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It's early December and I'm already done with my Christmas cards.  To be fair, I have a LOT of Christmas cards to write!  Still, it's a  "wee bit" early to be doing that.  What are the consequences of not working on your Christmas cards early?  Nothing much.  You might conceivably not get them out on time, I suppose.  I have lots of friends that don't send cards out on time, and I'm not offended.  I even have some friends that will reliably send me Christmas cards during the "off season" - one even sends cards out sometime in June!  I'm not offended.  I know lots of families that don't send Christmas cards at all, not even to family and their closest friends. That doesn't offend me.  I just like working ahead on my Christmas cards, that's all.  It's no big deal.  If you don't work on yours early, nothing bad will happen.

Sometimes working ahead really DOES matter.    Like working on course descriptions regularly.

What happens if you don't start working on your course descriptions?  If you are late providing homeschool records, your child might miss out on college admission.  Without thorough documentation through course descriptions, you may miss out on college scholarships.  The difference between paying full price for college (for example, say $30,000 per year for four years, totally $120,000) and getting a good scholarship may boil down to your ability to plan ahead.  If your child receives a 50% scholarship, you might save $60,000 on college!  Is planning ahead worth $60,000 to you?

Read what Lisa wrote to me:

Subject: Course Description Emergency!
I thought I had it all together until I found out I needed to write those dreaded course descriptions. Unfortunately, I recently donated most of my books to our homeschool library so I can't even look at the table of contents. Of course, I need to send these off tomorrow! ~ Lisa

She needed her course descriptions TOMORROW.  She didn't know they would be expected - we often don't know EXACTLY what each college will want from us. It's not her fault!  But if you plan ahead and work on your course descriptions, you won't be faced with the insurmountable task at the worst possible time.  Instead, you'll be prepared for anything.

Christmas cards do not need to be written in November.  It's not important. Course descriptions do need to be written each year.  It really IS important.


Do you need a speaker at your next homeschool conference?  Talk to your conference coordinator about having me come.  I would love to meet you in person!  Here is a list of my speaking topics, or you can read my profile on the Homeschool Speakers Bureau.