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Barb.b
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| Posted: Aug 13 2013 at 3:20pm | IP Logged
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I need ideas so . . . . can anyone share what kind of forms you use to plan? Anything is fine: daily, weekly, quarterly, semester. . .
Thanks!!!
Barb
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jawgee
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This year I was lucky enough to be a Beta tester for Homeschool Planet (an online planner) at Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. I really like it and intend to buy it when my trial period is done. They have a 30-day free trial that you should check out if you are interested in an online planner.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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SallyT
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I use the "table" function in word to make out a block schedule for the week, with the days of the week down the side, and subjects across the top. Basically I just put in the titles of books they'll be reading for each subject, and that is our general plan for the year. I don't do a lot of specific day to day or even week to week planning, though of course I'm talking to them, making occasional substitutions, and so on.
In other years I've found various forms from Donna Young. org really helpful, but I like making my own. For my high-schooler, I've made up weekly plans as blog posts, then done one big post with links to the plans for each week, so all he has to do is click the right week to see his assignments. It was a lot of work, but I hope it will run smoothly.
Sally
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Castle in the Sea
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Erin
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Excel spreadsheets and pivot tables. Mind you I can only manage the spreadsheets on my own (taken a while  ) my husband is the one who has set up the pivot tables and taught me how to get it to 'spit out' the sheets I want.
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
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pumpkinmom
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My favorite planning tools are Jen's blog and I have copied the forms she uses. I also like Sarah's and have downloaded hers and tweaked them to work for me. I also use A Simple Plan Homeschool Planner. I use all three of these and they have been wonderful for me this year! I also have a notebook full of notes and scribbles. I usually start out scribbling! 
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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CrunchyMom
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This customizable daily lesson log has been making the rounds this week.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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Becky Parker
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I was just about to post that one, Lindsay! I like the check list format and I was able to change the subject lines to suit our needs. I will use it along with my planner to check off the assignments as I go over them with the kids each day. In all honesty, I'm using it as a tool to help me be disciplined at checking my kid's work. I don't need to grade the work, necessarily, but just to check over it and provide feedback.
As far as planning goes, I use a spread sheet at the start of the year to list each subject and what assignments are to be completed for each day. (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3... I don't use dates because I've tried that in the past and I always get behind in some subjects which messes up the system. Barb, if I could figure out how to show you my spreadsheet (in Word) I would be happy to share it with you.
Each week I transfer the assignments to my lesson planner. This is when I look at everything in detail. So if the spread sheet said, "History 200-215" My lesson book might read, "History - Read p.200-214. Oral narration. Discuss question #5 on p. 215".
The two steps sound like overkill as I type that out, but really, I think I need that level of organization to keep on my toes. I will even go a step farther this year when I go over the assignments with each child and write them down in their assignment notebooks.
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Becky
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Barb.b
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Thanks! I love seeing other people's planning ideas! So far I am going to have for myself one big binder for each child. In the front will be a semester big picture chart - a simple outline of weeks, listing the basics covered for each subject (for example list the book and pages for that week. The MACRO not the MICRO). This is so I can glance at the week ahead of us and have that picture of all the subjects in mind as I plan the particulars of the week). Next, I will have a section for each subject. This will have a monthly type calendar with the pace and the class, assignments due and when tests are - the basic lesson plan of the subject. I will also have a page to record grades.
DS, 5th and I will make daily plans each night for the next day. I will have 2 columns for each subject: 1 for what he needs to do the next day and another for HIS notes (what he had problems with, what he didn't do and why. . . ). His notes he completes right after DOING each subject that day.
Fos dd (10th grade) I will have that big picture chart and a section for each subject. But in each section I will have a syllabus (which is my job to work on the next several days!). Hopefully a very typical syllabus: outline when tests and assignments are due and also how often the 2 of us will meet to grade and discuss (for ex. math we meet daily but literature probably 2-3 times per week). I like how some colleges do it: list when the class is (when dd and I meet each week), and when tests and things are due. They don't micro manage - thats up to the student to get the reading done and assignments accomplished. It is so nice at the high school age to have grown away from the weekly and daily planning charts! I will also have a sheet in each section to record grades.
Keep any other ideas coming ladies!
Bare
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Angel
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This giant lesson planning thread has links to various forms and examples of plans. I know it's not Thursday, but that thread is one of my favorites. I have it all printed out and refer to it every year.
Willa just had a good post about paper planning, with lots of examples. She's using a composition book to write out daily lists, which I have considered as well. I'd like to have pretty forms like Jen does, but the hand written daily/weekly lists seem to work best for us. But since my kids often don't look in books or planners (I don't either), I think I'm going to try to find a better way to post them. The non-magnetic stainless steel surface of my refrigerator is the bane of my existence. Because that's where I *want* the daily lists to go, so they can't ignore them. And Post-Its and tape don't really stick so well either. I was thinking just a regular sheet of notebook paper on a clipboard, hung on a cup hook screwed into the side of our new shelving.
Low-tech, I know. Probably not exactly what you wanted to hear about.
I usually do make a big chart on a word processing program (I use Pages) first, though, just to see where everybody is. And I make my own schedule in Pages, too. I'll probably make a lesson plan based on how Jen does hers for the term, too, but since my kids tend to ignore those, it will probably be just for *me* to wrap my head around everything everybody has to do.
(Maryan posted some examples this year, too.. I always like the forms Maryan comes up with.)
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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Angel
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Ah! Just read the other thread on starting school and realized y'all have already been talking about Willa's lists! 
Sorry! I've been buried in books lately as I try to reorganize and get our year going and I've just now started coming up for air. 
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Mackfam
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Thought I'd add another example of a different type of lesson plan. This year my senior needs more flexibility for her time since she has some outside the home commitments. Her workload is reflective of the few courses she needed to graduate, and a 1st term emphasis on ACT skills (she's very close to full scholarship level and she decided this term her priority would be studying to improve her score to that level). She asked me for a term checklist for her to follow so she could easily see all the work that was expected of her at-a-glance. I've done this type of plan for her before, and in general, for a regular year, we prefer to follow a weekly plan with details set out for the week and day, but some years when we need more flexibility a term checklist can be really helpful.
So, here is what I had been giving her - a weekly lesson plan sheet:
2013-08-14_085001_Term_1-12th-2014.pdf
(note that it is two-sided so that she can record off-the-plan-materials....like Mythbuster's episodes for Physics-related topics, other books she's reading, volunteering opportunities, etc.)
And...here is what she asked of me that she will work with this year - a term spreadsheet type of checklist:
2013-08-14_085310_Term_1_Plans_-_Sarah_-_12th.pdf
We're into our 3rd week of school and enjoying this year and this year's plans!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Angel
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I like this checklist. My teens are doing a lot of stuff out of the house, too, and I'm trying to figure out how to balance it out. I think it will be an adjustment for my oldest, who tends to be very routine based. So if he's used to doing a certain subject at a certain time... that's when he does it. That isn't going to work so well this year. He has 5 classes, 3 out of the house and 2 online, at varying times of the day.
I'm also trying to collect those books and videos, etc. that tend to slip through the cracks because they aren't assigned. That was a big fail for us last year. Right now I've just given them both composition books, but it's nice having it right there with the assigned stuff.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: need planning help!
