When it comes to homeschooling several children, things like keeping track of assignment lists get very complicated. As a homeschooling mom of seven, planning assignment lists can be a real time-eater.

A monthly assignment list is a checklist of lessons by the subject that the child works on independently. It is given to the child to track what they have completed and includes the due date. Over time this compels the child to become more independent and learn to manage their time effectively.

When it comes to lesson planning and assignments, I have tried about every trick in the book! The biggest challenge when it comes to this part of our homeschool is how much time this takes me.

I have tried to do it on a daily basis. The problem with doing it this way is I build our schedule in a way where I need them to be independent first thing in the morning. Usually, I am working to finish dinner preparations, my morning routine, and/or working with one of my littles, so stopping everything to give them their assignments is not a realistic expectation.

I have tried to do it weekly. The problem with this way is that I spend about two hours putting it all together and then inevitably on Monday something happens and our entire week is thrown off. At this point, I’m in tears because I have wasted all the planning time and now I have to spend even more time coming up with plans B, C, and D. Can you relate?

So I started doing it on a monthly basis and it works for us. Once a month I sit down and look at the following factors:

• Our monthly schedule
• The pace of the curriculum
• Areas of struggle and success
• The due date

Our Monthly Schedule

We have a family calendar that we track all of our vacations and appointments. The first thing I do is pull it out for review. I am going to calculate how many days we have available to do school work. If we are scheduled to go on a vacation for a week, I need to take that time into consideration when I am planning our month.

I count the days we have available and calculate how much I anticipate they can get done in the subjects I’ve selected for the monthly assignments list.

For example, I have counted we have 16 school days available from now until our next due date and so I am going to plan to have 16 math lessons, 16 pages of grammar, 16 pages of handwriting. My general rule of thumb is one lesson/page per day for each of these subjects. However, I adjust what is required based on the level of work or time needed to complete the assignments.

The Pace of the Curriculum

I think all of us homeschool parents worry about finishing the curriculum on time but that is the subject of another blog post. I will say this, as the kiddos get older, I have to keep an eye on where they are so they are successfully positioned to start high school.

Also, I have one in high school and I need him to finish certain things at certain points so we can stay on track. I am weighing this against the time he will have available to work.

CrewTip: The Concept Behind My Crazy

Try to consider what will overwhelm your child. My personal goal is to be a good leader and I want them to fill like they can do this. Of course, in the beginning, it will be overwhelming no matter what you do. They are going to have to learn to manage themselves and that is going to take some time and guidance from you as the parent. In the long run, it will pay off, I promise!

Areas of Struggle and Success

Our kiddos all have those subjects they excel in and then they have those they struggle through which is all very normal. Right now, my middles are learning double-digit multiplication. It is taking them more time to complete their math lessons as they are learning to calculate and recalculate. This is something I must consider because I am going to have to slow it down a little so they don’t feel so overwhelmed.

On the flip side of that, once they have mastered a concept and are flying through the work, I will assign a little extra so that we can slow down when we need too.

The Due Date

Why should we consider when the list is due? Because we will need to have another one ready to go! This is another point where I refer to my calendar to see when I am available to put another one together. Typically, it takes me about two hours to do.

Who Uses the Monthly Checklists?

I use the monthly assignment lists for all my children who can read. I even put one together for my kindergartner and preschooler but I manage those myself. My kindergartner is aware of the list but she doesn’t work it independently.

For my middles (ages 8, 9, and 10), I hand them the list and work it with them. Bella, age 10, rarely needs any help from me managing her list because she is excellent at time management. She is one who has her work done way before the due date and so I must plan accordingly by increasing some of her work. I also put her in charge of checking some work for her siblings and working with the littles on their letters and numbers.

Andy, age 9, has gotten a lot better with managing his time but I have to keep a close eye on it or he will not be done. I meet with him a couple of times a week to check work and plan what needs to be done by the next time we meet. I try to ask him what he thinks he can get done and then guide him to increase or decrease the goals according to the time I know he will have. I am trying to teach him to pace himself for success and develop realistic expectations.

Alex, age 9, does a good job of getting the list done. I do have to keep a close eye on the quality of work that he does. He is very fast and so that leads to lots of redos. I meet with him a couple of times a week and require the redo’s to be done by the next time we meet. I am trying to let him learn to set his own pace while being mindful of how much time he has left.

Randa, age 8, is quite new to this concept. I just promoted her up to managing her own list and she’s doing quite well. She likes to do the easy subjects first which leads to not wanting to do the rest because it’s too hard. I am meeting with her a couple of times per week to teach her to do a little bit of each subject every day so it’s not so overwhelming.

Sam, age 16, is an old pro at these lists so I do not have to monitor his pace at all. I meet with him a couple of times a week in order to offer guidance where he needs it. We started this behavior with him when he was around ten years old and it has paid off!

Checking Progress

As you can see, I meet with them a couple of times a week so I can check their work and tutor them where they need it. I have made the mistake of waiting until the due date when I found a lot of errors or misunderstood concepts. It doesn’t motivate them to do this method when they have to redo a bunch of work Trust me! That is not the way to go!

The monthly checklist is like a map that guides you through the month so you don’t have to think about what needs to be done, you can just do it.

Incentives for Accomplishing It

I do offer a perk if they get it done by the due date. Extra free time! On the due date, if they have finished their checklist and I have approved it, they get a free day. However, if it is not done, then they have to use the extra free time to do it. During this free day, can you guess what I’m doing? Yep! The new monthly checklists!

You can offer whatever incentive motivates your child. I like the free day because it doesn’t cost me anything and I can work to get the next month’s list done so that’s a perk for me too.

How to Set the Lists Up

The subjects we use the monthly checklists for are:

• Math
• Grammar
• Handwriting

Sam, our high schooler, adds the following subjects to his list of independent work:

• Latin
• Science
• Digital Media

The rest of our school subjects are taught together as a family in a unit study form but they may have some homework from those studies at times.

I set up each child’s monthly checklist by entering in the subject in the first column. I write the assignments in the second column. The third column is for the child to track their progress by marking complete when they have finished it. The fourth column is for the parent or teacher to initial or mark they have approved it. At that point, the work can be filed away so it is not lost.

FREE Monthly Assignment Checklist: Download Here

Every child in our family is assigned a color for everything they have like toothbrushes, cups, and school binders and so the monthly assignment list is no different. I color coordinate them and print them off. I make any copies of the curriculum they need to complete and put them in their binders along with the checklists. Theoretically, this prevents the school work from being spread from one end of the house to the other but they are kids! We all know how that goes! I want to have everything ready to go, so when they are scheduled to work nothing is holding them back.

How to Implement the Monthly Assignments

Whenever I am making a change or introducing something new, I call a family meeting. In this case, I called them to the table, handed out the monthly assignment checklist, and any copies I had made. I discuss the assignment list and make sure everyone understands when they are due. Then I let them organize their school work in their binders all by themselves, so they can have it the way they would like it.

I believe in simplifying things as much as I can. If I can reduce my stress then I am a better mom and that is my goal!

Thanks for reading!