20 Jan How To Make Your Homeschool Schedule Your Servant – Not Your Master

There was a time, in the not-so-distant past that I thought I had my homeschool perfectly organized. Books were categorized on the shelves according to year and term, all supplies were arranged perfectly, and I had a beautiful Excel spreadsheet, breaking down our day in 15-30 minute sections according to subject. That may make me sound a little psychotic, but in my defense, I worked full-time as a night-shift nurse, and I strongly believed that in order to succeed in homeschooling my children, I had to be militant about our schedule. After a couple of years, being governed by my spreadsheet, I began to realize that my approach was completely wrong! I began to realize the importance of how to make your homeschool schedule your servant – not your master.

A Homeschool Schedule Usually Starts as a Servant

There are so many ways that we enslave ourselves, in an effort to organize our lives. This is probably true for some personalities more than others. I like to set rules for myself and my children. My purpose is to have a rhythm, to create a system, or to make things easier. As time passes, however, and as we increasingly struggle with rigid rules, we all start to feel tension, stress, and frustration. It begs the question: “How is that working for you?”

Our homeschool schedule was a perfect example of this. I would faithfully map out on a spreadsheet everything that we needed to get done for the week. When Monday arrived, my pretty little spreadsheet would be sitting there, waiting for each little box to get checked. And in all honesty, I loved checking off those boxes. It was a feeling of accomplishment, and my gauge for success.

But what happened if a very small dose of life happened? What happened if someone got sick? If we had an urgent need to address habit training instead of literature? What if there was a day of perfect weather in the middle of January? A toilet flood? A wonderful nature hike with friends that you couldn’t seem to bring to an end? What if a friend dropped by? All of these are possibilities, either negative or positive, that have happened and have thrown my cute little spreadsheet to the wind.

Don’t Let it Become Your Master!

Just one of these little interruptions, could lead to a whole week of feeling the need to “catch up,” and even despair, as one box after the other was left unchecked. My schedule, which was originally made to help me out, was now creating a problem for me. It was no longer my servant, but my master.

We Must Remember Our Goal!

Once we become enslaved to a schedule (or anything else, for that matter!) we are no longer free. We must remember our goals, as homeschoolers! My priorities are peace in the home, freedom, and creating a lifelong love of learning. Not one of these goals were being accomplished with my spreadsheet. Not ONE.

You Can Still Use Your Spreadsheet

Did I stop planning our homeschool days? Did I scrap my spreadsheet? No! I still work full-time night shift. I still need to be organized, and I still need a system. But I did change my mindset. I had to decide a few things:

• Sometimes all of the boxes will not get checked off – and that means very little in the grand scheme of things.
• The spreadsheet is not the most important task of the day. Sometimes it’s playing outside.
• The spreadsheet does not contain many of the items that will be included in our day. Be ready for spontaneous adventures.
• You can actually move on and choose not to check a box. And never go back to it! GASP!
• My success is not a result of a spreadsheet, but of achieving my goals – peace in the home, freedom, and creating a lifelong love of learning.
• If I see one of these goals crumbling, my time is better spent achieving that goal, not working on a spreadsheet.
• Instead of checking a box on my spreadsheet, I can (and often do) put a big, old X. Sometimes an X feels just as good as a checkmark!
• In the end, no one cares about your spreadsheet. Not even you.

Who’s the Boss?

So decide who’s Boss. You or your homeschool schedule. Once you are clear on your goals, this is a simple choice. Don’t ever again let your homeschool schedule be your master. It is meant to serve you, to be a guide, and to help you with your organization. Understanding that your homeschool schedule is not a book of rules to be followed will give you the freedom to make your homeschool something beautiful that your children will remember fondly.