Mike Smith:
Homeschooling can be complicated. There’s so much we want our children to know! Wouldn’t it be great if we had enough time every school day for every subject? The fact is, we don’t. Wise homeschooling means recognizing the limitations of time and energy. It means carefully prioritizing so that our children can achieve specific goals in each subject they study.

Take some time to review your plans for the coming school year. For each subject, write down one or two goals for each child to work towards, making them as clear, specific, and realistic as possible. Communicate these goals to your children so that they will understand why they are studying each subject. You may even ask your children to formulate some goals of their own.

Don’t forget to prioritize ALL of these subject goals by choosing two or three that you feel are the most important. Perhaps your top priority is for your daughter to solve math problems more accurately. On days when there is little time for study, you will be able to confidently skip the spelling test in favor of the math drill.

As the school year moves forward, the goals you have set will provide a precise measure of your children’s progress, and will give you the freedom to adjust your plans as needed. That combination of flexibility and progress will, in turn, provide ongoing motivation.

And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.