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[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[jewel7123]

I do this as well. I have a weekly checklist with each subject and the numbers of times it should be done each week with a check box. If we don't check off every single box in a week I don't sweat it. I also have a notebook where I write down every educational thing we did that day. It's working for me!

[hollyhock]

I do this too and I love it! I have a list of subjects in my planner for each day and I just write down what we did for each one. I used to plan out exactly what we should do in each but if for some reason we missed a day or a subject, I hated having to revise my plans. This works for me much better!

[krisandpaula]

This is what we do as well! Isn't it freeing? I much prefer celebrating what we have accomplished as opposed to seeing what might not have been finished. (I'm a 'glass is half full' kind of gal!) Over the summer, I organize all of our subjects and divide out how much we should complete per week or month to stay on track. This gives me a rough outline of our plan for the year. Then, I use a Moleskine calendar as a log book and log each day's work as we complete it. I also write in things that the kids do over the weekend that I would considere "school" type activites. I don't think I could functtion any other way! :001_smile:

[phathui5]

I've been logging rather than planning for years and I love it too! I also like that I can go back and see what we did (rather than looking at a list of what I had meant to do).

[Kalmia]

Planning, beyond choosing topics and books, would set me up for a continual feeling of failure! I keep a daily log for each child, and when our quarterly report time comes, I am often pleasantly surprised to find out how much we've accomplished.

 

Also we keep all books and materials in baskets, it is easy to tell if we're moving along, the living books appear and disappear regularly, and the bookmarks keep moving along toward the back of the textbooks that stay in the basket. If something (a historical fiction, living science book etc.) hangs around too long in the basket, I instantly know we're behind. Then I hand it to my son or daughter to complete and drop the next title into the basket.

 

I keep track of their output as their binders fill up!

[cschnee]

I keep a log (hand written) as well. And I also keep an ongoing report on the computer of all the things we've done that are remotely educational. It gives me a cheap thrill to hand a 23 page report to our facilitator; one in the fall and one in the spring. When she leaves after her visit in the spring, I start the report for the fall!

[Amy Jo]

I'm thinking of using homeschool skedtrack as a logger only. Then maybe I can print pretty reports (and I can't misplace it, LOL!)

[cjthedog64]

I use homeschool skedtrack kind of like that. I do plan things out in advance, but it's so easy to just include something that we did. For things like math, I put in each lesson at the start, then whenever we do it, I mark it off. And I can stick in extra stuff whenever it comes up. I don't worry about using the Today feature, I just deal with the activities. And I put all the read alouds in too, and use the Hobby list for longer, subject related books. Pretty easy!

[Woodland_Mom]

I've been using a log for several years and it works quite well for me. I like keeping track of the things we accomplish. Sometimes we do just what was planned . . . sometimes we linger on a topic of great interest . . . sometimes we take an alternate route and do things a little differently than my MFW plans. I like having a record of all that we accomplish.

 

I keep track of the books my kids read on my log, our read alouds, projects, etc.

 

Here's a link to the form I use: Assignment Log/Tracker I did it in MS Word, so it can be customized to your liking.

[desertmum]

I have had so many problems with planning. We had a few bouts of illness and realised that all the planning had gone down the drain. It took ages to fix everything in the computer. A log, huh? What would I do without this forum? :lol:

[Tammyla]

Welcome, Shari! I love following our routine and logging the daily work that gets done.

 

The winter doldrums hit me hard! I didn't want to plan our lessons and, when I did, I was overwhelmed at the amount of work we needed to accomplish each day. A couple of weeks ago, I switched over to making my lesson book a LOG rather than a PLAN. I write down what we did, not what we should have done. Make sense? I found that I was more motivated to get started each day because there was a modicum of freedom. I also gave myself permission to not get everything done. Aaahhhh ..... it is unbelievable how that little shift has been such a relief!

 

Just wanted to toss that out as an idea to anyone else who may be struggling with their workload right now. It's a lot cheaper than new curriculum ;) :grouphug:

[duckymama]

I like the freedom of a log, also.

 

I pencil in what the next week will look like on a something I printed from donnayoung.org. Then, check off what got done or rearrange what did not get done. We tried following a pre-scheduled plan, but I always felt discouraged. I have a general idea of what we want to accomplish during the year and we go from there.

[woolybear]

I find I do better with a plan, but give myself permission to not have to do everything. Then I log what we actually do. Not only do we skip some things, often other things get added in. I like the log because it gives you the perspective of catching all the learning and inspiration that is truly there.

[MSNative]

I love doing this. I keep a checklist of what I want us to accomplish each week (e.g. 5 blanks for math, 3 for science, etc.) I check off what we accomplish and then have a quick visual snapshot of what we need to catch up on. Two years ago I added a notes section at the bottom to journal exactly what we did. Last year I added a blank before the subject so I could record which lesson we did.

 

Example: _MUS 17___ Math _____ _____ _____ _____ ____

[Create Your Ritual]

I also have been logging weekly for the kids this year... our first year hsing. It helps me keep track of what they are working on, and occasionally I make notations over the weekend when in the planning phase of things I would like to cover for the week. I made up a form with M - F across the top and subjects down the side... it's two pages each week (so that the subject boxes for each day are large enough to write in) that go into a three ring binder.

[mnllj7]

I have always FAILED at trying to do a planning for the year, we never do on the day we are supposed to do it. I feel like a terrible mother and teacher. I like ya'lls idea. Thank you so much. nancyt.