Organizing The New Homeschool Year

Prepping The Kiddos

So far in this series we’ve covered:

• A Year In Review:  I always begin by reviewing the year we just finished.
• Choosing Curriculum:  Once you know what you all liked and didn’t like last year, you can then move on to the new stuff.
• Letters Of Intent:  Each state is different, but I’ll be sharing what I do and a free download you can use.
• Lesson Planning: My absolute favorite time – planning the new year!
• Homeschool Room Prep: Organizing your school room can get you off to the right start for a new year.

Now it’s time to tackle the kiddos. Okay, not literally. But…well you know what I mean. We need to get them excited about the new school year and all of the possibilities it holds. Here are a few ways to get them involved and excited:

• Give them a task. Kids love it when they are responsible for something. When a task is left to them and their imagination and not presented as a chore. Whether it’s helping in the school room set up, making copies, planning a field trip, helping with the supply list, etc. They want you to need their help. They want to feel that they had a hand in their education.
• Review your goals and their goals for the new year. Do you remember the Character Goals and Academic Goals we set earlier? Take those back out and review them again with your child. Do you need to change anything? Maybe add something?
• Create something new. Do you have a theme for your school room? What if you changed your theme each year and start it with a piece of art that you and all of the kids create together. Frog themes? Head to a Paint Your Own Pottery store near you and all join in the painting. Maybe a tree theme? What about a canvas painting you all literally have a hand in? Get creative and get together on this!
• Have a meeting with your kids. Schedule a time with your kids, head to a favorite ice scream stand and discuss the dreams you all have for the new year. Nothing is more fun than planning over ice cream! Well, maybe donuts.
• Create a new tradition. We are huge on traditions in our house. I mean we have very specific Christmas cookies that must be made each year, Friday night homemade pizza and a movie, taking the day off from school for birthdays (because those are personal holidays). Each of these are things that our family can’t imagine NOT doing. One of our absolute favorite ones is our special breakfast for the first day back to school. The kiddos will fall asleep the night before dreaming about waking up to french toast with a little bit of whipped cream on top. That will definitely get them excited about starting back!

What are some of the ways you are prepping your kiddos for the new school year? Are you getting them excited yet? The new year is just around the corner and I know I can’t wait! Can you?

Join me tomorrow as I share about planning the extras. Plus – check out the entire series here.  Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any of these upcoming articles:  Subscribe to HomeschoolinMama.com