Organizing Your Homeschool Year: Using Work Binders & Task Cards

Written by Krista Smith.

You’ve stuck with me for three out of the four parts in this series on organization, and we’re finally in the home stretch. In Part 1, I showed you the ugly underbelly of my early homeschooling years and how that difficult time was the impetus for a big change in the way I plan and organize everything from the macro (yearly) level down to the nitty gritty micro (daily) level.

Organizing Your Homeschool Year: Using Monthly Folders

Written by Krista Smith.

In Part 1 of this 4-part series, I confessed that after limping along for a couple of years, one day, I finally realized that something needed to change in my homeschool. I needed confidence and better daily systems in order to love, serve, and teach my kids well.

In Part 2, I shared why planning out some things in the homeschool day and setting them on autopilot can be life-giving and sanity-restoring, whether you use the particular methods I suggest or come up with brand new ones that work better for your unique family. I also walked through STEP 1 in the 4-step overlapping system I use to plan out everything from the yearly level to the daily level in my homeschool.

Organizing Your Homeschool: Using a Planner

Written by Krista Smith.

In Part 1 of this 4-part series, I gave you a peek behind the curtain of chaos that was my early years of homeschooling. In this post, I’m hoping and praying that the things the Lord has been teaching me (mainly by hard knocks) and which I have been privileged to teach to other mothers, will breathe life into your homeschool, reduce stress (for you and your kids), and bring order to your chaotic days.

Organizing Your Homeschool Year: A Confession

Written by Krista Smith.

If you’ve been homeschooling longer than 2 minutes, it’s safe to say you may, at some point, have had picturesque visions of what your school year could be like...should be like. 

For most of us, these raptures typically occur in June when we’re all eagerly unwrapping the beautiful new curriculums which arrive in the mailbox at regular intervals throughout the summer. We tear open the shrink wrap like sugar addicts unwrapping Twinkies. We become starry-eyed as we flip through the pages, imagining how amazingly this year is going to go, all while trying to forget the dumpster fire that was last year…

…Please, Lord…

But this year! This year will be different. We secretly proclaim to ourselves.

12th Grade Homeschool Curriculum 2023-2024

It's the final countdown for my eldest son. He's got nine more months of homeschooling left and then he's off to join the Navy. He's wanted to be a SEAL for as long as I can remember and has been preparing as best as he can to ensure he has a shot at qualifying for the BUDS training program. In the coming weeks, he'll be working hard to improve his swimming ability, an area of the physical requirements that he knows needs some attention. 

In the meantime, he'll also be busy finishing up the final credits I planned out for him using the Brave High School Record Keeping for Homeschoolers pack. 

Here's what he'll be learning.