How to Evaluate Your Homeschool Mid-Year

Now that you're at the half-way point in your homeschool year, it's time for some evaluation to see how things are going. It's the perfect time to look at your schedule and subjects to make sure everything is working. 

During this time, I ask myself a lot of questions and decide if I need to improve anything, change it entirely, or keep it the way it is. It's important to be honest while evaluating, and let your kids voice their opinion as well! 

When your kids are fighting you tooth and nail, no learning is happening. You might feel behind, or you could dread opening a subject every day. None of these things are good for you or your family! 

Since winter break marks the halfway point for most homeschooling families, now is the perfect time to decide if changes need to be made.

Here is how I complete my homeschool mid-year evaluation. 

1. Look at All Subjects

First, I look at all of the subjects and curriculum choices for the year. I ask myself a few questions.

• Is the program teaching my children effectively?
• Are we reaching the goals that we created at the beginning of the year?
• Do my kids enjoy using this curriculum?
• Do I enjoy the curriculum?

If you find that the curriculums you chose are working and everyone is happy - YAY! That takes a huge burden off of you and means things are going well for your homeschool this year. 

If things aren't going so well, you have some planning and research to do. Most importantly, you have to decide why it doesn't work. Is it not meeting your child's learning style? Is it too repetitive or too slow? Figure out why it's not working for your child to help you pick a new one. 

2. Look at Your Schedule 

First, if you're required by your state to school so many days or hours, now is the time to see how you're doing at meeting your requirements. 

A few things to consider when looking at your schedule mid-year are:

• Are you meeting your goals so far set that beginning of the school year?
• Do you have any upcoming changes in your life, such as a new baby or a pending move, that might require a schedule change?
• Is your family pleased with the schedule?
• Do you think it's too relaxed or too long?

For some families, evaluating schedules happen monthly, but a mid-year evaluation overall is a great idea.

Talk to your kids! They might think it's too long, or you could be surprised. Some kids want more study time or more time to read independently. 

3. Consider Extra Curricular Activities

Do your kids participate in any extra activities, such as soccer or karate? Are you participating in too many activities, or are your kids ready for more?

We take time in December to decide if we need to add more activities or pull back on our commitments. Since we also evaluated our schedule, we can determine easily if have space for the extra activities. 

Use your winter break to evaluate your homeschool plans. Now that you made it halfway through your years, it's the best time to decide if everything is working. If not, you have time to plan something new before school starts after winter break!