Looking at the home education process as a year can be a little bit daunting. What each year really amounts to is what you are able to accomplish, and how, on a daily basis. Focusing on each day as a new opportunity will help you to be better organized, while keeping the big picture and your goals in mind. Here are a few tips for organizing your individual home school day.

Begin early. Experts agree that children have the best learning ability in the morning. This is when they are able to focus or concentrate the easiest, and it is wise to take advantage of this fact. Do not allow your child to sleep away these precious hours.

Serve a good breakfast. An empty stomach or a sugared system is a distracted mind. A child simply cannot concentrate if his stomach is growling or he is hyped up on sugared cereal. You also do not want to overload the child with a heavy breakfast, so it is best to save the pancakes for a weekend morning. Try to serve something nutritious that includes fiber, fruit and a small amount of milk.

Now it is time for the actual school day. Require your child to show up fully clothed with teeth and hair brushed, and ready to greet you with a polite "Good Morning". Do not be afraid to start the day with the Pledge of Allegiance or even a prayer if you are religious. With young children, this is also a good time to review their name, address and phone number so you are confident they know it in case of an emergency.

From here, it is up to you to have already sorted through their books and to know the required hours spent in school per day for your state. You should have each subject divided into time slots accordingly. These time slots and pages or tests needed for each day should be written neatly in a daily lesson planner. These are available at school supply shops, or through certain home school organizations.

It is a good idea to keep at least one week ahead on filling in your lesson planner; more, if you can manage it. Write neatly in pencil so you can adjust your child's schedule to their learning process. It is also beneficial to make room in the lesson planner or have a separate journal to note the experiences, advances, and limitations of each child.

Be sure to include small recess breaks in your day for little children, and a lunch hour for older children. There is also nothing wrong with giving your children stretching time between subjects. If you have younger children, most of your time will be spent teaching. This is one good reason you do not want to have a sloppy, disorganized school day. You will need the time later to grade homework as well as finish other daily tasks.

Last, put your child to bed at a decent time. A child who goes to bed at a respectable hour will not have the trouble waking that a child left to his own scheduling will. This counts as preparation for the next school day.

Follow these simple guidelines customized to your lives, and home schooling will bring your children the best of two worlds - a specialized and valuable education experience blended with the personal attention and encouragement of a parent's love. A neatly scheduled day is the best gift a home schooling parent can give themselves, and will prove invaluable to you through these special years.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Wells.
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