Homeschool Organization - Steps for a More Productive Day

Homeschool organization is a popular topic among parents that elect to educate their children from the comfort of their homes. Organization will assist in optimizing your productivity and your child's productivity each and every single day that class is in session. According to home educators, one of the biggest obstacles faced each day is the time invested in searching for supplies, organizing lesson plans and getting some sort of routine established in the homeschool classroom. While it is true that taking the steps to getting your home organized may prove to be exceptionally challenging, it is also true that taking these steps will lead to higher levels of success. You will be more successful in creating lesson plans, organizing your time and delivering information on important skills and concepts that are necessary for your child's intellectual development. Your child will experience success in areas of concentration, memory retention and completion of assignments and projects each day. In this guide, you will learn some basic homeschool organization strategies that will drastically optimize your level of productivity in your homeschool classroom each day.

Statistics

In order to understand and appreciate the importance of homeschool organization, it is essential that you are aware of some basic statistics surrounding organization and time management. Consider the following:

• An individual that has some type of office within the home spends approximately one and a half hours a day searching for items that they require. In a year's time, this total amounts to a six weeks.

• According to organizedworld.com, Americans alone devote approximately nine million hours each year searching for things that they need to complete a task.

• According to napo.net, up to 80% of what we keep within our homes are items that we never actually use or need.

• Napo.net has also discovered that approximately 80% of the clutter that is located in each home is due to disorganization and not a lack of space to store the items. Based on this information, if we eliminate the clutter that is present in the home, we could also eliminate up to 40% of the cleaning and other types of work that we have to do in the home. This means, we have more time to dedicate to educating our children and spending quality time with the family.

• If you are interested in homeschool organization that centers around improving time management, you may be interested to know that many parents that educate their children at home are interrupted by technological based communications approximately once every ten minutes.

• According to statistics, if an individual spends just one hour planning, they have the potential to save up to four hours of time on issues such as searching and/or waiting for information, redundancy and tasks that are poorly managed.

Homeschool Organization Strategies

Now that you have a clear picture of how improper organization, planning and time management may negatively impact your day and your performance, it is time to learn a few methods on how to improve your space, time and day in the homeschool classroom. The following outline the most productive homeschool organization strategies, according to parents:

1. The first step to successful homeschool organization is to establish a space within the home that is dedicated solely to the educational endeavor. Most families turn a spare bedroom into a homeschool classroom, or even an office. There are many that may transform a basement or a large attic into a classroom. Then, for those with limited space in the home, a side of a room may be devoted to the task. It is important to have this designated area so that there is consistency for your child, and you have an area where all supplies and other required items for academic success may be kept.

2. There are numerous items that may be purchased that will allow you to store a large amount of tools, resources and supplies in a small amount of space. Examples of these items include shelves, storage containers, storage bins, filing cabinets and items that are similar in nature. If you want to ensure that you are organized and have a place for everything in your homeschool classroom, it is in your best interest to purchase these items.

3. The next step to ensuring appropriate homeschool organization is to ensure that you manage your time effectively. First, you should make sure that you use lesson planners and block scheduling on the lessons that you plan with your child. It is important to schedule regular breaks throughout the school day for your child so that they stay refreshed and you are able to tend to administrative tasks. You should also consider utilizing electronic organizers, and scanning systems to track school supplies, books and other items that are important to your day.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many homeschool organization strategies that are highly effective for families that elect to educate their children from the comfort of their home. If you want to optimize your success and the academic success of your child, it is essential that you get as organized as possible. By using a bit of creativity and some productive tools, you will be successful in your endeavor to declutter and structure. Not only will you be able to structure your day and your home by using the methods outlined here, you will also be able to structure and organize your time, which is an essential component to successful homeschool organization. Follow these homeschool organization steps today, so that you can experience many productive tomorrows!

The Beginner's Guide to Homeschooling High School

All parents have some reservations about homeschooling high school when the concept first crosses their mind. The high school years are important to your child's future, and no parent wants to risk messing up their child's ability to go to college, start a career, or chase other dreams. Teenagers are also more rebellious and challenging than younger children, and if they have special learning needs homeschooling could be a full-time job.

Homeschooling high school is not for everyone, but virtually all parents who do a bit of research realize that it is not as difficult as they thought it was going to be in the beginning. If your child is struggling in public or private school and you believe they would learn better or would be safer at home, this guide to homeschooling will help you decide if this can work for you.

Homeschooling is like anything else in life: you will get out of it what you put into it. Your child will benefit more if you are active in their studies.

High School Curriculum

The benefit to homeschooling high school is the ability to design a custom curriculum that suits your teenager's learning style while preparing them for the future they want to live. Do not underestimate your ability to provide college prep curriculum and to develop coursework and projects that allow your child to explore areas of interest on a deeper level.

Check state requirements and allow your child to explore college programs they may be interested in attending. If they have some idea of what they may want to do after high school, you can look at the requirements for college admission or entry level jobs and tailor your curriculum to prepare your child for those requirements. State requirements are the minimum of what your child must learn. You want to push beyond the minimum.

You could sign your child up for an online curriculum that let's your child off easy and allows you to check out of the learning process, but that is only cheating your child of the future they deserve. Forget about just passing required classes to get the diploma. You want your child to excel in high school so they can excel in the future. Make sure they are progressing in math each year, no matter what level they are at upon graduation. Include the basics, such as English, social studies, and science.

If your child wants to attend college, make sure they are fluent in at least one foreign language by graduation, and it helps to add in some form of fine art as well. This can be painting, photography, novel writing, or some form of dance. Preparation for college entrance exams is necessary as well.

Homeschooling high school also means including electives. You can teach typing, computer programs, and driver's education. Other electives should cater to your child's individual interests and future career goals.

Making Decisions

Allow your teenager to help make decisions about their curriculum and chosen teaching methods. Take them to homeschooling conventions and fairs so you can look at different resources and make decisions together. Your child will be more interested in learning if they have a say in what they are learning.

If your concern is that you do not have the knowledge to teach some subjects at the high school level, look for tutoring centers, private tutors, and college courses open to high school students in your local area. There are also online tutorials that will go in-depth to explain geometry and other difficult subjects.

The worst thing you can do while homeschooling high school is isolate yourself or your child. Join a homeschooling association or a local group. Learn from others, and eventually you will be the one offering the help and insider secrets