Hi Everyone! This will be our first year to homeschool and I have a few questions ..if anyone can help! I think I have all the curriculum figured out..but I have no idea how to make up lesson plans! I have a 7th and 8th grader...I'm just lost at how to begin and how to put the daily assignments together..Also, would like any recommendations for a Bible class..or study..or character type class for their age...( 12..and 13 years..) . This is what I have in mind for curriculum... Science...Apologia Math..( my son struggles in this area so was thinking Math u see for him. My daughter I'm not sure yet..she does well in math ..any ideas for her? I've heard Saxon is good..but I'm no Math teacher! She really likes "worksheets" too..) History..Abeka Reading, Writing, Spelling, Vocab....Total Language Plus.( I believe this has plans) Thank you guys so much for any help or suggestions!
first of all, Welcome! Next... Math. Have you looked at Teaching Textbooks? They are pricey but one of the very best. If you have an interest in Saxon let me know what level, I have several of them for sale, I forget just which ones.. and I'm selling them cheap. As far as lesson plans.. I see how many lessons there are (or chapters or pages or what ever way I can reasonably divide it) and then divide it either by weeks (36 of them since we have to cover 180 days) or by days and then I make a general list. "We have to do Math 4 days a week to finish all the lessons." or "We have to do spelling 3 days a week to do all the lessons/tests" etc. I also don't plan ahead because life happens and it stinks when your plans are way off because life happened.
I second Teaching Textbooks! It's a great program, and one my older daughter has done TOTALLY INDEPENDENTLY (for Geometry and Algebra 2; we'll be doing Pre-Cal with it this year). I really don't do lesson plans. Just a day-by-day sort of thing. I go over what we did yesterday and grade it (if needed), and then go over the lesson for today. With TT, my daughter does a lesson each day. She will grade the lesson from the day before and record her score. If she can't fine her error on the wrong problems, she will view the video that tells her how to do the missed problems step-by-step. Then she moves on to the next lesson. And I do pretty much the same thing with language. Open the book, read the next lesson with my child, assign the work, grade it the next day. Only here, I write down the assignment given in a book, because they usually don't do the whole thing, and I want to remember exactly what I said. History/science can take more planning, because I'm always adding library books and things. It helps to have an idea of what book I want to be reading, or what part of the textbook, etc.
i divide up how many pages are in the book, to see how many need to get done so we finish for they year, i also combine test and review days in the mix. (i hope you understand what i mean)
First, it will be OKAY..I promise. I will give you some tips you probably haven't thought of and then some tips on lesson planning. I know you might want to right all of the wrongs of ps, but this is not the year to do that. Hsing is about so much more than curriculum--yes curriculum is important, but you need to "bring them home" more than just their body. You need to capture their hearts. THAT TAKES TIME. You HAVE time. We can use all the Godly curriculum to teach, but if we don't capture their hearts and have a relationship with them it will not work this year. It takes MUCH preservance to develop that relationship. Even if that means putting your "school work" on auto pilot until they recognize you and husband as the authority. Get off the ps treadmill and RELAX. You left the ps so there is no need to try to "imitate" it in your teaching. There are things we like about the way the ps teaches, like dry erase boards and maybe some desks--so not all is bad--lol but again it doesn't have to be done that way. INVOLVE your children. This is THEIR education. Allow them to make some choices and show yourself reasonable if t hey want to study a subject that is not planned, but make it clear what you and their father have planned WILL BE done. Lesson planning tips I would take the first week and surprise them all. I would put down on my lesson plans going to the museum, going to the beach, let me see "shopping", the library reading, out to eat (if you can afford it now a days..lol), hiking, taking a nature walk, swimming, volunteering at the church, cooking, and sitting on the couch reading, updating your computer, working on a website. Your kids will look at your crazy! :lol: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!! BUT this is what homeschooling is all about. No you will not be doing this all year-but let them know that you believe 'hs is a LIFESTYLE not just something you do from 9:00 to 2:00" This is good for you too so that you give yourself permission to enjoy your journey. Lesson Planning As far as lesson planning, know this: There is a difference between skill subject and content subjects. Skill subjects are like your 3 r's. You want to try to give them priority this year until you make sure that all of them have a pretty good grasp of reading, writing and math. Content subjects like science and history can REALLY take a back burner this year until you are not so overwhelmed. The other "insider secret" to preserve sanity is to teach your children the content subjects all together so you are not covering different levels in science,Bible, history, art,etc. That is how the mom with several kids different ages makes it. Here are the subjects Math first - 1 hour bothl kids. (My tip: Use this time to work 1:1 with the child struggling in math. Give him TLC while the other who is good in math works on her assignment) Reading - reading an hour or so on any subject you like OR better yet as I explain writing, read a book about science and history. Writing - my tip if you are going to write, write about science or history(Bible). Then you get two subjects accomplished. They are writing say on "DNA" or 'Bees' or Bible prophets or Missions,etc. Do you see the beauty here? Instead of writing something completely unrelated to one of the subjects you are covering. You can write on other subjects, but if you are struggling, let them write about something they learned in one of the other subjects. Spelling--just a few minutes here like 15 or 20 by you calling out spelling words sight unseen unless one is struggling. Bottom line: Do not become enslaved to curriculum. You are the MASTER and curriculum is the slave. You have permission now to skip over a DUMB and yep STUPID..lol assignment. Yes you will make some mistakes this year..It is part of learning. I have a lesson planner on my website. It has the skill subjects going across the top and i grouped the content subjects at the bottom. Look at it, the website will be under my name. Finally, your journy will be exciting...Don't stress near as much as might be.Allow yourself a learning curve this year by LOWERING your expectations. You will have some "duh moments" laugh, love and pray together! But more than anything remember there are NO HOMESCHOOLING POLICE.:evil: Enjoy those kiddos and there are lots of veterans here to help. Don't isolate yourself and sorry for writing a composition.:lol:.ROFL but I help new homeschoolers in my area. Hugs and glad your here.
I don't do lesson planning beyond seeing how much we have to cover per week to be done by the end of the year (or middle if the case may be). If you look in the "Middle Schoolers - show your plans" thread (or whatever it is called) you'll see how many of us divided up our weeks for each subject.
Ahhhh, Tina's post made me think of something else.... I learned really fast not t set a time allotment for any subject... don't think that you need to spend an hour on this or that.. kids learn so much faster at home! Just think.. if the public school has a 45 minute math period, and kids learn faster at home then don't expect math to take you an hour for a lesson. I have set max time limits on things... "Today's Chemistry lesson maxes out at 1 hour" or "He has 30 minutes to work on his Grammar", esp if it is something that will take hours for the child... there is always later or tomarrow to finish things.
Here is a link to our "homeschool" website - I have some lesson plans and our weekly checklists up there if you want to see what my 7th grader did for last year! Good luck and I agree with crazy mama - dont' try to fit it all in a specific time. Some thing will go quickly, some will take longer, and really try to be OK if something doesn't get done that day - after all, there is more to a homeschooling life than just cracking open the books and watching the clock! This should take you right to the page with the files on them. If not, near the top of the home page is a list of links, and "My Files" is one of them. All the lesson plans and stuff is there. I also have a book lists page (I haven't updated yet for the past year though) so feel free to take a look at it all so see what works for us. Good luck in your search! http://familyd.50megs.com/box_widget.html
I am still struggling with this myself. our summer plans are currently out the window. I have resorted to saying...if I hear the word bored, we will do schoolwork. We are painting, moving bedrooms, both of them have rehersal for a play 4 days a week for 4 hours a day...this week is vbs...ugh. (not ugh for vbs, just for all of it together.) oh, wait....maybe that IS school! I have tried making up lesson plans...and I get overwhelmed. That it looks like so much to do. I am struggling with, how little is enough? But wanting to provide my boys with more. I get frustrated that dh, who never asked the kids about school when the went to ps, and never expressed any ideas about what they were doing there, all of a sudden has very specific ideas about what they should be doing now that I am doing it. (did the go outside...did they play catch? Does ds know his times tables...) I know he does not mean it to sound like he is checking up on me...but that is how it sounds. My lessonplans...usually completed during the actual doing of them, are more for dh than for the boys. If I did actual lesson plans ahead of time, I would have stuff that we didn't get to and that would "look bad" Trying to trust, trying to let go. one day at a time.
also Donna Young has Apoligia Science lesson plans all set up! check them out at her web site, donnayoung.org? Looks like you recieved a lot of great advice already! So I will join the welcoming commitee I have a 7th/8th grader as well!
Tina, you've got so much wisdom in that!!! Girl, how did we manage all this time you've been AWOL? You've worded so well things I "know", but don't know how to say!
I will have a 7th grader also so welcome to the club! I can't add much to the fantastic advice already given. I will only say that unless that works for you and your kids don't make homeschooling look too much like school- IMHO that is the beauty of homeschooling -the freedom to learn in a "unschooly" environment. Jane
I make up lessons plans 2 weeks at a time, mainly because I can only go to the library every two weeks and I need to know what books we are going to need in advance. I love Saxon Math because you don't have to be a math teacher to teach it, it has everything scripted out in the Teacher's manual. Also if your daughter likes worksheets then Saxon is right up her isle. It is very repetitive so if she's good at math you might want to skip some lessons. When I set up my lessons plan I looked at what subject I wanted to do every day (Math, reading, writing). And what subjects I wanted to do 2 or 3 days a week (History, science, grammar, spelling) and then started fitting it together like a jigsaw puzzle until I got this. Mon-Math, spelling, writing, history, reading Tues- Math, spelling, grammar, Science, reading Wed- Math, spelling, writing, history, reading Thurs- Library day, Field trip day, Science (if we have time) Fri- Math, spelling, grammar, history, reading Once you do it for a week or two you'll get a feel for what needs to be tweaked or completely changed. LOL. Have fun, homeschooling is awesome!
Tina, I wish I lived near you, you could have helped me alot this last year. Glad I found you now! Reading this has made me realized that I wasn't doing anything wrong last year, I thought I had to keep a ps sed. this year we are planning but if I don't want to do school, than we arenot. as long as we complete all the major stuff we are good. I'M NOT GOING TO STRESS OUT THIS YEAR!
Welcome! I like TinaTx's advice on how to unwind from the "school system". We do desire our children to be educated, but there are so many wonderful venues for homeschoolers. Go on the nature hikes and take the journal to draw or to write what you see, what you are feeling, what you hear... Go to the museums and enjoy it together. I will also second http://donnayoung.org/index.htm. Fabulous tools found here for lesson planning and more. You have the subjects figured out, good. Are you going to do school 4 or 5 days a week? We clean house on Mondays, with History reading in the afternoons, and then 4 days of the full work day-math, English class, science, etc. I use a teacher's planner. I write out the entire year first. Under each child's name here is an Example: Math-5 H&G Eng...wl (meaning writing lesson) 5 HW (handwriting)pg.5 etc. Then each month I look at the specifics of what they are learning. This is when I figure each child's subject material - I plan for any library books I may need, any other materials that may be needed to attain the learning. I do this because my first year teaching I was very sick and pregnant with my 3rd child. I had planned out my whole year with what assignments were to be done on which day, what stories were to be read when, and I was VERY thankful because I did not have the time or energy to figure anything! I just did with my dd what I had already planned. There is much to be said about planning. Make the plan and work the plan, it is freeing for the mind. Good to pass along to the next generations. Make the lists and work off the list. Looking forward to knowing how your year goes. I am glad for you and your decision for your family!
THat is what I do while the kids are doing their "self-directed" work! HAHA! The laundry room is right across from where we do most of our schoolwork - perfect time to do laundry!
I need to watch answering these new homeschoolers:lol: Lol I so enjoy teaching these workshops and classes that I write a "speech". Jackie, I always like your posts--I just had years helping new homeschoolers --so standing up in front of an audience groping for the right word help me to word it better..Thats all! I really like reading the other posts. Really all of the veterans help each the newbies. But with that being said there are things generally across the board that newbies need. They are a unique group and just don't have the confidence we do. They are NOT so comfortable in their "new found" freedom...lol Of course you always have the exceptions to this, but generally they need SPECIFICS and I do know how to chime in and say "uhmmm not a good idea to a veteran who means well but can't reach back to the time she started" I was a wreck! hee hee.. 1.They need to know generally how long Math is or should be, really any subjects - "SPECIFCALLY". It doesn't mean we are making rules for them. Bottom line: They DON"T know and are WORRIED. As they get more confident they know what works best for their advanced math student or slower math student. 2. They need to get familiar with this OTHER WOMAN :twisted: "we don't know who she is but she shows up to educate her children each morning" The kids call her Mom, but nobody recognizes her because when she sits down she becomes "war like" ROFL ROFL ROFL:lol: So she 'aint PRETTY when she sits down to school her kids because she THINKS all of her little plans are going to happen EXACTLY as she thought. 3. They and us as veterans need some gauges during our journey. For example, 2 hours for a Kindergarten sitting down is too much. YOu noticed I said "sitting down' NOT learning. A 1/2 paragraph for a highschooler is too little. I have lesson planned yearly, monthly, weekly and daily. Yearly was CRAZY.. it just made ME feel like I was behind (mm when there really is no behind) Monthly was better, But I needed the freedom to MOVE ON or stay on a subject longer if got it. Now..the method I prefer is "weekly". It is "just right". I can move ahead and I can keep a better pulse on our learning. I lesson plan while the kids are writing or reading during the school day. Not all at once but I fill in my plans as I'm sitting down with them. Don 't stress Shelby--what you don't cover this year, you can get next year. Cover the important stuff..Circumstances change, they grow and YOU DO get to cover a lot of what you want to. But BE CONSISTENT! I WON"T BUDGE on my schedule (well unless one of us is dying..LOL ...okay being crazy...but I WON"T GIVE MY VALUABLE TIME up. A tiny two letter word a lot of moms don't know when it comes to extracurricular activity is N--O. It's hard to say..LOL Uhmm, we have to be HOME to school! Smiling Dawn for the past 7 years we have had off Mondays. I KNOW ME and I can't school unless I SMELL bleach.lol So a clean house puts my mind at ease and having off Monday to menu plan (My menu plan is for 30 days at a time) and cleaning makes me feel in control..LOL But my boys are older, cleaning is easier and we have a fuller load so now 5 days because we have outside activities .. My motto for homeschooling: It requires more dedication than education.
