Plan to Be Flexible: Designing A Homeschool Year and Daily Schedule That Works for Your Family

by Alicia Kazsuk

Are you overwhelmed by the incredible challenge of homeschooling in the real world? Is it possible to have rewarding school days in the midst of doctor’s appointments, errands, laundry piles and extracurricular activities? Absolutely! Let Plan to Be Flexible show you how. Born out of one homeschool mom’s struggles to find order and peace, reading this book is like having coffee with another mom that has “been there, done that.” This encouraging book balances “tales from the trenches” with a step-by-step approach to goal making and schedule planning that works. You • Analyze what’s working (and what’s not) in your homeschool • Learn the fine art of living within (but not under) a schedule • Develop a living, flexible curriculum plan for each student • Discover how to homeschool with joy and freedom Full of practical ideas, real-life stories and tons of additional resources, this book is an invaluable tool to establish a flexible yet goal-oriented homeschool lifestyle!

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting

188 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2013

Reviews

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Not a secular resource.


I was disappointed with this right off the bat. I was looking for something helpful for planning our homeschooling journey (and I want to be as flexible as possible with everything going on right now) but this starts out with a mom who hires a teenage homeschooler to teach her kids and then mentions religion over and over and over even though it ISN'T mentioned in the synopsis at all. With how much religion is mentioned in this (almost every other sentence on some pages) you'd think that would have been included in the description or title. The religious mentions peter off after the first few 'chapters' but this was still more personal anecdotal stories and common sense questions to ask yourself than anything useful, and even though I skimmed the entire thing I didn't find any of it to be very helpful.

[Emily Kleykamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is easy to read and has easy actionable steps, but I felt like it could have been trimmed down a bit more and they was a lot of religious stuff added with was fine but didn't seem to contribute much to the book.

[Kadi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am using her spreadsheet template, but other than that I feel like this book was all common sense.

Also all the uses of bold, italics, and quotation marks was laughable and distracting.

[Dawnita Fogleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plan to Be Flexible brought tears to my eyes within the first few pages. Sometimes just knowing someone else understands the difficulties we face as Homeschooling moms is comfort in itself. Alicia Kazsuk understands. She reminds us to keep the finish line in sight. This isn't a sweet sympathetic "How to Succeed in 3 Easy Steps" kind of book. At the same time, this isn't a book that's going to make you feel guilty, unqualified or 'judged' for your failures so far. Let's face it, we have all (if we've been Homeschooling more than 10 minutes) failed at some point. Homeschooling is NOT easy and NONE of us are born with the patience to do it. HE works patience in us through each painful step, rewarding us with the smiles and sparkling eyes of our beautiful children. What Alicia does do in this book is give you questions to evaluate YOUR family and situation and steps to create a plan that fits God's will for YOUR situation. You will be able to go through this again and again as your life changes with each season of parenting, Homeschooling, and personal spiritual growth. This will be a regular reference in our home. I will have it listed next to each of my "go to" books for each school year planning session. I've got about 10 years more to go, and I'm hear to tell you, I haven't got it all 'figured out' yet!

[Brandy Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offering practical suggestions for planning a homeschool rhythm that works for your family, Plan to Be Flexible provides advice and encouragement for new and seasoned homeschoolers. It includes suggestions for establishing goals, developing a curriculum plan, and finding your family's rhythm instead of sticking to hard-set schedules. Each chapter includes an action plan along with questions for you to analyze what works (and doesn't work) for your family. While I felt like so much of this book was written from my perspective and experience in homeschooling (in learning to let go of plans and enjoy a bit of spontaneity in our school days), I gleaned some fresh ideas for planning to be flexible. Great book to reference as we plan for a new school year!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

an easy fast read to tell you that it will all be ok. as a parent (of five) I've already had to learn to be flexible. the examples of incorporating homeschooling into this flexibility were beneficial. also I love the part where she talked about people asking if school was out in the spring or in in the fall. We don't homeschool yet but I can totally relate because when my kids are home we are still learning and taking it all in. We are still reading and discussing and searching for answers. that never stops. learning should never stop.