Know You’re On the Right Track
See the big picture, check off lessons, and follow your child.
Giving lessons is so much fun and can, with practice, feel very natural and intuitive. But just about every homeschooling parent, at some point, starts to worry if they’re doing enough.
You look at the lessons you’ve given and wonder if you’re covering everything or if you’re ignoring certain subjects. You start comparing your child’s skills to the other children at playgroup to see if they’re “on track”. Yikes.
Even when things are going well, self doubt can creep in.
You Don’t Have to Hold It All in Your Head
And truthfully…you shouldn’t try to!
While observing your child and following their lead will always be our Montessori go-to before giving the lessons, of equal importance is documentation.
Writing down (or in our case, checking off!) what you’ve done and highlighting or circling what you’d like to do next in the sequences allows you to let go of the burden of remembering.
Without a system, you lose sight of where your child was last week or last month because you’re focused on the present moment. Frequent homeschooling parents’ “present moment” thoughts include everything from what to have for dinner tonight to what your child is showing an interest in during worktime. Everything outside of that scope tends to fly out of your head.
Ever heard of “mom brain”? Homeschoolers get that, too. It’s mushy.
Fortunately, we have a solution, and it’s built right into the program.
You Can See Your Progress
And it’s simple.
Inside Child of the Redwoods, your progress through the curriculum is always visible.
You can see what you’ve already done, what you’re working on now, and what comes next. It’s not complicated. It’s clear and manageable.
There’s a colorful scope and sequence guiding your child’s learning, so important skills are building over time, even when it doesn’t feel obvious day to day.
You will not be guessing what to do. You’re working your way through something that’s already been carefully laid out.
Simple Tools That Help You Stay on Track
Many homeschoolers find themselves creating elaborate lesson planning and progress-tracking systems. You do not have to do this to be a good homeschooler! Resist the urge to overcomplicate your work.
Behind the scenes, there are simple tools that help you plan ahead, track your progress through the leveled curriculum, and know your next steps without stress.
You can check off lessons as you go on a spreadsheet.
Look ahead to see what’s coming next.
Or use planning cards to gently map out your week.
These are small but highly effective resources that help you stay organized and keep moving forward through the curriculum.
There’s No Pressure to Do Everything
Trying to do too many things at once is much, much more common for homeschoolers than not doing enough, even though it may at times feel like you’re “behind”.
Trust me…you won’t be behind when you’re using a scope and sequence to track your progress. You’ll be exactly where you’re supposed to be.
When you see your planning tools, it’s easy to check off skills your child has already mastered and focus on the skills they need next in the sequence. By trusting the process and your child, you’ll have the resources you need to move at your child’s pace, knowing that it’s right for your family.
It may be cliché, but it’s true: education is not a race. Rabbits aren’t neccessarily better than turtles.
Education is a journey you take with your child. Together. These tools help you take that journey in your own time.
No Matter What Happens, You Can Keep Going
Let’s be real for a minute: life is going to happen. You’ll take a vacation. Your child will need a break from lessons now and then. You’ll find a lovely playgroup and will need to reschedule your homeschool week to accomodate. Summers will beckon with warm days perfect for the beach. Holidays with family will become your temporary main focus.
And all while this life stuff is going on, you never have to completely stop the Montessori.
You’ll always know:
what you’ve covered
what’s next in the sequence
how to make progress and keep going
If you want to see how this fits into your full Montessori homeschool, you can see how Montessori at home works step by step.