Behind in homeschooling? Here’s how to catch up!
So, you’re a month or so away from what was going to be the end of your homeschool year, and you’ve fallen behind. We’ve all been there, but what can you do to be sure you get back on track? In this post I’m going to walk you through one way to catch up when you’ve fallen behind a month or two in some subjects! (If you’ve fallen behind more than that, you can just take your normal break and pick school back up next year where you left off in the guide. When you finish that, start your new guide!)
First Things First… Don’t Get Down on Yourself
There are lots of reasons people fall behind, so please don’t get down on yourself about it! Maybe you moved, or maybe you had health concerns. Maybe it was for family reasons, or maybe you just didn’t manage your time well. Really, it can actually be anything you prioritized over your homeschooling. However, it is important for you to figure out how you ended up in this predicament. Identifying what got you behind will help you move forward. So, taking emotion out of it, what set you back? Once you’ve identified it, remember, don’t get down on yourself! The only thing you can do now is move forward! The worst thing you can do is take more time feeling bad, as it will only set you back further.
Ask Yourself 3 Questions for Each Subject or Box of Plans
- How far behind are you?
- How much do you need to do to catch up?
- How long is it going to take you to catch up?
Make a List with Your Answers
Grab a pen and paper or open up your favorite digital note-taking device! You’re going to take some notes in list form. If you are writing on paper, only write on one side of it, leaving the back blank. Jot down the subject or box title as a heading. Underneath, answer the 3 questions. Specific answers are better than vague ones. For example, under the Math heading, it really isn’t helpful to say “Finish 5B math.” Instead, look at the math schedule in the back of your Heart of Dakota guide. Count the number of days of plans you have left. Write down something like this:
- MATH
- Finish 30 days of 5B’s math plans.
- Do lessons from Unit 28, Day 3 through Unit 35, Day 4.
- Each lesson takes about 35 minutes. Total Time: 17 1/2 hours
- On days Reviews are scheduled, set the timer for 35 minutes. Get as far as you do. Stop wherever you are when it rings. Move on to the next day’s plans.
Do this for each subject or box title. Remember, specific notes will allow you to gauge how how much time it is going to take you to finish each subject. This will empower you to know exactly how much work is ahead of you. This time factor is essential! This rough estimate for how long it will take to complete each task puts things in perspective. Then, you can tally up those hours to visualize the amount of work ahead of you. These hours can then be divided over a manageable amount of time.
Prioritize Your List
Once you have your subjects listed out with rough estimates of how much time you need to catch up in each area, it is time to prioritize your list. The subjects with the most time needed to catch up aren’t necessarily your first priority. Our reasons for prioritizing schoolwork change over time. For example, you might need only 5 hours to finish writing your EIW research paper. You don’t want to break your stride on taking that research paper to the finish line because you might forget where you were in that process. Taking 5 hours to finish your research paper then takes priority over math, even though you have 17 1/2 hours of math left to do.
Or, maybe you have 9 State Study Lessons left, each taking 20 minutes, for a total of 3 hours. You have a field trip planned to tour your state capital to celebrate finishing the state study, but it’s next week! Well, taking 3 hours to finish your state study just took priority. You will know best what you want to prioritize. Just do the right things first! Number each task, with #1 being your first priority and with the last number being your last priority.
Rearrange Your List
Now it’s time to rearrange your list. If you wrote on paper, cut it apart in your numbered sections. If you made your list digitally, cut and paste your numbered sections. Rearrange your list with the most important task at top, and the least important task at the bottom. It probably won’t work to spread your time evenly between all the tasks. Treat your time like it is an incredibly valuable asset! It is, after all! Your rearranged list might look something like this:
- #1 – STATE STUDY:
- Finish 9 State Study Lessons
- Each lesson takes about 20 minutes. Total Time: 3 hours
- #2 – MATH:
- Finish 30 days of 5B’s math plans.
- Do lessons from Unit 28, Day 3 through Unit 35, Day 4.
- Each lesson takes about 35 minutes. Total Time: 17 1/2 hours
- On days of Reviews, set the timer for 35 minutes. Get as far as you do. Stop wherever you are when it rings. Move on to the next day’s plans.
- #3 – DRAWN INTO THE HEART OF READING:
- Finish 2 Genres (Humor and Realistic Fiction)
- HUMOR:
- Do short kickoff #1 (read joke books with flashlight) and do Day 1’s plans on same day
- Do 14 more days of humor plans
- Do “Verses to Stand Upon” project in one day during family gathering with grandparents (1 day)
- REALISTIC FICTION:
- Do kickoff #7 (during our nature walk) and do Day 1’s plans on same day
- Do 14 more days of realistic fiction plans
- Do “Variety Show 5i” project (mark choral reading responsibilities) for Dad after supper (1 day)
- 32 days x 35 minutes = about 18 1/2 hours
I hope this helps show how you one way to catch up if you’ve fallen behind!
In Christ,
Julie
