Why I’m Not Using a Homeschool Planner This Year

Okay. If you’re shaking your head at the title of this post, stay with me! 🙂

When I first started homeschooling eight years ago, the number one thing I would have said homeschooling moms needed was: a complete homeschool planner. I had the most fun choosing a planner, organizing it, and filling it out each fall.

Here’s my problem: I was great at filling out the planner. I was not so great at following what was in it. I can make lesson plans like no other, but when it comes to following same plans, well…I pretty much stink.

After year after year of tossing out old (and unused) homeschool planners, I decided to do something drastic this year – figure out how to homeschool without a planner. And, surprisingly, it’s not as hard as I thought! Here’s why I’m not using a homeschool planner this year – and what I’m doing instead!

Image c/o: grekoff via DepositPhotos

How to Homeschool Without a Planner

So…how do I plan to homeschool without a planner?

I’ll be using our state’s list of grade objectives as the framework. As for actual resources, they’ll include lots of different books, websites, and videos. (Similar to the way I do our unit studies.) I’ll be sharing more about our homeschool resources for this year in an upcoming set of posts.

As for the actual lesson planning…I’m outsourcing it to my kids!

I’ll give them a timeframe within which to complete each objective, using the materials I collect, and they’ll have to decide how much to do each week to finish it. They’ll be using their own printable student planners each week to write down what lessons to complete on each day.

For example, one of my third grader’s ELA objectives is to compare and contrast themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters. We’ll be heading to the library so he can choose a few books in a series to compare. I’ll give him about four weeks to do it and he’ll have to decide how much to read each day in order to complete his assignment on time.

Every few weeks, I’ll sit down with them to check their progress toward their yearly objectives and talk with them about any lesson plan changes they’ll need to make. (Basically, I’ll be serving as their college adviser this year…lol.)

Have you ever considered trying to learn how to homeschool without a planner? Were you successful? Share your tips!

If you’d like to help your kids plan their lessons, grab these free printable student planners!

And for more about minimalist homeschooling, check out our series!

Ready to plan your homeschooling year? Check out the tips and suggestions from my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!