We have talked about things to consider before you start planning, the benefits of piecing together your own curriculum, and how to use a LiveBinder to organize ideas.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and put together a plan!

{Step 1: Map Out Your Subjects}

You need to decide what subjects each child will be studying this year.

I usually draw up a grid with my kids’ names across the top and all of the subjects down the side. This time around, I actually created a planner page.

There are several tools to help you choose your subjects:

• Use a scope & sequence
• Look up the website for your city’s school district (type the name of your city, followed by ISD, into a search engine). High School will be found under Graduation Requirements. Elementary & Middle might require a little hunting – look for these key words: Curriculum, Courses, Instructional Map
• Browse through homeschool catalogs
• Ignore all of the above & pick whatever subjects you want!

{Step 2: Write Down What You Know}

Start filling in your chart with the names of resources that you already know you want use: books, websites, freebies, classes

(hmmm, maybe I need to add my name to the Handwriting section)

You will probably be left with several blanks scattered throughout your chart. Don’t be discouraged, these blanks are very helpful!

They show you what subjects you need to:

• purchase
• research
• find for free
• create
• combine for the whole family

{Step 3: Fill in the Blanks}

Now the fun begins! It is time to start searching for goodies to fill in all those blanks.

I like to use as many freebies as possible, but you choose whatever floats your boat!

I use all of these to fill in my chart:

• Links I have saved in my 2012-2013 LiveBinder
• Ideas from my Pinterest Homeschool Boards
• Books that are collecting dust sitting on my shelves
• Freebies from my Homeschool for Free LiveBinder
• Homeschool catalogs
• Files I have saved on my computer (& forgotten!)
• My CurrClick downloads library
• Homeschool review sites like Cathy Duffy, The Curriculum Choice, Schoolhouse Review Crew
• Homeschool forums like The Well-Trained Mind, The Homeschool Lounge, Simply Charlotte Mason

And there you have it! Those are the basic steps I take to create a plan for each school year.

More posts in this series:

• Part 1:  Planning with Purpose
• Part 2:  10 Reasons I Create My Own Curriculum
• Part 3:  Planning with LiveBinders

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