An easy how to homeschool plan

Ready to learn from home? Here’s everything you need to know to get started with an easy how-to-homeschool plan.

An easy how to homeschool plan

Hello and welcome to NurtureStore. If you are new to homeschooling or find yourself teaching your children at home for a period of time, I’ve got you covered.

My name is Cathy James and I’m a home-educating mum with over twenty years experience teaching at home and in schools. I’m going to make it easy for you to settle into a home-education routine that’s just right for your family.

I’ve got practical tips; simple activities and lesson ideas; and lots of free printables to make your new role really easy for you to manage.

You can do this!

The golden rule to home education 

The first thing we all need to when we start home educating – and many times along the way – is to take a big deep breath and relax. I know this feels like a very big deal and you’re wondering if you’re up to the job. The good news is that you totally are. 

The goal with raising a child is to help them get the skills they need to be a happy and responsible adult. That doesn’t mean you have do it all at once. Not does it mean you need to do school at home. And I would definitely throw away any idea that you need an hour-by-hour coloured-coded timetable.

Home is a different environment to school and, even if you are an experienced classroom teacher, your relationship to your children at home as a parent is different to a teacher/pupil relationship.

You’re likely also managing other demands such as work and running a household, so you need to pace yourself! Give yourself plenty of grace.

Home education is all about building a great relationship with your children, listening to them to discover what they are interested in, and gently supporting them to explore interests and skills so they can develop at a pace that suits them.

How to get started with homeschool

It’s a well recognised practice within the homeschool / home education community to give children a time to transition from the school environment to the new mode of learning from home. It’s often called deschooling. So the first thing I recommend you do it take a break. Give yourself at least a week for all of you to transition into your new roles.

During this week you can do a few things to help you all get ready for home learning:

:: gather together some supplies that you know you’re going to need: books, toys, paper/notebooks, pens, pens, a few craft supplies

:: set a gentle routine going based around mealtimes, fresh air, and getting up/going to bed

:: take time to relax, playing / reading / watching a few programmes, and get some rest

:: sign up for my weekly emails. I’ll keep you supplied with practical ideas and free resources each week, in your choice of subjects, plus you’ll get access to my Free Printables Library

Make a simple homeschool plan

Put down the highlighter pens and step away from the spreadsheet! We only need a simple plan, enough to get our learning going, but with plenty of time for play, reading, household chores, and down-time.

Depending on how old your children are, a simple routine might look like:

:: breakfast and morning chores

:: a block of activity time

:: free play

:: lunch

:: quiet time for everyone

:: a block of activity time

:: dinner and evening chores

:: free play

:: bedtime stories and night time routine

:: rest time for you

The free-play and quiet times give you an opportunity to work or do chores too.

Homeschool lessons and printables

For the times when you are doing activity time or when you want to set up a free-play idea for your children, I’ve got all sorts of fun and practical resources for you.

Take a look at these easy homeschool ideas and don’t forget to sign up for my email list at the bottom of this article so you can access my brilliant Free Printables Library and get my best ideas each week.

For a simple play-based activity each day, try my Stay-At-Home Screen Free Activities Programme

See my Homeschool Math resources here.

Try these Literacy Activities.

And try a weekly art idea too – you can choose from these homeschool art lessons.

You’ll find simple-to-do science projects here.

And to get fresh air and enjoy your yard or outdoor spaces, try my Forest School Activities.

Don’t try and do all these things each day or even each week, just pick one or two each day to try. And remember you can change plans and come back here to get new ideas any time you want to.

OK, that’s plenty to be getting on with! Do sign-up for my weekly emails so you can get regular deliveries of practical resources, and we can chat via email if you have any questions. Good luck! Cathy x