Planning with a new perspective

[Mommy to monkeys]

I hit stress and overwhelm every single year. My oldest is 14 and we've always homeschooled. Always. I know it takes awhile to find your "groove", or so I've been told, but I don't know that I'd say we're there. Or rather...I'm not.

 

I know all homeschool moms are different. Some are very organized and have an ability to focus and juggle all the details and moving parts of life. Whether that means they use something completed scripted or construct an intricate plan from scratch and follow it to the letter. They have it all together. Consistent. Organized. Not me. Despite my best intentions, I get lost in all those details. I'm not the best at following a plan, even if I make it myself.

 

On the other hand, I see moms with this amazing ability to just go with the flow of life and embrace all kinds of projects and experiences that are completely open ended. I simply cannot live like that either.  I need to set a course. To know where we're headed. (That and I really don't like crafty, project type schooling. And there's a certain amount of guilt that goes along with that...)

 

So here I am, like I am every year, trying to take a good long look at myself and my children, letting everything sink in. Contemplating how I'm going to balance my ideals with what's realistic. My ideals tend to be unreachable. At least, not completely reachable. And so I'm trying to find that balance.

 

Previous years I've sway back and forth- textbooks. CM(ish). A mix of CM and textbooks. And yet, I still haven't found "it". Maybe I never will...but I'm going to change my approach to planning this go around. Instead of going through a list of subjects I want to teach/have them learn and picking resources, I'm trying something new. Realistically looking at my routine (which includes my low energy level), and our natural rhythm and seeing what types of things/resources fit into it. I read somewhere that homeschooling is a natural extension of parenting and so how you homeschool should be a reflection of that.  That concept has always resonated with me, and yet I haven't truly embraced it. I'm going to try.

 

 It would be nice to know I'm not alone. I've met so many homeschool moms, and yet I've yet to meet one that I felt truly understood where I'm coming from. It can be so discouraging.

 

I'm not exactly sure what my question is. Has anyone changed your way of planning rather than just changing curriculum? Did you find what you were looking for?

[EKS]

I finally hit a stride with planning, as well as choosing resources that worked for us in the last few years we homeschooled.  In our case, the issues with planning/getting things done were related to the materials I had chosen.

 

First, I would try to choose resources that both my children and I would find interesting.  Any resource that relied on too much hands on work was immediately jettisoned, because no one in the house liked it ever and so it was always getting put off.  Also, if, after using it for a few weeks, my children or I found a resource particularly painful to use, we would stop using it.  Seriously, life's too short to torture everyone with resources that are a poor fit!

 

Then I would look at the resources I'd chosen and break whatever it was we were going to do into manageable lesson sized chunks.  After many years of going way too long into the summer, I finally realized that I needed to be sure that I had a maximum of 160 lessons per thing rather than 180, or, better yet 144 (4 days per week for 36 weeks).  This allowed for the inevitable setbacks.  Anyway, I would list each lesson in a spreadsheet just as a list and not tied to any days.

 

Then I had a blank weekly schedule for each kid.  So it listed things like math, grammar, writing, etc, and also had spaces for each read aloud and each independent assignment.  Each weekend, I would make up each kid's schedule by looking at my master list and distributing the lessons/readings/assignments.  I would do this in pencil (this is key).  Then as we went through the week, if something got put off or changed, I'd erase whatever it was, and move it or write down what was actually done.  That way the schedule would also serve as a record of what was done.

 

The combination of a master list and writing things in pencil really worked for me.  It gave me flexibility, appealed to my perfectionism (it would drive me crazy if I had a typed schedule and then something didn't get done), and forced me to look at where we were in each subject in relation to the entire year every week.

 

Anyway, I hope something in there helps!

[cintinative]

I do something similar to EKS.  For some subjects like Math, we just do the next thing, so on my weekly (pencil) schedule I just put the name of the text.  I have to keep an eye on it and make sure we don't get behind--which is usually not a problem since we do math over the summer. This year, though, we got behind in 5th grade math after spending more than six months on one book.  =P  So, lesson learned.  

 

For something like logic which we do twice a week, at the beginning of the year I count the pages, divide it by the number of days we will work, and put a post it or bookmark in the book saying "do x many pages" and that is how many they do each time they have logic. 

 

I take a relaxed view on Bible--we can keep doing that in the summer. So we try to do one chapter a week, but if we float it into part of another week, I don't worry.  

 

For history and science  I have a schedule as a spreadsheet of what we will read and/or do as a lab that week.  So each week we do history twice and science twice so I have two rows for those on my spreadsheet.  So for that week's lesson schedule I might put Science week 28-1 which means week 28, day 1.  If we get behind it doesn't matter, we just go to the next one. So we may be in week 30 of school overall but on week 28 of science. 

 

For artist study I generally make up a spreadsheet of the artists we want to study that year and I try to get through them all.  We did a bunch in the fall, and then got swamped, and have taken up doing one a week now and should be done in a few weeks.

 

So I have sort of master plan for the subject broken out by week (for anything that is not just do the next lesson) and then the weekly schedules that have what we plan to do (and can revise them in pencil or recopy)

 

I also have on graph paper the weeks numbered and dated on the left.  The lesson numbers are written in in pencil next to each week under the headings of "writing", "science", "history", "grammar" and "Latin." This is so I can keep a running track of about what week will be finishing 'everything.'   It just helps me to get an overall view of how on track or off we are. As I said, it is in pencil and has been revised many many times.  =)  

 

I hope this helps. I am not sure all this detail was needed!!

Edited March 15, 2017 by cintinative

[Ausmumof3]

 

I hit stress and overwhelm every single year. My oldest is 14 and we've always homeschooled. Always. I know it takes awhile to find your "groove", or so I've been told, but I don't know that I'd say we're there. Or rather...I'm not.

 

I know all homeschool moms are different. Some are very organized and have an ability to focus and juggle all the details and moving parts of life. Whether that means they use something completed scripted or construct an intricate plan from scratch and follow it to the letter. They have it all together. Consistent. Organized. Not me. Despite my best intentions, I get lost in all those details. I'm not the best at following a plan, even if I make it myself.

 

On the other hand, I see moms with this amazing ability to just go with the flow of life and embrace all kinds of projects and experiences that are completely open ended. I simply cannot live like that either. I need to set a course. To know where we're headed. (That and I really don't like crafty, project type schooling. And there's a certain amount of guilt that goes along with that...)

 

So here I am, like I am every year, trying to take a good long look at myself and my children, letting everything sink in. Contemplating how I'm going to balance my ideals with what's realistic. My ideals tend to be unreachable. At least, not completely reachable. And so I'm trying to find that balance.

 

Previous years I've sway back and forth- textbooks. CM(ish). A mix of CM and textbooks. And yet, I still haven't found "it". Maybe I never will...but I'm going to change my approach to planning this go around. Instead of going through a list of subjects I want to teach/have them learn and picking resources, I'm trying something new. Realistically looking at my routine (which includes my low energy level), and our natural rhythm and seeing what types of things/resources fit into it. I read somewhere that homeschooling is a natural extension of parenting and so how you homeschool should be a reflection of that. That concept has always resonated with me, and yet I haven't truly embraced it. I'm going to try.

 

It would be nice to know I'm not alone. I've met so many homeschool moms, and yet I've yet to meet one that I felt truly understood where I'm coming from. It can be so discouraging.

 

I'm not exactly sure what my question is. Has anyone changed your way of planning rather than just changing curriculum? Did you find what you were looking for?

You are absolutely not alone. We are on our sixth year and I still struggle to find balance between schedule and flow. A couple of blog posts that helped were at http://melissawiley.com/tidal-homeschooling/ and also Sarah McKenzies read aloud revival blog - particularly the "I am not an airplane" post as well as others.

 

I think it can be helpful to embrace the ebb and flow. So long as your kids have progressed and are learning it's ok that we have good schooling seasons and slower ones. I often think of the farming communities of earlier times where schooling happened in between seeding and harvest or when there wasn't so much snow that kids couldn't get to school.

[LMD]

One thing that really helped my planning this year was to do a cold read through of a lesson and time it. I needed realistic ideas on how long a lesson will take! That has been the single biggest help for keeping this year on track!

[LMD]

Should have said - I related to a lot of your first post. I'm not naturally organised, and it is hard!

[athomeontheprairie]

 

/ pound . I have

[lllll]

nm

Edited March 16, 2017 by 1234

[abba12]

I've really embraced the idea of curriculum being a resource to reach a goal, rather than curriculum being the plan for the year, this year. 6 weeks in (started our school year in February) and it's working so much better than last year. 

 

Each day eldest must do some math, but, whether that's khan academy or singapore or a hands on lesson or life of fred or another resource altogether that I thought looked fun doesn't matter. I have let go of the need to do X number of pages of singapore each week. I still use it as our spine, but, if eldest has learned it somewhere else like on khan academy, I will skim the chapter, assign some of the challenge problems, and move on. This past month we haven't opened singapore at all because we hit burnout last year memorising number facts to 10, and facing re-doing those chapters this year because of a lack of fluency was not making eldest happy. So instead we've been using khan plus a few extras and focusing on memorising those facts along with some other topics, and it's working well. When we get back to singapore in a week or two, we will likely spend a week or two doing the challenging questions and selected extra concepts in chapters 2, 3 and 4, and then jump to starting again on chapter 5. (I'll also be skipping the shapes chapter altogether except for the word problems, because she's done the whole early math geometry section on khan, and i think we will be skimming fractions when we get there too). It's been great.  It's also given me freedom. If I find a great math project or game, I don't have to try and fit it around our normal lessons, I can just say, hey, lets do this today, and whatever concept it helps teach, when we hit that concept in our book, will go faster and we can skim it later. 

 

Spelling and handwriting happen every day, but they're a page each, easy 5 mins. 

 

As for other subjects I think I have a good middle ground. I don't define which day what must happen or anything else, but, at some point each week we must do something sciency, and something history related, and some intentional PE, and other things. Using science as an example, quite often these happen on the weekend, a science experiment with daddy or a bushwalk or observing something interesting. If it doesn't, I look for whether there's any opportunities through the week. If there isn't, then I pull out my open and go science resources. I have a subscription through a local coop with open and go science lessons, I have some fun science books, and I also have a number of interests that I can pull up a documentary about and do an impromptu lesson on from my own personal knowledge. So, real experiences take priority but I have resources available and ready to grab to ensure it happens each week even if no life experiences come up. 

 

My plan is a set of goals, rather than a list of page numbers. Do math every day, Learn something new in science each week, and then I have a collection of resources to help me achieve that goal and I use the one which makes the most sense to me at the time. Of course I've only been doing this 6 weeks but we're all much happier taking this new perspective. 

 

[ondreeuh]

Then I would look at the resources I'd chosen and break whatever it was we were going to do into manageable lesson sized chunks.  After many years of going way too long into the summer, I finally realized that I needed to be sure that I had a maximum of 160 lessons per thing rather than 180, or, better yet 144 (4 days per week for 36 weeks).  This allowed for the inevitable setbacks.  Anyway, I would list each lesson in a spreadsheet just as a list and not tied to any days.

 

 

Then I had a blank weekly schedule for each kid.  So it listed things like math, grammar, writing, etc, and also had spaces for each read aloud and each independent assignment.  Each weekend, I would make up each kid's schedule by looking at my master list and distributing the lessons/readings/assignments.  I would do this in pencil (this is key).  Then as we went through the week, if something got put off or changed, I'd erase whatever it was, and move it or write down what was actually done.  That way the schedule would also serve as a record of what was done.

 

This is exactly what I do, and for me it is the perfect combination of planning ahead yet staying flexible. I would rather under-schedule than over-schedule, so I intentionally spread work into small assignments. We can always double up or work on the weekend if we need to catch up, but I deliberately kept things simplified so that it wouldn't be burdensome to stay on track.

 

I have a fillable PDF form that has 9 rows and 5 columns, which makes it perfect for planning a quarter at a glance. I basically "scheduled" a quarter's worth of work into a page. So I have Q1 math, Q1 history, Q1 science, and Q1 LA as my master lists, and I will transfer assignments to a paper planner each week. Each weekend I will see exactly where we are in comparison to the plans, and will make an up-to-date weekly schedule.

 

For chemistry, I list each day's assignment in columns 1-4, and column 5 is where I list any last-minute materials needed. I've already collected 99% of the supplies and have it in a tub - from q-tips and paper cups to batteries and magnets. It's just things like alcohol and dish soap that I save for the last column. For literature, I use MBTP, and it works about to about 4 days per week of work, so that is already done for me.

 

For history and math, I have assignments spaced out so that only a small bit is scheduled each day. For history it is super-easy to double-up or catch up on the weekend, and math is so spread out that I will be shocked if we got at all behind (we usually do 1 day per lesson, but I used the schedule in the TM which averages 2 days per lesson). And there is still about a week free at the end of each quarter in math, which we can use for fun stuff.

 

I've cut out fun little supplements that end up eating a chunk of time. I have plenty on my shelves that we can sprinkle in when we want to, but again, I would rather set up a minimalist schedule that allows room for supplementation than a full schedule that leads to burnout or getting behind.

 

[vaquitita]

Realistically looking at my routine (which includes my low energy level), and our natural rhythm and seeing what types of things/resources fit into it. I read somewhere that homeschooling is a natural extension of parenting and so how you homeschool should be a reflection of that. That concept has always resonated with me, and yet I haven't truly embraced it. I'm going to try.

 

That is a nice thought. I'm not so sure my homeschooling reflects my parenting style. Hmm

 

Eta: this reminds me of that thing Hunter is always saying... Teach from your strengths not your weaknesses.

Edited March 16, 2017 by vaquitita

[Carol in Cal.]

One of the successful homeschoolers I know focusses on one kid at a time, the one that has hit middle school.

 

She teaches the littles how to read, and the basics of 4 function arithmetic and math facts, and other than that mostly takes them to enrichment opportunities like science lab classes, field trips, natural history and robotics camps in the summer, nature awareness gatherings, art museum shows, karate, piano lessons, etc.  And she reads to them.  

 

That's not classical, and it's not equalized, but it works.

[Carol in Cal.]

DP

Edited March 16, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[sbgrace]

I'm going to read back and see if you got some ideas that might help me. But I identify with you, even if my details are different.

 

In our case, I just can't seem to balance one child's special needs work, activities which my kids love and need, and our school day. Other than consistency in math, we're 7th grade and I still don't feel I've figured it. In fact, the middle school years have been the hardest. I have moments or seasons when x or y is working, but day in and out--no.

[Hunter]

For many people, each year of knowing what you want to do and can do, takes you closer to high school where the default expectations can often fall far from what you know you want and can do.

 

December through February people focus on reality. Come March we start looking at what we are told we "should" do, sometimes by people who live very different lives than we do.

 

Do you want your kid to turn out like, YOU?! That isn't good enough, we are told. Without the resources or desire to change our OWN life, we are supposed to provide that for a child/student. And even if they don't want it either and are fighting us.

 

I'm starting to like myself more. And respect what made me who I am. If I'd done all the "shoulds" I wouldn't have had time for what I did do.

 

When I plan for the future and self-educate, I do so with more respect for myself now. This increase in respect for my background has brought an increase in disapproval, but...99% of the time I weather it easier than the greater approval shown towards my self-attacks.

 

Life is short and uncertain. The crap that counts is often not prioritized; and the stuff that doesn't is. I don't have time or energy for waste anymore. I'm 50 now. An immature fit 50, but a weathered one who has seen a lot.

 

Aging changes our worldview. As we age, we tend to pick one of two quite different paths. Instead of getting rigid and planted, I don't cleave or believe in much of anything.

 

Reading widely is one way to live and learn. I think the benefits are underrated as it is accessible to so many. It seems too easy. It is mocked and called foul.

 

What a delusional, neglectful, and prideful crone I am to declare myself well-educated and daring to give just what I have. But I do. And plan from a place of believing that I'm good enough. Maybe more than good enough.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Hunter

[Mommy to monkeys]

 

 

First, I would try to choose resources that both my children and I would find interesting.  Any resource that relied on too much hands on work was immediately jettisoned, because no one in the house liked it ever and so it was always getting put off.  Also, if, after using it for a few weeks, my children or I found a resource particularly painful to use, we would stop using it.  Seriously, life's too short to torture everyone with resources that are a poor fit!

 

Then I would look at the resources I'd chosen and break whatever it was we were going to do into manageable lesson sized chunks.  After many years of going way too long into the summer, I finally realized that I needed to be sure that I had a maximum of 160 lessons per thing rather than 180, or, better yet 144 (4 days per week for 36 weeks).  This allowed for the inevitable setbacks.  Anyway, I would list each lesson in a spreadsheet just as a list and not tied to any days.

 

Then I had a blank weekly schedule for each kid.  So it listed things like math, grammar, writing, etc, and also had spaces for each read aloud and each independent assignment.  Each weekend, I would make up each kid's schedule by looking at my master list and distributing the lessons/readings/assignments.  I would do this in pencil (this is key).  Then as we went through the week, if something got put off or changed, I'd erase whatever it was, and move it or write down what was actually done.  That way the schedule would also serve as a record of what was done.

 

The combination of a master list and writing things in pencil really worked for me.  It gave me flexibility, appealed to my perfectionism (it would drive me crazy if I had a typed schedule and then something didn't get done), and forced me to look at where we were in each subject in relation to the entire year every week.

 

Anyway, I hope something in there helps!

 

I'm completely with you on dropping the very handsy on-y type lessons.  They feel very meaningless to me and so it's nearly impossible for me to stay consistent with them.  Plus, my kids always complain.  No issues dropping that stuff.

 

And I do need to be more mindful of how many lessons are required to complete the curricula that I choose.  Although, I will say that I'm less and less drawn to curricula as time goes by and more to just plain books. 

 

Ah yes, planning in pencil.  I plan..re plan...and then re re plan.  I'll admit that I tend to enjoy the planning more than the actual doing.

I do something similar to EKS.  For some subjects like Math, we just do the next thing, so on my weekly (pencil) schedule I just put the name of the text.  I have to keep an eye on it and make sure we don't get behind--which is usually not a problem since we do math over the summer. This year, though, we got behind in 5th grade math after spending more than six months on one book.  =P  So, lesson learned.  

 

For something like logic which we do twice a week, at the beginning of the year I count the pages, divide it by the number of days we will work, and put a post it or bookmark in the book saying "do x many pages" and that is how many they do each time they have logic. 

 

I take a relaxed view on Bible--we can keep doing that in the summer. So we try to do one chapter a week, but if we float it into part of another week, I don't worry.  

 

For history and science  I have a schedule as a spreadsheet of what we will read and/or do as a lab that week.  So each week we do history twice and science twice so I have two rows for those on my spreadsheet.  So for that week's lesson schedule I might put Science week 28-1 which means week 28, day 1.  If we get behind it doesn't matter, we just go to the next one. So we may be in week 30 of school overall but on week 28 of science. 

 

For artist study I generally make up a spreadsheet of the artists we want to study that year and I try to get through them all.  We did a bunch in the fall, and then got swamped, and have taken up doing one a week now and should be done in a few weeks.

 

So I have sort of master plan for the subject broken out by week (for anything that is not just do the next lesson) and then the weekly schedules that have what we plan to do (and can revise them in pencil or recopy)

 

I also have on graph paper the weeks numbered and dated on the left.  The lesson numbers are written in in pencil next to each week under the headings of "writing", "science", "history", "grammar" and "Latin." This is so I can keep a running track of about what week will be finishing 'everything.'   It just helps me to get an overall view of how on track or off we are. As I said, it is in pencil and has been revised many many times.  =)  

 

I hope this helps. I am not sure all this detail was needed!!

I'm envious of the organizational skills that y'all possess. I can do the planning to break things down and make things fit, but it's really stressful to me having everything broken down into so many pieces.  If it's something like math or grammar, we just do the next thing, but the other subjects like science and history.... I feel like I need a looser way of planning. I feel like my heart wants to be a type A person, but a space cadet lives in my brain. ;) 

 

You are absolutely not alone. We are on our sixth year and I still struggle to find balance between schedule and flow. A couple of blog posts that helped were at http://melissawiley.com/tidal-homeschooling/ and also Sarah McKenzies read aloud revival blog - particularly the "I am not an airplane" post as well as others.

 

I think it can be helpful to embrace the ebb and flow. So long as your kids have progressed and are learning it's ok that we have good schooling seasons and slower ones. I often think of the farming communities of earlier times where schooling happened in between seeding and harvest or when there wasn't so much snow that kids couldn't get to school.

I love Melissa Wiley and the analogy of having high and low tides speaks to me. I would love to find a middle ground between structure and what she describes simply because I have so many learners to juggle.

 

Now Sarah Mackenzie gets me. Maybe it's having all those little ones with a set of twins at the end, I don't know. ;) But just her outlook and ideals align very much with mine. 

This is exactly what I do, and for me it is the perfect combination of planning ahead yet staying flexible. I would rather under-schedule than over-schedule, so I intentionally spread work into small assignments. We can always double up or work on the weekend if we need to catch up, but I deliberately kept things simplified so that it wouldn't be burdensome to stay on track.

 

I have a fillable PDF form that has 9 rows and 5 columns, which makes it perfect for planning a quarter at a glance. I basically "scheduled" a quarter's worth of work into a page. So I have Q1 math, Q1 history, Q1 science, and Q1 LA as my master lists, and I will transfer assignments to a paper planner each week. Each weekend I will see exactly where we are in comparison to the plans, and will make an up-to-date weekly schedule.

 

For chemistry, I list each day's assignment in columns 1-4, and column 5 is where I list any last-minute materials needed. I've already collected 99% of the supplies and have it in a tub - from q-tips and paper cups to batteries and magnets. It's just things like alcohol and dish soap that I save for the last column. For literature, I use MBTP, and it works about to about 4 days per week of work, so that is already done for me.

 

 

I've cut out fun little supplements that end up eating a chunk of time. I have plenty on my shelves that we can sprinkle in when we want to, but again, I would rather set up a minimalist schedule that allows room for supplementation than a full schedule that leads to burnout or getting behind.

 

 

This is huge. All of the little extra subjects steal focus from the main ones. It's very difficult for me to have so many different subjects with so many boxes to check.  Fewer subjects done better is what we need.

That is a nice thought. I'm not so sure my homeschooling reflects my parenting style. Hmm

 

Eta: this reminds me of that thing Hunter is always saying... Teach from your strengths not your weaknesses.

For example if you are a free spirited person/parent, homeschool in a box from Abeka will probably drive you nuts.  If you are a very rule focused, step by step, type A person, unschooling would probably be a poor choice.

 

I've spent so much time trying to teach in whatever way I think I'm "supposed" to (And how I think I'm supposed to teach has see-sawed quite a bit) rather than what's most natural for me.  I like that saying of Hunter's. To teach from your strengths rather than your weaknesses. And therein lies much our problem.  I'm very aware of my many weaknesses, but I'm still working on figuring out my strengths. I tend to have high expectations of myself that I'm not able to reach.

[Mommy to monkeys]

For many people, each year of knowing what you want to do and can do, takes you closer to high school where the default expectations can often fall far from what you know you want and can do. This is indeed part of where my anxiety is coming from. I know that.  My oldest with officially be high school aged next year, and trying to figure out how to do what's required is frustrating. I don't LIKE having an education that fits into little boxes/credits. It feels so unnatural, and yet I'm kind of at a point of accepting it as a necessary evil and trying to make the best of it in a way that I can handle. Realistically. 

 

December through February people focus on reality. Come March we start looking at what we are told we "should" do, sometimes by people who live very different lives than we do.

 

Do you want your kid to turn out like, YOU?! That isn't good enough, we are told. Without the resources or desire to change our OWN life, we are supposed to provide that for a child/student. And even if they don't want it either and are fighting us.I actually had a discussion with my oldest two this week about their dreams, goals, and what they'd like the rest of their homeschool journey to look like. And do you know what they told me? They're happy. They feel like they're learning and enjoy their free time. Neither feel intellectually inferior to the public school kids in our area. (we do live in one of the poorest counties in the state.  School system isn't great) My oldest son wants to be an electrician, and my daughter doesn't know what she wants to do which I assured her is totally normal at TWELVE.

 

I'm starting to like myself more. And respect what made me who I am. If I'd done all the "shoulds" I wouldn't have had time for what I did do.

 

When I plan for the future and self-educate, I do so with more respect for myself now. This increase in respect for my background has brought an increase in disapproval, but...99% of the time I weather it easier than the greater approval shown towards my self-attacks.

 

Life is short and uncertain. The crap that counts is often not prioritized; and the stuff that doesn't is. I don't have time or energy for waste anymore. I'm 50 now. An immature fit 50, but a weathered one who has seen a lot.

 

Aging changes our worldview. As we age, we tend to pick one of two quite different paths. Instead of getting rigid and planted, I don't cleave or believe in much of anything.

 

Reading widely is one way to live and learn. I think the benefits are underrated as it is accessible to so many. It seems too easy. It is mocked and called foul. Reading has kept us afloat in every season where I've felt we were going under.  I've read aloud at least an hour or more almost every single day for years, and they've had an hour of silent reading time as soon as they outgrow their naps. It seems almost too easy and yet we've certainly reaped much from it.

 

What a delusional, neglectful, and prideful crone I am to declare myself well-educated and daring to give just what I have. But I do. And plan from a place of believing that I'm good enough. Maybe more than good enough. You're amazing and have been an inspiration to me and many others on this board for years

 

[Mommy to monkeys]

I've really embraced the idea of curriculum being a resource to reach a goal, rather than curriculum being the plan for the year, this year. 6 weeks in (started our school year in February) and it's working so much better than last year. 

 

Each day eldest must do some math, but, whether that's khan academy or singapore or a hands on lesson or life of fred or another resource altogether that I thought looked fun doesn't matter. I have let go of the need to do X number of pages of singapore each week. I still use it as our spine, but, if eldest has learned it somewhere else like on khan academy, I will skim the chapter, assign some of the challenge problems, and move on. This past month we haven't opened singapore at all because we hit burnout last year memorising number facts to 10, and facing re-doing those chapters this year because of a lack of fluency was not making eldest happy. So instead we've been using khan plus a few extras and focusing on memorising those facts along with some other topics, and it's working well. When we get back to singapore in a week or two, we will likely spend a week or two doing the challenging questions and selected extra concepts in chapters 2, 3 and 4, and then jump to starting again on chapter 5. (I'll also be skipping the shapes chapter altogether except for the word problems, because she's done the whole early math geometry section on khan, and i think we will be skimming fractions when we get there too). It's been great.  It's also given me freedom. If I find a great math project or game, I don't have to try and fit it around our normal lessons, I can just say, hey, lets do this today, and whatever concept it helps teach, when we hit that concept in our book, will go faster and we can skim it later. 

 

Spelling and handwriting happen every day, but they're a page each, easy 5 mins. 

 

As for other subjects I think I have a good middle ground. I don't define which day what must happen or anything else, but, at some point each week we must do something sciency, and something history related, and some intentional PE, and other things. Using science as an example, quite often these happen on the weekend, a science experiment with daddy or a bushwalk or observing something interesting. If it doesn't, I look for whether there's any opportunities through the week. If there isn't, then I pull out my open and go science resources. I have a subscription through a local coop with open and go science lessons, I have some fun science books, and I also have a number of interests that I can pull up a documentary about and do an impromptu lesson on from my own personal knowledge. So, real experiences take priority but I have resources available and ready to grab to ensure it happens each week even if no life experiences come up. 

 

My plan is a set of goals, rather than a list of page numbers. Do math every day, Learn something new in science each week, and then I have a collection of resources to help me achieve that goal and I use the one which makes the most sense to me at the time. Of course I've only been doing this 6 weeks but we're all much happier taking this new perspective. 

A set of goals rather than a list of page numbers.  This is exactly what I'm trying to work out on paper right now. A very loose plan with lots of wiggle room and space to let real life experiences interrupt without having to feel as though the plan has been completely derailed.

[barnwife]

 

I love Melissa Wiley and the analogy of having high and low tides speaks to me. I would love to find a middle ground between structure and what she describes simply because I have so many learners to juggle.

 

Now Sarah Mackenzie gets me. Maybe it's having all those little ones with a set of twins at the end, I don't know. ;) But just her outlook and ideals align very much with mine. 

 

This is huge. All of the little extra subjects steal focus from the main ones. It's very difficult for me to have so many different subjects with so many boxes to check.  Fewer subjects done better is what we need.

For example if you are a free spirited person/parent, homeschool in a box from Abeka will probably drive you nuts.  If you are a very rule focused, step by step, type A person, unschooling would probably be a poor choice.

 

I bolded that section above.

 

First, I am a newbie HS. Our oldest is only 6. This is his K year. I intentionally planned a light(er? ish?) year for a few reasons. One, we had a baby in Dec. I wanted to allow space for our family to adapt to this wonderful new person. The other has to do with me. I like learning to be part of our family culture. I admit to being slightly envious of those people here who make plans with specific books/curriculum/resources for many, many subjects. I think "oh, I wish I could do that!"

 

But, that isn't me/us. My K plan was/is something like "read, do something mathy, practice writing pretty much everyday."

 

Now, I had some resources in mind. But we freely pick and choose which ones we use on any given day. As long as we cover those areas pretty much every day I am happy.

 

And doing K this way has made me realize something. I think we get to those other areas that others plan out more often than we would if I plan them. Only now it's just life....which makes us like them more! 

 

So now I am thinking about the near future. Our oldest will officially be a 1st grader (he's 6.5). DD is 5 and tags along for everything. So does the 3 yo. And my dad is going through a (most likely incurable) health crisis. 

 

A big part of me wants more specific plans for 1st grade. But I know we won't stick to it/things will change. So I am sticking to the "read, mathy things, and writing" with life for everything else.