Nurturing Connections Homeschool Bucket Planner
Are you focusing on the most important things?
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Or do you find yourself constantly overwhelmed with all-the-things?
Do you feel like you’re not doing enough, not socializing enough, not keeping up enough?
Do you feel let down when your lessons and activities don’t look like the picture-perfect homeschool pictures you see on social media?
I used to.
I struggled so much early on, trying to juggle the home and the laundry and the meals and the messes, along with the children and the lessons and all of the crafts and activities I wanted to do.
I struggled with the constant onslaught of ideas and styles and curricula that often left me feeling like I was a step behind and missing out.
I tried to squeeze in more. I tried to do more. And I tried to keep up with our daily curriculum lessons.
But in the end, it only left me feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.
I missed so many opportunities, and it really began to wear on me.
I wanted so badly to let go and take that leap of faith, trusting in The Lord to lead me as I nurtured the hearts and minds of our children.
But I was afraid.
I was afraid that our children would fall behind. I was afraid of not keeping up with the curriculum cycles. I was afraid of doing things differently, when every homeschool social media family seemed to be going in the opposite direction.
I was walking in fear, and it enslaved me.
Can you relate?
Are you overwhelmed by your curriculum? The expectations of others? The humanistic ideologies of the public school system?
Are you longing to be free?
I’m here to tell you that you can.
You can walk in homeschool freedom and connect with the most important things.
Friend, God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
He knows the plans He has for each of our children, and His purposes for their lives far exceed the boxes that the world tries to place around them.
But the question is, are we willing to let go of old paradigms and trust Him above all? Are we willing to seek Him first in everything, including the education of our children? (Matthew 6:33)
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Home education offers so many opportunities for the nurturing and discipling of our children. I believe that it is the best opportunitiy to cater to the unique needs of each of our children, allowing them the time and resources to pursue their God-given interests and strengths.
Sadly, it's easy to lose sight of the most important things when so much is vying for our attention, and there is so much pressure to do things a certain way. We need to be able to step away from the preconceived notions of others and embrace what He has for our families.
We need to be willing to take back our homeschools.
Where are you headed?
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Every lesson we follow, every book that we read, and every curriculum that we complete will lead us toward someone’s vision. Will it be ours or theirs?
Now I’m not saying that we can’t use curriculum--or even big-box curriculum at that. We love our curricula!
What I am saying is that we don’t have to be enslaved by it. We can use it as a tool to accomplish the unique goals and vision of our family—not the other way around.
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We can use curricula and a number of other resources, such as videos, field trips, crafts, ministry, and so much more to create a homeschool plan that embraces the uniqueness and giftings of each of our children.
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And we can do that without worry or fear when we take the time to truly pray for direction and embrace His plans for our homeschools.
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This is what the Bucket Planning System is all about.
It begins with prayer and establishing your vision, and then takes you step-by-step through the process of identifying what’s most important in order to create a Mission Statement that you can refer to time and time again throughout your homeschool journey.
Then, it does something that no other planner does. It provides the “Big Picture” of home education. This is the “what” of homeschooling, the standards, objectives, and opportunities that are available in home education. Think of it like a huge set of menus from which you can choose to support your specific learning goals.
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You see, freedom does not come without responsibility. We are responsible for equipping our children. The question is--how do we best do that?
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As a former public school educator, curriculum writer, reading specialist, and educational consultant, I studied public school standards and objectives for years. And then, as a homeschool mom, I poured over homeschool and private school curricula, styles, philosophies, and more.
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I saw the common threads, and the ones specific to Biblical teachings vs humanistic ones. I saw the excess and the necessities, and then I simplified them all and organized them into 9 “buckets” to make up the Bucket Planning System.
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Each bucket has an overarching goal, along with a list of ideas and inspiration that can help you identify what works best toward your vision. With the Bucket Planning System, you’ll have a step-by-step guide that provides menus of options from which to choose. It is all about equipping YOU with all that you need to bring your ideal homeschool to life.
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Make It Work for You
You pick what works, cross off what doesn’t, and add what is most valuable to the unique needs of your family.
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Then comes the fun part!
You get to fill each of your buckets with all of the wonderful ideas, curricula, activities, and lessons you find along the way.
Did you see a neat resource on social media? A documentary? A local event? Great! Jot them down, and keep your ideas organized by each bucket.
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Then, when it comes time to plan your homeschool year, you’ll have a bank full of all of your ideas, each pouring into the vision that you established.
Each year, you’ll get to draw from those buckets, filling your days with all of the things that are most important to you and your family.
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Each year, you’ll get to walk in freedom in your homeschool, knowing that you are building something far greater than simply checking off boxes and getting through the day.
You are leaving a legacy.
You are connecting with what matters most. . .
And ultimately, you’re teaching your children to do the same.
Purchase the Bucket Planning System today!
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Who is this for?
The Bucket Planning System for Grades 1-12 caters to any type or style of homeschooling. The system is about helping you define the “what” so that you can, in turn, determine the “how” that best meets the needs of your unique learners and family.
This will change from year to year, and the Bucket Planning System provides a variety of formats and layouts to change with you.
Do you just need a quick sheet to list your lessons? No problem. Need a bit more space to list all of your read alouds or field trips or therapy exercises? We have that covered too!
Year after year, you will find all the tools that you need to track your progress, record your experiences, and plan for future learning.
What will you get?
The Bucket Planning System for Grades 1-12 comes with the following PDF documents:
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Set-Up Guide: This guide takes you step-by-step through the process of setting up your system and using the parts that work best for you in this season of homeschooling.
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Vision Planning: This workbook takes you through a variety of prompts and questions to help you define your vision and record your Mission Statement for your homeschool
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The Big Picture: Here, you’ll find over 30 pages of objectives and inspiration to help you organize, track, and plan for the upcoming years.
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Yearly Planning: This series of planning pages takes you step-by-step through the process of identifying your goals for each child in your homeschool. Target areas of weakness and focus on strengths to nurture your child in love and learning. Then, create a curriculum and resource wishlist, track your budget and attendance, and more with a variety of planning tools, specifically designed to make planning easy and effective.
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Term Planning: Record field trips, events, and other extra-curricular activities on the monthly planning sheets, then pull the pieces that you want to focus on at the beginning of each term. Track your progress along the way, and check how you’ve done at the end of each term.
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Weekly Planning: Bring your homeschool to life with our weekly lesson plan sheets. Here, you’ll find a Weekly Focus sheet to list your materials, write down a prayer and Bible verse, and record the areas where you’ll want to be intentional. Then, cultivate a heart of gratitude by circling back throughout the week to record what you are most grateful for. Lesson plan sheets in a variety of formats, along with independent student checklists are also provided so that you can pick and choose what works best for you during each season of your homeschool.
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BONUS! Plan your own year as well with our Homeschool Mom Personal Planning tools, designed to help you cultivate the areas that are of utmost importance to you.
Are you afraid to walk in homeschool freedom because you don't want to fall behind?
Or are you afraid to push through the curriculum and miss out on what is most important?
Now, you don't have to choose. You can have both. . .
The Bucket Planning System frees you to focus on the most important things so you can ultimately connect with what matters most.
