Wrapping Up the Homeschooling Year – Part II

Your space is organized — what is the next step in wrapping up the homeschooling year?  Time to think about next year’s curriculum and calendar!   Most homeschoolers order their curriculum in the summer and the sooner you get started the less chance you have of experiencing issues with out-of-stock items.  Some homeschool conventions are in early summer, so make plans to attend if you want to get a hands-on feel for what is available.  Otherwise, get online and get your orders placed or go to your local teacher’s store if you are purchasing curriculum from there.

Now take out your calendar and begin looking at next year’s dates.  Children like to know what is on the agenda, so if you can plan your family vacations and out-of-school dates now, the kids can start being mentally prepared for the next year’s events.  Don’t forget to mark down sport and music lessons or any other special affairs that you know your homeschool will be involved in.  Now is also a good time to mark accountability reminders for yourself  – such as filing a Homeschool Affidavit if that is required where you live, signing up for Homeschool Legal Defense Association, checking out a new charter school or completing paperwork for online schools or classes.

Once you’ve wrapped up the homeschooling year, you can look forward to a fun-filled relaxing summer knowing that you will be ready for school in the fall!

Wrapping up the Homeschooling Year – Part I

Wrapping up the homeschooling is an integral and necessary part of the school year and one that will give you a definite head start on the new year.  Homeschoolers that take some time now to organize and tackle vital end-of-the-year tasks will find that starting school in the fall will be a breeze.

Wrapping up the homeschooling year is your chance to start with a clean slate. Gather up old, broken or outdated equipment like broken rulers and crayons, empty tape dispensers or bottles of dried-up glue, dull scissors and electronics like calculators and computers that don’t work.  Folders, school papers and other accumulated paperwork that you don’t need to file can be thrown away as well.  Books and curriculum materials that are not going to be used the following year can be donated to other homeschooling families if you don’t need them for younger children.  Take everything off of your shelves or out of your storage boxes, evaluate it, and either re-shelve, donate or trash it.  Make sure to check other rooms of the house for items that may have migrated out of your school area during the year.

Now that your space is clear you can think about re-stocking.  Prices on supplies are low in August before traditional school opens, but things get picked over quite quickly.  If you are a savvy shopper and watch for sales you can get all of your school supplies ahead of the crowd at the same low prices.  Make a list of things that you need and keep it handy so it’s easy to what you need when you run into a good sale.  Don’t forget about larger things you might need for your classroom like storage cubbies, baskets or bookshelves.  Office furniture often goes on sale in the summer in advance of the school year, so if you need desks or filing cabinets keep your eyes open for a sale.

Once your space is clean, clear and organized you will be ready to take on the next task in wrapping up your homeschooling year.

Save the Earth Writing Prompts

With the push to be more environmentally conscious in the forefront of today’s media comes a plethora of “Save the Earth” writing prompts that can fire the imaginations of your homeschool students.  For younger students, an acrostic poem using some key words (such as “earth”, “environment”, or “green”) would be a great way to get them thinking of ways to help our environment.  Older children will respond well to “Save the Earth” writing prompts that require a little more thought.

One “Save the Earth” writing prompt I particularly like is to ask your students these questions:  If you could design your own house using renewable resources, what would your house be made of?  How would you heat and cool it and what would provide power for appliances? Do you think this could become the house of the future? If so, when do you think this futuristic house will be available to purchase?

If you have a mix of ages in your homeschool, a “Save the Earth” writing prompt on a subject that can be as simple or complex as you wish is a good choice.  An example is trees.  Younger students can read Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem “Trees” and explain what it means to them.  Older children can write an essay on the ways in which we can conserve trees (using digital forms instead of paper, for example) and stop deforestation. You can even let your homeschoolers propose some “Save the Earth” writing prompts of their own, as most children are very attuned to our need to be good stewards to our environment.