How to Organise Your Homeschool

How to organise your homeschool

I know what it's like being a busy homeschool mum. Gosh, I had five kids at all different ages, learning styles and grade levels. 

We had programs for maths, english, history, geography, nature study, dance classes, music lessons... even knitting - and somehow we managed to keep track of everything. 

Many of my friends were often flabbergasted about how I did it (and many more strangers asked about it too!) so I wrote down the top 10 most important things that kept my kids organised in amidst the busyness of everything....

1. Write Things Down

As soon as you remember something you need to do, write it down. It saves the stress of trying to remember everything at one and makes sure you don't forget the important things!

2. Add the Specific Times

It's important to not only write down what is happening, but when it is happening. Having specific time scheduled into the calendar makes it an easy schedule to follow. That's just me though. I like to know that maths class starts at 11am sharp, not sometime during the day whenever we feel like it (because then it will often be forgotten)

3. Colour Code your Kids

I know this sounds weird but it helps so much!
I assigned each of my kids a particular colour and used it on the calendar.
If Isabel was doing music class, it was blue. If Delta was doing music class as well, it was blue AND red which meant they both had to show up at class.

4. Prioritise

Pick the top three or four things that MUST happen that day, that week and that month. Then list out everything else that needs to happen. Sometimes life happens and things get in the way, and it's important to know when push gets to shove, what really needs to happen.

There's another six more helpful tips on how to create a little more structure at home and in the classroom. If you want to know more....

Anyways, to all the above points, having a proper planner is the best way to go. It means you have the templates to put everything in (you save the time ruling lines on blank pieces of paper) and the artwork is better than I could do myself! My favourite planner at the moment is the Mulberry Planner. The creators behind this masterpiece bring out a new edition every year, with different designs, colours and they always add more pages!

The planner is perfect for the planning out the New Year of your child's education needs (and extra curricular activities) and making sure you're on top of your homeschooling state or reporting requirements. It's a great resource for parents who want to have just a little more organisation in their life and especially for those with a few kids to keep track of.

You can download the templates instantly, which means you don't need to wait around for the postman. Plus, The Mulberry Planner is the only homeschool planner that's specifically designed for the Southern Hemisphere. 

The 2021 planner is available now and features:

• 200 pages of templates, planning pages, tables, prompts and record sheets to organise your entire 2021 homeschool year! 
• Instant digital download, print the pages you like, whenever you like
• 21 new template pages this year - based on requests.
• Stunning colour theme featuring 14 beautiful cover options
• Easily adaptable for one child or multiple children, and can be customised to suit grades K-12.
• Ultimate flexibility with multiple layout options, blank title pages, DIY borders and customisation tips.
• Designed for easy printing with room for spiral bound, hole punch and ring binder on the left margin.
• Perfect for all types of homeschoolers AND unschoolers!

Exclusive Bonus Planner templates

Plus, if you purchase through the link above, we've got a special freebie for you.
We've collaborated together with the Mulberry Planner team and created these planner templates - so you can use ALL the Mulberry Planner planners and lists, PLUS these sheets to keep track of each maths lesson. Sound good or what?

Hope these handy tips help keep you organised and efficient this year – let us know in the comments below!

The Team at Maths Australia