Creating Your Homeschool Year

by Marissa Dutoff • The Minimalist Homeschooler • photo provided by Marissa

It feels like summer just started but I’m already starting to notice the back-to-school jitters are in the air. Homeschool parents especially are starting to plan how they want their school year to look. If this year you’re thinking of bringing your child’s education into your own home, here’s a bit of a run down on how we get ready for a new year in our homeschool.

Pick Your Path: Registered or Enrolled?

Registered Homeschool gives you the most freedom, whereas Enrolled Distributed Learning requires that you comply with the provincial curriculum. The upside to enrolled is that you may get access to a support teacher, school resources and some funding for curriculum and other activities. You’re not tied permanently to what you choose so every summer we like to evaluate whether the year met our expectations and decide what best suits our needs going forward.

Choose a Method: What fits your values? Once you start planning it’s important to honestly assess what is going to serve you and your children best. There are several different methods for homeschool and each has its advantages. If you know your biggest struggle is going to be consistency, having ready-made curriculum is a great option. In that case you can look at options like Schoolio, which provides both individual units for each subject and a full year plan for each grade. If you are organized and have solid routines you might find designing the flow of your program yourself, or using unit studies, works better. If you’re more interested in something completely relaxed and separate from the schooling system, there is also the option of Unschooling or Eclectic learning that is very child-led and doesn’t require you to use a structured curriculum. Take some time to read up on different homeschool methods and find one that aligns with your goals and values. It’s much easier to stick to something you believe in it rather than to blindly follow a path just because it worked for someone else.

Choose the Content: What are you going to use? Depending what method you’ve chosen you might choose to follow the recommended curriculum on the BC Government website, build the year around a theme or a book, or join a community co-op and work with other parents. If you’re using packages you can read through sample pages and print off outlines. Often there are included placement tests which will help you get a clearer picture of what topics to focus on and at what level. For example, when we went through the placement test for Singapore Math we discovered that while we’d covered most of the basics we hadn’t started learning about time or money, so those became priorities for the beginning of the year. From there you’ll be able to order Parent Guides and Student Workbooks and start laying out how to break it down into manageable daily chunks.

you learn s o much along th e journey and fill it with the things that you feel like you’re going to get value out of. Last year my aunt gifted me a big box of workbooks and I can positively say my favourite curriculum is free curriculum! Going through the box also reminded me that simply having a box of options to pick from gives you the chance to experiment. Allow yourself the freedom to add in things you think you’re missing or take out things that aren’t working. Read up on other people’s experiences and try things out. September isn’t a deadline to have it all together, it’s a starting point and you’ll learn so much along the journey to June. Enjoy the Community: Learning should be Fun! It might be called homeschool, but in reality the whole world becomes your classroom. Get out and explore! See new places and meet new people. The Okanagan Regional Libraries are always a favourite and have resources like take home crafts, family reading times and other activities. This spring the Downtown Kelowna branch even had baby chicks hatch in their office! We break up the routine school work with extra-curricular activities, excursions with other homeschool families, and field trips to the Kelowna Art Gallery (admission is free on Thursdays). Homeschool will change the way you look at learning and you’ll find that the range of things you can learn with your children is amazing. Lastly, if you start to feel overwhelmed, take a step back and think about why this is important to you. Teaching your kids can be an amazing experience. Just remember, the best part of being involved in your child’s educational journey is that it gives you the opportunity to learn, grow and discover new things together. Happy Homeschooling! Marissa Dutoff: Wife, mom and homeschooler . in my blog The Minimalist Homeschooler i share what it looks like teaching a toddler and a precocious kindergartener in a small apartment, while running a business that sees us traveling across Western Canada up to eight months of the year . Come read my blogs at theminimalisthomeschooler . wordpress .com/ .

Gather your Resources: Building a space to learn. Do not let yourself get overwhelmed just trying to fill up a space or turning your home into a traditional classroom. Create a space that makes sense in your home

Preschool, naturally .

The Treehouse Forest Preschool at Woodhaven Nature Conservancy Regional Park is a licenced Outdoor Preschool created in partnership with the Regional District of the Central Okanagan . Our outdoor early learning program gets children active and learning, immersed in the natural environment . Spending time outside playing, experimenting and relaxing in nature in all seasons and all weather has been scientifically shown to benefit children in many ways . From eyesight development and improving concentration, to developing imagination, social skills, risk assessment and problem-solving skills, the outdoors benefits each and every child’s overall health and well-being. Our knowledgeable Early Learning Educators use the outdoor classroom to deliver preschool curriculum, nurturing valuable skills and the love of learning that is key to Kindergarten readiness .

4711 Raymer Road KELOWNA 250-860-4393