Help For The Homeschooler Just Starting Out

Ha! Me--with my whole big two years of homeschooling under my belt--I am going to dispense help today. Let me explain...

When you've been teaching 10 years or more, it's really difficult to remember what exactly would be the most helpful thing to tell that new teacher you are mentoring. BUT, when you've been teaching 5 years or less, it's more fresh on your mind what they need to hear. That's where I find myself now. I have enough experience to know a little something, and not enough that I've forgotten where you are.

'Cause I'm kind of still there with ya! :)

THIS year I feel like my planning is actually...helpful. The first year I had NO IDEA what I should do. I remember e-mailing a homeschool friend to ask her "what on earth school supplies do I buy?" It was my first time not working off of a list that the schools gave me. And planning? Puhleeze. Thankfully, I was using Abeka curriculum and every book they have has 170 lessons. When you finish, you are done.

Last year I branched out and chose some new curriculum. I didn't plan out my lessons very well though and we ended up not finishing one book at all, and finishing the other only by great effort and much doubling up of lessons. I think we took it a bit too slow last year. And we switched math curriculum completely in February. I rebelled a bit against lesson planning, which I have always hated, and it didn't work out too well for me. Now I know.

THIS year finds me in brand new territory. I think that's the norm for homeschool families. This year we add a kid to the mix as Little Bit is beginning Kindergarten--meaning school is no longer a choice for her. Just when you think you've got something figured out, the new year brings changes. That's just how it is with homeschooling.

So I have just enough experience to be dangerous, basically.

Today I'll be sharing my planning. Hope it will help somebody. Anybody. Why should we all have to do the work from scratch?

Part 2 of this series here.