Parents who choose to homeschool their children are constantly on the lookout for better ways to organize classroom time and activities. Many people prefer to plan out lessons well in advance while others just go with the flow. As long as each school year’s curriculum goals are met, either method is just fine. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your child’s kindergarten year so you are prepped for fall. Though if you feel they are not quite ready, you may want to get some pre k workbooks.
Get Organized
Homeschool gurus agree that being organized in specific areas is the key to staying on track, regardless of your overall approach. Here’s how to break down your planning sessions.
- Set schedule for the year: Not only should you make room for holidays and special occasions, think about whether you want to observe seasonal vacations in a similar way to public schools.
- Set schedule for each day: Break down each day into time periods for each topic, or make a list of lessons that should be completed during that day.
- Plan for extras: Don’t forget to make room for extra-curricular activities or lessons learned outside the classroom, such as field trips.
Plan Lessons
Once you have an overall schedule for the year and each week set out, you can start deciding on which lessons to teach. The teacher’s manual for each subject will be vital to this process. Here are some ways to go about organizing your approach.
- Basics: There will always be the baseline topics and goals that all children need to learn. In kindergarten the focus tends to be on basic math, reading skills and socialization.
- Seasonal: Lessons planned around seasons and holidays can be fun variations on the routine schoolwork.
- Outside activities: Being able to go on field trips or do volunteer work is one of the highlights of homeschooling.
Completion Milestones
Most children like to be rewarded in some way for accomplishing tasks, but rigid progress reports are not usually part of the homeschooling ethos. Still, there are some fun ways to gauge success.
- Makeshift report cards: Consider posting a star chart or similar success-tracking system.
- Completion celebrations: Cumulative accomplishments such as reading five books could be denoted by allowing your child to wear a crown with the number five on it for the entire school day.
- Kindergarten graduation: At the end of the year, give your child the opportunity to go through a kindergarten graduation ceremony. Peg the event as a passage into “big kid” school.
Taking the time to plan out schedules, lessons, and rewards will pay off at the completion of the homeschool year.
What other things are you concerned about with you Kindergarten homeschooler?
Great tips for those that are going to be doing this with their kids!! #HomeMattersParty
Thank you. Believe me, when I say that if we had good public schools close to us we’d send our kids there. However, it’s not an option for us that I feel comfortable using.
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Thanks for sharing these tips! I am on the fence about homeschooling. My daughter will be four soon, so I am on the lookout for ideas of what to do with her at home now. #HomeMattersParty
I’m glad you mentioned what would benefit you right now on your parenting journey. I’ve answered this question several times now in chats with others. It sounds like a blog post would be quite beneficial too.
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Great tips for homeschoolers , Crystal.
Thank you for checking them out. I hope to see you again soon.
Great post! Homeschooling has become so important for many families. I am sure parents will benefit from it. #HomeMattersParty
Thank you. I do feel that homeschooling is going to become the norm in the long run.
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I love reading your homeschooling tips! Though my children are grown, I can only imagine how important organization is. Kudos to you! Happy Mother’s Day as well! #HomeMattersParty
Thank you for checking out our homeschooling posts. I think I’ll always be interested in it even after my kids graduate too just because it’s neat to see how much everything changes.
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Nice plan. I love that you’ve included a kindergarten graduation.
Little kids love to have something to look forward too. I feel a graduation is certainly important in their minds.
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Great tips! I also love the kindergarten graduation idea, sounds fun 🙂 #HomeMattersParty
Thank you for stopping by and checking them out. Graduation would be special for them.
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This post was so helpful! Right now I am planning for my daughter’s upcoming kindergarten year, and trying to figure out which curriculum to use with her. Thank you for the great tips! #HomeMattersParty
You’re welcome for the tips. I am going to have to get a post together with ideas because this seems to be a common question.
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Great homeschooling tips! Kindergarten graduation…aww, the memories… Thanks for sharing and being a wonderful co-host of the #HomeMattersParty – we love having you on the team! 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
I’m glad that you liked the tips. I loved our Kindergarten graduation when I was growing up so I can only imagine how my own kids will feel.
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