Another thing I LOVE about him having his own planner is the monthly calendar! It is great for him to see upcoming family events & days to look forward to. It is a great motivation with loaded school weeks when there is a fun event planned at the end of the week! Not to mention, I love leaving him sweet little notes on the side.
Here is a quick peak at how I use my Well Planned Day Planner:
First off, I use different colors for the boys (Ty is green, the mustangs are blue, & group work is pink). I used permanent pens for my first 11 weeks (NEVER AGAIN – what was I thinking?), but have since discovered the FriXion erasable pens (<3) & will be using them for future lesson plans.
Rather than rewrite our WP lesson plans (& for lack of space) I just inserted the weekly page & I do the same for my Tot School plans. I highlight & use sticky notes A LOT. I also use the arrow paper clip to mark my spot & day. And to section off the weeks, I use numbered paper clips I found at the Container Store.
The new Well Planned Day binder is kinda bulky & since our school{barn} is separate from the house & a good amount of steps are involved, so sometimes I cheat & snap a quick pic with my iphone for reminders to take to the house with me.
I’ve shared A LOT lately on my Home Management plans & organizing, & I’ve posted bits & pieces of my homeschool planning, but since some of you are in full planning mode I thought I’d give a complete overview of the crazy process I go through each year. This year we started earlier than ever before, so my planning time was very limited, but here is how I do it:
Curriculum.
I always have a running list of curriculum that I love or would like to use in the future & I’ve also made a long-term overview of curriculum plans (of course always subject to change). This process is fairly easy for me.
This process is easier some years than others, depending on the success of our choices with what we currently used, my kids needs/struggles, etc. Usually, I start reviewing curriculum in March & April. I read blogs & homeschool reviews (Cathy Duffy is a great source) for any new considerations or problem areas. Next, I make my list & include the price if I purchased it new. Then I begin to search for used curriculum (online & at homeschool stores that carry used curriculum) & I hit up the sales at our local homeschool retail stores. If I find a good deal I purchase it. Typically, my buying time is during April, May, & June. I try not to order anything new until the last minute. However, our homeschool convention is in May & I usually drop a pretty penny (or more) there. I always have instinct buys – curriculum I fall in love with & can’t leave without, but I also save money on curriculum I know I won’t be able to find used & purchase there to save the shipping fees. Plus, there are some pretty good “convention sales” that make the purchase worth it!
Once I have the majority (if not all) our curriculum purchased I begin to sort through it & “get to know it”. I read all the teacher’s guides, the introductions & notes to parents, & take a few notes myself.
Yearly Calendar.
Looking at the first 3 months (17 weeks) of our school year (July, Aug, Sept), I begin to plan, numbering (**in PENCIL) each week. I consider any holidays that may fall during that time or any other interferences that would cause us to not be able to school. Next, I pick 1 week to take off during our 3 months on. This “term” I chose to use our week off at the very end of our last month & combine it with the month off we would be off anyway. So instead of having 1 week of in the middle, I chose to have 5 consecutive weeks off (the last 2 weeks of Sept & the first 3 weeks in Oct).
*I plan the entire year. BUT, I also will re-evaluate the plan after every 4 months, making adjustments as needed.
Planning the next 4 month block (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb) was not as simple. I had holidays & bad weather to consider. I decided to school all of Nov (we will only be off Thanksgiving Day since we don’t have any holiday traveling plans this year). However, we’ll only school the first full week into Dec, (using 3/5 weeks off during this planning block). Then we will school all of Jan & Feb without any time off.
*This left me with 2 “extra” weeks to work with. If I feel like we are getting burnt our, we will use them, but I’d much rather save them to add to the next block of time during prettier weather.
The last 4 month block (March, April, May, June) was pretty simple – pretty weather, few holidays, & no births to work around! Most likely we will take our “free week” off during March, school all of April, & the first two weeks of May. This will give us 2-3 weeks of wiggle room & possibly 7 consecutive weeks off during the best weather. Plenty of time for vacations & planning the next year :)
Lesson Plans.
First, I decide how may days a week I want/need to do each subject. Since we are on a 4 day week, most subjects are daily. Depending on the work load, science is typically 2 or 3 days a week.
Next, I begin to break in my Well Planned Day planner & assemble my homeschooling binder. (*I will add a follow up post of how I use my planner)
I start my lesson planning with core subjects (simplest to the more detailed) – spelling, math, language, Spanish, grammar, Bible/character, & writing. I leave science & history for the last. (**I will also add a follow up post of how I plan our Winter Promise History lessons)
I color code my lesson plans per child &/or level. I will never ever use a permanent marker or pen for lesson plans ever again. While planning, I also take into consideration & make notes for supplements, movies to add (*I add any movies that were recommended to our Netflix queue), field trips & even snack ideas.
Goal Planning.
I just recently posted on how I set our homeschooling goals each year, but basically this consists of: individual, short-term, & long term goals. This is honestly more for ME than the kids. This is not every.single.thing. they HAVE to know – just an idea of what they may know. I create this list mostly from using our curriculum’s table of content, browsing the lessons, & a little from the “What Your __ Grader Needs To Know” books.
Supplies.
Time for more shopping! I’m usually pretty familiar with our curriculum & have a good idea of what supplies we will need. Most of our hands-on projects are with science & history & both the curriculums I chose have wonderful supply lists. I make a core list of all the supplies we will need for projects, plus any other basic school supplies the kids, our school room, or I will need. And the shopping begins. I typically shop at Walmart, Target, & Staples for these types of supplies. I’m not super picky about having EVERYTHING for the entire year, but by making 1 core list & shopping for it all – gives me an idea of the items that are going to be more difficult to find. I do try to have everything for the first 6 weeks – 12 if possible.
Copies.
I am fortunate enough to have the option of using our church printer. I usually spend an afternoon at the church making all of our bulk copies. It is soooo much easier to make copies in advance (as much as possible) rather than stop in the middle of a lesson to make copies. Things just flow much better when I’m totally prepared. It never fails that I forget something or overlook it. Grrr.
Filing.
This year our curriculum was much more complicated & had LOT’S of printouts so I added weekly files. I don’t file the ENTIRE year – just the first half. This is where all the copies that I make at the beginning of the year go. If for some reason we don’t use all the copies for that week, I just leave them in that weeks folder so I can save them for possible future use the next time we use the curriculum. One of my friends even files supplement books they will be using for that week into her weekly files. I often leave myself reminder notes for upcoming weeks – especially if copies weren’t made in advance. The subject folders hold printables that don’t have a specific week to be completed, paperwork or ideas that I come across for the year & supply lists or reading lists for that subject.
I still kept my daily folders, but I added a few more (To Do, To File, To Copy, To Read, & Lists)
Kids Binders, Workbooks, etc.
I try to color code as much as possible. The kids each have their own binders, markers, colored pencils, pencils, paper, & toothbrushes (just checking to see if your still with me). I sort all “their” items out on each of their desks. Some of the more frequently used workbooks go under their desk, they typically keep their binders on the floor under their desk (won’t fit in the desk cubbie), & other bulky or less used items are on the shelf above their workboxes.
The kids binders store most of their finished work or work-in-progress. Tucker & Trevor’s binders are much simpler than Tyler’s. I made homemade dividers & placed them in the order we typically complete our subjects each day. Their binders have Science, History, United State, Spelling & Language Arts. Tyler’s binder is similar, but he has separate binders for his U.S. work & writing.
I am seriously considering pulling apart their workbooks & creating daily dividers in their folders, at least some of the subjects. I’m still debating on this or not.
Schedules.
Coming up with the perfect schedule used to be so “fun” for me. But the reality is that each day is different. Some days we start with the individual work & core subjects, other days we start with the group studies. It is nice to have an idea of how long our day will be - a start/finish time (*This changes frequently too with season & depends greatly on if there is a pregnant mama that doesn’t get much sleep, or a nursing mama that had frequent interruptions throughout the night, or a mama with a sick kid, or . . .you get the point). Some days certain subjects take longer or are done quicker than planned, but I still like to have a gauge or time frame for each subject. This seems much more helpful to me than a minute by minute schedule. The only times that I really try to stick to is our start time, snack time, & lunch time. I really like getting an early start, but this is not always possible. We finish when we finish, but we have to eat! LOL
Monday I’ll be sharing “A Day in the Life . . .” this will give you a much better idea of how things roll around here!
Our school {barn}
By the time all of this is done our schoolroom is a disaster! And is in major need of attention. I’ll spare you the nitty gritty details of how I attack the chaos there, but I will add that each new school year I try to focus on one or two particular areas I’d like to improve. This year my focus was the arts & craft/writing centers. Next, I plan to focus on a language arts & geography center.
Look for the following posts soon:
One of the things I do when planning our school year is set goals – individual, short-term, & long term. This is honestly more for ME than the kids. It is especially nice to look back & see what they’ve learned (they have learned something!) on days I feel like I am totally messing them or when we are struggling. It is my way of patting myself on the back! This is not every.single.thing. they HAVE to know – just an idea of what they may know. I create this list mostly from using our curriculum table of content, browsing the lessons, & a little from the “What Your __ Grader Needs To Know” books.
We just hit our first 6 week point, so I thought it was a good time to do a little review & mark what the boys have retained & maybe get an idea of what blew right past them. *I know not everything sinks it – but hey, I went to a private school until high school & I didn’t retain too much because I’m learning just as much as they are :)
This is the first time I have actually printed out & made my own sheets (I’ve just used table of contents or a simple list) in previous years. I need to add extra boxes for the mustangs (their checks are color coded) & as we go, you’ll see I add to the list. I need to update the history section – I’ll post more on how I review previous lesson for this later.
I keep these with my semester goals (that are VERY simple –> Ex. Math: lesson 1-11, Grammar: units 4-11 -It is more of where I want to be at the end of the semester for each subject. ) in my Well Planned Day planner.
*Tyler’s 5th grade goals have not been updated. Please don’t think he hasn’t learned anything the past 6 weeks. I just didn’t review him before scanning :)
My original plan was to start school Monday. But Big Daddy just wasn’t havin’ it – we can’t school on the 4th of July!! Even though we are under a burn ban, he had to work, & we had NO plans. I wasn’t quite ready anyway, so I postponed our start date a day.
Let me just say for all “real life” or “keepin’ it real” purposes – this week has left me exhausted.
We have had great days together & are totally enjoying ALL of our curriculum, & we are getting A LOT done, but our days have been
VERY L-O-N-G!
The first two days we didn’t finish until nearly 5:30pm. Today we finished around 4pm (which is actually 30 minutes earlier than our schedule). Easing our way back into school would have been ideal, but considering all the bad habits that we had to break from Truman being sick, bedrest, & then a 2 month summer break – I know me & my kids – starting all or nothing, cold turkey, gettin’ ‘er done was the best way to let go of the old & start again. Not to mention: I’m havin’ a baby (GIRL!!!) in about 10 weeks!
So the main “problem” (if you will) is the timing. And honestly, I don’t know why I’m sweatin’ it. We have had a great time together. The kids aren’t complaining – they are excited about each activity & are ready for what’s next. They haven’t dreaded one single subject! I don’t know why I’m worried about time. Isn’t that what this is all about – TIME with my kids?
Although our days seem long, we take breaks & I’m still getting my daily chores done. In fact, Tuesday was “Kitchen Day” & I made or prepped all the meals for the rest of the week (which made the past 2 days fabulous). Wednesday was “Laundry Day” & I got 7 loads of laundry washed, folded, & separated out. Not to mention 3 of those loads were hung dried & I stripped, washed, & remade the sheets on all our beds. Today is “Desk Day.” The day where the rest of the week is all down hill. Typically today would be our last day of school for the week. So all-in-all it hasn’t been that bad. Just a lot of time.
I think what is standing out in my mind is the nagging idea of what others think. Last year we had friends from public school over almost every.day. If we weren’t done with school by the time they were I felt like such a failure. I constantly feel like I’m racing the clock to “beat” them. I HOMESCHOOL for crying out loud. Why do I feel the need to be done by 3? Why suddenly is this an issue for me? I take it so personal if someone calls or comes over & we are “still schooling” passed 3pm.
As far as our schedule – We went with Plan B. The first part of the day goes incredibly well & we stick to the time pretty darn good. The kids have been doing their chores while I make breakfast (quick & simple on the days Big Daddy works & good ol’ home cookin’ when he is off), the timing on this has been almost perfect!
Spanish is their favorite, so it is the perfect motivation to get them going in the mornings. They are so excited (I’ll be posting a “what we learned this week” post over the weekend, but they are totally rockin’ Spanish!!) to begin their Spanish lessons it is almost a race to get to the schoolbarn.
Next is science. Apologia only schedules it twice a week, but I’m thinking we will be doing it daily (4 days). We are going to read one day, notebook & projects the next, & continue that pattern the next 2 days. At least on the weeks there seems to be a heavy workload or we are running behind schedule.
History follows science & may actually take a bit longer some days than I anticipated (that or I’m just trying to do too much – imagine that!) We’ve really enjoyed our start into American History & have already made some cool projects.
The last part of our morning is character. This is the time I read the books from the Against the Tide curriculum. Let me say, in just 3 days, some wonderful conversations & bonding with my boys (especially Tyler) have come from this time. I start with the younger 2 while Tyler is finishing his independent history work. Then him & I spend a little time together. We are reading Boyhood & Beyond. I absolutely LOVE it & think he is the perfect age & maturity for this book! I am gaining as much from it as he is. I’ll definitely be sharing more on it soon.
For the most part the boys have gotten at least a 30 minute break before lunch. Lunch has been on time most days. Then things seem to slow down or speed up. Our afternoon routine is definitely in need of a little tweaking. I have quiet time scheduled for an hour. In the perfect world this time would be so nice to unwind, read a book, & separate the boys for a bit. BUT reality doesn’t seem to be proving this idea so logical. After a morning full of school I’m thinking my boys need to RUN, PLAY, & even fight a little (maybe then it will cut down on the fighting during the next few school hours – hey a mama can hope!) We could all really use a break from Truman at this point too (more on our days with him soon!! – let me just say WOW!!!!! right now though. WOW!!!!) but he is diligently trying to give up nap time. I realize there is no set “must” or “have to”. I will probably just play this time of the day by ear. If quiet time seems fitting – we will have quiet time. If outside time is necessary then GET OUT! If we are running behind or need to finish early. We may just get back to work.
The one thing we did NOT do this week was our read aloud. This was on purpose. I’d like to start one soon, but we do a lot of reading & I’d like to work the kinks out of our routine before adding this in. I’m not sure when we will start a read aloud time. Maybe next week, maybe not for a couple of weeks.
Our language arts time is the first thing we do after lunch. It is began with spelling. *We are all LOVING All About Spelling!!!* The first 2 days they all started out on the same lesson & have each quickly set their own different paces. I’m starting with Tucker first now. He needs the most help. While he is with me the other 2 begin handwriting then get a workbox or work on unfinished or independent work. Then they switch. It seems to be working so far & really isn’t that time consuming rotating the 3 through it.
Tyler still needs help with his grammar here & there. He is diagraming sentences & it can be kinda tough so the mustangs usually play together at a center or work on a workbox. Right now I’m letting them choose, eventually I may direct them to specific centers or workboxes. Tyler began IEW this week & LOVE LOVE LOVES it!! He actually wrote his first paragraph without help from me, no tears, & was excited & proud of his work. I’ll save the details for later since this post is forever long already. Language & writing are not new for the mustangs & they do well.
Thank goodness they are all good at math because it is last & by that time of the day I’m a lil’ bit grouchy & my patience is running short.
Our workload & curriculum seems to be moving wonderfully smooth, just longer than I was expecting.
Whew! Any suggests or obvious tweaks are welcome!! Especially since I’m begging for punishment & volunteered to teach pre-k/k VBS at our church next week. LOL Yes, we will school all day. Then I will shove some food at my family & rush them off to church to corral & love on 20 something 3-6 year olds. Did I mention it is over 100 degrees here & I’m 7 months pregnant?
I’ve been tossing around possibilities for schedules as I prepare to start school soon next week . . .
This is usually right up my Type A alley, but I’m a little indecisive this time around. Here is my dilemma:
Plan A :
All the homeschooling books, articles, & professionals recommend beginning with the core subjects. Mostly because this is when your children are their prime time for learning & retaining. It is also an added bonus, that if you start with the core & the afternoon falls apart - well, hey, at least you accomplished the necessities.
or Plan B
Plan A sounds great. Except I kinda like the idea of beginning our day together & spending the afternoons on independent work. This gives me the morning devoted completely to our group studies, freeing me a little in the afternoons for teaching, then being available when needed. The tiny bit of freedom in the afternoons help so much with preparing for the evening. Plus, it gives the kids a little initiative to finish their independent work.
My next “issue” is Tyler. I have read a couple blogs/articles that recommend giving your older children more freedom in scheduling their work. Instead of me scheduling when he does math or what order he does it in – allow him to learn to manage his workload. I like the little push this adds into independence, but really – I have 5 kids (almost). Am I just being too big of a control freak or is it still necessary for me to schedule our subjects & plan his daily work for him. The idea sounds so appealing & easy, but am a cautious as to how it really works. I’m seriously considering giving Tyler a weekly list of what he needs to have done by Friday & allowing him to work through it at his own pace, on his own time-frame, & in whatever order he likes (as long as it is all done by Friday). Another option is to just get him his own planner, plan the daily plans & let him work through it on his own daily instead of weekly. This option might be our trial plan to see how the more independent plan would work.
We might play around with these options over the next few weeks & see which works best for us. I’ll have so much better of an idea once we start using the curriculum & see how long each subject will actually take us. By the time we find the perfect fit, fall will be upon us, Tara will be here & I’ll probably have to come up with a whole new plan . . .
One of the suggestions from Large Family Logistics was the importance of a cleaning schedule. I used to totally be on top of this & then I kinda got into the “I’ll do it when it absolutely ‘HAS’ to be done” attitude. But after reading Kim’s book I realized how important this is to keeping me on task doing what I’m supposed to be doing & not what I want to be doing. So, with that said here is my cleaning schedule:
I found a little inspiration for creating my Cleaning Schedule from The Carolina Clipper. It looks all nice & pretty & will be a great addition to my HOME management binder (more on that soon! ~I’ve been a VERY busy girl!!), but when it is hiding away in a binder or is just another piece of paper I have to carry around it becomes less effective QUICK. So, let me share a little secret with you: The HomeRoutines App
I LOVE IT!!
With this sweet little app I not only manage & schedule detailed cleaning tasks in an automatic weekly rotating “Focus Zone”, (*you can also set the zones to rotate manually or daily)
I also can:
You could also use this for a daily scripture or quote.
You can check out the HomeRoutine Blog for more great ideas to take full advantage of this apps awesomeness!
. . . It’s all her fault! When I was on bedrest, Nicki & her kids spent the day with us – cleaning, cooking, & chatting. She also brought me a little reading material to keep me entertained while they did all my chores . . .
After scan the entire book, reading some of my favorite topics, I knew this book was going to be a fav. I’m not sure which one did it or what number technically qualified us, but at some point we became a large family. I blinked & I’m 23 weeks into my 6th pregnancy!!
This book has been sooo motivating for me in so many areas of life. I haven’t been able to put it down for weeks & have oodles of pages filled with notes to prove it. I even had to re-read a few sections after one of my note-filled pages flew into the lake. LOL Not only have I discovered tons of great ideas, but I also found a bit of comfort in learning I was already implementing several of her suggestions. (Yes, I needed to read a home management book to realize I am not totally frazzled!) I couldn’t wait to get back home to start implementing these logistics & implementing is what I have been doing!! I’ve been creating a family routine, analyzing kids chores, meal planning, & organizing A LOT. At this point most of the organization has taken place in my head, but I’m quickly getting it laid out on pretty little charts & beginning to put it all into action!
And guess what? You have a chance to win a FREE copy of your own to drool over. Nicki is giving away a copy of Vision Forum's awesome book, Large Family Logistics, by Kim Brenneman. And just incase you haven’t joined the “LARGE FAMILY” club, I have to totally agree with Nicki:
“You don't even have to be a "large" family to gain tons of wisdom from this book. It will give you so much to think about whether you have 2 kids, 10 kids, or your first baby is on the way. It is geared to the homeschooling family.”
Click HERE to enter her giveaway (& tell her I sent you).
It is that time of the year where curriculum & lesson plans are racing through most homeschool mama’s heads. We are out to find the best curriculum, frugal deals, & create the perfect schedule. I admitted a long time ago that even though I’m a totally fabulous schedule maker, WE are NOT a schedule family. There is never a typical day, I’ve given up on scheduling our days, & embraced where we are in life & compromised with a routine.
Next year our routine will probably be a lot different than it is now considering there will be a newborn thrown in the mix. I’m not even going to go there at this point. However, I have come up with a schedule. Yes. You read that right a schedule. But not a daily schedule – an annual schedule. After reading how this large family plans their homeschooling (you better believe I’m getting the desk apprentice!!), I knew right away that this is exactly what I need. And is totally doable for me. It is almost an incentive. After finally coming to terms with having a chronically sick baby I admitted that I wasn’t able to “do it all”. I had to figure out what my priorities were – the rocks (the basic school work: Math, Reading, Writing & Grammar). What the pebbles were (History & Science). And what the sand was (too much to list!) At first, I started off great. I was determined to find our groove. I did pretty good letting go, but then I fell off the wagon. I felt like I needed to do it all. About the same time I attempted to be super mom, the rug was pulled out from under me & I was bombarded with numerous doctor visits (try at least 10 within the last 4 weeks, which includes 2 surgeries & a short hospital stay – 2 specialist, one spontaneous, & multiple follow-ups). The next two weeks very little got done. Partly because things were just so crazy we really couldn’t, & partly because I felt like if I couldn’t do it all I just wouldn’t do it at all.
Anyway, I have decided to homeschool year around. We pretty much already do, but I think if I let go of the “extra” & stretch our regular studies out over the entire year it will make it much easier to cope with this crazy life we live. It will not only allow time off for the craziness, but also motivate me through it to look for a planned break & not feel like I’m behind or a loser homeschool mom. My plan is exactly like theirs, but I love the flexibility this will allow. They homeschool 3 months straight with a week off during the middle month, then an entire month off between the next 3 month stretch, etc.
So, here is how I’m going to make it work for us in this season of life . . .
My goal is still to finish our current school by May (at least the basics). We will be gone most of May. Tyler has church camp for a week in June, so I’m thinking June will be to tie up any loose ends & enjoy the summer days before the excruciating Texas heat runs us to indoors seeking ac. In July we will start our new schedule, officially beginning our 2011-12 school year & if all goes well it will look something like this:
July-Sept: School with a week off at the end of Sept
Oct: OFF
Nov: School with a week off during Thanksgiving
Dec: OFF
Jan-Feb: School
Mar-April: School
We’ll either take May or June off depending on summer plans
I’m lovin’ it! If this baby arrives in Sept or Oct it should allow me enough time to get in the swing of things, enjoy her a newborn, & not feel overwhelmed with needing hurry back in time to keep up the pace of school. The longer I journey down this road of homeschooling the more I’m learning to make the schedules, routines, chore systems, timing, curriculum work for me instead of me working for them!
I use the monthly calendar for all my planning - appointments, special dates, etc.
I use the weekly pages for notes to or about my kids (so when I finally get around to scrapbooking or journaling I have dates to remember). With my first child I loved to journal to him, but our family quickly grew & it was impossible to maintain a journal for all of them. So now when one of them does something funny, crazy, or drove me crazy I just turn to the date & make a quick not. For example: "Tucker saw a video of Santa & in it Santa pretends to faint . . . Tucker says, "Oh No Mommy, Santa died!" Sometimes it is the sweet little things: "Tyler, I had so much fun painting with just you. You have been such a joy . . ." "Taylor & I learned to sew together. It was so much fun. She is better than me! I am so proud of her! She sewed her very own skirt. It is adorable!" "Tucker you wanted to catch the stars in the sky tonight." Others are more along the lines of, "Tucker stabbed himself in the knee with a fillet knife b/c his pirate needed a sword." or "Tucker stabbed Tyler with a pencil." or "Trevor stop peeing all over the place!" Sometimes they are endearing, others are funny & some are very private & much more detailed for my kids when they are older. It has been an easy fun way of keeping up with all the sweet or not so sweet things my mommy heart wants to remember forever. 
