Happy New Year! I hope you and your family enjoyed a meaningful holiday season and are ready to start 2025! Many people use the New Year to start fresh, make resolutions, or begin something life-changing. I like to consider the turning of the year as my homeschool’s mid-year reset and make goals for the remainder of the year.
Setting goals for your homeschool provides many benefits, including helping you stay mindful of where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there. I find it helpful to hold two dedicated goal-setting sessions each year: one at the beginning of the school year and another mid-year. The mid-year session serves as a valuable check-in to assess progress, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments to anything that isn’t working. While homeschooling thrives on flexibility and allows for changes as needed, having clear, well-communicated goals keeps the whole family on the same page and ensures a focused, intentional approach to learning.
Taking Stock of Your Homeschool
The first step in my mid-year reset is to celebrate our successes and identify what routines are proving effective. I tend to ask myself questions about each subject such as:
- Are we enjoying ____?
I like to reflect on this question for myself and also ask my children for their input. Including them in these reflections often provides insights I might not have considered. For example, last year, we discovered how much we were enjoying our history curriculum. It became a part of the day everyone looked forward to, and I knew it was something we wanted to prioritize for the second half of the year. - Are the kids learning enough from____?
The main goal of homeschooling is to provide a meaningful education for our children. This question helps me evaluate whether our current choices are truly adding value to their overall learning. By reflecting on this, I can identify areas that may need review, determine if a subject requires more rigor, or decide if supplemental materials are needed. It also informs my curriculum decisions for the next school year. For instance, during last year’s mid-year reset, I realized that my oldest (10 at the time) wasn’t gaining enough from our science curriculum. This insight allowed me to incorporate supplemental materials for the second half of the year and ultimately led me to choose a new curriculum for the 2024–2025 school year. - Do I need to supplement often with ____?
As I teach, I keep a notebook handy to jot down concepts my kids might need extra practice with. Whether it’s finding free resources or weaving related questions into our daily lives, this helps strengthen their understanding. Reflecting on this question and reviewing my notes allows me to spot trends—like frequently supplementing the same subject—which might signal the need for a curriculum change or an online program. For example, in the 2024–2025 school year, I noticed my son’s math curriculum required constant review and extra practice, leading me to decide on a curriculum switch. - How much time are we spending on ____?
One of my main goals in homeschooling, especially during the Grammar stage, is to give my children more childhood. I want them to have ample time to create, explore, read leisurely, and strengthen our family bond. This makes it crucial to ensure we’re not spending unnecessary time on any one subject. I aim to keep lessons under 45 minutes, and if a subject consistently runs over, I don’t immediately drop it or the curriculum. Instead, I reassess how to manage it more effectively for the second half of the year. This might mean splitting one lesson into two, adding the subject to a loop schedule, or streamlining the curriculum by focusing only on what’s essential and leaving out the rest. - Is ____ adding value to our day?
I prioritize keeping activities and resources that genuinely add value to our day—those that we enjoy and that teach important values like honesty, courage, and logical thinking. Asking this question helps me reflect on the core values our family has set and ensures that the education we’re customizing aligns with those principles. If I find myself frequently skipping assigned readings due to conflicting messages or avoiding workbook sections I don’t agree with, it’s a clear sign that replacements are needed. This helps us stay true to what matters most to our family while maintaining a meaningful and engaging learning environment. - Is there pushback to complete ____?
This is a crucial question during a mid-year reset because it can help make the second half of the school year more enjoyable for both you and your children. If a particular subject or curriculum consistently results in pushback, it’s often a sign that it might not be the right fit. I make a point to ask my children why they feel resistance toward completing a subject—understanding their perspective helps me identify what isn’t working and find solutions. Whether it’s adjusting the approach, supplementing with different materials, or replacing the curriculum entirely, I remind myself that homeschooling is about flexibility. We have the freedom to let go of what’s causing stress and discover what works best for our family.
Asking these questions allows me to step back from my own assumptions and gain a clearer perspective on what’s truly working for our homeschool. This reflection helps me make intentional, informed decisions about how to structure the second half of the school year in a way that supports both our educational goals and family dynamics.
Identifying What’s Not Working
The next step in my mid-year reset is to identify what isn’t working in our homeschool. I approach this process with a positive and open mindset, reminding myself that challenges are not failures but opportunities to discover better solutions. For example, just last year, I realized mid-year that both my children’s math and science curricula weren’t meeting our needs. While making a switch felt daunting at first, it turned out to be the right choice. We found replacements that not only brought joy to our homeschool but also became invaluable resources in supporting my teaching and their learning.
While I don’t have a specific list of questions to guide this step, the reflections from the first part of my mid-year reset usually make it clear what isn’t working. I use this time to identify areas that need supplements, replacements, or adjustments. Whether it’s tweaking a curriculum, improving a routine, or finding new resources, this step helps ensure that the second half of our school year is more aligned and on track
What Still Needs Accomplished?
At the start of every school year, we set goals, plan projects, and outline field trips. During my mid-year reset, I revisit these goals to evaluate our progress. If there are still field trips to take or projects to start, I try to pencil in dates to ensure they’re completed. Some of the goals we set are more abstract, such as fostering character development, which isn’t easily tracked. However, the reflections from the first step of my reset often highlight what is still adding value and reveal areas where I can better focus on these goals moving forward.
Involving Your Kids
Hearing my children’s thoughts and opinions about their homeschool experience is one of the most valuable parts of my mid-year reset. I want to nurture their love for learning, and understanding how they feel about the first half of the year is key to achieving that. I keep this process simple by asking a few questions:
- What is your current favorite subject?
- What activity have you enjoyed this year?
- Is there anything you wish we could spend more time on?
- What are you most proud of learning this year?
- Is there a subject or topic you are looking forward to learning?
These questions often spark meaningful discussions about the subjects and activities we’ve covered. Their answers not only provide insight into what’s working but also help me shape the second half of the year in a way that keeps them engaged and excited about learning. Ultimately, I want every discovery to bring joy and curiosity.
Practical Goal-Setting Tips
Goal setting is one of my favorite activities, not just for homeschooling but in all areas of my life. I enjoy creating both short-term and long-term goals because it allows me to focus on the big picture while identifying the small, actionable steps needed to get there. I like to structure most of my goals using the SMART method: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
For the second half of the school year, a few of my goals include: making more flashcards for Latin, science, and math. My kids enjoy decorating their flashcards, and it’s a fantastic way to review material in a creative and hands-on way. Another goal is to increase the number of books we read as a family. Right now, we read one book aloud or listen to an audiobook together, and each child has a shared reader. I’d love to add a biography or fiction book to our daily read-aloud time to enrich our learning experience and family bonding.
Budget-Friendly Planning
Sometimes during a mid-year reset, I realize I’m adding a lot of items to my list that need to be purchased or replaced. It’s important to acknowledge that not everything may fit within our budget. That’s why the next step in my mid-year reset is assessing what we can afford and making a plan for items that fall outside our budget.
I start by creating a detailed list of everything that needs to be bought or replaced. For each item, I note the cost, its priority, and whether it’s urgent. Once my list is organized, I ask myself a few key questions to make thoughtful and budget-friendly decisions:
- Can I reuse something I own or adapt a current resource?
- Can I borrow from the library or a friend/ co-op?
- Is these a free or inexpensive online tool?
For example, earlier this year, my son completed his math curriculum much earlier than expected, and it wasn’t in our budget to purchase the next level right away. Instead, I adapted materials we already owned and supplemented with free online worksheets and math games to keep his skills sharp. This allowed me to continue teaching math effectively without exceeding our budget.
Remember This
A mid-year reset might feel overwhelming at first, but I hope my approach helps make the process feel more manageable. If you’ve never tried a mid-year reset before, I challenge you to give it a shot and see how it can transform the second half of your school year.
Homeschooling is all about flexibility and freedom—embrace the opportunity to keep what works and adjust what doesn’t. Remember, you’ve got this, Momma! Progress over perfection, especially when it comes to your homeschool journey.