5 Tips for Finishing Your School Year Strong

For those that do not homeschool year round, the end of year “wrap up” is coming to close in a few short weeks.  At this point, many homeschool families are scrambling to finish. Making sure they have the number of days they need to document, taking last minute field trips or finishing up on assignments.  There is a way to not only finish the year but to finish it strong. How, you ask? Let me tell you.

 Set a Finish Date

In order to finish the end of year strong, you simply need to finish.  Setting a finish date or even a transition date for those that homeschool year round.  Having an end date allows us to see the light at the end of the tunnel, no matter if you have only a few days left or you need every day of the rest of the month to finish.  It also gives a sense of urgency and makes us more responsible to finish on time.

Make a to-do list to Finish the End of the Year

Having a lesson plan or to-do list helps us organize our thoughts in a concise matter.  It helps to make sure that any goals that we have set at some point throughout the school year are actually going to be met.  So if you haven’t set up goals it might wise to do so before working on your lesson plan or to-do list. To make an accurate lesson plan you will need to organize or at least gather or update your records.  This will make your life easier while making that lesson plan or wrapping up your school year.

Don’t Worry about Finishing Every Book

I know curriculums can be very expensive and it can be disheartening to not use the entire curriculum, but depending on how much is left in that curriculum it might not be feasible to finish it all.  However, your goal should not be to just finish the curriculum. Making sure your children are actually learning and enjoy learning it should be more important. You can pick up that curriculum when you decide to start the new school year.

Make Your Children Accountable

Get the kids involved in their own education by making them accountable for getting it done.  Tell them when the end date is and set up the lesson plan or to-do list with them. This helps keep everyone accountable.

Plan Exciting Summer Learning

We are getting into the beautiful summer months.  They are fun and exciting and there is no reason why we can’t incorporate that fun into our homeschool days.  Take a fun educational field trip, go to the library or enjoy a nature hike. All of this is a great way to learn but it’s different than what you normally do.

Just remember that no matter what you are doing an amazing job.  Homeschooling our children is one of the hardest things to do; it can be a selfless, stressful time.  Just remember to take care of some time for self-care and not to stress over the little things.

About Nancy:

 

Nancy is an Orthodox Christian wife and mom to a 6-year-old son and two angels originally from Illinois.  She has been married to a chef for almost 10 years and has homeschooled her son his whole life.  She has a Montessori Certificate in pre-primary education and has enjoyed tutoring children for 15 years.  She is a huge advocate for literacy and the family read-aloud movement and currently uses Classical Conversations. Nancy and her family enjoy the beauty of living in South Carolina!