Hooray, it’s a new school year – except that that means now you have to plan who’s doing what subjects, and what classes, when! (Plus how this is all going to affect your nice, tidy, comfortable schedule that you spent all of LAST year perfecting!)
Here’s how I make time for big family changes (and researching #alltheschedules that go along with it!).
First, I give myself at least a week – two is better – for compiling the new class schedule or homeschooling curriculum list.
This means collecting all the puzzle pieces of who’s going to where, when – because mama needs to know all that information!
Then, I look at my current, nice-and-comfortable schedule, and hash out what still works and what’s got to change.
(Maybe you *can* keep grocery day on Wednesdays – but that library trip won’t fit in your shortened time block!)
Give yourself space to play around with the family schedule pieces, and to ask “what if?” a lot.
- What if we moved errand day?
- What if she took her class this day?
- What if I did the food prepping at that time?
And just know that you’ll make it work. No matter how many changes need to be made, how many adjustments and tweaks for this school year, you’re going to set it.
And you *will* get used to this new schedule, this new season, along the way. It may just take a few months.
So remember, this work of planning and shifting all the puzzle pieces is important. It’s not a “shouldn’t have to do” every year; it’s THE foundation for your new semester! Treat it accordingly, and give planning time the time it needs to be successful.
Because the last thing you want is a hastily thrown together, I’m-sure-that-will-work type of schedule that falls apart the first weeknight you realize you’re supposed to be two places at once.
Take the time – ENJOY the time – every summer anticipating the new school year, and let this be a new ritual for yourself. An end-of-summer, mid-summer, it’s-not-time-to-start-yet, but this is kind of fun to do. It’s actually kind of fun to put together.
Because you’re crafting the bedrock, time-wise, for everything your family does this next school year. So let’s set it well.
What changes do you just know need to be made this time around? What’s right off the bat not going to work?
Start jotting down solutions, no matter how out of the box, and see where they lead you. It’s all in a year’s work.
