Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login
Planning and Ordering our Days
 4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Subject Topic: Planning for the new year Post ReplyPost New Topic
Author
Message << Prev Topic | Next Topic >>
Lorraine
Forum Rookie
Forum Rookie


Joined: July 06 2007
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 50
Posted: Aug 28 2007 at 10:26pm | IP Logged Quote Lorraine
I don't know what my problem is but suddenly I'm realizing that school is starting next week and I don't have a concrete plan yet (I actually do know... it's called procrastination)
Do you all have presentations for each week and which books to read planned at the beginning of the year? I don't think that is possible for me now. I was thinking I could plan once every week what presentations/books I'd like to use for the week and then review and tweak every night for the next day. Is that practical or too short-sighted?

I just finished reading a few of the plans from Kim's Back to School Fair and it looks like some have it all planned out while a few are just going with the flow. Since this is my first year, I feel I should have a good plan to start with, otherwise the day will be over and I would have done nothing with my kids. I guess I should look over the Kindergarten requirements from my schoolboard and try to achieve that?

The very vague overall plan in my head is:
- use Montessori for all areas of learning: practical life, sensorial, math, language are my priorities in the beginning; geography, science, art are areas that I will do the best to add on as the year goes on
- CHC Little Stories for Little Folks for reading
- read books from the Real Learning booklist
- read books from the Catholic Mosaic booklist
- pick one feast per week (if I cannot handle that, drop to once every 2 weeks) and celebrate and learn about it, perhaps even a craft (I'm not very creative/artistic at all)
- I really do want to do nature walks with my kids, but I haven't done it before and I'm not sure how it can be done in winter with snow (and there's lots of snow here in the Great White North most of the time :) I welcome any suggestions on "nature guides for dummies."

A tentative daily schedule is:
7:30-8:00 Wake up, morning routine
8:00-9:00 Morning prayer, breakfast, clean up
9:00-10:30 Work period
10:30-11:00 Break
11:00-11:30 Prepare lunch
11:30-12:15 Lunch, clean up
12:15-1:15 Mass
1:30-2:00 Story time (to wind down for nap/quiet time)
2:00-3:00 Nap time for ds, Quiet time for dd
3:00-4:00 Nap continues for ds, more work or free time for dd (her choice)
4:00-4:15 Snack
4:15-5:00 Fun activity with mommy (if mommy isn't too tired) or Free play (if mommy is really tired)
5:00-6:00 Dinner preparation
6:00-7:00 Dinner, clean up
7:00-7:30 Time with daddy while mommy takes a break :)
7:30-8:00 Family prayer time
8:00-8:30 Bedtime routine
8:30        Bedtime

The exact times are there for reference e.g. how long I plan to spend on each activity.
Sorry this is so long. Thanks in advance for any advices/comments!


__________________
Blessings,
Lorraine, mom to dd (12/02), ds (11/04) and ds (06/08)
Small Things with Great Love
Back to Top View Lorraine's Profile Search for other posts by Lorraine
 
AndreaG
Forum Pro
Forum Pro


Joined: March 25 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 326
Posted: Aug 29 2007 at 9:56am | IP Logged Quote AndreaG
Looks like a good plan- I like to have a schedule to give me a guide at first. As the days go on I adjust it as necesary. In past years I have planned the whole year- mainly b/c it made me feel better that I would have something already planned for each day in case I got lazy
This year I lost my plans when my computer died so I am taking it as an opportunity to try the planning each week approach. I am hoping this will give me a fresher attitude and more enthusiasm, and enable more spontanaity and "following the child". We'll see! You really need to just experiment and find what works for you- and it could change each year!

__________________
Andrea
GrayFamilyCircus
Read Through the Catechism in a Year- For Moms!
Back to Top View AndreaG's Profile Search for other posts by AndreaG
 
earthmaven
Forum Pro
Forum Pro


Joined: June 19 2007
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 105
Posted: Aug 29 2007 at 10:18am | IP Logged Quote earthmaven
Lorraine, I grew up (mostly) in Canada, so I hear ya about the snow (and cold, cold, cold)! But it can be an amazingly fun time with the children, especially for nature activities. I have a couple of book suggestions that we've really enjoyed, if those might help:

We love The Kid's Winter Handbook and have recommended it with great success to other families. See it here

A Kid's Winter EcoJournal: With Nature Activities for Exploring the Season here

It's also fun to grab a bird guide and go out hiking, and Acorn Naturalists have a fun set of track identification cards. You can download one of their catalogues here

And after all this: hot cocoa. Now c'mon...aren't you practically waiting for winter?

Happy hiking

Tracy
Back to Top View earthmaven's Profile Search for other posts by earthmaven
 

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login
If you are not already registered you must first register

  [Add this topic to My Favorites] Post ReplyPost New Topic
Printable version Printable version

Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com