Please humor me!!! Another Lesson Plan thread :)

[simka2]

Would you please share what you use, and most importantly...WHY!!!

 

What's your favorite thing, or what makes it unique?

 

Thanks!

[specialmama]

Are we talking curric or lesson plan books, daytimers, schedules? Sorry, just have to clarify.

[simka2]

Sorry, lesson planners...or daybooks. Whatever you use to schedule your kids daily, weekly, and yearly studies.

[bluemongoose]

I use HST+. I tried paper planners, but I like to plan out my whole year in the summer and be able to tweak it as necessary as I go through the year. The amount of arrows, crossing outs, and erasing on my paper planner was going to drive me insane! So I switched.

 

Now I can hit the reschedule button if we decide to take a day/week/month off and the computer does it all for me. I can print of a weekly task list with check boxes for DD to check off when she completes the assignment. I can enter in grades and it keeps attendance. My state doesnt require attendance to be kept so this doesnt matter to me, but it is there. DD is also young, so the grade is not really that important, but she likes having a grade.

[KrissiK]

I use Excel and then print it off. All I do is for each day and each subject, write down which Phonics or math lesson I'm teaching (It's so much easier than paging through the book, trying to remember what I did yesterday, although I could just put a book mark in it:001_smile:). I do a little more elaborate lesson planning for science, since I use the Usborne book, but also a lot of hands-on activities. I just make a Table in Word and then write in the plans, which hands-one activities I'm doing, etc.

[mmasmommy]

I created an Excel file that I fill in with our weekly plans. DD's work is in red, DS' is in Blue, and group activities are in green. I printed out the first 10 weeks and have them in a binder along with the pages of work that we will be doing. I have them saved by week on my laptop, that way if I need to make changes it's easy to do and just reprint.

 

It's working right now. We'll see how it goes at we progress though, I'm finding that I'm a tweaker and am constantly changing things around. :glare:

[Satori]

I know you don't want an online scheduler, but we love Homeschool Skedtrack. We're computer people and travel a lot and I love having access to our schedule in any room of the house, and in any state or country of the world. I love being able to make changes so easily. For example, my daughter now attends one-day class on Mondays. I was able to easily tweak her schedule and move everything around so she has a very light, easy load at home on Mondays. If we have something unexpected going on one day, her schedule will slide to the next scheduled dates, automatically. So flexible!

 

I can pull up our schedule on any of our desktops at home, our laptops while traveling, and even our iPad.

 

If I didn't love online so much, I would be checking out the other scheduler - HST+.

[Ravin]

I made my own lesson planner in Word. It's got the four days of the week I expect us to do lessons across the top, with a section going down for daily subjects (Math, Phonics/Spelling, Spanish, Grammar/Writing, Reading), with a break and then a section for subjects we do twice a week (History and science). Each box for history and science is twice as wide across as the boxes for daily subjects. In a third section below that, I have subjects we do once a week (Literature, Heathen Studies, Classical Studies, Geography), with the subjects across the top in place of days of the week; these don't have to be on the days they're below, but usually are.

 

At the bottom is extra space so I can record field trips, extra read alouds, etc.

[Whereneverever]

I use the plan forms from donnayoung.org. It's really helped make lesson planning easy.

[desertmum]

I downloaded an excel weekly planner from http://www.donnayoung.org

 

It was painless and fool-proof. I didn't want an online planner because sometimes I am nowhere near a wi-fi zone. Like right now we are about to move and so I will be off-line for 2-3 weeks so I can't imagine not being to work on my own. Donna Young has tons of forms which you can customize and then print. No learning curve. No hassle. Works for me! :D

[simka2]

I know you don't want an online scheduler, but we love Homeschool Skedtrack. We're computer people and travel a lot and I love having access to our schedule in any room of the house, and in any state or country of the world. I love being able to make changes so easily. For example, my daughter now attends one-day class on Mondays. I was able to easily tweak her schedule and move everything around so she has a very light, easy load at home on Mondays. If we have something unexpected going on one day, her schedule will slide to the next scheduled dates, automatically. So flexible!

 

I can pull up our schedule on any of our desktops at home, our laptops while traveling, and even our iPad.

 

If I didn't love online so much, I would be checking out the other scheduler - HST+.

 

 

Ooooh...this is a point I haven't thought of! We do have multiple computers. My concern with it being online is that we travel a lot too, but I guess I could plan ahead. Thanks!

[Closeacademy]

Lesson planning:

 

what you use

 

In the past, I have just used notebook paper. I wrote the days across the top and the subjects down the side and filled in the blanks.

 

Now, I am using my computer more. I typed up weekly plans. Example:

 

Week of September 13-16

 

Penmanship box:

reviewing the alphabet and how to write the letters

 

Spanish box:

expressions, rojo, uno, mono, gaillina, huevos and pollitos

 

Reading/phonics box:

Communication Then and Now by Robin Nelson

phonogram ou, The Young Crab and His Mother (Aesop's fable), decoding work

 

Social Studies/History box:

human and animal communication

Koko + Love, Animal Communication DVD, The Big Newspaper DVD

 

Math box:

8's tables

Rod and Staff pages 156, 157, 160, and 161

 

Lapbook/project box:

cat lapbook

Wildlife project for 4-H

 

WHY?

 

I do it like this because it makes it easier to stock my workboxes and let me know what we are doing this week. I don't assign specific days on things except math. That way I can judge her mood and such and take things as deep or a shallow as she is willing to go that day. She seems to enjoy this and is keeping what she learns.

 

What's your favorite thing, or what makes it unique?

 

I did it myself. I also made grids using my database program so I know what we are doing throughout the year for each subject. It is my system that I made to fit our needs.

 

My older dd also has a lesson planner from Target's dollar spot. I write her daily assignments for each subject so that she can see what she needs to do.

 

I've blogged about all of this and you can find most of my ideas here and here. I do regular weekly posts on organization so you may have to wade through a bit.:001_smile:

[Mandy in TN]

Another Excel gal

Put it on your USB then you can take it anywhere.

Mandy

[crazyforlatin]

Ok, I see now I'm kind of pathetic. I put DD's schedule on one 3x5 index card. I need to re-look at planners again.

[elegantlion]

After five years of homeschooling I figured out what works for me. I use forms from donnayoung.org and print and bind my own planner. I use her excel form for weekly lessons and print off two copies, one for ds one for me. It took me two years of tweaking but now I have the excel file on the computer and my paper planner.

 

In my paper planner I include the following sections:

*donnayoung forms

 

Calendars

- yearly calendar*

- height & growth chart (made my own)

- school attendance *

- monthly calendars (printfree.com)

 

Syllabus

- syllabus form from donnayoung

 

Schedules

- lesson planner * (I use these for our weekly schedule, we tweak about 4 times per year)

 

Reading & Media Lists

- Reading List *(maintain two list, one for books he reads on his own, one for books we read together)

- Media list * (DVDs and movies)

 

Weekly

- this is just for extra room on our weekly schedule. I print the excel form and use two page per week scheduler.

[AngieW in Texas]

I just use my word processor.

 

My 14yo has a list of assignments for the week with each subject on a different line. Most of her assignments just have to be done by Friday. She has a physics class 2x/week, so she has to have those problems done by a particular day. I also require 45 minutes of math on a daily basis. We'll evaluate several times/year to see if more time needs to be spent on math to finish the program by the first week of June.

 

My 12yo prefers to have a time-based schedule (and it really helps me to have hers based on time so I know what time I have to devote to her). I just made a table in my word processor with 6 columns and 6 rows. The first row is blank/Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday. The first column is blank/9-10/10-11/11-12/12-1/1-2. Then I just filled in what would be done in each time-slot. We don't stick to the schedule militantly, but we do try to get everything done close to the time when I have on the chart because it makes the day flow more smoothly.

[Pink Fairy]

I use Homeschool Easy Records (very similar to HST+, but no longer available for purchase). I much prefer doing things on the computer because I am handwriting challenged and I hate the way a schedule looks when I write it out. Plus, I can re-use lesson plans, i.e., these days I only have to do spelling plans for my oldest, because my younger three can use the plans from previous years. Also, if someone is sick or we need to skip a day or an assignment, it's just a matter of a click and the schedule resets the assignment for the next day. I do all my planning in the summer, so once school starts I have very llittle tweaking to do--maybe 5 minutes per week. I'm not good at on-the-fly planning, so this is a huge benefit for me.

 

I print out two copies of each child's assignments for the week. They get one, and I keep one to check off assignments/write down scores as I grade.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Would you please share what you use, and most importantly...WHY!!!

 

What's your favorite thing, or what makes it unique?

 

Thanks!

 

I took the just from DonnaYoung.org, then tweaked them to fit our schedule. I put in the classes for each of my children so they can also plan their time and be proficient in time management. We start in 4th grade with them logging what they do each day, then switch to them actually planning out periods of time in 5th. This includes breaking down daily reading, simply noting exercises or "days" according to the lesson plans of each subject area.

 

My favorite thing is that they are standard, yet specialized to our schedules and that since I tweak them, I can simply enter into MS Word and make changes annually.

 

I used to use HSTracker, but I spent waaay too much time on the computer, even just to click a change...for this many dc, it took time and I have carpal tunnel, so more time on the 'puter is not a good fit for me. I also found it expensive to print out every single day, so by using my planner pages, I can limit the shading, etc and save on toner.

 

My templates are on my Home School Launch page, along with all the other kinds of planner pages I use in my personal planner.

[AudreyTN]

I printed various forms from different sites to make my own. I love my computer but I can't seem to make it work for lesson plans. :glare:

[helena]

I'm using this: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Schooling+Planner+for+Homeschooling+Mothers+-+Blue/022426/1284599794-69341, and I'm crazy about it.

 

It's forced me to organize my year of art, music, and unit studies.

[Firestar Academy]

I know you don't want an online scheduler, but we love Homeschool Skedtrack. We're computer people and travel a lot and I love having access to our schedule in any room of the house, and in any state or country of the world. I love being able to make changes so easily. For example, my daughter now attends one-day class on Mondays. I was able to easily tweak her schedule and move everything around so she has a very light, easy load at home on Mondays. If we have something unexpected going on one day, her schedule will slide to the next scheduled dates, automatically. So flexible!

 

I can pull up our schedule on any of our desktops at home, our laptops while traveling, and even our iPad.

 

If I didn't love online so much, I would be checking out the other scheduler - HST+.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

robin in nj

[MerryAtHope]

I use a 3-ring binder and make up my own using the table format in MS Word. I have:

 

A week-at-a-glance page for both kids on one piece of paper. Anything that I want to schedule out, I write in at the beginning of the week. Most items I write in as they do it, but I have a rough idea in mind (like, one lesson of math, or 1-2 chapters in a reader, etc...).

 

A Year-at-a-glance schedule on 2-pages (which can be facing pages in my binder) showing how our history resources will line up with the spine we're doing, with some activities and writing assignments marked).

 

A one-page overview that lists readers and read-alouds and the (approximate) week that I expect to start that book. For anyone who has used Sonlight, similar to the one-page summary they have at the front of their guide. I find I don't need/want more precise scheduling than that summary.

 

A one-page listing of what we'll read for Bible & verses to memorize.

 

A one-page listing of other resources we'll use for the year (math, science etc...)

 

I keep these in a 1" working binder. There's a pocket in front where I keep the schedules.

 

I have tab-dividers for my main subjects. On top of these I have a yearly schedule that I downloaded from this site, where I mark off holidays and roughly plan days off (subject to change but it helps me keep a running total of days and to see when we'll finish--we tend to school mid-July to the end of May with more frequent breaks & 6 weeks off for summer). I print the yearly schedule on cardstock since it's on top--holds up better.

 

Behind each of the tabs I put my one- or two-page summaries, and then answer keys or downloaded schedules etc... as needed. Answer keys that are too big go in my teacher box instead.

 

HTH, happy planning! Merry :-)

[TN Mama]

I plan on paper. I love the computer, but for lesson plans I like to hand write.

 

At the beginning of the year I make a 36 week plan, breaking up lessons accordingly. I will re-evaluated the plan over the Christmas holiday and make any changes necessary to insure we finish where I'd like.

 

Each week I then write in my lesson plans into this planner: http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-65680/

 

I bought and loved the looks of the Well-Planned Day planner, but it just didn't work for what I wanted. These boxes are large enough that I can write out their math or la work in one shared box. There are also no prewritten subjects, so I can write what I'd like.

 

My 36 week plan is in a 3-ring binder along with answer keys, calendars, books read, weeks glance of SL readings, and other various forms.

 

I created my own planner trying to find the perfect fit, but what I discovered is that I just really love my R&S plan book.

[mom31257]

Why I do lesson plans?

I am a planner by nature, but I think I would try to do it anyway. Life for homeschoolers can, in some ways, be busier than working moms with kids in school. I want my homeschooling to be flexible, but I don't want to flex so much that enough school doesn't get done. Having lesson plans keeps my eyes on the goal.

 

How do I plan?

I start with a basic plan for the whole year, taking each subject for each child and dividing the units, chapters, lesson numbers, etc. over the course of the whole year. This helps me know what I've got to do to get it all done.

 

I've always planned for the whole year like that, then I made weekly print out sheets of my own. This year, I designed my own planner (taking ideas from other places) and had it bound. I also bought individual planners for my kids. I also did the filing system. It has been WONDERFUL!!!! I just get out my planners, pull out the folders and can have the week completely planned in a matter of minutes.

 

You can read more about my lesson planning here. I don't see how anyone could regret taking some extra time to plan. It is fun for me, and I know it's not for everyone, but it's well worth it.

[SBP]

I use HST+. I tried paper planners, but I like to plan out my whole year in the summer and be able to tweak it as necessary as I go through the year. The amount of arrows, crossing outs, and erasing on my paper planner was going to drive me insane! So I switched.

 

Now I can hit the reschedule button if we decide to take a day/week/month off and the computer does it all for me. I can print of a weekly task list with check boxes for DD to check off when she completes the assignment. I can enter in grades and it keeps attendance. My state doesnt require attendance to be kept so this doesnt matter to me, but it is there. DD is also young, so the grade is not really that important, but she likes having a grade.

 

:iagree: