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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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spinning off from the curriculum shake up thread...
i see people mentioning planning in chunks or months - as opposed to the whole year.
i am knocking this around for history. (do you do it for everything or just subjects like history, science? )
i have noticed that when we have a "year plan" - like what you would get from Sonlight, or MODG, etc,....it flops. we burn out on the subject. (do we really need to do American History for a WHOLE year? kwim?)
so - i am intrigued about the chucks or months idea.
can you tell me more?
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Sarah M
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I am approaching planning in chunks, Laura- usually a month or so at a time. I'm doing it for all subjects, and I'm finding that it really works well for us!
I've realized that in September, I can't project where my child will be in any given subject in January. She might whiz through math and be totally ahead of schedule, or she might need lots of review on place value and we are nowhere near where I thought we'd be.
Planning month-by-month removes that stress of where we "ought" to be-- it respects where we are.
At the end of December, I can look at the math we've done, see where the next step is, and plan accordingly. This follows for any of the other subjects. What if my kids are really immersed in Colonial America? Do I move on just because the schedule tells me to? Or what if Colonial America didn't spark anyone's interest? Then we learn what we need to about this particular subject and then move on to the next subject. Moving in this organic way seems to be a nice balance between "doing what's next" and stopping to really savor and take in that which inspires us. It's a nice combination of parent-directed and delight-directed learning.
Another thing I like about it is not feeling like I have to do all subjects all year long. We can learn deeply about, say, the American Revolution in March, and then take a break from history entirely in April when we are planting our garden and immersing ourselves in Nature Study. It seems a bit easier to view the child's education as a whole this way.
I've come to look at the big-picture plan in this way: we do math and language arts (reading/writing) all year long. Those are basic skills that need more constant practice to keep sharp and up-to-date. Once my kids start playing instruments, I could see that fitting in on the all-year-long list as well.
Subjects like history, science, art, social studies-- those rotate. Right now, for example, my 2nd grader is on a religion intensive because she's preparing to receive her FHC next month. That's her main subject (along with the 3 R's). I have no idea what we'll do in February. I'm guessing that in March, we'll move on to a science block because my in-laws are going to start to raise chickens. So we'll go from there.
Anyway, one thing I'm trying to resist is having the months all planned out in chunks ahead of time. (figuring out in September what the main "themes" for each month of the year will be)-- this takes some self discipline on my part.
Planning month-by-month allows us the freedom to see what's going on in our family life (like raising chickens or visiting a historical monument, for example), what my kids are most sparked by at that particular time, and where their skills are at. It allows me the freedom to pay attention to my children and let the curriculum serve them (not the other way around).
Yowza. Long post. Sorry 'bout that.
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EmilyC
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I too have a hard time sticking to one thing for a whole year. We all tend to get a little bored studying the same thing for so long. So, I decided that we'd stick to daily religion, math, lang. arts, reading (including reading aloud) and Latin, but have a monthly "theme". I am rotating science, geography and history. For example, this month is a science focus--we're studying the human body. Since we're only doing science in the afternoon, we have time to really delve into the topic and explore. We're lapbooking, reading lots of books and doing experiments. Next month we're focusing on geography and studying Russia. I like to have a plan, so I've tentatively mapped out the rest of the year, but it's subject to change based on the whims of my children.  I figure this will keep things interesting, and hopefully help all of us to suffer less burn out.
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KauaiCatholic
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the "chunk" approach has made a world of difference for us. our chunks tend to be about 2 months, depending on the season. then we take a week (or a couple) off while I reorganize and we all RELAX before getting back into it, refreshed and with new focus.
I've gotten creative about naming these breaks, to appease alarmed non-HS friends. (what? you mean you DON'T celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a week off?  )
the constants are the 4 R's (reading, writing, 'rithmetic and religion). the rest we pick up as interest waxes and wanes, with a main topic as our big focus for the chunk. this may work so well because my kiddos are young; don't know if I'll keep it this way as they (and their attention spans) mature. but it's fabulous so far!
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 Viviane
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We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 2:48pm | IP Logged
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I just had a giggle, thinking of using that term.
"What method of homeschooling do you use?"
"We use The Chunk Approach. And you?"
What can I say? I'm easily amused.
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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 2:50pm | IP Logged
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I find that organizing by semesters allows us to tweak based on need, interest, and expected or unexpected surprises. And it keeps us from feeling locked into something that may not be working.
Like Sarah, my main focus is math and language arts...but the language arts part can vary. For instance, the Fall semester was mainly focused on developing basic reading skills. But now that my daughter's reading has really taken off, I feel like we need less emphasis on reading lessons and can start focusing more on building a reading/written vocabulary.
I also realized during this past semester that we really NEED to work on certain aspects of manuscript handwriting (lower case letters, writing on lined paper, and writing in correct proportion.) This was not even something on my radar two months ago.
For our "extra subjects" (history, logic, etc) and math I usually have a sequence that I follow but it is not usually tied to any specific dates. For instance I set aside four days to do math; some days we just do the next lesson in line and the next day we may breeze through two lessons/exercises. And if we miss a day here and there due to unexpected circumstances, our whole schedule isn't thrown off.
Last semester we just kind of dipped our toes into religious education, but this semester my daughter will be preparing for her FHE. So, she has to study certain things for the sacrament test. We'll be putting more emphasis on that and dropping science.
The main reason I plan in semesters is because my husband teaches college. We never seem to have "regular" schedules when he is on breaks. His schedule can change every semester, effecting ours. And I find that his first day back is a good day for us to start back. It just seems nice to have it all tied together.
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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 3:05pm | IP Logged
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Sarah M wrote:
I just had a giggle, thinking of using that term.
"What method of homeschooling do you use?"
"We use The Chunk Approach. And you?"
What can I say? I'm easily amused. |
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"Chunky Homeschooling"
why, yes, we take our inspiration from a candy bar.....
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KauaiCatholic
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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HA!!! Laura, I just noticed your avatar! now I'm laughing so hard my kids are wondering what's up with mom.
chunky, that's us all right.
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Viviane
Grateful mama of Jonah Augustine ('01), Sophia Marie ('05) and Luke Dominic ('10)
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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I do a little of all - yearly, chunk-ily, weekly - planning.
Definite ideas for the year as we approach the new year. I lay these out on paper.
Further refined plans are in chunks - these plans set a rhythm.
Details are planned realistically a week at a time. This gives me a chance to connect ideas and plans, reflect on where we are, teach to the moment, rather than feeling I'm behind in 2 subjects and ahead in all the rest. I enjoy planning in this way.
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Erin
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I used the chunk approach for years in relation to science, history and geography. I'm only now with my highschoolers changing to a year overview.
Let's see, our terms are of a two month period, so one term we would focus for a month on history and a month on science (I'm afraid geography generally got skipped  ) What we would focus on I with the children generally decided on in the school holidays before term started. The draw back to that was resources, if I had to order they may not be in before the subject kick off.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 5:55pm | IP Logged
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Chunky, here!
Well...maybe more like "semi-chunky."
The chunks themselves are more or less spontaneous, rather than planned,(us being of the unschoolerish bent). There are some things that last longer than others,and some that are woven throughout everything we do (nature study is a constant, though the topics within are constantly changing and largely unplanned).
This sort of free-flowing, organic structure has always worked well for us and I feel like we will stick with it.
At the beginning of this year I did the typical "I've got a high schooler!!!" panic dance and tried to plan out year-long subjects. EPIC FAIL on all fronts.( With the exception of marine biology, which is great fun.)
Needless to say, I've learned my lesson. Again.
No more year-long plans (or any plans at all, much). We will be sticking with our interest-driven, rabbit-trailing,free-flowing ways from here on out.
Now..if you ladies will just remind me of this next time I get a "planning" bug in my bonnet!LOL!
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Natalia
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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I had never thought about it this way but I also tend to plan in chunks. I don't do that for math or any of the subjects we use a workbook (ETC for example). Those subjects don't involve too much planning on my part.They just do the next thing unless they hit a hurdle of some sort.
For subjects like history, science, geography I have an idea of what I want to cover but the actual planning is done in chunks. For example for science this past semester, I knew that the science memory work at Classical Conversations was going to be about Life Science. So I plan six weeks at a time: we read books about classification of animals, did some lapbooks on vertebrates and invertebrates, etc. Then we moved on to something else.
I found a post from the old CM loop about a revolving list of lessons. Do you remember that? So that is what I do. We do math,reading and writing everyday. The rest of the subjects go on "revolving list of lessons". I work through the list throughout the week. If something interrupts the flow of our week, I just continue where I left off. When I get to the end of the list, I just start over again.That means that sometimes we might only get to one other subject (beside the daily ones) and some other days we cover more that one. It has really worked for us.
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CrunchyMom
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Natalia wrote:
I found a post from the old CM loop about a revolving list of lessons. Do you remember that? So that is what I do. We do math,reading and writing everyday. The rest of the subjects go on "revolving list of lessons". I work through the list throughout the week. If something interrupts the flow of our week, I just continue where I left off. When I get to the end of the list, I just start over again.That means that sometimes we might only get to one other subject (beside the daily ones) and some other days we cover more that one. It has really worked for us. |
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Could you elaborate on this please? (or are the old posts available somewhere?)
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JuliaT
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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I have always planned yearly. I don't think I have ever had my plans work out perfectly. Something always changed.
I had this school year all planned out and then my health issues came up. We didn't even get out of the starting blocks before I had to change all of those plans.
This is when I finally woke up and realized that yearly planning is an exercise of frustration. I am so tired of planning and not having it work out. So last month I decided that we are just doing one unit study a month (or thereabouts) and when we get close to the end, then we will decide what we are going to do next.
This has been so freeing for me. I had planned myself into a box and it was suffocating me. I have even gone so far as to not even plan while we are doing the unit. I just read over the next chapter (we are doing Chasing Vermeer right now) the night before then I figure out what we are going to do then.
To clarify, I don't do this with the basics. We use curriculum for math, reading and writing, so I just do the next thing. For content subjects, though, the 'chunk approach' (I love that term)  works well for us now.
Blessings,
Julia
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Natalia
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Could you elaborate on this please? (or are the old posts available somewhere?) |
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I had saved the post to my computer and rediscovered them recently. ARe you a member of the CM yahoo group? The file might be there. I am not sure.
My revolving list of lessons goes something like this(for my 7 yo):
Every day:
1. Read textbook and do one exercise on Singapore Math workbook.
2. Explode de Code: Do two pages
3. Handwriting: One page
4. Classical Conversations memory work
5. Spanish
6. Independent reading
Then we work down this list:
1. Bible History- Read one story, narrate (he narrates,I write)
2. Catechism- work on one lesson of Faith and Life
3. Do a page for FHC notebook
History:
4. Listen to a chapter of STOW
5. Read History living books (if any)
6. Geography- Africa (do one or more of these- puzzle, computer games, read living books,geography song)
7. Science -Read two pages from Earth book. Do experiment if applicable.
8. Poetry - read a two page spread of R is for Rhyme and talk about it
9. Art
We work on this list.Most weeks we get to everything. If we don't, then the following week we start wherever we left off. When we get to the last item on the list, we start over again.
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Natalia
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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 10:21pm | IP Logged
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Natalia wrote:
We work on this list.Most weeks we get to everything. If we don't, then the following week we start wherever we left off. When we get to the last item on the list, we start over again. |
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that's "looping", right?
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Natalia
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 10:25pm | IP Logged
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I don't know... I think that is the revolving part. I am not sure what you mean by "looping"
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folklaur
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Natalia wrote:
I don't know... I think that is the revolving part. I am not sure what you mean by "looping" |
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it is a term i have seen on WTM, and elsewhere. there is Yahoo group, too Homeschool Loopers which in the write up seems to be a siilar concept.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Jan 05 2010 at 11:09pm | IP Logged
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Laura, I love your new avatar!
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Theresa
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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 06 2010 at 12:05am | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| Laura, I love your new avatar! |
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KauaiCatholic wrote:
HA!!! Laura, I just noticed your avatar! now I'm laughing so hard my kids are wondering what's up with mom.
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: chunks, months, or all year long....
