, made bat crafts, and watched bats in our backyard at night! My daughter will never forget that study because she loved the subject matter!

I encourage you to keep making those great plans (I know I couldn't stop if I tried, ha!) but when your child needs an extra week to really understand that math chapter or you're presented with that rare occurrance where your child actually asks to learn more about something they love, I encourage you to embrace the delays and bump those lessons a little down the planbook knowing that your 'schedule' is right where it should be - right where your child is! After all, isn't that why we make the sacrifices that we do in order to homeschool our precious kids?