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Angel
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| Posted: June 26 2008 at 7:45am | IP Logged
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In a recent Montessori thread on planning, I asked how much time people devoted to planning -- over the summer and/or through the year. After I asked the question, I thought that maybe it deserved its own thread.
This is why:
Quote:
I just wondered because it seems like I can only keep one thing at a time going. So if I'm focused on planning, the house falls apart. If I focus on the house... there's no time for planning.
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I should note here that I don't have access to a baby sitter, summer is garden time, my 10 mo old does not sleep well (night or day), and there are some special needs in the house that require extra attention as well as a year round sort of school year. (Unstructured breaks are very bad for my kids.) Also my husband travels fairly often.
Does this mean that my house is just going to fall apart for a while or that I should not be doing so much planning? I see such nifty charts and neatly written out plans that I wondered how much time everyone else was devoting to it.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Tina
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I have the same problem you do! It always seems like some area of my life is going to be lacking my attention  .
The only thing I find that helps, is that I try to do a purging of excess "stuff" in the school room, especially, before I start the major planning. It helps me to not be distracted and lets me see clearly what we have and what needs to be purchased over the summer.
As far as how much time goes into it, I really have no idea . Sorry I'm not helpful with that.
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~Tina
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The Best of Times
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TracyQ
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Creating the balance is always one of the most difficult things. I have now adopted during the summer a loose plan for the day:
Morning- Do the housework/decluttering/organizing/dinner started thing (I have the most energy then)
Afternoon- Do the school planning (when I need to sit down, and have less energy anyway)
After Dinner- we're often busy with baseball, and family things .
But I don't have little ones, I have teens, so I'm sure my plan has changed as our circumstances have. But creating the balance has always been key, no matter what the circumstances.
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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
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amyable
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| Posted: June 26 2008 at 8:26am | IP Logged
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I've been wondering if there is such a thing (or if such a thing is even possible) as a sort of "Flylady" for homeschool planning. Ugh, I'm not explainging myself well (sugar low, LOL) - I mean how Flylady says to do a little maintenance every day (i.e. a toilet swish) so that there is never much of a need for huge cleaning to look presentable. Could that be possible for homeschool planning? A sort of microstep/maintenance thing?
Obviously, I'm no help, LOL!
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missionfamily
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Oh Angel--it's so hard to find the balance here too. My babies both went to bed at 6:30 last night, my dh entertained the older boys for most of the evening, and my planners for the year had just come. I spent the evening putting plans to paper and finishing up book lists for library requests. The house was in decent shape when I began. But I stayed up too late, slept too late, and this morning, I just keep looking around thinking, "How on earth did I let this happen?" It's hard. But I think you've just got to keep juggling and if you sacrifice one for the other, put things back in balance the next day. Dh is pretty understanding about it and doesn't stress if I let things go a bit in the evening, as long as we'll be home and I can catch up the next day....which we are all the time no because I can't afford to go anywhere  .
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Colleen
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 26 2008 at 11:15am | IP Logged
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It comes in fits and spurts here.
I set aside a wonderful day yesterday with the most sincere of goals...then...life interrupted. I refereed what seemed like an enormous amount of disputes, and each time I'd sit down and think "this is finally it - I have 30 minutes  "...
...someone would announce that they found poopy on the bathroom rug...
...the laundry needed to be done...
...another meal was approaching (who decided people needed to eat 3 times a day ??)...
...someone really needed Mommy time...
...the baby would wake up...
...I sensed that my husband really needed me to focus and be present to him for a little while (it was my only opportunity to work in the evening). Sigh.
I just keep plugging away. I know that some home-making has to get done - like those 3 meals, and clean undies. I do a little maintenance housekeeping during the days or on a Saturday after a major house overhaul and clean-up that I did 2 weeks ago. And, I restored a little more routine to the kid's days (although yesterday was certainly not a reflection of it) by requiring some summer reading, nature journaling, art/drawing/sketching projects in the afternoons.
I *try* to do my planning in the afternoons while they are doing their quiet work. I try. Sometimes, all the planets do line up and I run with it (like Colleen did)! I embrace the "make hay while the sun is shining" philosophy! Those are the days for pulling out a frozen pizza for dinner to optimize my time for planning. Other times, like yesterday here, I just have to let it go and be mommy to my children and wife to my husband.
I will say that clearing the calendar has been the most help in making time. I've just said no to everything outside the home lately (mostly for gas reasons) but it's been a bit of a blessing.
Lots of empathy here Angela. I'd love to set up more of a routine so I could tell you I plan here, here and here most days. But, I'm right there with you with the baby, the ordinary daily duty, the extraordinary daily duty, special needs, and life in general. I don't imagine this was very helpful -  hugs from the trenches though.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Willa
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Angel wrote:
I just wondered because it seems like I can only keep one thing at a time going. So if I'm focused on planning, the house falls apart. If I focus on the house... there's no time for planning.
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Ha, I have the same problem. This is the first year EVER that I've been able to spend sustained time on planning. My youngest is five and my medically fragile child is healthy. A first!
No solutions for you. There is something that bothers me very much about the way I let other things go when I'm immersed in planning or whatever else. You called it hyperfocus in another thread and I'm definitely there too. I blogged about it, even
I am genuinely puzzled about the solution, though, because when I do try to pace it out better, I can't do the level of focus I really seem to need to plan creatively.
On the other hand, my other kids grew up OK without all this planning?
So maybe I don't need to do it?
No answers, just questions 
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Willa
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monique
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 1:15am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
...another meal was approaching (who decided people needed to eat 3 times a day??)...
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 Yeah who?! And sometimes more then that! I have one that I swear eats about 7 times a day.
Monique
mom to 5
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Angel
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 8:44am | IP Logged
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Willa wrote:
No solutions for you. There is something that bothers me very much about the way I let other things go when I'm immersed in planning or whatever else. You called it hyperfocus in another thread and I'm definitely there too. I blogged about it, even
I am genuinely puzzled about the solution, though, because when I do try to pace it out better, I can't do the level of focus I really seem to need to plan creatively.
On the other hand, my other kids grew up OK without all this planning?
So maybe I don't need to do it?
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Yes, that's exactly the problem I'm having! I tried to do one maintenance type thing around the house for every school/planning-related task I did yesterday, and -- I got a little laundry done, the little boys' room is a bit more picked up, but -- I felt AWFUL! Really, really scattered, and like I wasn't concentrating on anything. So I'm not sure *that's* the solution either.
I do wonder if maybe I'm obsessing over a level of planning that doesn't need to be done, or that may even be impossible in my situation. I'm reading St. Francis de Sales right now, and he talks about how the enemy tempts us to start one thing after the other, always looking for the more "excellent" thing which we have no hope of finishing. But if we focused on something that was perhaps less excellent (in our minds, I understand) and actually finished it, that would be better than all those really wonderful things which are all left undone.
Something to think about anyway...
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 8:52am | IP Logged
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Angel wrote:
| I'm reading St. Francis de Sales right now, and he talks about how the enemy tempts us to start one thing after the other, always looking for the more "excellent" thing which we have no hope of finishing. But if we focused on something that was perhaps less excellent (in our minds, I understand) and actually finished it, that would be better than all those really wonderful things which are all left undone. |
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This is really speaking to me, Angela. Thank you for sharing this. I do love planning. I need to take this to prayer, and possibly my dh for some discernment.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 8:53am | IP Logged
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First thing in the morning is for my dh, then the kids and house. After lunch, the older children take turns with the 3 yos and I work on school stuff (organizing, planning, whatever). At 5 I cook dinner then pick up from the day.
So I usually have a 3 hour block to work on school "stuff". Also, for year-long planning time, I have a card table set up in a basement corner, and woe to anyone that touches it! That way, I can stop for the day, without putting everything away.
But I only have 1 little at this time, and enough helping hands to make this work.
When I had more littles, I usually lesson planned at the park. I would bring my planner with and knock out one subject for one child for the year each visit.
LeeAnn
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LeeAnn
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Mackfam
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I've been reflecting on this all day. My husband helped me to see that it is not *what* I am planning that is the obstacle, it is my ability to plan that is the challenge this year. I'm unable to offer any focused time to planning right now. Since I feel it is a priority for our family to plan to a certain level in order to promote a more purposeful year, I'm calling in reinforcements.
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Jen Mackintosh
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MarilynW
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Mackfam wrote:
| I've been reflecting on this all day. My husband helped me to see that it is not *what* I am planning that is the obstacle, it is my ability to plan that is the challenge this year. I'm unable to offer any focused time to planning right now. Since I feel it is a priority for our family to plan to a certain level in order to promote a more purposeful year, I'm calling in reinforcements. |
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Me too - I am a little frustrated - I wish I could get 2 days with no interruption - but no possiblity of that. I am trying to do it too late at night - and then not functioning the next day.
And it is not just school. I have the house I want to organize, the meal plans, the finances, my stalled home management notebook - I think that God needs to increase the number of hours in the day
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MarilynW
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And then I get irritated and cranky because I am disorganized and unplanned - and that so does defeat the whole purpose!
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Marilyn
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Mackfam
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MarilynW wrote:
| And then I get irritated and cranky because I am disorganized and unplanned - and that so does defeat the whole purpose! |
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We're so kindred, dear friend!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Anneof 5
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I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I feel like I spend the whole summer researching and planning and figuring it all out and then I have totally missed summer. Mind you, I really love doing it but I think I get too overly focused. I haven't done much of anything fun for my kids or myself yet this summer, or taken much of a needed break from it all! Maybe I should just set aside a certain time for it and just be finished so I can relax a bit more.
Anne
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: how much time for planning?
