5 Ways I’m Already Preparing for Next School Year (June Edition)

I am a terrible procrastinator. And that has bitten me in the *#$(* far too many times in our homeschool. So, at least in this one area, I work regularly all summer. My usual routine is to set aside a couple of hours each week to watch something good on TV and tackle my tasks. This summer, though, my boys are away for several weeks. I’ve set aside an hour or two each day they are gone instead.

1. Checking our stock of school supplies

How many times have you grabbed crayons or markers on sale, only to get home and realize you have a whole pack already? Or stood in the aisles wondering if you have enough pencils?

If your kiddos are young, you have time to use them up. But my homeschool years are nearly over, and I don’t need a backstock of supplies.

Whatever your kiddos’ ages, take time now to gather up those crayons hiding in containers, pencils in the back of the drawers, and your backstock of supplies. Take note of what you’ll need. And, here’s the important part: get that onto your phone somehow. A physical list is great…unless you find yourself at Target and your list is at home.

2. Starting high school course descriptions

Course descriptions are my mortal enemy. Mostly because I screwed up with them with kiddo #1! Determined to do better, as we finalize our plans each summer, I start a new set.

Everything will be reworked later. I’m not even writing full descriptions. My goal is just to get the course description started, so it’s easier to finalize later. (Hopefully, future colleges won’t even ask for them. Just in case, I want to be more prepared than I was with my oldest.)

• Title
• Primary resources we’ll use
• Bullet point notes summarizing the point of the class, major topics we’ll cover, and methods of evaluation
• If the class is outsourced, I copy & paste their description.

3. Brushing up on math

Here’s the thing. One of the most common things I hear is some variation of “I don’t understand math, how can I help my _________ grader with theirs?” Often, it’s said with self-deprecating laughter.

I get it.  Most of us weren’t taught math well, and the math we’re using 20 years later is only a portion of what we learned.

An inadvertent consequence of our comments about math is passing along the idea that math is too hard/stupid/no use. I want my kids to know they can tackle hard things, including math.

So, yeah, brushing up on math skills is important. You can work through some problems in your kiddo’s math curriculum if you want, but I really love Khan Academy. They now have a ‘Get Ready for ________ grade math’ section — 3rd grade through statistics — that is a short course. Take the Mastery Challenges and then work through the section until you’ve mastered at least 70%. Do that for each grade level of your kiddos, and you’ll be well-prepared for whatever they’ll tackle in the upcoming school year.

4. Checking up on our tech

We love technology. We embrace it in our homeschool. But when technology doesn’t work? I have a short fuse. After years of tech issues curtailing our day, usually in the form of discovering an issue 5 minutes before an online class or due date, a tech check-up became part of my summer routine.

Our back-to-homeschool prep isn’t completed if I haven’t taken care of some techie tasks, too. While I’m not going to clear the list now, I have a few I will clear off before July.

• We desperately need new charging cords & bases. I need to figure out what we have, what we need now, and what we might need this year.
• The computers need a good clean. Vacuum the towers & keyboards, clean the screens, wipe down the cases, etc.
• Order new webcams. Both of my kiddos will take a few online courses this year, and their cameras are 5+ years old.

5. Decluttering old curriculum

My youngest kiddo will start 10th grade this year, so our homeschool days are numbered. (No, I’m not handling that well. Thanks for asking. And thanks for the tissue to dry my eyes.)

We’re lucky enough to have a homeschool curriculum store that takes curriculum on consignment. I need to clear out any remaining elementary and middle school curriculum and box it up. And then straight into my car with a date scheduled to visit the store, or I’ll never get it done!

For years, I tried to sell locally. But we don’t tend to use the more popular homeschool curriculum, which meant I mostly wasted my time. Now I make it easy on myself, even if it means I make less money.