How to Prepare for Your Homeschool Year: First Day vs. Last First Day
What does your first year of homeschooling look like next to your very last one? In this episode of Everyday Educator, host Delise sits down with Kelli Wilt — former public school teacher, Challenge 4 director, and homeschool mom finishing her family’s 18-year journey — as one mom celebrates her son’s very first day of Classical Conversations and the other marks her daughter’s last first day of community.
Kelli shares how one throwaway line in a friend’s Christmas newsletter led to an information meeting, to Leigh Bortins’ The Core, and to a community she stayed in for reasons much bigger than curriculum. Delise, a classically educated homeschool graduate, explains why watching CC teach her younger brother how to think convinced her to enroll her own boys. Then they get practical about preparing for the homeschool year: Kelli’s week-one bingo board for her Challenge 4 class (including thank-you notes to five people who shaped their faith), giving away books at the end of the cycle, freezer meals, and realistic expectations for laundry and chores; Delise’s handwritten morning plan with prayer and Scripture at the top, time limits as guardrails, testing rooms to find where your child learns best, and a prepped cart beside the school table. Both name the traps to avoid — comparison, “a quiet thief,” and hurrying past moments like a surprise caterpillar.
Whether you’re on your first lap or your final one, you’ll walk away reminded that your homeschool doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s to be a good one — your calling is faithfulness, not control. Grab a tissue, and share this one with a mom who needs some wind in her sails.
This episode of Everyday Educator is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child
The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Your homeschool community can be part of this global mission by packing gift-filled shoeboxes full of quality toys, school supplies, and personal care items that are sent to children in over 100 countries. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the local church worldwide to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations. Make Operation Christmas Child part of your school year leading up to National Collection Week November 16-23.
Learn more about Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child
