You have been researching homeschool curriculum for weeks, filling carts, reading reviews, and asking everyone what they use. What if none of that matters as much as what you do before you ever open a single book?

This episode shares 3 simple tips that will make a bigger difference in your homeschool this year than any homeschool curriculum purchase ever could:

✅Why your attitude and atmosphere are more important than the curriculum you choose

✅How to take a CEO planning date that prepares you for the whole year

✅1 tradition that creates lasting memories your kids will still talk about decades from now

✅3 questions to ask about each child before buying any homeschool curriculum

✅Why knowing your learner always comes before choosing any program

Join the waitlist for the new homeschool support community mentioned in this episode and be first to know when it opens.

Resources for You 

• Raising Leaders Not Followers Course waitlist
• New homeschool support community waitlist

Your Biggest Homeschool Decision This Year Is Not Curriculum

Raise your hand if you've already started looking for curriculum. Maybe you've already spent hours reading reviews or filled up an online shopping cart. What if I told you your biggest decision in your homeschool this year is not curriculum? It's the atmosphere and the expectations you create before you ever open a book. Today I'm sharing three simple tips that will make a bigger difference in your homeschool than which curriculum you buy.

Tip #1: Prepare Yourself Before You Prepare for School

There are moms like yourself that spend weeks organizing books, labeling bins, printing out schedules — but almost no time preparing themselves. What kind of mom do you want to be this year? Peaceful? Flexible? Intentional? Joyful? You really do need to decide that before you move forward, because when you are ready, your kids will automatically follow along.

I want to strongly encourage you to take a CEO homeschool planning date. I used to do this. I still remember one particular planning date — we were living in Idaho, and there was a coffee shop called Bootser's. I went up there for a whole Saturday morning and worked on things to prepare for our homeschool that year.

Get somewhere you can be by yourself with a notebook and a calendar. You're not going to plan the whole year — I don't even understand when people say they plan the whole year in a day. What if your child, three weeks in, doesn't understand the Pythagorean theorem and you've got to go back? Plan an overall idea of what you'll cover each month, but the weekly details? Plan one or two weeks at a time. Life happens. My past two weeks, I had no idea I was going to spend two weeks helping my mom recover from surgery. That just wasn't what we expected. But I had the freedom and the blessing to go be there for her.

One of the most important things you can do before that planning date is pray. Ask God what He wants you to do, how to plan for this year, what is special about each of your children right now. When mom is prepared emotionally, the whole homeschool changes.

Charlotte Mason was having dinner at her home once and asked her guests — what is the most important thing in your home? Someone said bookcases. Someone said the cradle. She said no. Space is the most precious thing, because that will help you clarify your attitude and create a life-giving atmosphere.

Mom, a life-giving atmosphere starts with you. For some of you that may mean purging the clutter. Have a garage sale before September. Maybe it means getting rid of some extra activities — even that tournament team your kids are on. You need to look and see what is really life-giving and what will make a lifelong impact on your children.

Charlotte Mason said — education is an atmosphere, a discipline of life. And a mother's attitude shapes the home more than the curriculum you choose. She spent enormous time preparing mothers, not just preparing lessons.

Tip #2: Create Traditions Your Kids Will Remember

Almost all of you get on social media and take a first-day-of-school photo — and those are cute, I love them too. But I want to challenge you to create at least one tradition that goes deeper than a photo.

My mom took each of us four kids out for an individual back-to-school lunch before school started. I still remember sitting in a little restaurant in the mall with the windows open where you could watch people walk by. We'd go buy school supplies after lunch. I do this with my grandkids now — usually Jason's Deli because they can get a free ice cream cone with their meal.

But the number one tradition in our home? Ice cream sundaes for breakfast on the first day of school. The first year I did this, my kids came to the table and their eyes got wide as saucers. Hunter, the youngest, as a senior in high school, still expected ice cream sundaes. Last year I started it with my grandkids, and they came downstairs and were thrilled — because they'd heard all about it from their parents.

These weren't educational moments. But they are something my children remember. And something my grandkids are already hearing about and looking forward to.

Choose one tradition this year — not ten, just one. Maybe it's pancakes shaped like their age. Maybe it's donuts with dad. Maybe it's a special prayer or a family blessing over the children on the first day. Maybe it's a lunch date or buying something new.

You see, God knows children remember experiences better than lectures. In Deuteronomy 6, God created annual family traditions around Israel's calendar. In Joshua 4, they built a stone memorial so that when children asked, what do these stones mean, the parents could tell the story of what God had done.

I have a memory from 50 years ago — I was in a high school youth group, we went to Colorado, we were studying Joshua, and we each brought back a small stone and built a stone memorial in the churchyard. I don't know if it's still there. But I still have that memory. That's the thing about memories. They come back and jog your mind. What experiences are you giving your children?

Tip #3: Don't Choose Curriculum Until You Know Your Family

Many of you are going backwards. You're choosing the curriculum first and then trying to fit your family into it. Instead of asking what curriculum should I buy, ask these questions first.

Who are my children? How do they learn? What season is our family in? What kind of homeschool do I want?

If you're homeschooling a six and eight-year-old while a two and four-year-old are running around, that is going to look completely different than when those older ones are teenagers. You need to know your family before you ever start choosing homeschool curriculum.

What is your personality? Are you willing to change something if it's not working for your kids? I remember using a particular math program all the way through, but when it came to algebra, it just was not clicking for one of our kids. I changed it and found something that worked. Are you so tied to the choices you already made that you'd fit the child into the curriculum instead of the other way around?

What is your family's schedule? Do you have special needs in your family? How big is your house? What is your stress level? Just because your friend loves a curriculum doesn't mean it will be right for your family.

Before buying anything, write down these three questions for each of your children. What is one strength of this child? What is one struggle of this child? What do I want this child to love this year? Then buy the curriculum.

Maria Montessori developed her educational ideas at the turn of the 20th century by observing children before she ever created any materials. She didn't begin with the curriculum — she began with the child and their needs. Her students became confident, enthusiastic, and self-directed learners. They had the tools of learning. They could think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly. Great educators always start with the learner, not the program.

What You Actually Need

As I've talked to hundreds of homeschool moms, I've realized something. You don't need another curriculum recommendation. What you need is encouragement. You need a community of other people walking beside you. You need accountability.

So instead of asking what should we study, ask — who are we becoming as a family? What atmosphere do I want in our home? What traditions will my kids remember? What actually fits our family — not everyone else's?

Those questions will shape your homeschool far more than another curriculum purchase. Moms don't need more curriculum. They need support. You don't need another planner — you need confidence. You don't need more information — you need community.

If you'd like to hear first when our new homeschool support community opens — with a special founding member discount — join the waitlist at howtohomeschoolmychild.com/wait. The link is in the show notes wherever you're listening.

And if you're watching on YouTube, would you please leave a comment and let me know your biggest takeaway? What is the one thing you're going to implement this week as you plan for your next homeschool year?