Do you buy a special planner for hs'ing? I usually buy a cheap spiral bound planner at the beginning of each school year, with good intentions of keeping track of things. It usually gets thrown aside pretty quickly. If you use a special planner, what features do you look for?
I used to spend $$ and buy all sorts of planners. Downloads. You name it. Nothing was quite "right". I set up my own Word file and fill it out for a few weeks at a time, my kids like it. I like it. Is it more work, yes....but it's worth it when they can go down their list & check off what needs to get done. They each have their own.
I found teacher planner books and grade books at the Dollar Tree a few years back, and stocked up on them. The paper quality is a little less than those that cost more but not enough to worry about. The main point for me is to write down daily assignments a week or two at a time, to keep things organized and focused. I also make plans in pencil, things do change sometimes.
I'm like you, I set myself up with planners at least twice a year, and never stick with them for more than a week at the most. I'm just not a planner person, I guess. I am very much a list person, though. I keep a small notebook where I list out things I want to do on a weekly or monthly basis. I wouldn't call it a planner, though. It has lists for homeschooling, groceries, meal ideas, our monthly budget, etc.
I have tried several planners over the years. I normally will write down what we did at the end of the day. I usually don't plan out the week for each kid. I know where they are in the books so I will write down a personal workplan for each child every day and they work with that. As for the daily planner for what they did, sometimes I'm good about filling them in, sometimes not. This year I found a nice one at Targets $1 aisle. I only bought 2 (one for each younger kid) and didn't realize they'd only hold 1/2 a year. Boo...I liked the layout. Now I am trying to write in a composition book what they did, but it's falling by the wayside.
I keep our records on Home School Tracker, but I find it's a nuisance to refer to during the day/week when I need to check what's "on deck," or make a quick note of what reading book DS has chosen...I need to be more mobile and not strapped to the computer, I can't remember well enough to enter small pieces of information later. The other issue is that when I'm planning my days out, I like to be able to flip back and forth and look at multiple weeks/subjects/days quickly. Not so easy with HST. I bought the first edition of The Well-Planned Day, and love, love, love it. BUT...it runs on a traditional academic year, and we start our school year in January. Nothing quite so annoying as having something that works really well and runs out of juice (pages) half way through your school year. I was very happy to be told recently by the publisher that next year they'll be coming out with a calendar year version. Yay! FWIW, a few years ago, we were in a Stephen Covey store (7 Habits of Highly Successful Whatever...) and found school planners. The kids LOVED them. They had little puzzles, trivia, spaces to write their spelling words for the week. Even though the boys were really little, they would write (or draw) their personal plans for the day (like riding their bike, or building with Legos). Same problem, though. Come June, no more pages. Well-Planned day also has student planners; if they come out with those in a calendar year version, I will give those a try for the boys.
I got a teacher planner with my children's curriculums, but I don't do the weekly planning. I have an idea of what needs to be covered during the week and fill out the daily work and date completed every day. That's it! I found out that if I plan the week ahead of time, they end up finishing up before the scheduled time and then think they're off for the rest of the week :-/ (they're middle schoolers). I don't use the planner either...I print out the weekly lesson sheets and fill them out. I thought about ordering a teacher planner for each so I can use it for next year, but it doesn't seem right to spend $8 to see if it works.
I'm thinking of creating one myself that more fits my needs. I'm trying to figure out what features I'd actually use. I know I wouldn't use a menu planner or chore chart in my HS planner. Many I've seen include those. I like the idea of the kids having their own. We are a flexible family, so changes happen. I put events in my smart phone, but it just sends me reminders. Sometimes I need to see it all laid out.... like this week-- 2 year round swim practices times 2, summer swim league practices times 3, ballet recital on Friday (extra practices and dress rehearsals) for one, 2 afternoons of work for me, and an out-of-town swim meet this weekend.
Nope. I download a weekly planning sheet from Donna Young and fill it out next weeks work near the end of each week. Nothing longer range then that ever seems to work well for me.
I've taken to making my own. Grades are recorded on grade sheets in a binder. The actual weekly planning is done on Word with a perfect template that came with Word 2010. Then I print this planner weekly and put it in a page protector in the boys' binders. They know each day what they are to do and they get their individual work out of the way first thing. Then I have a copy so I know what I'm teaching that day. After the initial setup this takes me about 30 minutes a week to plan, copy, and then put all the papers in their folders. One folder per subject and any work they have to complete is IN the folder for that subject. If it's not in the folder then they need me to help or instruct and they have to wait for teaching time.
I like Well Planned Day Planners! www.wellplannedday.com They are beautiful and functional. You can see a flip-book preview on their website. This was the first year I used it and I have managed to stay organized and on track.
North Atlantic Regional High School (www.NARHS.com) actually has a planner the high school students are supposed to use that they developed. We are using it this year for my oldest. On a two page spread, it has space for 7 days a week, 9 subjects, place for hours (if you track them) for each subject, a seperate place to track quizzes and tests for each subject, and a place to total and figure final grade. It has plenty of room for the whole calendar year. You can purchase it from them on their site and you don't have to be enrolled with them.
I bought homeschool tracker, with the purpose of keeping track of everything, but sadly, I have not been keep up with it like I wanted, It takes a long time and My hubby doesnt like me to be on the computer at night working on school stuff.....
I use the CLASS Lesson Planner. I plan out the whole year during the summer and mark the date each assignment is completed during the school year. http://www.christianlibertypress.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CLP89920
I WANT a Well Planned Day planner, but my son is only in kindergarten and my daughter is only 2, lol soooooooo I don't need anything that extensive, but once they are older, I'm definitely getting one! Right now I just print out weekly lesson plan charts and fill it in as we go, sometimes I plan our weeks out in advance and then highlight stuff as we get done with it
over the years I have tried to use different ones, I found for daily use I can use one from Donnayoung.org. I keep it on my computer write in it for the weeks lessons and ds checks off a little square as he completes a project, lesson etc. I also have one that I plan to use for next year over the summer. I am going to give myself goals for the year, what I PLAN for us to do, then IF I keep up with my end of the deal I get a prize too! Ds will get rewards for getting the job done on time, I get to takehim to Pizza and movie for "Dooms Day" stuff, and more, so I need to be sure I am doing my grading on time and such so I know ifhe is keeping up. SO I am making a planner for the year for ME, Teacher MOM will have -- grade a b c, Assign bla bla, but he will have daily -- Ds's lessons for DAY MONTH YEAR< etc, or weekly, print outs of whats required of him, we will put those in his binder each week and he can refer to it if I question if he did such and such.
I'm looking into SOMETHING. I might try Cozi since we are already using that. I do plan on making weekly checklists for the boys next year. (To help them learn self motivation.)
I just use a regular notebook. I love lists. I make lists for everything! I have purchased plan books in the past but I never stick with them. In the summer when Walmart has notebooks on sale I stock up for the entire year. I use them for lesson plans and I have a different color for each child. BUT that doesn't mean I can't resist plan books. For next year I found one at Rainbow Resource that I can record all four kids in one book and have everything I need daily on two pages. So I can see where we are at a glance and only use one book, but in my heart I know that I will use it for a couple weeks and then go back to my notebooks. What can I say? I am so weak when it comes to plan books!!!!
When ds was homeschooling, I got a teacher plan book with a 2-page spread of five days a week plus a column for "notes" that I divided into Saturday and Sunday, with I think 7 subjects down the side. Nice big squares to write in. That worked fine, and would work for one or two students. But ever since I've been schooling Other People's Kids, I just use a regular spiral notebook. I make a column for each student, with subjects down the margin. I can fit three students per page comfortably (but I have squeezed in as many as five on one page), so that one day is a two-page spread. I grid it off myself, so how much space per subject is adjustable, two to about five lines (college ruled) as needed, with space for LAE (where I list Sequential Spelling, Daily Grams, extra little comprehension stories or whatever) and Other (where I put notes about behavior, reasons for absence, field trips, meds given, or miscellaneous info as needed). In the grid box, I check off when the subject/assignment is done or NF if not finished by the end of the day or a big X if we didn't get to it at all, homework assigned (green H in a circle or the word Quiz or Test if there's one tomorrow), quiz/test grade (red). My "lesson plans" consist of things like "p 42-45" or "Lesson 6" or "Read & Q wb" (which means questions in the workbook), or "Quiz 1" or "Test" in red if it's today. No big descriptions needed. It works for me!
I got one with my curriculum that I ordered. My plan is to write out about 2 weeks worth in advance (in pencil, just in case). I like to check things off as we do them, and I can add to it or take away from it if we did something different that day. That way, it will help me to keep my records for the state, even if they will never have to see them! LOL! Plus, I am just a list maker, and I love the satisfaction of checking something off.
