How to Prioritize Your Homeschool Day

When we sit down to plan a homeschool day, we’d like to think we know how it is going to go when we implement the plan. This is never the case. Most homeschool parents have a list, at least a flexible one, of subjects that they hope to get in today. Let’s say it goes something like this:

Math, Grammar, History, Science, Spelling, Reading, Art, Geography.

You would love to actually get these in today, but halfway through science, you realize that this is not going to be the case. The concept is taking longer than you thought to get through. By the afternoon, there’s simply no more time and geography gets skipped.

This wouldn’t be a problem but the same exact scenario gets repeated tomorrow and the next day. On Friday, you get geography in but not spelling. Eventually, you realize that something must be done or geography, or some subject, is doomed to be just a memory.

Although this can be a frustrating problem, there is a way to make sure that what needs to be covered is covered. It is a method that I learned throughout the years of homeschooling and it’s very simple and easy to put into action. It’s called the Most Important Thing approach. I first learned about this approach from Leo of ZenHabits.

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Keep Your Greatest Homeschool Goals in Mind

To start out, think about what your true homeschool goals are. This can be a variety of things and should be what’s most important to you. It could be teaching kids to be independent, to have a love of learning, or to simply give them a nurturing environment in which to learn. For some, the answer might be to focus on quality learning, to help your child overcome a learning disability, or to spend your lives together.

Whatever your reasons for homeschooling your children, always give them first priority. Remember, everything you do should take you closer to your chosen goals. If you find that something in your homeschool day is not, then you should rethink that subject.

Choosing the Most Important Thing

With this goal in mind, you can move forward. Choose a subject or a concept that is absolutely the most important thing that you want to accomplish today. Ask yourself this: If you only had time to do just one thing in school today, what would it be? This will automatically give you some clarity and weed out the ‘lesser’ things.

The most important thing, or MIT as Leo calls it, will look different for everyone. If your child is having trouble in an area, you might want to make this your MIT. For a lot of people, Bible would be their MIT. If there’s a subject that you only do periodically, then it might make MIT today.

Some Examples of MIT’s

Maybe you’re having trouble teaching both younger and older student at the same time. Some years, when I have a little one, their one hour of school becomes my MIT. The rest of my day goes much smoother once theirs is taken care of and they are off to play.

Maybe quite the opposite is true for you. Maybe one of your older kids needs some special attention in an area. This is usually the case for us. When one of my older students needs extra time and attention, I put this first. This helps to ensure that even if we get nothing else done that day, that area that needs to be worked on will get tackled.

How This Helps Keep Us On Track

I like this approach because it keeps us on track. The kids never have to feel that any subject is getting to be too much. If it is the only thing we finish that day, then we are fine with that-- although is never the case. It actually helps us to get pretty much everything done that needs to be done.

There are many things that seem pressing at the time and if I am not careful, the lesser important but seemingly urgent things will take precedence over the very important things instead of being put on the back burner for a while.

You may find that when you ask yourself what’s most important that you come up with more than one answer. This is fine. If you choose to have three most important things today it will actually work great. You can either choose to make one priority and the other two second and third or just choose one and get started.

The Key to Making This Method Work

The key here is deciding BEFORE the heat of the moment arrives when you will be more likely to cave and fall into your regular routine. I have a routine that really helps me to stick with this method. I actually take five minutes the night before and write down my MIT for the following school day. Well, I type them into the notepad widget on my phone anyway. This helps me to stay on track and not feel pressured to accomplish it all as soon as I wake up.

This method also keeps me motivated because my MIT always aligns with my core homeschool purpose. It reminds me why I am doing this. If my son needs extra time on his spelling this week, I am reminded to treasure the moments we spend together. If our MIT is character training, I am reminded that I am creating a positive environment for my kids to grow up in.

Sometimes Fun Should Be the Most Important Thing

Remember, life should never be all work, even homeschool life. This is why on some days fun becomes our most important thing of the day. I have found that it is more important for my kids’ education that the important things get done than the small pressing things. Also, the other things tend to be easy and will just fall into place if you are not thinking about the thing that actually needs to be done the most.

So, what’s your most important thing to do tomorrow?