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I am pretty eclectic in our methods of homeschooling. I do tend to use Classical Education as a framework, but I don’t, by any means, follow it to the letter. I don’t lock myself into any one way of teaching because it isn’t realistic for my family. Our needs change, and I like trying new things out. I take this all into consideration when it comes to homeschool planning.

In the last year, I’ve read a few books and perused many sites on unschooling. I like the idea of children learning naturally and learning things that interests them. I can’t quite let myself run with the idea, but I see merit it the method. So I do try to give my children choices when it comes to homeschooling. That is why my kids are involved in our homeschool planning.

Why You Should Include Your Kids in Planning Your Homeschool

Kids Need to be Invested in Their Learning and Take Ownership of It

Think about that for a second.

When we, as adults, are learning something we want to learn, we get more out of it. If we are forced to attend a class or conference on something we have no interest in, we have a harder time learning.

It makes sense, right?!

How about you are sitting in a class in which you might enjoy, and the person presenting the information lectures nonstop with no visuals. If you are a person that needs to see things or is hands-on, you might have difficulty with the class.

Guess what? Our kids are no different than us. I’m not saying our kids can choose to skip writing or never learn math. It isn’t practical. When they are mature enough, allowing them a choice in how they learn, especially subjects they don’t care for, will give them some ownership over their learning.

For my son, this has been huge. About halfway through third grade, I realized he had hit a plateau with his writing program. He wasn’t progressing in his writing as I expected, and he wasn’t enjoying writing like he used to. Something needed to be done.

Mama went into research mode. I hunted down reviews, samples, and videos on several writing programs. Once I found some I thought might work, I sat down with my son and showed him the different writing programs. We found one we thought would work best, and I ordered it. He is so excited to do writing now. Best of all, it works for him.

I know. It is hard to let our kids help with homeschool planning, especially with choosing a curriculum. We homeschool mamas like to do this ourselves. We usually have a pretty good sense of our kids’ learning styles and what works for them. It’s hard to give this up.

I challenge you to get your kids involved if what you’re doing isn’t working. Don’t be like me who tried desperately to make a curriculum work because I used it with the older sibling and didn’t want to buy different program.

Check out: Don’t Panic if You Need to Switch Curriculum Mid-Year

When we discuss with our kids the different curriculum choices, they start learning about themselves. They analyze how they learn, how they like to learn and become active in their education. 

Other Ways to Get Your Kids Involved in Homeschool Planning

Let Them Choose Subjects They Want To Learn.

When my kids stopped going to public school, they wanted to get started with homeschooling that summer. I asked them what they wanted to learn in science, and we went with it. We worked on the human body and electricity.

For a while, each summer, the kids would choose what they wanted to learn. Each kid decided what they wanted to read and write. They also picked the science or social studies topic they wanted to learn. They didn’t complain about doing school in the summer. It was three days a week that they got to make decisions on what they learned.

If you are a mom that likes to stay focused on the core subjects during the school year, giving your kids a chance to plan the homeschool work in the summer may work great for you. I know it did for me.

Lately, I’ve been relaxing my expectations in our homeschool and have found ways to let my kids include things they enjoy throughout the year. They choose some of the subjects they want to learn.

One way I’ve let my kids help plan subjects they like is with SchoolhouseTeachers.com. I recently received a FREE subscription to SchoollhouseTeachers.com in exchange for writing an honest review. I fell in love with it. Go HERE and read my review. You’ll see why it is the perfect way to allow kids to choose topics they want to learn more about.

Click the link below to find out more. (affiliate link)

You can also look into places like Outschool or other online classes to include your child’s interest in their homeschool day. Kids can also take books out of the library or find information online (YouTube videos, educational sites, etc.) to research topics for themselves.

There are so many ways kids can help plan in some of their interests into their homeschooling.

{Related: End-of-Year Activity great for getting input from your kids on the homeschool year to help you plan the next.}

Kids Give Input into the School Schedule or Routine

Your homeschool schedule is important when planning your year. It is hard to get into a rhythm of what will work for your family. It will sometimes even need to change midyear. I always get my kids’ input in our homeschool day to see what is working or not working.

Over the years, we have tried many different schedules.  At first, we had a schedule that broke each child’s day down to the minute. I knew who I was working with, on which subject, and what the other was doing while I was working with their sibling. That worked for that year.

We have also tried a block schedule. The kids worked on a certain subject, say Language Arts, at a set time of day. I’d go back and forth working with each child. They chose the order they did the work during that block.

Now I put up the subjects each kid has for the day on a schedule chart, and they work on assignments in what order they want to. The kids like this routine best, and it works best for us.

It’s always a good idea to check in with the kids to see if your schedule is working for them. Discuss what they like and don’t like and how you can arrange things differently.

If you want to read more about schedules and routines, check out Is a Routine or Schedule Best for Your Homeschool Day.

It is important for our kids to be involved in planning their homeschooling. Kids take ownership of their learning, enjoy it more, and can offer some valuable insight into what works for them. They learn how to be active learners.

So if you need to reassess your homeschool or are planning out your next homeschool year, get the kids to join you. Let them share their ideas on how they like to learn, what resources they like to use, and what schedule or routine works best for them. It may make for an easier homeschool year.

Happy Homeschooling!