Creating a homeschool education plan

Whether you are doing school-at-home or unschooling, having a plan will make your child's education (and each day) go wonderfully.

In Nevada, homeschooling parents are required to attach an education plan to their Notice of Intent to Homeschool form. A plan not only helps you prepare for the school year, but also helps you get organized (maybe help you plan a school supplies shopping trip).

A very general plan would look like this:

English, reading, writing, composition:
• paragraph writing
• poetry and chapter books
• plot, details, foreshadowing, metaphor
• short report writing

Math:
• measurements
• geometry
• decimals
• fractions

Science:
• volcanoes
• earthquakes
• weathering
• bones
• circulatory system

Social studies:
• American history 1492-1800
• geography to follow history study
• maps
• following the campaigns for government study
• learning to make a budget
• learning about credit cards and banks

This general outline would allow you to be flexible when needed and give you an idea of what kind of books you would need to get from the library or store, or locate websites ahead of time that offer videos, practice, experiments or lesson plans you can use.

If you are unschooling and are fully against creating a curriculum, keep in mind that your child needs to be exposed to as many topics as possible in order to decide what he or she wants to learn. A very minimal plan, like having a collection of books lying around that your child may want to explore, or offering a selection of various videos to watch, will go a long way to helping your child discover his or her own educational path. If you are required to file an education plan with the state you are homeschooling in, like you do in Nevada, find out the minimum requirements needed to do so, so that you are allowed maximum flexibility (and still feel like you are being honest). In Nevada, you only need to list your educational supplies, so a plan could look something like this:

English, reading, writing, composition:
• books of poetry, mythology, biographies and fiction
• dictionary
• online encyclopedia
• newspapers
• journal and other writing supplies

Math:
• learning measurements with cooking
• learning time with clock and datebook
• calculator
• learning money on shopping trips

Science:
• videos on the ocean
• videos on insects
• book on the body systems
• book of science experiments
• Discovery Kids magazine
• Zoobooks

Social studies:
• history museums
• government participation (helping with campaign)
• child's atlas
• maps
• learning budgeting with allowance

This plan allows you to work around your normal life as you would if you are unschooling, but also is a reminder that you are constantly teaching your child and that every opportunity can be used as an educational opportunity.