2023-24 Homeschool Planning Brainstorm - Part 1 II Homeschool Mission Statement + Big Questions!

Hey friends - welcome to the video where I brainstorm for next year! Come along side me while I discuss things that are changing as well as my new realities for next year's homeschool year!!

NOTE: I am SO SORRY for the background static throughout numerous points in this video! Clearly, my microphone is having issues ... so I have ordered a new one, hopefully that will fix things!! Again, sorry for the audio, hopefully you will be able to still understand what I am chatting about in the video :)

#sonlight
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2023 Reading with Purpose Challenge:

Equipment used:
Editing Software: Adobe Premiere Pro
Music: YouTube Free Library

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Hi! I’m Angie, my kids ages are 9, 7, 5, and 5. On this channel I enjoy sharing my serious love for all things homeschool! You can expect videos on homeschool curriculum (flip-throughs, and reviews), book hauls, and any tips and tricks I have picked up over the past 4 years. Excited to have you following along!!

NOTE: Some of the links above may be affiliate links. If you purchase through the link that I have provided, I may receive a small commission. There will not be an additional charge to you, I appreciate your support!

Where to find me!

[viralprimenetwork]

This is really beneficial! Brainstorming will be able students to freely express their thoughts without fear of failure.

[EducationalRoots]

I just want to say that you can still honor childhood and still teach about the birds and the bees from a young age.

[littleacrehomestead]

I would love to see your standards, resources, and lists when you develop them. I, too, believe it's important for homeschooling parents to keep standards in mind. As responsible homeschooling.

[amandarada]

I wish I could sit down and have a cup of tea with you and talk all things life and homeschool... you are so relatable and on par with my thinking and desires for my homeschooling in so many ways!! I have 5 kids! A boy, just 9, girl 7, boy 4 1/2, girl 2, boy 9 months! My kids are academically about a year behind yours because I didn't know what I was doing, tried sticking with things that weren't working and we all just wanted to throw in the towel at different times... it makes me sad when I think how behind we are and there's not really a way to "catch up" or speed up learning math or reading. Oh well. We are doing HBL A and we are behind schedule (a lot) but we are still enjoying it. We do LOE for LA and are enjoying it and making headway, but it takes a lot of time. We use Math-U-See, which is nice but because we are behind in Math it bothers me a bit that concepts aren't introduced at the same rate as other curriculums or as in "school".
My 4 yo boy will be 5 in June; I haven't done much with school for him this year, jusr bits here and there, bit I did buy the HBL 3/4 to do with him ans was planning/hoping to do the number and letter work with him, but I haven't. I have read some of the books, but that's about it. And because of my 9 yo poor reading and writing skills (at this point) he can't quite transition toward independence yet. Which really makes me feel like I've done him a big disservice, but all the while I was just trying to do what is best.
I really liked your assessment process since your desires and reasons are so close to my own, it helps a lot to hear you almost talk me through my own thoughts.
Oh and yes, all the other "things", art, crafts, music, wood working, knitting, nature exploration.... oh, I am a little jealous of your enrichment school! 😜😉 I hope to be able to outsource some of those things, but for now, I feel so busy some how and so focused on our math and LA that I feel I don't have enough in me ti devote to those other things at this time. But I hope and pray.... soon! Time had passed SOOO quickly I can hardly believe it. I don't just have "little kids" any more!
Anyway, thanks for your content Angie! It's been helpful and enjoyable . You're doing wonderfully! Maybe we can have that cup of tea sometime. 🍵 .... I think I'm only a State away 😆... I'm in KS, I think you're in CO?

[freelandtr]

Thanks for sharing your process. It is very helpful for me. I completely understand your need to step back from YouTube. I’m homeschooling six children k-7th grade and it takes all day (not for them but for me). I would still watch your channel if you only posted occasionally and just do live stream videos (no editing required).

[michellegf]

I really enjoyed hearing about your process and the reflective questions you ask yourself. I will say that my 4th grader was able to do a lot more independently this year and that has really helped. She enjoys the independence and it really helps motivate her as she feels in control of what is going on. I also really appreciate you speaking to the standards, responsibility and accountability in regards to your children’s education. I look forward to seeing how you transition your younger boys. My son is only 3 right now but I definitely get anxious just thinking about when it comes time to add him to our homeschool. 😬. For your twins I would really just aim to keep it simple. I focus on reading (phonics) writing and math those first few school years. With my younger daughter I just have her join us for group subjects like history, science, read aloud etc. I dont expect her to grasp every concept or topic, but I think just the exposure is helping to create a foundation to build upon.

[lizlash]

I appreciate your brain dump! I relate to you in so many ways. I have degree in biology and love math as well. I have a new four year old and we are currently doing Sonlight Preschool with him. It is helpful to see your planning process as your kids are a few years ahead of mine. It was helpful to hear that you think about what your can realistically handle for next year. I am in a place where I have FOMO and want to do everything! I'm due with baby #3 in August so I need to consider what I can handle for next year. And he'd just be in pre-k... I'm just so excited to homeschool! Thanks for sticking with your videos through you family health challenges. Praying for your family.

[Grace_Filled_Homeschool]

I do a lot of research before I buy the next year’s curriculum. I used Sonlight from P 3/4 through 7th grade without issue until I saw our children’s needs changing. If I hadn’t evaluated carefully after each year I wouldn’t be seeing the growth in my children that I continue to see. That is very important to me.

[Mariellen_]

Maybe you could find a mother’s helper or a teenage homeschool kid to come a few days a week and they could play w/ twins or do art projects/crafts so you could focus on older kids for writing or whatever they need more undivided attention.

[maggiepanning]

I am so jealous of your enrichment school!! That sounds like such a beautiful thing for your children. You have big changes ahead next year! If you choose to step away from YouTube I will miss your channel, but I will 100% understand and respect your decision.

[jencarroll]

When I was doing more than one HBL with Sonlight with an age gap. I had my older kids take part in “teaching” roles. For example my 5th grader read science K (including experiments) to our kindergartener. It took coaching, but it turned out to be a gift to me and even more so to them. I also had my older daughters sometimes read the read-alouds to a younger sibling. They learned to become expressive readers and even give the characters different voices too. That was always a hit. The older kids learned teaching skills as well, like how to teach patiently when their “students” didn’t understand or how to gain the respect of their “students”.

I’ve had other friends try this and there was often a struggle at first, but it soon became such a special part of their homeschool days.

[laurenj.]

Yes I do this brain dump type of process too. My son will be 1st grade in the fall with enrichment school once a week. Im trying to understand and get comfortable with what can and can't be done in a day and week.

[EverydayArmyWife]

Love your updates and yes, I am currently in this phase for next year. Trying to decide the route we are going with school and trying to nail down some of the subjects so its not so overwhelming.

[garrettandcorynncollins]

I appreciate this video. My brain works the same as yours lol

[BearBettermentSchool]

You’re doing great, mama! I’m both proud of you and inspired by you!

[leahkuqo]

have you considered a mothers helper once or twice a week for 2-3 hours? it may be incredibly helpful to have someone come to your house and play with the twins for a chunk of time so you can focus a bit more on the older kiddos.

[Earlymorningbookworm]

One thing I did (for fun) in January was project my homeschool until all my kids graduate. (I have 4 close in age.) Mostly just to see what it would look like when all things are side by side. It helped me to see which years would be a lot and maybe I needed to move things around. This is my first year to homeschool and I have a 1st grader and one in K. We’ve been doing HBL K and we LOVE it. It’s definitely something I see us using long term. At least the history. I see the read alouds and literature as strong guidelines haha. Anyway I mapped out HBL and really had to think about how to bring in my two youngest. They have a year between them, so that made choosing when to start them harder. But I do know it’s a priority so I’ll figure out how to do 2 cores. The idea of four kids is a little overwhelming in terms of how much that will involve me in the younger years. So I know now I need to work on my bigs working more independently. Sorry I’m getting long winded lol. I found your video helpful and I’ve been thinking about some of the same things!

[CalmintheChaosHomeschool]

Thanks for sharing your process! Very similar to mine :)

[deannaelliott]

I feel like I am almost constantly evaluating/planning. Partly due to one student with some special learning needs, and making adjustments along the way, finding what works.

Interested to know how Sonlight LA 3 went and if you plan to keep going with the next level.

[ThreeGsHomeschool]

I am not sure if Nicole the Math Lady offers a free lesson, but if she does, I would take advantage of that. Also, I know that Dive does offer the first 10 or 11 lessons for free with 5/4. I have never tried Nicole, but I have heard great things. My kids are enjoying the Dive videos so far.