Wohoo! Time to start planning!

Once you've decided you want to homeschool, it's time to start planning... but before you go to town reading all the books, pouring over the different programs and curriculums and classes, I would highly suggest doing this first:

Have a "mom and me" meeting with each child (older kids might appreciate a more sophisticated name... like "Mentor Meeting"). Find out some of their hopes and dreams for homeschool and some things they are interested in learning. Even my little tiny kids love having their own "mom and me" time. Some of the questions to ask them:

What are some things you want to learn about?

What classes are you hoping to take?

What books are you interested in reading?

What do you need (new shoes, clothes, etc...),

What do you want? (wish-list items for birthdays or Christmas)

What goals are you working on or hoping to start? (We set goals in several areas: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Social, Intellectual, Financial)

You CAN just quickly sit down and do this with each kid. If that's best for your life and your personality, great! But if you have the time and want to have a little more fun with it, I'll give more details of ideas to make this a a really great tradition to do with your kids each year.

First, set aside some time and arrange for the other kids to be occupied if possible. You're going to want to think of a comfortable spot to sit and visit with your child. Think outside of the box! This doesn't have to be done on the couch at home. You could have a picnic at the park or up in the mountains, go sit on the trampoline, or climb a big old tree together and talk. If you've got a lot of kids, like I do, you could make a day of it! Have some other fun activities going on that the other kids can be doing... have a babysitter come if you don't have older kids to help keep an eye on the littler ones, or even better, have dad involved in either the helping of other kids or the meeting. Never underestimate the power of having dad involved! Ask for their input and support and appreciate what they contribute.

Most of this time should be spent with the CHILD talking, and you really listening, paying attention to what they are saying ... And remember, NONE of their ideas are wrong or silly. They want to find out more about unicorns? Why some frogs are poisonous? If chickens can get rabies? (we had this discussion yesterday)... Perfect! Write it down and encourage them to keep talking. Also, pay attention to any thoughts or ideas that the spirit may be whispering to you... take notes, look into their beautiful eyes, let them snuggle up right next to you. Make this a special time where they feel loved, listened to, and validated.

Once you've got your list, you will be better able to plan your school year with some of those things incorporated into it.

Are You ready? Can you picture it?

And if these mom-and-me meetings don't go how you picture them...

...and they probably won't...

...That's ok, too! Just make sure they're enjoyable for your children. With practice, they will get better. Your relationship with your children will get stronger, and they will feel safe coming and talking to you about the important things in their lives!

Here's a simple pdf file you can print off to take notes on. Let me know how it goes! I'd love to hear all about it!

LearningPlanner.pdf

Download PDF • 28KB

You can do it, Mama!

~Angie