hmm.. maybe we all could put togehter boxes of each months things needed? then we can pull out Septembers month and use that box of stuff up.. in my case I would need twelve boxes of markers, pencils and scissors! They always disappear!
When I first started homeschooling, I really did not plan in advance. We sort of took it day by day. Now that I am more of a seasoned homeschooler (I hope), I have found that I need to be organized and plan out our homeschool studies. I don't plan a year in advance but I look at goals and what I'd like us to accomplish. I plan one week in advance. I work on our lesson plans on the weekends early in the morning while the rest of the family sleeps late...sometimes, after the kids go to bed or when they are playing with their Dad.
Late chiming in........................... I would plan my school day in the evening when kids were spending time visiting with their dad about everyone's day.
I'm trying to do weekly schedules. It doesn't always work out because our life-style is a little hetic. Hey you never know when the cows will bust out (yes they did that!). I'm WORKING at using homeschool tracker so I can print out their days for them or weeks if they want it. I get asked a lot how I do it all... and honestly I don't know. I have learned there are moments when I just need to sit and read or watch TV (yesterday I watched a BUNCH of TIVO'd court tv things laughing at the stupidity of people - you know the Judge Judy type stuff)....then I read. I needed that down time. My husband goes to work this afternoon after church and then I will do chores - and this evening plan out the week. With cooler weather we are trying to go camping 1 day this week. (in the backyard but still)
I am pretty strict with my bedtimes so that I can have time to do the things that need to get done. I also get up in the morning before the kids. So there are two times I have to work on lesson plans, ect. I also bring them along to Dr. apts and things like that. I have changed my schedule lots over the yrs to find the right fit with time and to get things done. Right now I am doing my major planning as we take all of June and July off for summer break.
I plan a rough guide for the year, and then spend an evening or two a week for daily plans. I don't get very rigid with the plans, since things continually change. It is more a matter of planning when she has piano lessons, literature co-ops, art, etc. Then I find blocks of time for hands-on projects like science experiments and time for the stuff we need to do together. Remember your kiddos are very young, so things will get easier as they become more independent. The time flies, so enjoy this time while they are little and don't worry if the 'plan' never happens.
For math- no big deal, we just do the next lesson. We finish whenever we finish and we move on to the next book when ready. For handwriting- same thing. We just do the next page (or two). For reading-- ds reads to me from the Handbook for Reading along with whatever else he wants. For unit studies...well, those are a bit more tricky... I spend three entire days (usually Saturdays) each year planning. One day in July, one in November, and one before convention (usually March). We are in a literature based unit study co-op. We go through two book titles each month and one field trip. So, I get a tentative calendar and pencil in those book titles. This year, I also had Elijah make a list of what he wanted to learn about this year. I looked at HSS for some units to use. For instance, he wants to learn about bats, so I chose Stellaluna as one of the units we will use. He wants to learn about camels, so I chose Cappy the Lonely Camel. I also left 8 weeks as "Elijah's Choice" -- he will choose whatever he wants and be responsible for his own learning on those weeks. I do all this before convention. After I have my semester penciled in, I make a file box with one file folder per unit study. I print off lesson plans, lapbook materials, copywork pages, dd go-along book suggestions, etc. until everything I need is in that one folder. I do this for one semester at a time. I am gearing up for a file box day sometime next month. I keep my eye out at convention for fun and interesting go-alongs that will enhance our units. I really like it this way. Unit studies can be as much/as little work as you want them to be, but by investing a few days, I save my sanity throughout the year! I pull out the folder on Sunday nights, skim the lessons and am ready to go on Mondays.
Heee Heee. I understand that one. We have a rabbit who is always getting out. I do a rough yearly schedule, then a rough weekly schedule and we go from there. Sometimes we use the week end to catch up if something really went wrong during the week.:roll:
I do a "year" rough plan over the summer either when the girls are resting (DD2 naps and DD7 either has to play quietly in her room or play outside) or at night while watching TV with DH. I then try to plan on Friday afternoon for the following week. I have found that having a general plan is much better because then you never feel "behind" when life happens . I also try to prep stuff whenever I find the time (copy pages, print and cut lapbooks, etc). Right now I am preping a unit study for DD on Charlotte's Web. I will read through it, decide what we want to do, make a supply list, print off materials and then we will be ready to go!
My son is a bit older now (7.5) so it's easier to plan while he's playing outside. He also has one hour of quiet time in his room each day. And I'm a night owl, so I'm always up 2-3 hours after he goes to bed. When he was younger, we spent time at the playland in McDonald's. He could play there for hours while I did some planning or reading catalogs.
I just want to say, I have seen Ami's filebox and it is quite impressive. Girl, I have no idea how you do all you do, it's quite inspiring. But I hope you know how much I (and many many others) appreciate you!
Oh I just finished the coolest thing - LOL... we have a pool and I took my books outside and planned 2 weeks while the kids were in the pool I can deal with school that way!!
I would agree the best time to plan is at night when the kids are asleep. My wife and I also give each other time each week where one of us takes the kids off the others hands for 2-3 hours and then we can do anything with that time we want...planning school, just catching up, or getting that much needed break! Regards!
