Herding Cats, but with Lesson Plans
Curriculum planning for a homeschool business sounds like a Pinterest board dream—color-coded schedules, perfectly stacked books, and smiling kids writing essays about the Renaissance. In reality? It’s a balancing act of logistics, creativity, and occasionally wondering why you thought teaching medieval history and algebra in the same day was a good idea.
But fear not! Whether you’re running a microschool, a co-op, or crafting your own curriculum for families, there’s a method to the madness. And yes, it can even be fun (especially with coffee and a few spreadsheets).
First Things First: Know Thy People
Every curriculum begins with one essential ingredient: your learners. A homeschool business isn’t just about what you want to teach—it’s about who you’re teaching and why. Are your families looking for secular science? Hands-on learning? College-prep? Minecraft-based history? (Hey, no judgment.)
Start with:
- Ages and stages – What grades or age groups are you serving?
- Learning styles and needs – Are there special education supports, gifted learners, or neurodivergent students in your group?
- Educational philosophy – Classical? Unschooling? Charlotte Mason with a twist of STEM?
Getting a solid profile of your learners makes curriculum planning less “throw spaghetti at the wall” and more “tailored educational feast.”
Build Backward: Start with the End in Mind
Yes, it sounds like a life coach slogan, but it works. What do you want your students to know or be able to do by the end of the year/session/unit? Start there.
- Create goals and outcomes – “Understand Newton’s laws,” “Write a persuasive essay,” or “Explain photosynthesis without crying.”
- Match content to goals – Choose materials, topics, or activities that support those learning targets.
- Make room for mastery – Leave space for review, reflection, and those inevitable rabbit trails (because “just one video on volcanoes” turns into three hours of lava lamp experiments).
Choose Your Weapons (aka Curriculum Materials)
You’ve got the learners and the goals. Now it’s time to pick the resources. Whether you’re DIYing everything or curating from existing programs, focus on:
- Secular, inclusive materials – Especially important in diverse homeschool businesses.
- Flexible formats – Think digital + print, asynchronous + live, visual + audio. Everyone learns a little differently.
- Support materials – Answer keys, pacing guides, and teacher manuals are your best friends. Seriously. Hug them.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match. Many homeschool businesses thrive on a modular approach—custom courses built from several different programs that work together like a delicious educational stew.
Time, Space, and Sanity: The Logistics Side
Once you’ve got the what, it’s time to tackle the when and how.
- Make a pacing guide – Weekly? Monthly? Four-day weeks? Skeleton plans help keep things on track while leaving wiggle room.
- Plan for co-op or class formats – If you’re teaching in a group, factor in time for discussions, projects, and breaks (because 12-year-olds can only do so much poetry at 9 AM).
- Use scheduling tools – Google Sheets, Trello, a giant wall calendar—pick your poison. Keep it visible and revisable.
And here’s a tip: Overestimate how long things take. The “30-minute science lab” will become 90 minutes when you add setup, questions, and that one kid who has to narrate every step.
Revisit, Reflect, Revise
Even the best curriculum plan will need adjustments. That’s not failure—it’s feedback. Check in often with:
- Students and families – What’s working? What’s not?
- Instructors and facilitators – Do they need more support or resources?
- Your own gut – Trust your instincts. If something’s not landing, change it.
Give yourself the grace to pivot, drop what’s not working, and celebrate what is.
Curriculum Planning Is a Craft
Running a homeschool business means you’re part educator, part entrepreneur, and part mad scientist in a lab of books, brains, and business models. Curriculum planning is where your vision meets the real world—and with the right tools, it can be a powerful way to build a learning experience that works for everyone.
So, sharpen your pencils, fire up your planning app, and remember: it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be thoughtful, adaptable, and built with your learners in mind.
And maybe have snacks. Snacks always help.
