Untitled - Sarah Mae

Copyright ©2014 by Sarah Mae
All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this
book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without
express written permission from the author.
Unless otherwise noted, all bible verses are from the New American Standard Version.
Cover and Interior Design by: Jesse Hoover (my amazing, talented husband)
Edited by: Jordy Liz Edits
A special thank you to Sorta Southern Boutique, this
year’s Type-B Planner sponsor!
To learn more about Sorta Southern Boutique, visit www.sortasouthern.com and see their ad (with
coupon code) on page 40.
Because this is a first edition, and I’d like to continue creating this planner each year, I beg
your feedback! I want to make this planner great, and I know you have opinions and ideas. I
would really like to hear them once you’ve worked through it. To send feedback, email me at
sarahmaewrites@gmail.com.
Table of Contents
From One Type-B Mom to Another5
How to Use this Planner7
Before You Begin: Know Your Child8
14-Steps to Homeschool Ready
Day 1: Vision10
Day 2: Choose Curriculum12
Day 3: Educational Objectives15
Day 4: Zoom in On Educational Objectives
18
Day 5: Pick Good Books to Read Based on Your Educational Objectives
20
Day 6: Discipleship Objectives21
Day 7: Zoom in on Discipleship Objectives
23
Day 8: Pick Good Books to Read Based on Your Discipleship Objectives
24
Day 9: Write Up a Weekly Schedule
25
Day 10: Write Up a Monthly Overview
26
Day 11: Pick Field Trips28
Day 12: Lesson-Planning Your First Month (Plan Resources)
29
Day 13: Lesson-Planning Your First Month, Part 2 (Daily Lessons)
30
Day 14: Plan Your First Day of School (Fun!)
31
Homeschooling Multiple Children32
Words of Wisdom from Homeschool Parents Who Have Done the Work
34
Words from Homeschool Graduates (Encouragement!)
36
Resources39
Planning Pages42
Calendar: Monthly & Daily101
Type-B Mom
A
, for the purposes of this planner, is defined as the mom
who struggles with details, gets overwhelmed with lesson-planning, and
is generally laid back but knows she needs to get her ducks in a row if she’s
going to homeschool well.
From One Type-B Mom to Another
I love homeschooling, but I don’t always love the work of homeschooling.
I love planning, but I’m not always super awesome at following through with my planning.
But I have vision and heart and the God-given ability to work hard at this homeschooling thing,
because I think it matters. I don’t just want to educate my children in matters of the mind; I want to
enrich their worlds and invest in their souls through discipleship. I want to fill them with beautiful
things, or “treasures,” as my mentor Sally Clarkson calls them. With homeschooling, I have the
opportunity to pick and choose what goes into their minds and their hearts, and I get to nurture their
souls throughout the day by teaching them, guiding them, correcting them, and having fun with
them. I am their biggest influence right now, and I don’t want to take that for granted. And so, I’m
giving this homeschooling thing all I’ve got, which isn’t a ton of attention to detail or organization
or natural ability. But instead, it is faith, and perseverance, and the power of the Holy Spirit in me,
helping me and molding me as I help and mold my children.
Oh, friends, what a gift it is to invest in the souls of our children for such a time as this. I am utterly
thankful for the freedom to homeschool and that God cares for me and my children, weaknesses and
all. He knows I’m not a naturally organized person. He knows I’m not good at lesson-planning or
strict schedules. He knows I struggle with pleasing people (ahem, children). He knows perfectionism
freezes me up. He knows I tend to think I am a failure who can’t really do this homeschooling thing
well, and He knows those are lies from the enemy to trip me up. He cares for me. He loves me. He
helps me.
And He cares for you, He loves you, and He helps you.
You are not alone when it comes to your insecurities with homeschooling; so many moms have
felt fearful, overwhelmed, and underprepared. Your thoughts, fears, and concerns are normal and
healthy because it means you’ve really given consideration to the time and work that homeschooling
involves. You have, or are, counting the cost, and that’s wise. But as you begin, or continue in your
homeschooling journey, remember this: homeschooling isn’t about straight A’s and perfect teaching.
It isn’t about getting it “all” right.
Homeschooling, at the heart, is about love.
You love your children and you want to pour goodness and beauty and truth into them. Yes, it takes
time and diligence and hard work, but the foundation is love and the willingness to put your love
into action. You will make mistakes and you will fail in a hundred ways – we all do. But you will also
succeed in a thousand ways because you are a loving mother. Furthermore, if you are leaning into the
One who is the originator of love, and you homeschool by faith, keeping your eyes on Him and your
hand to the plow, you cannot fail. You cannot fail because you have given your will over to Lord, no
matter how that leads you or your children. You are called to be faithful; it is God who is the Perfecter
of the work.
5
So even you, Type-B mama, can homeschool, and you can do a great job. And you will. I believe for
you, and I pray over all of you reading these words that you would be encouraged and spurred on to
give yourself to the work of educating and discipling your children. You were made for this.
With you on the journey,
Fellow Type-B mama, Sarah Mae
6
How to Use This P lanner
I created this planner because I needed something to help me plan out our school year. All the
planners I had found didn’t give me what I really wanted, which was not only a calendar, but also
planning pages that guided me into how to plan. Therefore this planner is not like the other planners
out there; it is specifically designed for the Type-B mom who wants simplicity, clarity, and step-bystep help.
When thinking through homeschool planning, I also realized that I didn’t like to lump my
educational goals in with my discipleship goals; I liked the idea of having two tracks to focus on.
This isn’t to say that our education and discipleship don’t overlap – of course they do! But I needed
separate planning prompts in order to have a better focus on each area. In this planner, you will
be able to create educational objectives and discipleship objectives on separate planning pages,
including ideas for each.
For the 14-day (or 14-step, in case you need longer than 14 days) guide, you will find encouragement
in setting up a vision and a plan for your homeschool year. For each day (or step) there will be
instructions, ideas, question prompts, and examples. In the planning pages section there will be pages
where you can answer the question prompts to prepare you for the year. There are enough planning
pages for up to five children.
Please keep in mind that when I designed this planner, I was not trying to emulate current
homeschool planners out there. For example, I do not include daily planning pages that look like
schedules with a time-slot for each half-hour. The daily pages are simply the date with a few lines
underneath. I did this because I don’t feel the need to write down everything to do every day; I only
need a bit of space to jot down simple plans. Super scheduled planners overwhelm me because I’m a
flexible routine kind of gal!
While the daily pages are extremely simple, the planning pages are far more detailed than any other
homeschool planner I have come across, because that is where I’ve needed the most help. The pages
aren’t simply something you fill out, but they include ideas, questions, and examples to help you
have clarity and feel confident about your plans.
This planner also includes articles, wisdom, and resources to encourage you and help you keep on.
Here’s to simplicity and sweat-free lesson planning!
7
July 2014
Sunday
8
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
2
6
7
8
9
13
14
15
16
20
21
22
23
27
28
29
30
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
3
4
5
10
11
12
17
18
19
Fie l d Tr i p s
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Remi nders
Books To Read
24
25
26
31
9
July 2014
Monday 30
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 2
Thursday 3
10
Friday 4
Goals for the Week:
Notes
11