Before starting a road trip, most people map out their route by plugging in their destination and then finding the best route from their current location. As it turns out, that’s basically how you make a homeschool plan, too!  

Much like a road map, the goal of a homeschool plan is to help you know where you’re going in your educational journey.  

Some states require you to submit documentation detailing parts of your homeschool plan (learn more about your state’s requirements here). However, it can be helpful to create a plan for yourself as a resource that helps you to stay on the right track as you navigate your homeschool year. 

So, what is included in a homeschool plan? 

Breaking it down 

A homeschool plan basically involves four things: 

  1. Assessment: Evaluating where your child is at in their educational journey.  
  2. Goals: Deciding where you want your child to go next—the skills, knowledge, and experiences you want to set for your child.
  3. Curriculum: Choosing the actual content covered in your school year (i.e. which subjects, extracurricular activities, and books/homeschool curriculum you’ll use).  
  4. Schedule: Picking how and when you’re teaching your curriculum. 

Now, we’ll discuss each of these four things in detail and wrap up this article discussing how to put it all together into a homeschool plan document! 

1. Assessing your child 

Before you chart out where your child is going in their education, you need to determine where they are now.  

Here are some questions to think about with each of your children: 

  • Have they done any formal assessments recently? You can use these test results to help you understand areas of strength and weakness (though remember that test scores aren’t everything when it comes to gauging a child’s understanding!). 
  • Is your child being homeschooled for the first time this year? Think about what adjustments need to be made to help them thrive. 
  • Is your child starting high school? Making a formal high school plan with your teen is crucial to making sure they can reach their goals after graduation. Check out our article about making a high school plan here!  
  • Does your child have special learning needs? We recommend heading off to read our article about creating a Special Education Plan (SEP).  

2. Setting goals for your child

Once you assess what your child’s learning needs are, you can set goals that will help you make decisions along the way.

Goals help you prioritize and keep first things first. There are many exciting learning opportunities, subjects, and topics—an end goal can help you pick between multiple good things, while still heading toward your ultimate destination. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you set goals for your child: 

What your child needs to learn
  • Think about where your student is starting. For example, if your child has had some traditional schooling, you might want to pick up where the school left off or go back and address any learning gaps that may exist.  
  • Think about your child’s future plans, in the case of middle and high schoolers. Here's a helpful series to check out if you want to explore future options with your preteen/teen. 
  • And of course, remember to check your state’s homeschool laws to see what the requirements are. 

What your child wants to learn

Spend some time discussing the things your child is curious about and what they want to learn. Homeschooling gives you the opportunity to bless your child with a homeschool plan that is customized to who they are, and how they learn.

Leaning into their natural curiosity can aid in cultivating a love of learning in your child and nurture their ability to learn. Both of those things will hold them in good stead as they go forward in life. 

What you want your child to know

Some parents are invested in passing on their family’s values: faith, life-skills, physical and emotional wellness, financial literacy or even trade skills. You can build those things into your goal-planning. This is where you can account for the non-academic goals you might want to build into your homeschool, building a bridge between schooling and family life. 

3. Picking your curriculum

When most people hear the word “curriculum”, they think textbooks. In this article, we’re using the broader definition that encompasses your child’s overall course of study and supporting activities.

Determining your child’s curriculum involves choosing the subjects they will take, the extracurricular activities they will participate in, and the books and other resources used to provide instruction. All of this works together to allow students to learn and apply what they are learning.  

Subjects

Ideally, your curriculum will consist of content areas such as English (also called language arts), math, science, history (or social studies), foreign language, fine arts, and technology. And it will develop skill areas such as reading, writing, critical thinking, analysis and math mechanics, communication, and time-management. 

Both content and skill areas build sequentially and cumulatively over the course of your child’s education. 

Extracurriculars

You also get the option to pick what sort of extracurricular activities you will incorporate into your child’s schedule, whether it be karate, ballet, 4-H, piano lessons, or volunteering at a local food bank. This is a great opportunity to lean into your child’s interests and broaden their education. 

Books

This also involves choosing traditional curriculum in the form of books! If you need help finding specific curriculum, we recommend reading this article on selecting curriculum. Or, if you’re a parent of a student with special needs, you can check out our Special Needs Curriculum Lists for some ideas. 

4. Choosing a schedule

After you have figured out what you’re teaching, you get to pick how and where you’re teaching it.  

For help with scheduling, read our article about schedules vs routines to learn which will work best for your family. 

And if you’re curious how to set up a homeschool classroom, we've got plenty of tips for creating your child’s learning environment. 

Final step: Make a homeschool plan document

Now that you have a better idea of what goes into making a homeschool plan, it’s time to write it all down. 

Don’t let this process intimidate you! You can set out on a plan and then develop it more during the school year. Right now, you just want to get started.  

Having your plan written down helps you: 

  • Keep track of what you are doing throughout the year 
  • Monitor your student’s progress 
  • Make note of any adjustments that are needed 

We suggest you use a homeschool planner, notebook, or template for your homeschool planning. Pinterest is a great resource for finding templates, printables, and other planning tools and tips. Or you might use iCloud Pages, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or other software platform to write/design it. 

What to include in your homeschool plan document
  • A title page with the name of your school, and maybe a guiding philosophy or inspiring quote. 
  • Each child should have a sheet or section with their name and age. 
  • Record grade levels if you’d like. Just know that each child is different. One child may be at a variety of grade levels for different subjects, while another may be solidly functioning at a specific grade level in each subject. To the best of your ability, write down where you think each child is. If you don’t know for sure, see “What Grade is My Child Ready For?”. Be careful about relying on the placement tests offered by textbook providers. Generally, those assess a child’s readiness for that specific publisher and may not provide an assessment of overall grade level. 
  • Record the subjects you want to cover. 
  • Record any other places your child may be receiving instruction: co-op, tutor, online school, etc. If your child is taking history at a co-op, that’s a subject you don’t have to plan for. But you will still want to keep track of the scope and sequence of the lessons given. 
  • Write down your educational goals for each child in each subject, if you know what they are. As a starting point, your curriculum providers may list what a child can be “expected” to know at the end of the year. Goals should be measurable and not lofty or nebulous. For example, pick goals like: learn to count to 100 by the end of the year, be able to outline an essay, be able to name 10 parts of the circulatory system, or write a short story. Avoid vague goals like: do well in math, get better at reading, or know more about history. 
  • Write down the curriculum, books, and resources you will use for each child. If you don’t know which curriculum you are using yet, check out our Finding Curriculum series.  
  • Remember that you are writing all of this down on paper, not on stone! If what you have planned isn’t working, give yourself permission to let it go! Part 2 of this series lists key indicators of when to adjust your homeschool plan. 

Your plan should be designed in light of your child and their unique abilities, strengths, learning needs, and future goals. This process is one that you can revisit as your child learns, develops, and grows!