| Author | |
Mamamoon
Forum Rookie
Joined: Nov 21 2007
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 88
|
| Posted: July 09 2008 at 10:31am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
i am baffled~i survived my first year of homeschooling by simply opening up our books each day to see where we left off, and picked up from there.
right now i am feeling like i want to put some sort of planning system in place. i have been reading and re-reading dawn's posts on her file crate system (i even have the talk from the conference).
but what i can't figure out is how you plan week by week..... do you actually look at the mathbook for example, and look at how many lessons you will do that week, and write those lessons in your planner and file it for the week, then move to the next subject, do the same and so on.... for the whole year?? adding in holidays, feast days etc.?
whew!
or is it just general ideas and themes you want to hit on?
sorry if this has been over discussed, but i need to figure this out. i have the crate sitting right here, and i am ready for a change.
thank you!!
lisa
__________________
A firefighter's wife, and mama of two dancing princesses~
Creekside Wonder
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Tina P.
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 28 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1638
|
| Posted: July 09 2008 at 1:26pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
How old are your kids? It really makes a difference. With my younger kids, I get away with very little planning. Most of school is interest-led with a lot of strewing of books that I want them to read *or* for the very young, what I want to read to them. I try to rotate four topics per month: one saint book, one history book, one science book, and one book of that child's choice. OR we work on Five-In-A-Row or Beyond-Five-In-A-Row (harder for me to implement) which covers one subject a day. Math pages and light science experiments are high interest.
At around 5th or 6th grade, things tighten up around here. We work through a lesson per day of math four days per week. We usually have a fun math day once per week. We use a history text as a spine, only because I'm not wise about what comes next and I don't want to miss anything, but we fly off this spine to read relevant books. If we think of or can find (again) relevant projects to go along with the period in history, we do those as well. I'm beginning to see a need for a spine for science as well, since we're moving out of my favorite, natural science, into introductions to chemistry and physics. Religion is completely led by me. We cover St. Joseph's Catechism and each of four other components of catechism five days per week. I mix it up so the kids don't get that glazed, dull look. Art and music are sadly lacking, but I intend to incorporate serious study of composers and artists and practical art and music as well this year.
I loosely follow a schedule where the kids do their religion before breakfast (our morning prayers and then doing whatever each is doing for religion) and finish seatwork (anything workbookish) before lunch. They read history/science/biographies of artists and composers, conduct science experiments, and *do* art after lunch.
Sheesh, as I'm reading this, I'm thinking to myself that if I were new to homeschooling, this would be a bunch of gibberish to me. Does it make any sense at all?
__________________
Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: July 09 2008 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mamamoon
It is really an individual thing, some plan far ahead some don't. This I believe depends on a number of things, some of it is personality for some women they need/like to plan far ahead, some are more relaxed and some are like me planning from sheer necessity and yet not personality  
I've homeschooled now for over ten years and my approach; due to more children etc has changed, how I miss the days of not planning much  I still can't get a handle on Dawn's file folder system, I read it and re-read it and well am still baffled  I still only manage to plan a term at a time (ten weeks) never a whole year. It is an individual thing and as Tina has aptly said the ages of your children also has a bearing on it.
I don't see the need to write out maths in the way you are describing, we simply work our way through the book, I would perhaps think 'oh we need to do so many lessons to finish the book by said time' to have a general idea, although being prepared to be flexible where needed. It is more the themes, liturgical year, history and science that I plan in the way you are talking about. Well I do plan what we are doing for Language Arts but that is more an overview approach too not too detailed.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
PDyer
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 25 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1043
|
| Posted: July 09 2008 at 6:41pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mamamoon wrote:
| what i can't figure out is how you plan week by week..... |
|
|
I have a overall plan for what I think we're going to do during the year. I like predictability unless I want a change, but I don't 'wing it' well.
So I start out at the beginning of the year knowing I'm going to do XYZ math, for example. And then I stop "planning math" until the Saturday before the First Day of School (and every Saturday thereafter). At that point I know what my calendar looks like for the following week.
So then I'll pick up XYZ math and decide how much math we will likely accomplish (accounting for dr's appts, etc.) during the following week, and I'll write down the lessons. In the past I've made forms for this, but this year we're going to try the Good News Planner.
We may or may not get to all that math the following week, or we might do more. In any event, the next Saturday I again pick up where we left off and plan the following week. And so on.
This process works for us for the week to week stuff. I need to do a better job with my Dawn-inspired folders when it comes to liturgical year studies. I've tried to sit down at the beginning of the month and do a Themes and Plans paper of my own, but I've not been able to stick to it.
__________________
Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
Life at Home
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mamamoon
Forum Rookie
Joined: Nov 21 2007
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 88
|
| Posted: July 09 2008 at 9:14pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
thank you~
this is helpful, i love hearing how you all have your different ways of doing it. i found last year, i would plan the week before, but we did not get to all the things i thought we would for whatever reason, and i found that frustrating!
i like the planning out by term idea.
my daughter is 7 and the other is still doing preschool.
and we are doing mainly montessori w/wtm. so we are all over the place with curriculum.
lisa
__________________
A firefighter's wife, and mama of two dancing princesses~
Creekside Wonder
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
PDyer
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 25 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1043
|
| Posted: July 09 2008 at 10:12pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mamamoon wrote:
i found last year, i would plan the week before, but we did not get to all the things i thought we would for whatever reason, and i found that frustrating!
i like the planning out by term idea. my daughter is 7 and the other is still doing preschool. and we are doing mainly montessori w/wtm. so we are all over the place with curriculum. lisa |
|
|
My daughter will be seven this fall. Generally speaking for me, I tend to be too optimistic and think we'll get done "more". That's fine when I'm in a "oh we did great things, I'll just carry it over to next week" frame of mind, but when February comes I need to try to remember to back off a bit or I'll use the undone things to flog myself. Bad habit, but it's good to know I have it, right?
__________________
Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
Life at Home
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 6:38am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Lisa,
As others have rightly pointed out, planning is such an individual thing, and there are sooo many factors - number of children, season of life, homeschooling style, etc. And there's just no right or wrong way to plan, but it does evolve I'm finding. Some plan to a great deal of detail and over the years find that that doesn't work for them. Others plan very little and come to realize that planning affords them some security and direction with the year. Time is a very instructive teacher. I'm a relaxed homeschooler, but a fierce planner. If I don't plan, I feel like I can't be as relaxed as I would have been otherwise. I'm always 2 or 3 days behind a Feast Day thinking, "I could have celebrated that more intentionally...and I had everything here!"  I definitely don't let my plans dictate or define us! There is room for changing focus or shifting, and I'm ok with that! But having lived through a couple of survival years now I know the importance of not planning enough - it makes for a very unsettling year for me!
I'm trying Dawn's crate system for the first time this year, too!  I know one thing after doing this for 8 years - I HATE block planners! They just don't accomodate our style of learning.
So, planning weekly is doing just what you thought - grab your planner and a book and sit down and map out assignments for that week. My problem with that, what I hated about planning that way, is that it was Monday morning before I'd ever get around to planning, it was hard to reel the kids back in once I finished, and I was always playing catch-up. Consequently, favorite subjects and studies were constantly being bumped for core subjects to fit in.
Term planning is a step beyond that and does allow for a much broader vision of where you're going with the term, what kinds of things you'd like to do to get there, etc. You can block out an entire day or two of school and sit down with your plans and the calendar and whittle out the next term.
Planning for the year is a big leap of faith, and there are pros and cons to doing it. I like putting all of the important liturgical feasts on the calendar first! Makes a big difference. Then, I can look at the really big picture - not only where are we going with the term ('cause the term is just part of the year's journey), but where are we going for the year. I've found Dawn's file crate system a refreshing way to pull together all of my plans and resources. I'm not tied to a planbook! Freeing!  If I come across a neat idea for All Saints, I drop it in. If I need to remind myself that I really wanted to order seeds earlier this year, I might drop in a page from a favorite catalog with a note on it in the appropriate file. If I'm going through the picture books and I find a long forgotten book on pumpking picking - I make a note and stick it in under the appropriate season. I do a good bit of Montessori work - try planning that out on a spiral planner - ! I can assess work and set out presentations in files. I'll do this monthly this year.
I have everything in one place in my file crate - Liturgical Year Plans, Montessori presentations, Fine Arts plans, Nature Study plans, Core Subject Plans - as well as record keeping. I'm loving it!
One more thing - it never seems to come together until I just jump in and get my hands dirty. If I sit back and look at all the pieces, I find myself constantly squinting and wondering how this will work with this, or if it even will...I have to just get down to business to see it work. Does that make sense?
HTH!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 8:42am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Dawn's crate system! I had forgotten about that!
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 8:57am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Jennifer
A few questions; despite homeschooling for several years I am a newbie at planning; what do you mean by Block Planners and why do you hate them? Do you mind explaining the balance between a relaxed homeschooler and a fierce planner? How do you start a file folder?
Just a few
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
mimmyof5
Forum Pro
Joined: June 07 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 9:03am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Dawn's crate system? Is there a link to this? I have lots of crates.
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 10:01am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Here's the link to her file folder crate system, Janet  :
Dawn's File Folder Crate System
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 10:23am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Erin wrote:
Jennifer
A few questions; despite homeschooling for several years I am a newbie at planning; what do you mean by Block Planners and why do you hate them? Do you mind explaining the balance between a relaxed homeschooler and a fierce planner? How do you start a file folder?
Just a few |
|
|
Whew! You pack a punch in a few short lines, Erin! Ok - lemme give it a stab.
First...Dawn's File Crate System
Quote:
| what do you mean by Block Planners and why do you hate them? |
|
|
You know, those spiral bound planners with the days of the week across the top, and blocks to list subjects down the side. I was struggling to try to keep up with them, and they never fit our style...we do a lot, but if I list it all (block by block) it looks like it's overload and there's no room. I could use one for one subject I think, maybe a shared subject - I'm thinking of the planner that was recently discussed here that already has the liturgical feasts built in. It would be a useful tool to plan the religion block and celebration plans for the various feasts of the year. But squeezing everything we do on one planner for all children...
Again, this is just my preference! I know lots of mamas who use these quite successfully with multiple children. Don't change your system if it's working for you!
Quote:
| Do you mind explaining the balance between a relaxed homeschooler and a fierce planner? |
|
|
Well, when I say I'm a fierce planner, I mean I like to lay every subject out. Sometimes just by theme or focus of study, but sometimes right down to the page numbers read. It allows me to see if my goals are exceeding reality. It also gives me the rudder I need when life takes a sharp jog to the left. I plan out the celebrations for the Feasts of the Year, our CGS presentations, known interruptions in the day, everything that contributes to our rhythm. I do this as much as I am able over the summer. So, it does get pretty detailed. I like to see the tapestry of the days, then I'm more likely to anticipate where they will unravel...make any sense?
Now, when I say I'm a relaxed homeschooler, I mean that I use those plans as a guide. I can now sit back and hopefully enjoy the fruits of my labors. We move to the rhythm that has been set. BUT...if we want to head off on a rabbit trail, I adjust and we have fun. If the children are thoroughly immersed in a watercolor of the dreaded horn worm that recently devoured our gardens  , but I have only "planned" to spend an hour on the nature sketch, I don't interrupt. I let them enjoy their work. I suppose when I say I'm relaxed I mean that the plans let us live the rhythm of the year with focus, but I am not a dictator and I do not allow the plans to author our days. Does that make sense?
Quote:
| How do you start a file folder? |
|
|
See Dawn's posts above then tailor to fit your family's needs.
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 10:24am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oops...I was double posting with you Tracy. Thanks for adding the link!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mamamoon
Forum Rookie
Joined: Nov 21 2007
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 88
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 12:36pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
this is so great!
__________________
A firefighter's wife, and mama of two dancing princesses~
Creekside Wonder
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
allegiance_mom
Forum Pro
Joined: June 26 2007
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 163
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 1:17pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Here is what I am doing for this year. I hope this gives you some idea of planning and scheduling schoolwork.
I made a one-page grid overview of the entire school year for ds age 10 (entering 5th). The columns are the quarters (I am required by state law to file quarterly reports). You could use any division you please (months, semesters, trimesters, etc.). The rows are for subjects.
In each box write a brief summary of what needs to be accomplished to complete your work for the year. So for religion, my boxes for the four quarters are:
F & L ch. 1 - 8
F & L ch. 9 - 16
F & L ch. 17 - 24
F & L ch. 25 - 30
F & L is Faith & Life from Ignatius Press. Each of my quarters happens to be 9 weeks (for a 36-week school year). So now I know we have to basically do a chapter a week to finish, but there is wiggle room in the last quarter. I do this for every subject.
(For literature, I add a supplemental list of books I'd like us to read by quarter, so that I don't have to cram too much in those boxes.)
At the end of each quarter I compare where we actually are to where we should be. If we are off significantly in a subject, I have to evaluate why we are off (work is too hard, Mom has blown off this particular subject, too many outside activities, etc.). I may need to readjust the schedule for the remaining quarters, or maybe change my expectations for what we will complete. I think that is a case by case judgment I will need to make as we go along.
On a day by day basis, keeping in mind the average amount of work for each subject I determined in my overall plan, I will simply write out in a weekly grid what we actually DID do (as opposed to writing up a detailed PLAN, which often goes awry and causes me great stress).
That's it. We'll see how it works out this year. I hope this helps you some.
__________________
Allegiance Mom in NY
Wife 17 years
Mom to two boys, 14 and 8, and one pre-born babe in Heaven (Jan 2010)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 3:53pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I also really like the way Donna Young shows how to plan for different ways we homeschool (text, reader or book, curriculum guide, etc.). This is the page that shows that:
Donna Young Planning Guide
She has GREAT helps there!
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Sparrow
Forum Rookie
Joined: April 28 2008
Location: Indiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 94
|
| Posted: July 10 2008 at 9:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm a horribly disorganized person. That's a huge reason why I'm doing CHC for at least the first few years.
__________________
Katie, blessed wife to Tyson and mom to all girls! Bailey (7) Riley (3) and Rory (3/17)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mamamoon
Forum Rookie
Joined: Nov 21 2007
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 88
|
| Posted: July 11 2008 at 9:08pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
this has been so helpful, i am totally motivated to plan.
thanks!!
__________________
A firefighter's wife, and mama of two dancing princesses~
Creekside Wonder
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: July 14 2008 at 8:05am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Lisa,
I wanted to share this post with you from another thread, Planning with Sonya Shafer's planning workshop because I just began working through Sonya Shafer's Planning A Charlotte Mason Education worshop this past weekend.Simply Charlotte Mason Planning Guide I have NEVER seen anything that's truly worked you through planning your homeschooling year. It wouldn't matter if you use Charlotte Mason or not, her workshop would help you no matter what type of curriculum you use. This has been such a blessing to me! I SO wish I would have had this when I began homeschooling, but I'm SO happy that I have it for the rest of my years now! This has been SO WORTH The money for me; in fact, it may be the wisest, best purchase I've made for this year!
Just wanted to mention it.
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mamamoon
Forum Rookie
Joined: Nov 21 2007
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 88
|
| Posted: July 14 2008 at 9:58am | IP Logged
|
|
|
wow, great.
i will check it out.
lisa
__________________
A firefighter's wife, and mama of two dancing princesses~
Creekside Wonder
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
Forum Locked) 
4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: another how do you plan post~
