Organizing Your Homeschool for the New Year Using Trello

Published:
January 4, 2021

Abby Banks

Contributor:
Abby Banks

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

If you’ve tried all the paper planner options and they just haven’t worked for you, then consider going digital in your planning this year. Here are three key areas for organizing homeschool for the new year using Trello.

Trello is a free online list-making application that allows you to visually keep track of information and tasks. The beauty of using Trello is that it will take the place of your having to use multiple paper lists and sticky notes. It’s also easy enough to use that you can teach your kids. That way, everyone in the family can have a paperless way to track schedules, chores, assignments, and projects.

iPhone and planner

So, the first step is to sign up for a FREE Trello account. Next, consider using it to organize these three main areas that many homeschoolers struggle with.

Of course, you can also use it to organize any other lists that you need. Things like:

  • menus
  • book lists
  • gift lists
  • family goals
  • household repairs
  • work-related lists
  • and more!

But for now, let’s narrow in on organizing our homeschool schedules, chores, and all those digital resources!

Organizing Homeschool Schedules & Routines

If your kids don’t have any way of knowing what comes next in the natural flow of your homeschool day, then consider how Trello can keep everyone on track. Many of us homeschoolers realize that trying to force a strict traditional school schedule onto our homeschools is pointless. We just don’t always do math from 8:30-9:00 everyday. So instead of strict schedules, routines usually work much better.

But how can you create a flow of routines and communicate that flow to your kids? Usually our best laid plans fail, not because we haven’t created a system, but because we don’t have a great way to communicate that system to our kids.

So this is where Trello really shines. The basic structure of Trello is called “boards.” I create one board for each of my kids. Then, I go in and add “cards” to the board for each of their subjects. They have a pile of cards for each day of the school week.

Trello allows you to check things off as you complete them, which is not only satisfying for your kids to see their progress, but it allows you to check up on them without nagging about schoolwork!

I know it’s hard to explain a visual tool without actually seeing it in action, so definitely hop on over to 4onemore.com to see multiple videos showing you the inside of Trello and how you can make it work for your homeschool scheduling.

Check out these additional posts for step-by-step instructions on using Trello to organize your homeschool routines and tasks:

Organizing Chores

After you have your homeschool routine organized on Trello, add in some chores! Seriously, many moms I know are missing out on teaching their children valuable life skills plus taking some thing off their own plate. When you delegate to your team, you’re more likely to be able to enjoy being at home with your kids instead of feeling a constant overwhelm.

Organizing chores on Trello simply means adding a chore card into each child’s daily list. 

If you’re ready to implement a chore system in your home to move yourself toward more productivity (because it’s not all on your shoulders alone), then here are the steps.

  • Decide which chores to delegate to the kids
  • Write them out on sticky notes (one chore per note for as many times as it needs done weekly)
  • Have the kids arrange them according to which days of the week they will do it. So, if you need dishwasher empty and filled five days per week, don’t let two kids be on the same day – unless you run it more than once daily!
  • Now transfer those chores onto a master calendar or their Trello boards
  • Set a monthly pay day and make sure you have the right change on hand (if you’re planning on giving an allowance for chores)

Check out our Chore System Set-up for more details about how to make it work for you.

Organizing Homeschool Digital Resources

This aspect of organizing on Trello has me very excited! I only recently started using Trello to organize our digital resources. But if you’re anything like me, you are constantly getting digital freebies or paying for products that you want to use in your homeschool. After a year or two of collecting, you may be so overwhelmed with the volume of resources that you don’t even use them with your kids.

So what’s the solution? Trello! Check out these videos for an inside peek into how Trello works well for this task.

And if you want a fabulous deal on digital homeschool resources, then you’ll be happy to know that this week only (January 4-11, 2021), the Celebrate It! Grab Bag is available for purchase. Limited-Time Holiday-Themed Content for Your HomeschoolIf you check out the contents of the Grab Bag and find that you will definitely use at least a few of the resources within the next year or two, then it’s a great deal at 97% off! But as soon as you purchase, make sure to use Trello to organize the digital resources so that you’ll be able to find them when you need them.