How far ahead to you plan or make out schedules? I am wanting to get ready for fall, and have no idea if I should go week by week, month by month or what.
I only plan weekly too, as things change...sometimes my good intentions dont come to fruition, or we decide to head out at last minute etc. Less pressure on me , less disappointments for the kids if we dont get to everything
Same here. I plan weekly, on Sunday evenings. Makes it much easier to carry things over when needed, or make changes related to illness, impromptu field trips, etc.
Same here. I schedule weekly, but I have a basic plan worked out yearly, for the semester and monthly just to make sure I'm on track.
if I do one of those I do weekly my young mind can't do that far ahead, then I get confused and feel old. LOL
It's like Jill said....figure out where you are heading and how to get there but...as far as the details of the lesson planning...go for week at a time. I've really fallen in love with my homeschool tracker program because I can print out my week and bump anything that we don't finish AND...as long as the info is in there...it tells me how long we will be at it - based on the set pace. Sometimes we think oh....only 10 more spelling lessons better get the next level and then we realize...hey that is 10 WEEKS away. lol
I usually planned weekly....sometimes daily. lol. However, for next year I have all three terms planned out...I plan monthly, weekly and then daily. So, we shall see how this goes. LOL. I did not plan for breaks in my terms...that is something I remain flexible on due to dh vacation times, nice weather, etc.
Right now I am doing high school but I think when I do elementary I will plan similarly. I made up a chart that has 6 days of the week (one spot beign sat/sun) and it goes for 39 weeks (it is a few pages long) I plan out each day but mainly base ieach course off of 4 days since we have co-op on Fridays for 20 weeks during the year. I try to get each course to plan for around 30-32 weeks this way if we get behind we should still be all set. I include possible movies, field trips and things like that on the schedule but they are just a guide. Once a week (Fridays during co-op or Sunday night) I make up the plan for that week. I will sometimes change things around a little from my master plan but it gives me the bones for the class for that year. Does that make sense? I just feel more comfortable knowing I have a plan.
We started with a month ahead, then tried a whole year... that was fun but I missed some stuff and we ditched that one... Dh made me a weekly Lessons plan page that worked the best for me, it gives me room to explain anything I need them to know and what they need to do for each subject. I have made them weekly by adding boxes to check and allowed them to work ahead as well. Those were the days! Summer is coming, Summer is coming... I can make it!
Weekly or daily......it depends on the week. I do more weekly planning early in the year. As the year winds down and more activities come up...we go more daily. I definitely can't do more than a week at a time...well, I could but I know we won't follow it so why bother...lol.
We plan certain things monthly and others weekly or even daily. However everything goes in the planner in pencil because it can change at anytime.
I try to plan a week or two in advance...but no further! I found out that when I planned too far in advance - unexpected things came up and threw off the schedule and then I had a lot to adjust!!! I'm going to keep a generic plan of "I want this accomplished by..." type thing... And then a specific plan. I've come up short on the curriculum for two years in a row now! I'm not done and the end of the school year is fast approaching!!! WAAAAAHHHH!!!! So...obviously, I need to do more advance planning...but I also need to be more relaxed. My one girlfriend plans it all out without listing a day that it needs to be done (like she just has blocks filled in) and she checks it off as it gets done. That way...when they finish all the blocks, school is done! LOL She doesn't assign a "day" like Monday/Tues/Weds...etc....she just says "a day will look like this" and if it happens to get done on a Saturday, so be it!!! Her boys will often will look at 5 blocks and get 1 subject done a day for 5 days or something like that...as...did I explain that well??? Anyway...
This year, I have been a daily planner. For whatever the reason, it works. USUALLY, that is. LOL BUT! If I am planning a unit study, I have to plan at least a week in advance.
Mine stuff a pretty much laid out so I open and go. I have a master schedle with schooling blocked. The night before or right before I start I will go over what to do.
I was going to ask the same question as this coming year will be first year without a TM. I started out making lesson plans for 9 weeks got overwhelmed and they lay sitting there. I *might* take another stab at it. I at least want to have an idea of a yearly plan even if it is loosely laid.