Anyone not plan and just keep a log of what you do instead?

[nukeswife]

Hi all,

I've been planning for the last 4 years we've been homeschooling, but that plan never sticks so I end up having to constantly change it. My state doesn't require me to keep anything, just have to send in test scores each year, but I like to keep a record of what we did just in case because we're military and you never know when we could end up moving and to where.

 

I was thinking that because most of our stuff is just "do the next thing" type curriculum that instead of planning ahead of time to just keep a written log of what we actually do each day. I would have a general plan like math 5x a week, grammar 3x a week, history 2x a week, science 2x a week, etc.

 

Anyone do something like this. I'd love to hear what you do and how you keep a record. Do you just use a regular notebook, a planning journal?

[Jen500]

Sometimes I just use a regular notebook to plan out the next week.

I use a Whaley planner to log what we actually did each week.

[Sara in WA]

Yep. I have a checklist of our subjects and we plow through the subjects. Nothing too complicated. Then I just check off what we've done and the next day try to pick up where we lacked. I have an idea of what to accomplish each day. The planning usually comes in when I look ahead to some library books to reserve.

[sassenach]

We started off hsing in Florida, which requires you to maintain a portfolio and record work completed, so that's how I got into the habit. I keep a planner, but I mostly just record what we have done. I will often put down due dates, or short term projects as well. At the beginning of the year I look through our books and figure out how many pages per week of each text we are going to need to complete in order to finish on time. I think this works because we use preplanned curricula like Sonlight and MFW. If I was having to plan out a bunch of different books myself, I guess I would need to do more long term planning.

[coffeegal]

I ended up creating a log book for each of my children in February. I used a table with days of the week down the side, and subjects along the top. In each box, I put the type of information to be recorded such as lesson #, or pg, and I also left room for the grade. I printed up enough pages for the remainder of the school year, and gave each child their own folder. My children fill in the log as they work. They'll work along the Monday row, for instance, filling in the math lesson, English lesson, Latin lesson, etc. When I sit down with the child, I can easily see what was completed, grade, and record the information. I can also write in what I expect to be accomplished on any given day. It's been much easier than writing up stellar plans, that end up being trashed before the first week is over. My biggest issue, so far, is one child enjoys doing his schoolwork over the weekend. I only included rows for Monday - Friday.

[catz]

Yes! I do a table in MS Word for each of my 2 kids with their subjects, along with how many times a week we are planning to do it. It has a column for Monday through Friday across the top. I put regular extra curriculars and play groups right in the spread sheet. I print one out for each week, and I have room on the page for things like extra field trips or outings. There's enough room to note books or chapter #'s, or just to mark things done.

 

I keep all the sheets in a 3 ring binder. I put other things in the binder like standardized test scores, piano recital programs, tickets from museums, work samples, etc. At the end of the year, I'll print out a dozen pictures or so of the year and add those. We'll have a nice "year book" when we get done with it. At the beginning of the year they both created a cover for the binder.

 

Both my kids are well ahead of grade level, so I have no real particular goals for them to achieve by the end of the year as long as we're still moving and covering everything. We follow a lot of rabbit trails and follow their interests when possible.

[danybug]

I am a non-planner ;) I just found that I never stuck to my plans especially since we like to up and go to the library and all kinds of outings.

 

Anyway, I am in PA so I do have to report what we do. I keep blank monthly calendars and fill in what days we school. I also have a blank sheet with each subject and then each day, that I fill in what pages or whatever we did for the day. For reading, my ds has cute reading sheets/log that we fill in every book that we read. And then I basically keep everything and pick the best samples from each area at the end of the year and make up a sample binder.

 

I find all of these methods are simple and easy for me. But in actuality it is totally out of character for me.

[Oakblossoms]

We use a composition notebook. We got a recycled Sasquatch one this year. So, the kids call it the Sasquatch now.

 

Hey, Mom, I did Math. Do you have Sasquatch? I keep the kids all in one. We report to a VA weekly and monthly. It helps with that reporting. I put a square around the child's name and underline subjects to try and keep thinks neater. We have tried more formal planning. But, I really enjoy catching the learning moments.

 

It seems silly to me to plan our MUS. New week, new lesson.

[m0mmaBuck]

My 'plan' is to get through a level of math and language arts each year as well as finish whatever SOTW level we are on and the WTM science that goes with it.... I don't write out what I plan to do each day or week, I just know that I have X number of light units to finish in a year...

 

So rather than a lesson plan, I make a MS Word table for each week and list the amount of time spent on each subject each day. Then I put a footnote below the table to keep track of reading materials used, projects, DVDs, field trips, etc.... Since I'm not required to show anyone what we've done, it just helps my peace of mind.

[nukeswife]

We started off hsing in Florida, which requires you to maintain a portfolio and record work completed, so that's how I got into the habit. I keep a planner, but I mostly just record what we have done. I will often put down due dates, or short term projects as well. At the beginning of the year I look through our books and figure out how many pages per week of each text we are going to need to complete in order to finish on time. I think this works because we use preplanned curricula like Sonlight and MFW. If I was having to plan out a bunch of different books myself, I guess I would need to do more long term planning.

 

This is what made me think of it. Our first year was in FL and I got in the habit of writing what we actually did instead of trying to plan it out more than a week ahead of time. I would just do the next thing in each of our subjects and it worked quite well then.

 

We use a composition notebook. We got a recycled Sasquatch one this year. So, the kids call it the Sasquatch now.

 

Hey, Mom, I did Math. Do you have Sasquatch? I keep the kids all in one. We report to a VA weekly and monthly. It helps with that reporting. I put a square around the child's name and underline subjects to try and keep thinks neater. We have tried more formal planning. But, I really enjoy catching the learning moments.

 

It seems silly to me to plan our MUS. New week, new lesson.

 

I like the idea of a composition notebook that way there is less chance of pages getting lost.

[curlygirlzx2]

I don't plan either. Maybe because this is my first year hs'ing and we are doing K. I figure I would stress out more if I plan things and then not finish what I have scheduled for that day. I just keep track of what dd has done for the day on the computer in a word document.

[IsabelC]

I don't have a plan in the sense that most people do. I have a rough idea of how far we plan to get using what resources, and I have a mental list of ideas and activities I want to expose the kids to. But I don't have a plan as in "during week 19 we will cover these three chapters of this book" etc.

[jld]

I think this is a wise, wise idea.

 

Dd14 keeps a journal of what she's doing for schoolwork. She basically just does the next thing all the time, and lets me know when she needs the next set of books. I love it this way.

 

When I do try to plan, it never goes the way I expect, and it makes us all anxious. I haven't gotten over doing it, though, and always seem to be making plans, anyway . . . will I ever learn?!:001_huh:

[MerryAtHope]

I kind of do a combo. I make up a "schedule" using the table feature in MS Word. I write in anything that I want to make sure we do--if there's a certain page in a book I want to read etc... Most of the time I just do what's next, read what we feel like reading etc... For those things I just write them in the schedule when I check their work. I know at the beginning of the year my overall plan--one math lesson per day, one LA lesson, 30 minutes of writing, do spelling for 15-20 minutes, kids read for 30 minutes, read a chapter of Bible & some history etc... We use Sonlight but more and more I don't look at the schedule much--I just follow the booklist in order at the beginning. I do check it for some of the history books to see how they are scheduled, but then I just read them without checking how far we were to get, LOL!

 

Merry :-)

[monalisa]

I don't really plan (though I wish I did) but I do track what we do in The Well Planned Day. This is an awesome planner that works well for tracking too.

[AudreyTN]

Unfortunately, if I don't have it written down then it won't get done. We don't usually finish the entire week's plan, but that's ok. I highlight what gets done and transfer (to next week) what isn't highlighted.

[krisandpaula]

Hi, I'm Paula and I'm new here. I just started down this road at Spring Break and right now, I'm using a Moleskin calendar to keep a daily record of what we accomplish. You can see it here:

 

http://www.moleskineus.com/moleskine-daily-planner-pocket-black-hardcover.html

 

Dh calls it my little black book. :001_smile: I like it because it fits into my purse easily. I have a general outline of what we wanted to finish by the end of the "school year" this year. I know what we need to do, and by keeping track of what is finished each day, it gives me a nice feeling of accomplishment, even if we don't get to everything. I keep track of everything from park days, to field trips, even bedtime stories so that it is all in one place. It is working for now with just a K'er and a 3-year old.

[Prairie]

As I was still fretting about planning my days for a 4 1/2 yr old and a 11 year old, I was thinking.....maybe it's not about planning, maybe it's more about recording!

 

I love the above idea of listing how many times the different subjects need to be studied each week. That way if you don't get it done an a perticular day, you can do it the next!

 

Thanks for such a great idea!

[birchbark]

I neither plan, nor record. I make sure all DS's work is dated, and then I keep it in 3-ring binders. (Workbooks I drill at the end of the year, and put those in too.) Everything education-related goes in there: papers from Cub Scouts, swimming lesson reports, fliers/handouts from museums and zoos, certificates and awards, his drawings from art class, as well as all his worksheets and notebooking.

 

Then I print out a typical schedule of a schoolweek, including the basic timeframes for each subject ("Science, 45 to 60 minutes") and put this in the front of the binder. I also print out a list of the curricula used that year and put this in as well. At the end of the year, I will select several photos of DS taken while working or doing activities, and print a couple pages full of them. This goes in the front of the binder too. It makes a wonderful summary of the schoolyear.

 

I tried both paper planners and Homeschool Tracker software, but they were too tedious and repetitive for me to stick with. This portfolio system is working a lot better. I'm not sure if I will keep EVERYTHING once I have more kids in school. :001_smile:

[KathyBC]

I guess my schedule acts as a planner/log all in one. I forget which website it was originally printed from. I photocopy both sides and every two weeks when completed file it in a three-ring binder. I pencil in what we need to do for the upcoming week. Each day has simple notes for each child, like W-Math in one block for one child, M-R&S in another. Then as I put the math books away, for instance, I tick off the box and pencil in what page numbers actually got done. Then it's easy to record any spontaneous things that happen in an empty box (such as M-Stuffies/Bucket Balance, because dd got excited about weighing things and compared stuffies with the bucket balance for an extra half an hour) ... and easy to erase or cross off what didn't happen and add it to another day.