September is here which means a new school year for homeschoolers! Even if you homeschool through the summer, you will notice the start of co-ops, social activities, and extracurriculars starting up again. As schedules get fuller and families get busier, you may long for the less filled, relaxing days of summer. To help ease into this transition, I have 5 Catholic homeschool tips for the start of the new school year!
5 Catholic Homeschool Tips for the New School Year:
- Pray
- Plan your homeschool year
- Meal plan
- Have a restful morning routine
- Give your kids (and yourself!) grace
1. Pray
Praying for a successful and (dare I say) peaceful homeschool year is the first step! Ask God to bless your homeschool, and ask Him to fill you with patience for teaching math and spelling. Seek out the intercession of Our Blessed Mother. Ask her to wrap your spouse, your children, and yourself in her mantle this school year and to lead you all to her Son when you go astray.
Attend Daily Mass and Adoration
Take time on your own and as a family to pray specifically for your homeschool during Mass and/or Adoration. Also, try to attend daily Mass or Adoration as much as possible. Find out when parishes nearby offer Mass, and choose a time that works for your family.
Choose a Patron Saint for your homeschool
St. Gemma Galgani is the patron saint of students
It is also a great idea to choose a patron Saint for your homeschool! You could choose a new patron each year, or decide on a patron to use for the duration of your homeschool years. Find a special prayer for your patron and say it daily before beginning your lessons. Ask for your special Saint’s intercession, and find out when his or her feast day is to celebrate as a family. You may also consider keeping a statue or picture of your patron Saint in the room when you have school.
Make time to pray throughout the day
You can also anchor your homeschool day around prayer. Some ideas are:
- The Morning Offering first thing in the morning
- The Angelus at noon
- The Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00
- A family rosary before or after dinner
- Grace Before and After Meals
- A nightly Examination of Conscience and praying the Act of Contrition together as a family
Always putting God first in your homeschool will give you the graces you need for a successful homeschool year!
2. Plan your homeschool year
Planning out the entire year can seem daunting, but it can even just be a general plan. Planning up front is so important and will make your school year go more smoothly day-to-day. Also, be prepared to review your schedule daily, weekly, monthly, bimonthly, etc. as needed. Here are some steps to break down this process.
Commit to your curricula
If you have not committed to the materials and curricula you will use this school year, now is the time! Be sure to order or find the books and materials you will need in the coming months. Try and choose what will serve your family best. If the curriculum looks dry and boring to you, then it will come across that way as you try and teach it to your kids! Choose curricula that inspire you, and that you will look forward to teaching.
Once you have decided on your curricula, read through the lesson plans (if they are included). Most Catholic curricula come with lesson plans which are very helpful!
If you like to tailor your homeschool subjects on your own, go through the table of contents of the books you will use and roughly determine how long you will spend covering each section.
Get some homeschool planners
You will definitely need a planner for yourself. Choose a paper or digital one – whatever you prefer! This is an awesome Catholic planner to remind us of feast days, fasting days, and days of Holy Obligation. I have purchased multiple copies for myself and my children over the years. I also love the Homeschool Planet digital planner. It has so many cool features and is flexible for any homeschooling style.
This is a beautiful and simple free Catholic planner for kids. You can print it out and have it bound, or three-hole punch it and keep it in a small binder or folder with brads. I definitely recommend a planner for children who are comfortable reading and writing. This will help instill organization and independence at a young age.
Fill out your planners with holidays, feast days, fasting days, and other important dates
First, decide the official start and end dates of your school year. Be sure to consider that you may need to take time off for illness or other extenuating circumstances and plan accordingly. Are you due with a baby in the winter or have you planned a family vacation? Consider these situations and come up with a plan for staying on track.
Next, you can fill in the major holidays and choose when you will be off from school. Be sure to include any feast days you want to celebrate and other Holy days. Fill in any appointments for you and your children – including extracurriculars and co-ops.
Fill out your planners with a school schedule
This can be as specific or as flexible as you desire. Be sure to consider these questions and answer them based on your family’s needs:
- How many days a week should we homeschool?
- How many hours a day should we homeschool?
- What subjects should I teach in homeschool daily and weekly?
Set aside time for rest and for play
Be sure to schedule in time to rest and time to play throughout your days and weeks. Rest and play are so important – especially, in the preschool and elementary years. Depending on your child’s age, be sure to give him or her an appropriate amount of down time. It can be structured too – such as an outdoor play time activity or indoor art project. Also, include rest and leisure time for yourself. Make time to have an afternoon cup of tea or other restful activity for yourself so you can also refresh and recharge!
3. Plan your meals
As a homeschooling parent, you wear many hats – including chef! After a long day of school and activities, it can be difficult to get dinner on the table. When I was a new wife, I was completely new to meal planning and cooking! To make it simple, I chose a theme for each night of the week like this:
Monday – Salad
Tuesday – Mexican (Taco Tuesday)
Wednesday – Pasta
Thursday – Slow Cooker
Friday – Soup
Saturday – leftovers
Sunday – Special Meal (Meatloaf, Lasagna, Pot roast, etc)
I could them build upon this general idea and choose from a few favorite recipes to rotate through every few weeks.
Plan for some Feast Day meals and treats
It is also fun to plan in special meals for feast days! At the beginning of each month, I look through this cookbook for the coming month and fill in meals for feast days included in the cookbook. I love this book because the meals are yummy, family friendly, and seem fancy but are easy! The “Saintly Meals” are a little more involved, so you could save these for Sunday or prep some parts in advance.
4. Have a restful morning routine (or, morning basket)
Having a simple, predictable routine will help your homeschool start off on the right foot (90% of the time!). I wrote about how to create a simple morning routine here in 5 steps.
5. Give your kids (and yourself!) grace
The new school year is so exciting, but we need to remember to ease into a new routine, curriculum, or plan. We also need to remember that not everything will go perfectly or smoothly all of the time – and this is completely normal! Kids can become frustrated with a new skill or dreaded subject. Be patient with them and with yourself. Tweak your routine and decide if you need to speed up, slow down, or power through. Go back to number 1 (prayer!) often and as needed! God will give you all the exact grace you need to get through any situation in your homeschool.
More Catholic homeschool tips
For more Catholic homeschool tips, be sure to check out these past posts:
- Top 12 Tips for New Homeschooling Parents
- Homeschooling Saints Podcast
- Awesome Family Read Alouds List
