Homeschool planning through this crisis

Written by Kara S. Anderson

I know I’m not alone when I say the past few weeks here have been challenging in terms of homeschool planning.

I struggle with executive functioning when my anxiety gets high, and as much as I want to present a real plan to my kiddos each morning, it’s hard when we’re balancing so much and dealing with a different kind of mental load.

One day last week I spent too much time trying to find and buy alcohol wipes for my husband who has Type 1 diabetes and requires multiple shots per day.

It just feels hard to hit it out of the park with fun, creative homeschool planning, too.

And so now more than ever, I want to encourage homeschooling parents to be kind to themselves and to not get weighed down by huge expectations.

This is unprecedented stuff, and we’re all doing the best we can – even those of us who have been at this for more than a decade.

Simple record keeping

If you feel like each day gets away from you a bit, or if you can see your kids learning, but it’s feeling a little hard to track, I want to share two resources.

The first is Seesaw. Seesaw helps you record learning throughout the course of your day. You can take photos, upload video, record voice clips or written notes and more.

If you’re more of a paper person, though, you can find a simple tracker in my homeschool printable pack.

It’s easy to get distracted

Have you felt overwhelmed by all the amazing free offerings lately?

It’s so wonderful that companies are opening up and sharing, but it can be hard to keep track of all the free classes, programs, and worksheets.

So I want to share another secret weapon with you for ALL THE IDEAS.

I use something I call my Big Picture Planning Page.

I make a new one each month, and whenever I come across an idea for a field trip, a craft, or a science project … I write it down.

There’s a BPPP sheet included here if you feel like it would be a help to you! 

Write down all the wonderful free things you see, and then move them to your weekly printable plan later.

But wait …

Now this is key – just because you write something down does not mean that something has to happen. 

It isn’t a pinkie promise – it’s just an idea.

If something isn’t time sensitive, you can move an idea to the next month.

But sometimes, after an idea sits on my BPPP for a while, I just decide that maybe that idea wasn’t for us.

The beauty of having a big picture planning page is that you have a place for ideas, and you can keep ideas in their place.

If things feel extra hard …

I started out this post saying that I’ve been struggling with executive functioning during the recent COVID-19 crisis. It’s hard for me to make plans right now.

If you’re really struggling, please know that it’s okay to scale way back. Mental health is important! I created a different set of FREE printables to help me get through those really hard days.

Remember: this current crisis won’t go on forever. Homeschool planning will become easier again. 

So for now, I want to encourage you to be kind to yourself, and to not beat yourself up if your homeschooling doesn’t look how you want it to long-term.

No one could have predicted this, and it isn’t like everyone else got the Pandemic Homeschool Manual.

Do what you can, but remember that time spent together playing games, reading good books and watching movies absolutely counts.

May you create warm memories during this challenging time…together. 

How are you handling planning right now?

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!