Boxed curriculum and planners

[My4arrows]

When using a boxed curriculum do you use an additional planner? Ours will cover Bible, History and Science. Then we have our othe subjects from other publishers. I'm not sure if it makes sense to rewrite the plans from the tm each week, only use a planner for the other subjects, only have student planners for the kids. It's been awhile since I've used a boxed curriculum so I'm not sure how to plan weekly for it.

[73349]

I wouldn't write detailed notes, just note on my spreadsheet something like "Chapter 24: WWI." Then there's an overview when you want to glance at the month or year.

[MerryAtHope]

I did, but it was like what Whitehawk described--quick notes so I knew what to do, not rewriting detailed instructions. I found that I really needed everything on one page or I was too likely to forget things. Then I could refer to the various teacher's manuals as I worked through materials, but the one-page guide I made up helped me keep on track.

[Ellie]

When using a boxed curriculum do you use an additional planner? Ours will cover Bible, History and Science. Then we have our other subjects from other publishers. I'm not sure if it makes sense to rewrite the plans from the tm each week, only use a planner for the other subjects, only have student planners for the kids. It's been awhile since I've used a boxed curriculum so I'm not sure how to plan weekly for it.

 

I'm not sure what "boxed curriculum" is. Is that like buying a box of books from CLASS?

[ondreeuh]

I'm not sure what "boxed curriculum" is. Is that like buying a box of books from CLASS?

You've been on this forum for eons. I can't believe that you don't know what she means by a boxed curriculum. Does anyone here ever talk about buying a box of books from CLASS? Are they even in business? Surely she means what every other person means when they say boxed curriculum: a set of materials chosen and scheduled by a company (Sonlight, Calvert, Seton, My Father's World, etc. usually all labeled with the same grade level! :-)

[Hunter]

You've been on this forum for eons. I can't believe that you don't know what she means by a boxed curriculum. Does anyone here ever talk about buying a box of books from CLASS? Are they even in business? Surely she means what every other person means when they say boxed curriculum: a set of materials chosen and scheduled by a company (Sonlight, Calvert, Seton, My Father's World, etc. usually all labeled with the same grade level! :-)

Ouch!

 

Yes, CLASS is still in business and is actually still quite popular with people that don't frequent this forum.

 

When people say "box" I too always wonder if it is a box that is a correspondence school like box with a schedule and possible accountability, or just a box of books.

 

The term "notebooking" showed my age recently. Um, notebooking was actually done in a blank notebook. I'm not sure when worksheets became notebooking, but....there are still people that use real notebooks to "notebook" so I do ask, even if "every other person" knows.

 

This forum is just a subset of homeschoolers. People do pop up that talk oldschooling talk. It was real. It is still real.

[Ellie]

You've been on this forum for eons. I can't believe that you don't know what she means by a boxed curriculum. Does anyone here ever talk about buying a box of books from CLASS? Are they even in business? Surely she means what every other person means when they say boxed curriculum: a set of materials chosen and scheduled by a company (Sonlight, Calvert, Seton, My Father's World, etc. usually all labeled with the same grade level! :-)

 

Yes, CLASS is still in business. Back in the day when I was actually homeschooling, no one ever used the term "boxed curriculum." I have seen Easy Grammar and KONOS referred to as "boxed curriculum."  It is not a term I would use myself, because it is an inexact term. It would not occur to me, ever, to group Sonlight, Calvert, and My Father's World into the same category and call it "boxed curriculum."

 

And so because of this, I questioned what the OP meant by "boxed curriculum." Excuse my ignorance.

[Guest]

OP everyone knows what you meant :svengo:

 

I wouldn't keep two planners going. Whether that meant copying out of the program's plans, or writing side plans into the programs plans, I'd only keep one planner.

[Hunter]

Yes, CLASS is still in business. Back in the day when I was actually homeschooling, no one ever used the term "boxed curriculum." I have seen Easy Grammar and KONOS referred to as "boxed curriculum." It is not a term I would use myself, because it is an inexact term. It would not occur to me, ever, to group Sonlight, Calvert, and My Father's World into the same category and call it "boxed curriculum."

 

And so because of this, I questioned what the OP meant by "boxed curriculum." Excuse my ignorance.

There is another oldschooler who used to post at the main forums who now only posts at private subforums. Unlike Ellie and I, she still has a late-life baby that is still quite young. But she felt like her contributions and questions about her little one were not only unwanted but offensive. So she went away.

 

Truly, we do not always know what is meant. Especially when we have presuppositions formed when something else was the norm. None of us would have grouped those curricula into any single label. It is unnatural for us to do that know. The differences in those curricula would change our advice.

 

I'm trying to isolate the differences and explain them, but maybe shouldn't bother. I'm not going to just leave, like my dear friend did, but...really, we sometimes struggle to know what you mean. Societies that push their elders aside instead of trying to find a way to keep them integrated, usually are not as successful. With all our lacks and annoying habits, and maybe ESPECIALLY and BECAUSE of them, we provide balance and history.

 

A different approach to Ellie's question might have resulted in some great advice or a good story or something useful or pleasurable. Probably not now, though.

 

Things have changed so much!!!! Really, newbies do NOT understand how much. And they are working with the presupposition that things were as they are now. That is a flawed presupposition. And we are starting to enter chronological snobbery in homeschooling as much as we have adopted it for older books.

 

To gloss over, minimize, and reinvent the history of homeschooing is a mistake. A colossal mistake.

 

Scheduling, yes, to offer advice, we needed more info.

[My4arrows]

Sorry I didn't intend to make anyone feel isolated or cause an argument over my question. I was just looking for planning suggestions for those who have used similar types of curriculum.

As PP said boxed curriculum, as I've heard it called since I began homeschool 7 years ago, are curriculum like Sonlight, MFW, etc which one publisher put together the schedule for you for different subjects. As I had said in my OP, ours includes Bible, History and Science and I was just looking at which ways makes the most sense for planning. Sorry I thought I was specific enough in my OP even if you weren't sure what a boxed curriculum is.

[Renai]

Sorry I didn't intend to make anyone feel isolated or cause an argument over my question. I was just looking for planning suggestions for those who have used similar types of curriculum.

As PP said boxed curriculum, as I've heard it called since I began homeschool 7 years ago, are curriculum like Sonlight, MFW, etc which one publisher put together the schedule for you for different subjects. As I had said in my OP, ours includes Bible, History and Science and I was just looking at which ways makes the most sense for planning. Sorry I thought I was specific enough in my OP even if you weren't sure what a boxed curriculum is.

I don't think it was your question that would have offended, but another pp's response to Ellie's question.

 

I've added math and other such information to the main planning pages. If I didn't want to mark it up (ie, wanted to sell later), I copied the planning pages first and marked the copy. I often wrote in pencil because something ALWAYS changed.:D I know friends with more than one child did different colors for different kids.

 

I have an 11th grader and a kindergartener. I'm not THAT old, but things sure have changed. I'm still stuck on the comment that notebooking isn't about a blank notebook, but worksheets, lol.

[Ellie]

There is another oldschooler who used to post at the main forums who now only posts at private subforums. Unlike Ellie and I, she still has a late-life baby that is still quite young. But she felt like her contributions and questions about her little one were not only unwanted but offensive. So she went away.

 

Truly, we do not always know what is meant. Especially when we have presuppositions formed when something else was the norm. None of us would have grouped those curricula into any single label. It is unnatural for us to do that know. The differences in those curricula would change our advice.

 

I'm trying to isolate the differences and explain them, but maybe shouldn't bother. I'm not going to just leave, like my dear friend did, but...really, we sometimes struggle to know what you mean. Societies that push their elders aside instead of trying to find a way to keep them integrated, usually are not as successful. With all our lacks and annoying habits, and maybe ESPECIALLY and BECAUSE of them, we provide balance and history.

 

A different approach to Ellie's question might have resulted in some great advice or a good story or something useful or pleasurable. Probably not now, though.

 

Things have changed so much!!!! Really, newbies do NOT understand how much. And they are working with the presupposition that things were as they are now. That is a flawed presupposition. And we are starting to enter chronological snobbery in homeschooling as much as we have adopted it for older books.

 

To gloss over, minimize, and reinvent the history of homeschooing is a mistake. A colossal mistake.

 

Scheduling, yes, to offer advice, we needed more info.

 

I love you, Hunter. :001_wub:

 

[FawnsFunnyFarm]

OP, back when I used a boxed curriculum for a blink of an eye, I used a simple spiral notebook and made a list of what we needed to do.. from both the boxed curriculum's guide and my own planning... which has always been run as a do the next thing kind of format.. so I would write the stuff from my guide then I would write like math- do lesson 30, reading- kids read chapter 3 and then answer questions. etc.

 

As far as the off the track discussion, I think the point Ondreeuh was trying to make is that, even though you haven't homeschooled your own kids in many moons, and things are very different now, you have spent enough time here on the boards in the modern world of homeschooling that you should know that when a current homeschooler says "boxed curriculum" they are speaking of something like Bookshark or TOG or any other planned out for you curriculum.  Honestly, to someone who doesn't know that you are a retired homeschooler, your comment about not knowing what a boxed curriculum was probably came off as rather snarky... it did to me anyway, and I know you have been around the boards long enough to know that your homeschooling days are well behind you.

Edited March 20, 2017 by FawnsFunnyFarm

[Just Another Jen]

We need an "oldschooler" subforum. 

There is another oldschooler who used to post at the main forums who now only posts at private subforums. Unlike Ellie and I, she still has a late-life baby that is still quite young. But she felt like her contributions and questions about her little one were not only unwanted but offensive. So she went away.

Truly, we do not always know what is meant. Especially when we have presuppositions formed when something else was the norm. None of us would have grouped those curricula into any single label. It is unnatural for us to do that know. The differences in those curricula would change our advice.

I'm trying to isolate the differences and explain them, but maybe shouldn't bother. I'm not going to just leave, like my dear friend did, but...really, we sometimes struggle to know what you mean. Societies that push their elders aside instead of trying to find a way to keep them integrated, usually are not as successful. With all our lacks and annoying habits, and maybe ESPECIALLY and BECAUSE of them, we provide balance and history.

A different approach to Ellie's question might have resulted in some great advice or a good story or something useful or pleasurable. Probably not now, though.

Things have changed so much!!!! Really, newbies do NOT understand how much. And they are working with the presupposition that things were as they are now. That is a flawed presupposition. And we are starting to enter chronological snobbery in homeschooling as much as we have adopted it for older books.

To gloss over, minimize, and reinvent the history of homeschooing is a mistake. A colossal mistake.

Scheduling, yes, to offer advice, we needed more info.

 

[Renai]

 

 

As far as the off the track discussion, I think the point Ondreeuh was trying to make is that, even though you haven't homeschooled your own kids in many moons, and things are very different now, you have spent enough time here on the boards in the modern world of homeschooling that you should know that when a current homeschooler says "boxed curriculum" they are speaking of something like Bookshark or TOG or any other planned out for you curriculum. Honestly, to someone who doesn't know that you are a retired homeschooler, your comment about not knowing what a boxed curriculum was probably came off as rather snarky... it did to me anyway, and I know you have been around the boards long enough to know that your homeschooling days are well behind you.

I know this question will take this further off course, but isn't TOG just plans? I've not heard TOG referred to as a box curriculum since it doesn't contain everything you need - including books - to get started. But, I haven't looked at it in a while so things may have changed.

 

I have used box curriculum - MFW and Sonlight - and described how I dealt with plans above. BUT, your post about using spiral notebooks reminded me I did some of that too. In fact, in going through boxes yesterday, I found a few. :D It's pretty cool to go back and see what you were doing years ago.

[FawnsFunnyFarm]

I know this question will take this further off course, but isn't TOG just plans? I've not heard TOG referred to as a box curriculum since it doesn't contain everything you need - including books - to get started. But, I haven't looked at it in a while so things may have changed.

 

I have used box curriculum - MFW and Sonlight - and described how I dealt with plans above. BUT, your post about using spiral notebooks reminded me I did some of that too. In fact, in going through boxes yesterday, I found a few. :D It's pretty cool to go back and see what you were doing years ago.

I'm pretty sure you can order everything from TOG? I may be wrong.. But its still, even if you have go order books separately, basically the same as boxed. Your plans are laid out, specific books are listed and scheduled, you just get more boxes as your books arrive. Lol

[AMJ]

I wouldn't write detailed notes, just note on my spreadsheet something like "Chapter 24: WWI." Then there's an overview when you want to glance at the month or year.

 

 

I did, but it was like what Whitehawk described--quick notes so I knew what to do, not rewriting detailed instructions. I found that I really needed everything on one page or I was too likely to forget things. Then I could refer to the various teacher's manuals as I worked through materials, but the one-page guide I made up helped me keep on track.

 

 

Yes, like these.  I use a teacher's planner to think through the general progression of things over the course of our school "year" (working in breaks we know we want), and then I use a monthly/weekly planner to track what we actually do, and other occurrences (like illnesses, allergies, or unexpected events) that impact things.  Notes are generally initials of things with indicators of what is to be or has been done.  This gives me a concise plan to refer to, and a concise record of what was done.  

 

This is especially helpful when I get sick but the kids can still work on stuff, or when we return from breaks or need to reschedule due to allergies or unexpected appointments or whatever.

 

I also buy my kids their own monthly/weekly planners in which to track their own work since they are older now and need to learn how to keep themselves on target.  At the start of the week we go over certain independent subjects, review what they have done to date, and note down the work to be done that week for each -- this is the only time we touch on those subjects together unless they want to talk to me one-on-one about any of them.  Other subjects we do daily or 2-3 times per week, so we note those as needed as we get to them.  

 

As more things pile onto a person's schedule and radar more and more brain power is spent trying to keep track of them.  Having someplace to record and summarize everything related is very helpful to lessening the burden on the brain, freeing up more of it for the actual learning and thinking.

[AMJ]

A reminder to everyone here (not the OP specifically):  The WTM forums draw people from all over the world, so very many different ages, cultures, walks of life, philosophies, experiences.  It is as diverse as the entire world.  A person could spend 12 hours a day reading boards and threads on the forum and still never get it all read.  Since the WTM community members generally all have other things going on in their lives I find it safe to assume that no one has managed to read all of the WTM forums, and therefore everyone here can be sure that there is something they have missed.

 

To ask for clarification of what someone meant, especially before offering asked-for advice or opinion that could change according to said meaning, is thoughtful and well-mannered.  To deride someone for not knowing what might seem "obvious" to you is not.  Such assumptions of meaning often lead to miscommunication, sometimes with disastrous effect.

 

Please keep in mind the main purpose of the WTM forums is for folks to get together to help and support each other.  Recognize that everyone here is human and can misunderstand things -- no one is immune to this.  If someone professes confusion or ignorance over a term simply try to helpfully explain, or hold your tongue.

 

 

 

And because I'm fairly confident that I'm not the only one here to wonder:  What is CLASS, please?  (I'm asking about what I assume is an acronym, not the word itself.)

[JoJosMom]

A reminder to everyone here (not the OP specifically):  The WTM forums draw people from all over the world, so very many different ages, cultures, walks of life, philosophies, experiences.  It is as diverse as the entire world.  A person could spend 12 hours a day reading boards and threads on the forum and still never get it all read.  Since the WTM community members generally all have other things going on in their lives I find it safe to assume that no one has managed to read all of the WTM forums, and therefore everyone here can be sure that there is something they have missed.

 

To ask for clarification of what someone meant, especially before offering asked-for advice or opinion that could change according to said meaning, is thoughtful and well-mannered.  To deride someone for not knowing what might seem "obvious" to you is not.  Such assumptions of meaning often lead to miscommunication, sometimes with disastrous effect.

 

Please keep in mind the main purpose of the WTM forums is for folks to get together to help and support each other.  Recognize that everyone here is human and can misunderstand things -- no one is immune to this.  If someone professes confusion or ignorance over a term simply try to helpfully explain, or hold your tongue.

 

 

 

And because I'm fairly confident that I'm not the only one here to wonder:  What is CLASS, please?  (I'm asking about what I assume is an acronym, not the word itself.)

 

Nicely said, AMJ. :iagree:

 

 

[KeriJ]

A reminder to everyone here (not the OP specifically): The WTM forums draw people from all over the world, so very many different ages, cultures, walks of life, philosophies, experiences. It is as diverse as the entire world. A person could spend 12 hours a day reading boards and threads on the forum and still never get it all read. Since the WTM community members generally all have other things going on in their lives I find it safe to assume that no one has managed to read all of the WTM forums, and therefore everyone here can be sure that there is something they have missed.

 

To ask for clarification of what someone meant, especially before offering asked-for advice or opinion that could change according to said meaning, is thoughtful and well-mannered. To deride someone for not knowing what might seem "obvious" to you is not. Such assumptions of meaning often lead to miscommunication, sometimes with disastrous effect.

 

Please keep in mind the main purpose of the WTM forums is for folks to get together to help and support each other. Recognize that everyone here is human and can misunderstand things -- no one is immune to this. If someone professes confusion or ignorance over a term simply try to helpfully explain, or hold your tongue.

 

 

 

And because I'm fairly confident that I'm not the only one here to wonder: What is CLASS, please? (I'm asking about what I assume is an acronym, not the word itself.)

You might be right, but technically I have been here long enough to know that Ellie asks this question numerous times whenever the term "box" is used. I have never been quite sure why she asks it so often. No offense, Ellie.😊

[JoJosMom]

You might be right, but technically I have been here long enough to know that Ellie asks this question numerous times whenever the term "box" is used. I have never been quite sure why she asks it so often. No offense, Ellie.😊

 

Probably because the term means different things to different people, and Ellie is quite precise.  :001_smile:

[lanalouwho]

Ellie was simply trying to clarify what the OP was asking so she could offer better advice.

In regards to the OP, this is what I do: in a separate planner, I write each subject and the lesson or page number that we are working on. So for today, my planner looks like this:

 

Math: lessons 30, 32-36

Phonics: Yellow Jello, Fat Cat

History & Literature: BYL pg. 8-9

 

Then I use the actual curriculum guide as we work through. I keep our school day light since my oldest is kinder, so you may (or may not) need to list more. But I've found this system works well and allows me to tweak the schedule as needed.

 

 

Sent from my HTCD160LVW using Tapatalk

[ondreeuh]

You might be right, but technically I have been here long enough to know that Ellie asks this question numerous times whenever the term "box" is used. I have never been quite sure why she asks it so often. No offense, Ellie.😊

Yes, this exactly. She has heard people explain this before. I don't have a lot of patience when people seem to pretend to not know what someone is saying. :001_huh:

Edited March 20, 2017 by ondreeuh

[AMJ]

Yes, this exactly. She has heard people explain this before. I don't have a lot of patience when people seem to pretend to not know what someone is saying. :001_huh:

 

As has already been mentioned in this thread (though after the post you quoted, so perhaps you hadn't seen when you made this reply), a term can mean different things to different people.  I myself have asked the same and similar questions seemingly over and over, but each time was in a different context, with different people involved.  It's not that I didn't have any idea at all what the term in question meant; I simply wished to clarify how it was being used in that particular context because it could very well have been used in a way other than I had assumed.  Doing so is NOT pretending not to know what someone is saying -- it is clarifying the intended meaning, to make misunderstanding a lot less likely.

[Ellie]

You might be right, but technically I have been here long enough to know that Ellie asks this question numerous times whenever the term "box" is used. I have never been quite sure why she asks it so often. No offense, Ellie.😊

 

Because no one ever answers my question.

[Ellie]

Yes, this exactly. She has heard people explain this before. I don't have a lot of patience when people seem to pretend to not know what someone is saying. :001_huh:

 

No, no one has actually explained what she means. When some call Easy Grammar or KONOS "boxed," and others lump together Sonlight, Calvert, Seton, and My Father's World into the same category and call it "boxed," then I am confused. I don't ever pretend to not know what someone is saying. I don't ever pretend.

[Hunter]

There are "boxed curriculum' that have daily lesson plans that not only list the exact page numbers, but exactly which numbered problems to complete or not complete. Some would even include the crayons if the lesson required crayons.

 

For example, Day 20, page 100, exercise 23, problems 1-3, 5, 10-15, 20.

 

That is entirely different than a box of books from Abeka with grade 5 listed on them.

 

Scheduling these two boxes would be different.

 

No, we don't always know what "box" means. We have seen enough curricula over the decades to know that there is more than the current most popular curricula used here. The past few years of what has been discussed here, with the terms popular here is a drop in the bucket to what we have seen and are CONTINUING to see. When we don't know the OP, we are aware they might not be part of the majority culture here with its own unique terminology. Really TWTM is not the center of the current homeschooling movement, never mind how it places in history.

 

This is CLASS

http://homeschools.org

My neighbor used it for high school for her oldest. We used American School for my oldest. Yes, American School and also Calvert are still around, but I am not fully up to date on any changes.

 

In certain environments some moms might be able to converse amongst themselves using the term "sports team", but you can bet at some point, someone is going to ask, "Which sport?"

 

OP, I'm sorry for my part in derailing. And I truly don't know how to offer advice. I am not up to date on the plans and schedules included in what is most commonly known here as a box right now. I dont have enough information. Unlike Ellie, I just didn't even bother to try, hoping someone else would be better equipped.

 

Ellie did try. The people who don't think they need Ellie are the ones who need her most. I could quote some good Proverbs about disregarding the wisdom of elders, from all cultures, not just the Bible.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Hunter

[ondreeuh]

Because no one ever answers my question.

 

Not true. At all.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awelltrainedmind.com+ellie+%22boxed+curriculum%22

 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Not true. At all.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awelltrainedmind.com+ellie+%22boxed+curriculum%22

 

 

See, I wouldn't go this far with haulin' in the evidence unless I wanted to shame somebody and try to drive them off the boards. It's pretty extreme. Maybe just put Ellie on ignore if she bothers you by asking about this more than a few times?

 

I went ahead and read the first page of links. Here's what I saw:

 

For about two years, but not every day or anything, just a few times, Ellie would ask, "What does 'boxed curriculum' mean, I don't know that phrase?" And people would answer with this or that explanation, depending on what THEY meant by it.

 

Then having heard all the options over time, and noting that there was NOT one single definition, Ellie switched to saying what she said in her post in this thread:

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "boxed curriculum." Sorry. I've never heard that used IRL, and people here mean different things when they say it.

 

Which is pretty darn straightforward if you ask me. She's saying, I was never able to absorb the nuances of this nebulous term IRL because nobody used it where (and possibly when) I come from, so please just tell me what YOU are looking for when you say it."

 

I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't see an obnoxious trend on Ellie's part, nor is she scolding people for saying it, or trying to put people in their place. She evidently just has a policy of getting clarification from individuals when they use this phrase -- for the purpose of helping and advising.

 

She does NOT act like she's never heard the phrase before. She does act like the phrase means nothing, leaving one attempting to answer a specific question about a nonspecific concept (thus the call for clarification), which is her prerogative.

[AMJ]

There are "boxed curriculum' that have daily lesson plans that not only list the exact page numbers, but exactly which numbered problems to complete or not complete. Some would even include the crayons if the lesson required crayons.

 

For example, Day 20, page 100, exercise 23, problems 1-3, 5, 10-15, 20.

 

That is entirely different than a box of books from Abeka with grade 5 listed on them.

 

Scheduling these two boxes would be different.

 

No, we don't always know what "box" means. We have seen enough curricula over the decades to know that there is more than the current most popular curricula used here. The past few years of what has been discussed here, with the terms popular here is a drop in the bucket to what we have seen and are CONTINUING to see. When we don't know the OP, we are aware they might not be part of the majority culture here with its own unique terminology. Really TWTM is not the center of the current homeschooling movement, never mind how it places in history.

 

This is CLASS

http://homeschools.org

My neighbor used it for high school for her oldest. We used American School for my oldest. Yes, American School and also Calvert are still around, but I am not fully up to date on any changes.

 

In certain environments some moms might be able to converse amongst themselves using the term "sports team", but you can bet at some point, someone is going to ask, "Which sport?"

 

OP, I'm sorry for my part in derailing. And I truly don't know how to offer advice. I am not up to date on the plans and schedules included in what is most commonly known here as a box right now. I dont have enough information. Unlike Ellie, I just didn't even bother to try, hoping someone else would be better equipped.

 

Ellie did try. The people who don't think they need Ellie are the ones who need her most. I could quote some good Proverbs about disregarding the wisdom of elders, from all cultures, not just the Bible.

 

 

Thank you, this is very helpful!  

[JoJosMom]

See, I wouldn't go this far with haulin' in the evidence unless I wanted to shame somebody and try to drive them off the boards. It's pretty extreme. Maybe just put Ellie on ignore if she bothers you by asking about this more than a few times?

 

I went ahead and read the first page of links. Here's what I saw:

 

For about two years, but not every day or anything, just a few times, Ellie would ask, "What does 'boxed curriculum' mean, I don't know that phrase?" And people would answer with this or that explanation, depending on what THEY meant by it.

 

Then having heard all the options over time, and noting that there was NOT one single definition, Ellie switched to saying what she said in her post in this thread:

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "boxed curriculum." Sorry. I've never heard that used IRL, and people here mean different things when they say it.

 

Which is pretty darn straightforward if you ask me. She's saying, I was never able to absorb the nuances of this nebulous term IRL because nobody used it where (and possibly when) I come from, so please just tell me what YOU are looking for when you say it."

 

I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't see an obnoxious trend on Ellie's part, nor is she scolding people for saying it, or trying to put people in their place. She evidently just has a policy of getting clarification from individuals when they use this phrase -- for the purpose of helping and advising.

 

She does NOT act like she's never heard the phrase before. She does act like the phrase means nothing, leaving one attempting to answer a specific question about a nonspecific concept (thus the call for clarification), which is her prerogative.

 

Gosh, here you are being all logical and rational and nice and stuff.  Kinda takes all the fun out having some sort of weird personal agenda.

 

 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Gosh, here you are being all logical and rational and nice and stuff.  Kinda takes all the fun out having some sort of weird personal agenda.

 

 

I'm sorry, but I can't figure out what this means?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm sorry, but I can't figure out what this means?

She means that others were shaming Ellie for some reasons of their own but you are being logical and reasonable. And may I add, polite.

 

 

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[JoJosMom]

I'm sorry, but I can't figure out what this means?

 

 

She means that others were shaming Ellie for some reasons of their own but you are being logical and reasonable. And may I add, polite.

 

 

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What Jean said.  Thanks, Jean!

[KeriJ]

I disagree that the purpose was to shame Ellie. I appreciate Ellie and other long-term homeschoolers and their wisdom. I just know that the "boxed curriculum" definition has been debated for years and rarely does it seem to be for clarification, but rather to make a point that others are using the term incorrectly.

I think that was the only purpose in linking to the threads.

 

It was out of frustration, not to shame. I don't think that is a fair accusation.

Edited March 21, 2017 by KeriJ

[Critterfixer]

My box is whatever books I put in it, so I can't speak to pre-planned curriculum. However: as pertains to the original question, Yes. You need another planner.

Why? Because your student may not progress the way the lesson planner feels your student should progress. Your student might mow down the material or need to plod for a while. Sick days don't exist in pre-planned lessons. Field trips usually aren't in there either. Let alone the day that the toilet overflows because somebody dropped a bar of soap, your keys and a whole roll of paper in there and flushed it. So yes, you need your own plans, even if someone makes the plans for you.

 

I plan everything on paper for six weeks. I might or might not use the suggested schedules. Math, Latin and WWS all have suggestions as to what pacing is appropriate--Math is so-so, WWS is right on (Thanks, SWB!) and Latin is way off. I take all that into account in my six week schedule. Every Friday, I assemble my plans for the week. These I print up and my boys get a copy on Monday and I keep one for each boy. I make notes--was the pace right? Could I speed up? Do I need to drop something? Add something? What if I really don't like a resource I'm using? Do I need to make an extra-long trip to the library on Saturday?

 

If you already have most of the planning done, you'll still want to take notes, figure out what to do when something isn't working for you, and adjust the pacing for your student and your schedule. So even if your plans are on loose-leaf paper stapled together in the front of a three ring binder (like mine) I think it's a good idea to have your own. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I disagree that the purpose was to shame Ellie. I appreciate Ellie and other long-term homeschoolers and their wisdom. I just know that the "boxed curriculum" definition has been debated for years and rarely does it seem to be for clarification, but rather to make a point that others are using the term incorrectly.

I think that was the only purpose in linking to the threads.

 

It was out of frustration, not to shame. I don't think that is a fair accusation.

Ellie didn't need a comprehensive definition of what a boxed curriculum means to you. All she needed was clarification from the OP as to what she meant when she used it. No one else's opinion really matters when someone is trying to help an individual person with a question. The debates on what is meant generally by "boxed curriculum " should be left for general threads on the subject. Now if the OP had given her clarification and people had argued with her over it, then that would have been another matter. But that isn't what happened.

[KeriJ]

Ellie didn't need a comprehensive definition of what a boxed curriculum means to you. All she needed was clarification from the OP as to what she meant when she used it. No one else's opinion really matters when someone is trying to help an individual person with a question. The debates on what is meant generally by "boxed curriculum " should be left for general threads on the subject. Now if the OP had given her clarification and people had argued with her over it, then that would have been another matter. But that isn't what happened.

True, for this conversation. Edited March 21, 2017 by KeriJ

[KrissiK]

I use CLE for several subjects for my younger girls and I don't even plan that. It's all divided into lessons, so we just do the next thing and keep on going until it's done, however long that takes. My older kids...I plan, but I make it in the form of check-off boxes in a table on Word. That way I print it off at the beginning of the week and the kids have it and can check off what they do. I make a new list every week (as opposed to erasing last week's and filling in the same boxes), so it gives me a record on the computer of what we've accomplished.

[SkateLeft]

I've also been homeschooling for a very long time, and was able to infer what the OP meant by "boxed curriculum." ;)

 

When I've used pre-planned stuff, I don't use another planner for extras. I try to simplify things as much as possible, so I'll generally just make notes in the margin. The times in my life that I've turned to a pre-planned program have usually been times when I've been dealing with real life issues, and juggling another planner would probably have defeated the whole purpose.

[Loowit]

The "boxed curriculum" I use comes with a teacher planner book for Bible, history, science, and art/music. It has spaces for putting in other subject plans, but he boxes are a bit small for using with more than one child.  I use a separate binder for other subjects.  Each week I pull it out and make up individual sheets for the upcoming week for each kid with their language arts, math, Greek, and other subjects that I put together on my own and aren't part of the "boxed curriculum".  So I am not pulling out two planners every day, just the one for combined subjects for the boys and then each kid has his own plans for the week in his/her individual folder.  This has worked well for me for years.

[Bay Lake Mom]

OP - Your question is a great one. I have debated this as well. Is the planner used for the purpose of planning and having a list of tasks to work from each day - or is it to show what you have done each day (for record keeping)? I decided that I really only wanted the planner for record keeping. We always just did the next lesson in our core subjects (math, language arts). So, I decided to do things differently.

 

I created a weekly checklist. On the front there is a M-F heading for each subject we cover. As we go through the day, we check off (e.g.) Spelling. Also on the front I have a section labeled "Books Read" and "Notes". On the back I created several colorful and fun shaped "bubbles" labeled: Bible, History, Science, Language Arts, ... In these "bubbles" I list the topics covered each week.

 

So, I can look back quickly over the year and see a summary of our accomplishments. I print one of these out for each child each week. When the week is through I put it in their binder with any other work completed that week.

[Guest]

I'm sitting here going, TOG is a boxed curriculum? What the heck? Never in a million years would I have labeled it that. I've used Sonlight and TOG. Sonlight yes- definitely a box. TOG, nope. If it were a box, they sure make you do a lot of work in that case since everything is a choice from multiples and not laid out. Which I guess goes to prove the point that box curriculum doesn't mean the same to everyone..... I'm not old at this and I thought I knew what it was, but hearing TOG lumped in, I see that's no longer that case!

[My4arrows]

OP - Your question is a great one. I have debated this as well. Is the planner used for the purpose of planning and having a list of tasks to work from each day - or is it to show what you have done each day (for record keeping)? I decided that I really only wanted the planner for record keeping. We always just did the next lesson in our core subjects (math, language arts). So, I decided to do things differently.

 

I created a weekly checklist. On the front there is a M-F heading for each subject we cover. As we go through the day, we check off (e.g.) Spelling. Also on the front I have a section labeled "Books Read" and "Notes". On the back I created several colorful and fun shaped "bubbles" labeled: Bible, History, Science, Language Arts, ... In these "bubbles" I list the topics covered each week.

 

So, I can look back quickly over the year and see a summary of our accomplishments. I print one of these out for each child each week. When the week is through I put it in their binder with any other work completed that week.

Thank you, this has helped me. i already have a weekly sheet for each of my children like you mentioned, so this may best suit us.