For many homeschool moms, weekly lesson plans are part of their regular routine. Lesson plans help keep us on track and help us ensure that learning is taking place in a progressive and well organized manner.

When it comes to creating lesson plans there are no hard and fast rules for doing so. Ultimately, how you decide to create your plans will be determined by what works best for you and your family.

Some moms use a spreadsheet to create lesson plans, while others prefer to use a software program. And then there are moms who stand by the trusted method of planning using paper and pencil.

Creating lesson plans can be time consuming, especially if you have multiple children on different grade levels. To prevent lesson planning from becoming an all encompassing weekly task, my overall piece of advice is short and sweet. Keep it simple. Here are a few tips to help you do so.

Lesson Planning Tips

1. Set a date and time for planning. This helps you settle into a routine and prevents last minute and late night planning sessions.

2. Think about the activities for the coming week. Doctor’s appointments, instrumental lessons, playdates, field trips, etc will affect your plans for the week. Be sure to consider these things when you plan and then build your plans around these events.

3. Review last week’s lesson plans. Were you able to zip ahead in math because your son quickly and competently breezed through his math lessons? Do you need to go back and spend time helping your daughter revise her history essay? Use last week’s progress to determine your course of action for the coming week. Tie up loose ends before starting something new.

4. Don’t plan too much.  If you find yourself ahead of schedule that is great! If you find yourself ahead of schedule that is great!. If you over-plan and can’t meet the goals you set, you may become frustrated. Also, if you plan too much, you may feel the need to push through just for the sake of getting done.

5. Be flexible. Don’t let your lesson plans hold you hostage. Life is fluid. Things happen. Children get sick. Moms get sick. A field trip lasts longer than intended because you get stuck in traffic. Likewise, you could receive an invitation to a great educational outing. Don’t miss out on a great educational opportunity just because it wasn’t written down in your lesson plans.

6. Plan what’s best for YOUR family. Just because your homeschool buddy is doing a fantastic unit on ancient Egypt featuring sugar cube pyramids and chicken mummification doesn’t  mean you have to do the same. Your family dynamic may not allow you to do those things right now and that’s perfectly fine. Craft lessons that meet your children’s needs. Don’t frustrate yourself by trying to keep up with others.

Lesson planning is often an essential aspect of a mom’s homeschool responsibility. Even though it’s important, lesson planning should not be overwhleming. Do you have any tips for planning lessons? If so, please leave a comment letting me know. I’d love to hear what you do.