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Be a Homeschool Planner! |The Benefits of Planning Annually

homeschool planner

If there’s one thing I have learnt over these past few years of homeschooling my children, it is the benefits of being a homeschool planner!

Planning annually has so many benefits for us especially as we reside in Saudi Arabia and spend our summers in England. Regardless of where you live though, I find having a rough plan for the year can benefit your Homeschool in many ways.

Be a Homeschool Planner!

Looking at your calendar for the upcoming year and being realistic about what is happening, whether it is a holiday booked, a wedding to attend or you’re giving birth, will allow you to focus on balance and ease for your Homeschool life.

Of course not all plans are set in stone, but preparing yourself mentally will ease any stress that comes along with unexpected events.  So here are my top tips on why you should plan your Homeschool for the year if you aren’t already doing so. 

Homeschool Planners are One Step Ahead!

The biggest benefit being a homeschool planner, and preparing at the start of the year, is being one step ahead in acquiring resources, finding books, planning outings or activities.

Of course spontaneous and unplanned events/days can have their own benefits too, but that feeling of seeing the bigger picture when you’re in the midst of homeschooling life or things aren’t going as planned really is a life-saver on your difficult days of homeschooling.

So annual planning helps you keep on ball without worrying about what could have been because you’re one step ahead with your vision for the year.

Homeschool Planner

You know exactly what you want your children to achieve by the end of the year. This should also prevent you from worrying if you fall into the social media comparative trap. 

Related: Preparing your Homeschool for a New Year

Keeping in Budget

Many people ask me about my Homeschool budget and I tell them I spend under £200 or less annually, depending on how many books/resources we may need and I’m sure this varies from Homeschool to Homeschool.

But if you are finding you’re spending way more than you need to or way more than you can afford to, you need to ask yourself why that is. Is it because you found yet another Homeschool bargain buy or that you feel your children really need it because everyone else seems to be buying it too?  We can all fall into that trap!

Homeschool planner

But with an annual plan, where you are focussing on an overview of the year, knowing what your possible learning topics will be, budgeting can prove to be quite useful. Always ask yourself if the resource is re-sellable, can be used by all your children and is it good quality and long lasting before you buy.

Having a plan to fall back on 

Even if you take a more child led approach to your homeschool, and feel that being a homeschool planner may not be worth it, there are some things beyond our control.

Seasons, the weather and nature being some of these. If you enjoy nature studies, then it may help to look ahead at the seasons of the year to jot down a loose plan to focus on seasonal plants, grow a garden, butterflies or visit farms etc. The same can be applied for certain topics linked to festivals and celebrations.

Homeschool planner

Nevertheless, on days when life is chaotic and you feel you may be losing your vision or goal with your homeschool, it may just be handy to have a plan or vision to fall back on. Its reassuring coming back to the goals for the year and knowing you’re actually doing great!

Related: Productivity and Time Management for Homeschool Mums

Acquiring resources ahead of time

As mentioned above, acquiring resources ahead of time (in sales) or at the start of the year allows you to take a more intentional approach to what you need.

Having said that, recently I found my children are immersed in stuff! Much of this is because we haven’t had the opportunity to sell on our used games or books we no longer need at the end of each year, especially as we tend to buy more each summer.

homeschool planner

When you’re a homeschool planner, you can assess what resources you already have, which you could possibly swap or sell on and use that same money or more to purchase whatever it is you need for the year. There may be times you find resources at a great price to use in your Homeschool in a few years, but ask yourself do you actually need it now?

Focus on your annual plan to keep within your budget and allowance. Reserving library books ahead of time and ensuring you have the books you need for your topic is another advantage.

Related: Homeschool Curriculum 1st & 3rd Grade

Homeschool Planners Don’t Panic!

Being mentally ready for your homeschool year could reduce some of the stress and panic that can come with homeschooling especially when things aren’t going to plan!

Homeschool planning at the start of the year means you have sat down and thought out in a realistic way of how much you can actually teach your children in a year.

Sometimes we tend to want to teach everything and so very quickly because of their interests. So, this is a great time to get your children involved, ask them what they want to learn, give them some options and find out their interests.

homeschool planner

Finally, because you will already know your child/children’s ability levels, therefore aim to plan realistically for progress by taking the whole year into account, you won’t have time to panic, hopefully!

Author Bio

Hafsa is a former Primary School Teacher turned Homeschooling mama teaching her two daughters the love for learning through arts, crafts, fun and play. Originally from London, Hafsa now resides in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia where she loves to share her Homeschool journey, tips and planning advice over at http://www.mamateachesme.com

Run your Home like a Boss | Part 2 + FREE Planner

Run your home like a boss + free planner

Running your home like a boss is a way that homeschool mums can free up their time and energy. Whether it’s the desire for more time to read aloud to their children, or the energy to play football in the garden, time management is the way to achieve it.

Home management for homeschool mums

If you are looking to take ownership for your time and energy, and live a life of more meaning and purpose, you’ll want to WATCH THIS VIDEO!

I’ve also made a FREE Home Management Planner for you, which you can find towards the end of this blog-post.

This blog-post contains affiliate links. Please see Disclaimer for more information.

WATCH THIS VIDEO!

Home Management Resources Mentioned:

Run your Home like a BOSS! PART 1 – Last week’s video

How Super-Mums do it ALL! Time Management Video

Google Calendar

Meal Planning App – 30-day FREE Trial

FREE Boss Mum Planner

As I showed you in the video, you can download and print out your very own Home Management Planner here!

It’s FREE! I don’t even want your email address!

Just click on the link below:

Boss Mum Home management planner

Running your home “like a boss” is really all about owning your time and energy, taking responsibility for it, and using them wisely.

I’ll be LIVE again next week, at 10am GMT, Sunday 3rd February, on Facebook and Instagram for a:

“LIVE Q&A Session!”

If you have a question about homeschooling, motherhood, home-management, blogging or something else, now’s your chance to ask!

The “call for questions” will be published on my Instagram and Facebook pages on Thursday 31st January, where you can leave your questions.

Although it is not always possible to get through all the questions, I will do my best insha’Allah!

If you’d prefer to leave a question anonymously, please submit it in the box below, giving as much detail as possible:

Submit a question

Thank you for tuning in. Please let me know how you are progressing, and what steps you are taking to move forward in this area, in comments below.

I’d love to hear from you.

Peace and Love,

Living history curriculum islamic

Preparing your Homeschool for the New Year

Homeschool prep for New Year

As we move into the New Year, I always recommend that during this time of transition, homeschooling families should take some time to reflect on the successes and failures of the previous year, the lessons learnt, and set some new intentions before pushing ahead into the New Year.

During this time, before beginning your next homeschool term, seek clarity and direction for your family by getting quiet, turning inward, making dua, and asking yourself some very important questions.

Homeschool planning new year

WATCH THIS VIDEO

Watch this YouTube video, when I went LIVE on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, and chatted with you about preparing your homeschool for the New Year, and talked you through the questions listed below.

Seek Clarity for your Homeschool

1) What was my favourite homeschool memory of last year?

2) What was my most painful homeschool memory of last year?

3) If you were to summarise the last year homeschooling in one word what would it be?

4) What areas were really successful?

5) What areas/people/topics/activities drained me? What drained the kids?

6) Where can I get help?

7)What can I cut out?

8) Where can we grow, further develop in our homeschool?

9)What areas don’t allign with my homeschool/family vision?

10) What positive change(s) can I implement going forward into the next year?


There are far better things ahead than we ever left behind.

C.S. Lewis

I hope that this video and the questions I’ve posed will help you find the clarity you need moving forward, and help you to live a life with your family that aligns with your values.

If you would like to share the answers to any, or all of the questions above, I would love to hear them! Please leave them for me in the comments below.

Peace and Love,

Living history curriculum islamic