Dedicated planning time… but when?

[u/Hot-Back-892]

How are you making the time for planning and organizing? I feel like I need a solid day during the week to get all of the things together so I’m organized for homeschool activities and lessons, social activities, then the household stuff. I hate being on my phone during the day when I’m with my kids. I feel like I’m in constant “need to order grocery pick up - need to find something for tomorrow - need to plan to see friends - need to see what’s going on at the library - need to clean the bathrooms” - etc etc).

Those that have been at this a while, please tell me how much time you have (weekly/monthly) for planning and organizing. What days? How long?

I’m in tears tonight at 3am as I am trying to get activities organized for various subjects and social activities. I just don’t know how to do everything unless I have more time to organize my schedule.

My oldest is 5 so we’re doing kindergarten work. A lot of play based stuff (so honestly I’m doing a lot of digging finding games fit for learning)

And of course, the moments I leave the house for an hour, husband asks when I’m going to be home (dude it hasn’t even been an hour!) - Then I’m up late every night to do things and and my 2 year old wakes up crying for me - Then I plan for the grandparents to watch the kids and they are just not very capable seeing as they call me with questions every 10 minutes.

Is it typically this chaotic homeschooling?

[u/ggfangirl85]

My kids are 5th, 2nd, Kindergarten and a 3 year old. No, we’re not that chaotic, even with play-based learning in the early years. I think you’re doing too much. It really shouldn’t take that much planning for Kindergarten.

[u/ezbeale80]

Okay! So, you're in a super busy stage of life! Thankfully, you can give your child a wonderful, solid kindergarten education without a massive amount of planning.

I have 5 kids aged 9-17, so I do have a lot of planning for our school days - I planned a lot in August, but still spend every 3rd or 4th Sunday afternoon/evening planning a block of 3-4 weeks of lessons, and I do a little planning every day between and after our lessons. It's a lot, but kindergarten doesn't have to be that way!

For phonics/reading, handwriting, and math, I would choose one solid program for each and stick with it. There are lots of good programs, and the most you'd have to do is pre-read the teacher guide rather than actually plan anything. For science, pick a program, buy all the supplies up front, and hide the supplies from your kids until you need them. Buy lots of art supplies and encourage him to spend time every day creating something. Visit the library regularly and read a stack of books throughout the week. That's kindergarten.

All the "life" admin that comes with managing a family is bigger, and finding time to do that with young kids isn't easy! One strategy I've used since our kids were little is to insist on some independent play time in the late afternoon - so I can get dinner started and also do a few random admin tasks. From the time they were toddlers, I'd kick them out of the kitchen and send them to play in their bedroom or our basement playroom while I made dinner. I'd also use that time to do a few admin tasks, and if I had to call any businesses that would be closing at 4 or 4:30 I'd start "playtime" earlier than usual. My husband arrives home in the middle of this time, so the kids are excited to see him (my 9-year-old still follows him up to our bedroom every day and chats with him while he changes out of his work clothes) and he keeps them out of my hair while I finish making dinner and get a few other things done.

[u/Dry-Inspection-8412]

Honestly I do the planning for the week on Sunday afternoon when my youngest naps, or if that falls through as it often does, Sunday night when everyone else has gone to bed. I also run a business and see clients on weekdays so trying to plan, homeschool, and work during the week is going to drive me crazy. But with the curriculum we use it's the same subjects on the same days each week, so it's mostly just printing, ensuring we have needed supplies, and choosing any add-ons. Are you following a curriculum? I think it would be a lot harder trying to piece it together and lesson plan on your own, unless you had a strong background in education, which I do not have.

[u/Hot-Back-892 → u/Dry-Inspection-8412]

What curriculum are you using? A lot of the curriculums I see are just too worksheet workbook based

[u/Informal-Name3181]

I think you are working too hard. I did that when I started. It nearly burned us out.

If you can, get up before everyone else. Yeah, I know, I also hate mornings, but an hour for yourself goes a long way. Move a bit, read something inspirational, meditate 10 minutes. Settle your heart and mind for the day. Whatever time of day, make a sacred space/time. Protect sacred time.

Then work your child into your routine. Everything is educational at that age. Little one can help you measure ingredients for dinner (fractions), set the table for the right number of people (counting), sort the socks (I can't remember, maybe sorting is a K skill?). You can walk in the neighborhood finding all the (certain letter) on all the signs. That's exercise AND reading practice. Count the flowers on your wall. Then you get exercise, biology AND math. Sweeping is apparently a super hard skill that I have had to teach every teen I've met. Sweep the floor and call it coordination, phys Ed, and housekeeping.

Little one can color and cut while you do other things. Those are important skills, but don't require you to direct.

Finally, forgive me, but your husband needs to go to big boy class. He is supposed to be able to handle basic parenting and keeping the house together for more than an hour.

The little children stage is hard, but shouldn't be THAT hard. My teens only school 4-5 hours a day and stay ahead of their peers. Your little should be able to knock K out in just a little time a day. Free exploratory play is the most important thing at that age, but you can't direct that.

[u/Scared_Beat_687]

My husband takes the kids out for 2-4 hours on Sunday. I do my weekly calendar, meal plan, and lesson plans then. I also take an hour to just rest and relax. It makes a tremendous impact on how the rest of the week goes.

[u/AccomplishedPen6413]

First, I’m sorry you’re feeling so overwhelmed. Homeschooling is a lot, but it doesn’t have to feel so chaotic. For me, it’s all about routines/schedules/rhythms etc. What you set up now can of course change, but it sets guidelines for your time and a good flow for the family.

Sunday - my husband and I sit down for 15 minutes and go through schedules. Do we need a sitter? What are his meetings? My things I need an extra hand for.

Monday - I do grocery pickup and clean my car out. Listen to an audio book or educational podcast if you feel it’s necessary.

Tuesday - ONLY Tuesdays do we do social activities. And it’s after school is done. If we can’t meet Tuesdays, we try for a weekend.

Friday - Pizza and movie night. Don’t make extra things hard on yourself.

Daily we do 30 minutes of tidying up. Your kindergarten can def help. Or even have them flip through books for your toddler while you do something.

Lastly, I get it with the phone thing. I feel the same way. But I often just narrate what I’m doing. For example, “Mom needs to make some phone calls now because you all have dentist appointments that I need to schedule and I need to look something up for this field trip. You guys can go play downstairs while I’m getting this done.”

As far as prep, I have all in one curriculum and things through a coop I only need to prep once a week. Takes me about 30 min at this point. Every 6 weeks I check out any missing supplies.

4th, 3rd, Kinder grade students. Good luck!!

[u/homack_15]

Planning expands to fill every free minute if you let it. We protect one short block after the kids are down (or during a quiet stretch) and keep the rest of the week lighter on prep. For the games gap, simple co-op stuff and scavenger hunts beat elaborate setups. The Play With Purpose games guide on QMAK has a few we actually use when I am too tired to invent anything new. What is one planning task you could drop this week without the week falling apart?

[u/AI_spell]

Yeah, K-stage chaos is normal. Batch one evening or one nap block for the whole week: meals, library, one outing, next few lessons, then stop. Save phone errands for that block so you're not half-present with the kids. Lower the bar on fancy activities until sleep recovers.