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folklaur
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| Posted: Dec 29 2007 at 12:01pm | IP Logged
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Hi,
Okay, this started with thoughts stemming from my planner post. And then I was bopping around on blogs last night, and seeing how people are doing plans for the upcoming year, etc....
And, I have to ask, because I am GREAT at following lesson plans, but kinda horrible at trying to pull them together myself! - but some of you pull together such AMAZING plans & lessons - HOW do you do it? Were you just born with this amazing creative and organizational gene, or is there a way to LEARN to do this? I look at Serendipity, or LaPaz Home Learning, or By Sun & Candlelight....and I want to know how you guys DO it!
Do you start with an idea, and then get books, search the internet? Do your kids give you the ideas? Or how to get them excited about what you have come up with? How to switch gears if it isn't working (and not feel like you spent all this time planning so you refuse to switch gears)? How do you plan it out?
Can you give me a glimpse into how your brains work, please?
I know I should be able to do this - but I get so overwhelmed!
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Maryan
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| Posted: Dec 29 2007 at 4:16pm | IP Logged
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I go to above mentioned blogs (and more) and do what they say. 
__________________
Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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folklaur
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| Posted: Dec 29 2007 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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Maryan wrote:
| I go to above mentioned blogs (and more) and do what they say. |
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Dec 29 2007 at 5:55pm | IP Logged
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I don't do anything original, as I am more than a little bit challenged in this area.  I take materials I like and I shamelessly copy the formats! Seriously.
I plan 1 week book units using the formats in Mosaic and FIAR. You could do the same thing with Beyond FIAR, too.
I have copied SL's format for years. I decide how many days/weeks I want to school that subject, I pick the books I like, count the chapters or pages and break it up. Then I add in the readers/read alouds where they fit chronologically and then fill in the "holes". I used the Middle School Lesson Plans that CHC sells and copied/modified their 7th and 8th grade format and wrote a 9th grade American History syllabus. I use the same 4 or 5 catalogues for book choices as they have always worked for me.
I also read boards where people who are *good* at lesson planning post their website finds and ideas and bookmark everything. The FIAR boards are great for this (elem. level). I buy lapbook kits because I am not yet ready to copy someone else's format(lapbooking is new for me this year).
Another thing I've done is to fuse two or more programs I like into one program that works for me. This year I planned Mosaic books once a week along with Elizabeth Foss's First Communion Notebook plans and about 3/4 of CHC's First Communion Lesson Plans. I fit in the parts I wanted to use over 30 weeks on a 4 day a week basis and its working great.
You don't have to be good at planning. You just have to understand how great plans are put together.
__________________
Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Dec 29 2007 at 8:41pm | IP Logged
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Well, I am flattered to be included, but assure you I am nowhere near in the league of Dawn or the Serendipity team when it comes to planning.
And I really wish I could tell you I had a certain method to my madness, but in all honesty, there is much more madness than method to my planning! It truly is different every time I sit down to do it.
Sometimes I am inspired by a book, sometimes by a certain subject, by nature, by my children's interests or my own. Sometimes I plan around projects, sometimes by theme, sometimes by subject.
Sometimes the plans come to me fully formed and I just jot them down, and sometimes I mull over them for months before I have an idea where they will go. And sometimes we are totally winging it with a simple idea and the will to follow where it leads.
I think the only fairly consistent thing is the level of flexibility I allow. I am ALWAYS open to change, no matter how much thought goes into the planning. I try very hard not to get personally invested in the plans because one of the things I value most about homeschooling is the ability to be adaptable to my children's needs. If something I've planned isn't working for my kids I assure you I have no trouble dumping it like yesterday's diapers.
Now, sometimes I will just try a different approach first, before completely dumping and running. I do believe that any topic can be salvaged and made relevant if presented properly. So sometimes plans just get reworked until they fit better.Sometimes the answer is just to try again at another time.
And now I feel after all this typing like this hasn't been helpful at all. I guess the fact is that I am still working on this myself, still evolving and looking for my own niche.
I do hope some others will chime in here and be more coherent than me!LOL!
__________________
Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Dec 31 2007 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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Maryan wrote:
| I go to above mentioned blogs (and more) and do what they say. |
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Yup Me too!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Martha
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| Posted: Dec 31 2007 at 12:02pm | IP Logged
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I will not buy books!
I will not buy books!
I will not buy books!
Which means I am taking what I've got and finishing one thing at a time or one theme at a time for now.
Our current goal is religion daily and:
oldest child does 3 lessons of math per day and is working on home management
2nd dc is working through his human body science study for hte semester and grading older db's math lessons
When the two oldest are done with the above, they will trade their work assignments.
3rd and 4th dc are working on math and grammar/writing
5th dc is working on math, cursive, and reading.
6th dc is math and begining phonics
7th dc is working on letters and numbers and osmosis learning
8th dc is quietly dismanteling the house while everyone else does the above.
My plan is to see them do the above in relatively clean clothes and somewhat full bellies anything beyond that is just a pleasant surprize.
__________________
Martha
mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
Yes, they're all ours!
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: So - HOW do you plan?
