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mommy4ever
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| Posted: May 02 2014 at 5:10pm | IP Logged
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I have most of what I plan to use ready to go :) That was the easy part. We have lesson plans for much of what we're using. So breaking it down for ME is ok. But I'm thinking more for her. This post might end up a little rambly and out-loud-thinking, but I am looking for ideas, suggestions.
However, I want dd to take more initiative, I run a home daycare, we need the income, there's no way around it, and will have a new infant to care for in the fall, so it will be an adjustment for all.
We have hit the stage of her dragging her feet, it can be noon before she's ready to work, and then disappointed that she can't be outside all afternoon. Today we didn't even get anything done. Partially my doing. I had to get to the bank, and I needed her to get up and help me with the little ones at the bank. It took her 45 minutes to get up and ready... that didn't include eating. It can be 1.5 to 2 hours before she's ready to work. Today I am under the weather so I just didn't fight it. I know bad attitude.
I don't want to battle with her, we've had a very stressful year with dh's car accident resulting in head injury as well as physical injuries, and it has upset the rhythm of homeschooling. That we are even remotely close to completing anything is amazing. We have accomplished a lot. So it's been ok. I don't want to criticize this year, as it was one of those things, not entirely any one thing that threw in a kink. So I want to look forward, and have a plan for next year.
So, next year I want to have something that is clear as to what she needs to do. I think she should be able to do most things with out me sitting right there motivating her to keep going.
What needs to be done with me(math lessons, social studies are the 2 main ones with mom, discussions about reading and science experiments). But I am not keen on printing everything all the time as things come up that through us off schedule. All day outing, sick day. I know she finds it stress full to see things not done. So I want to be able to customize it. I am not sure how to go about it.
She has done an online course that gives her a weekly agenda in her inbox. It has suggested daily division of the work, but if she wants to get it all done on say Tuesday, she can.
We were a little spoiled this year to have dh home and an extra driver, so she was able to so lots and lots of field trips. It won't happen like that once dh is back to work full time(still not yet, 6 months later), and her best friend may be with a different homeschool board, so less car pooling. I will be more discerning as to what we do. There are a few she really enjoyed and benefited from, and would like to attend other similar things. Others were just for fun, and perhaps a little too many of those.
So... ideas? We use Dropbox as she can access from her iPad, but I can place a file in her file as we are on the same computer for her word processing.
Debating if a weekly check list with all the subject areas on it, but no assignments, perhaps 1/2 size with a comb binder, just 36 weeks of those pages. Then perhaps based on our schedule, a weekly assignment sheet for each that would have the details on it, that would be in her dropbox, for links etc are clickable that way. The checklist sheet would not change, just a physical list with a weekly grid. Based on the workbooks, books we used. I'd just cross out the days we wouldn't work if we were away. Then create a weekly lesson plan Friday nights for the next week.
I feel a little guilty, I used to teach her everything. We'd discuss everything. But now I don't. We go over the math lesson quickly. Do a couple examples, and done, she's doing her assignments. Social studies has been a bust this year. The online course was brutal and we're both sick of it. We withdrew and just using library books to finish covering the topics. We used to do more reading and chatting. She tells me alot about her science readings, but other than that, everything is independent. Is that pretty normal at this level? I answer questions as needed, but other than that... I plan to add more out loud reading together next year. We just didn't get to it, due to circumstance and her pokey-ness this year.
How do you plan your week for your 10-11 yos? How much are they responsible for? Do you need to sit with them to keep them on task?
I would really love to get her on task to get her core work done in the morning, leaving afternoons free when we don't have an outside lesson or workshop(hoping for 3-4 free afternoons) And with that, I'd love to see her pursue interests - art, sewing, etc. Where she has 2-3 hours to explore those things. Right now, we're lucky if we have started before lunch.
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ardently praying for a new addition to our family.
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: May 05 2014 at 1:50pm | IP Logged
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I am playing with her 'agenda'. I want her to take some initiative with planning her day/week. She needs to have some responsibility for time management.
I have made a weekly chart with each area she will need to cover. In this she will be able to mark days she isn't available. She can just check off each box as she tackles that area. i marked the 'general rule' for each. Math - see mom daily for lesson, then work on assigned pages. Science - you will complete 1 chapter every 2 weeks. Spelling 1 lesson per week, 4x a week. Grammar 1 to 2 pages per day 5x a week. Religion one 'weekly assignment online' 3 days a week.
I am making her a lesson plan reference chart too. Spelling for example. Day 1 - read words, discuss new words. Complete first page of lesson. Day 2 - complete 2nd page of lesson and write sentences with 1/2 list words. Day 3 - write remaining sentences with last 1/2 of words. Day 4 - spelling test. I will mark down which 'week' things should be on, roughly and have a calendar to reference.
Some areas, she will have more detailed lessons - science for example, I have the full lesson plan available to her. Broken down in 'days', but if she is inspired and wants to work ahead, why not. As long as nothing gets behind.
I am hoping that Fridays, we'll sit down together and plot out the next week. I think it will help her budget her time. There is no reason why somethings can't be done it 4 days if we have an afternoon outing. But it needs to be planned for.
It will also allow her to work her time management to include more fun things. I hope to have afternoon 'project' time. She wants to do more cooking, sewing, painting. We run out of time when it takes her 2 hours to get going in the morning. Letting her have some control over her days, and know what needs to be done, should get her more motivated. I hope
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1 in Catholic school
2 homeschooled(one considering art school!)
ardently praying for a new addition to our family.
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 06 2014 at 9:35am | IP Logged
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I'm working on this at the moment, putting together my rising 6th grader's schedule for next year. In years past, including this one, I've gone with a simple block schedule (and I still do that, because I have to visualize what's happening when), but for next year I'm making a daily checklist of reading and other assignments.
We do a pretty simple CM format of table work plus reading/narration, and no outside classes at this age, but one of my objectives for the coming year is to teach the skill of following a syllabus closely and being accountable for getting the work done. We made strides in that direction this year, but I think that being more detailed in my own thinking -- and giving my son a more detailed plan to work from -- will help him to rise to that goal. My intuition is that it will be helpful for me to spell out precisely what he is to do every day -- even my current high-schooler has trouble with "finish this chapter over two weeks," I have found. Even if we don't accomplish exactly those pages on that day, I think the structure is important.
He is already fairly independent in much of his work, particularly his reading which is the bulk of what he does, and my aim is for him to become so increasingly in the next few years until, hopefully, he's a pretty automatic self-starter in high school. We shall see . . . mileage varies so much, depending on the personalities involved! I do have to sit with him when he's doing math, or his mind wanders, and what I meant to be a short lesson takes hours. This is definitely something we're working on. By the end of middle school, we should have left "mom sitting beside" behind in the dust.
Our days often get "flipped," with free-time activities happening in the morning, and schoolwork after lunch. As long as we don't have a scheduled activity in the afternoon, I'm good with that. On days like today, when we have vision therapy followed by Irish dance followed by karate . . . not so much, though I can put him on his honor to do whatever reading he needs to do while I'm taking his sister to the first two of these three things. I do have to roust this particular child out of bed and get him going, too, which is not always so easy!
Sally
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: May 06 2014 at 11:00am | IP Logged
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SallyT wrote:
My intuition is that it will be helpful for me to spell out precisely what he is to do every day -- even my current high-schooler has trouble with "finish this chapter over two weeks," I have found. Even if we don't accomplish exactly those pages on that day, I think the structure is important.
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Sally, I agree, 1 chapter per 2 weeks is vague and hard to deal with in terms of self planning, but it also does give an end in sight, especially if it's a topic they don't love. So that is more of a general guideline. I have prepared the detailed lesson plans for those subjects, broken down into 9 days(rather than 10, gives a bit of a buffer). I have been working on all the books/subjects and am nearly done.
So her planner will have a complete set of lesson plans ready to go. But I do expect that she will set them up in her weekly agenda section. I think her plotting it out, is a great skill to be learned. She wants to do lots of extra stuff, and she gets upset with me when there isn't enough time, yet takes for ever to get started. So I think if she takes some ownership, it will be eye opening her, and help her create realistic expectations of herself and me.
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jawgee
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| Posted: May 06 2014 at 1:06pm | IP Logged
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My son, who is in 6th, still needs more precise instructions than "finish one chapter this week". In fact, I list out his specific instructions in his daily planner, but then each morning he and I look at those and write together on a white board the time-frame in which he will work on those subjects. Otherwise, 3:00 rolls around and he realizes that he's wasted his day away.
I want to work with him on more independence, but he's not quite there yet.
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: May 06 2014 at 4:19pm | IP Logged
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Ok, I have something that will work. I think. I will share it, and if anyone would like the editable file, pm me and I will share it in word.
I just did it as a 2 page, and just printed off several copies :)
I included general guidelines at the bottom so she will know roughly how much she should be marking in her agenda. I am almost done making her own lesson plans that have her whole year. Spelling is easy. Science took awhile to accomplish. I still need to do her writing/social studies.
I am doing a second version for the balance of this year, and for light summer. We won't get done everything so we need to work into summer for a bit. Dh car accident through me off, initially I was on the phone with insurance adjusters and others getting things sorted, and him being home needed me set us behind. But not too bad, nothing we can make up with some light school through summer.
 
I am planning on adding a Book log and calendars for her reference as well.
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ardently praying for a new addition to our family.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 06 2014 at 5:29pm | IP Logged
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I type out explicit daily checklists and have them bound, but it does take a lot of time, and I am thinking of ways to save some. One method that worked well for me before I started binding a notebook for each termwas having specific checklists for specific days--each day on their own page but generic so that I could print it out with only changing a book title once a book was finished.
Then, I put post-its in all the books with the assignments listed. In many of the books, the chapters were too long and needed to be divided, so I just listed all the breakdowns of pages/assignments on the post-it. My son could then cross off the assignment as completed. This meant that even if the assignment was skipped one week, we were not "behind" in the daily lists with wrong chapters listed or the wrong page numbers listed in daily checklists made ahead. Suzanne G shared this method years ago, and it was an epiphany for me at the time 
Jen uses a method very similar to yours you shared where the entire week is laid out digitally on the same pages but with clear expectations for each day. This way, the same pages can be printed and used at the beginning of each week for that term. Here is a link to her sixth grade plans.
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: May 07 2014 at 8:48am | IP Logged
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Lindsay, I am not filling it in. I plan to have her do it. I have my lesson plans available to her for her to fill it into to her agenda, I have everything loosely marked by week. So we can keep on track. I am feeling that she doesn't have any concept of what she has to accomplish when I fill it all out for her. So this way, she will know ahead of time what her week looks like because she is doing the planning. She can get frustrated because she ran out of time and didn't get to sew. Well when you don't actually work until 11 then go outside for 2 hours after school work is done, eat supper and head out for sports.. There is no time. She gets upset that I don't let her,etc. but it's not a matter of allowing, it's a matter of no time left. I am giving her some ownership of her time. I am hoping for project time in afternoons for her to pursue interests, but she needs to schedule and plan for it. Wanting to do it on a day with full day outing isn't going to work. She wil learn that.
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2 homeschooled(one considering art school!)
ardently praying for a new addition to our family.
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: 6th grade teaching time management
