Summary
Recipe for a good start to the school year: A cup of summer preparation, a dash of starting early, and a healthy dose of prayers for the children.Use the Summertime to Prepare…
The spring before the new school year begins, I enroll my children in Seton so that I can get everything prepared for them over the summer.
Having the joys, triumphs, and struggles of the present year fresh in my mind really helps me discern how to best approach the upcoming year.
It gives me time to personalize the curriculum for each of my seven children, purchase bargain books, design daily goal lists for each child, and reflect on the mission of our home school.
I consider questions such as: What is the real reason we are making the sacrifice to teach our children at home? Is it for the sake of their eternal salvation, earthly happiness, academic success, or all three? If things did not go well in a certain area this year, how can I improve the situation? Are there any resources I can tap into that may help?
At times, I write out a fresh version of our homeschooling mission statement, which naturally seems to transform itself over time. I also use summertime to help my children get ahead in difficult subjects.
Most importantly, I love to do a beautiful novena to the Blessed Mother, asking her to bless our school year every step of the way! All of this helps the school year get off to a wonderful start.
Amanda Evinger, North Dakota
A Flexible Timetable is a Blessing…
After more than twenty-five years of homeschooling with Seton Home Study School, I believe that a good start to the new school year is to begin early and give yourself more than thirty-six weeks for schooling.
I always like to start sometime in the summer, or if we are busy, at least a week or two before public school starts.
Having completed weeks of school before all the activities get started for the new year gives me confidence in knowing I have laid a good foundation, should something come up during the year that may set us back.
Starting early also gives students who need more than 36 weeks to finish all subjects more time to finish by summertime. Being able to set our own flexible timetable is a blessing of homeschooling.
Susan Brock, North Carolina
Pray for Your Kids…
Knowing your children, having clear expectations, and lots of prayer make for a good start. Let’s start with the last but most important.
Pray for your kids, for the folks at Seton, for your husband, and yourself. Pray for wisdom, patience, and the love necessary to do the
Herculean task before you. Communicate your needs and expectations clearly to your family.
If you want a daily/weekly check-in at a certain time or for their book report to be done by week seven, make sure these are known. If you have a high schooler and there is a big paper to write or labs expected this year, tell them that.
Ask if you can go through the requirements with them and make sure they know they can come to you with questions or encouragement. And know your kids. If they are auditory learners, have the audiobooks ready. I have a couple of neurodiverse kiddos, so we have fidgets and accommodations ready. They have the number for Seton counselors on their phones.
Would your kids do better with a “soft start” and easing back into routine? Or would they prefer to jump in all the way? Some years, my family started with Mass and breakfast out, then headed home for schoolwork.
Some years, Dad went through the books and prayed with them on Sunday before we started, and then we all had ice cream. Have something special to mark the fresh start of a new beginning.
Kristen Brown, Virginia
