How do you make sure to stay on task through the year? Help needed

[desertmum]

I am guilty of the same with science and history especially. I am in the middle of planning things out for this coming year to avoid that. I just want to add that you can get lots of free planning ideas and worksheets off the Donna Young website www.donnayoung.com . I am always on a budget and found those and she offers a variety that you can print and write in or fill in with Word or Acrobat. I like hand writing I tend to wonder while I'm on the computer and If they get hand written its best or me. I also have found just starting

with a 12 month calender and mark off how many days you plan to do school like 150 days or 160. Work with one month at a time to meet your yearly goal. Buy a cheap planner from the dollar store and make some type of plan and have your dd keep track of it with you. My dd loves to help with that. If you dd works well independently try to chose curriculum she can do alone like GWG, etc. to let you do stuff you have to do. Then set time in your day to work with her on subjects that require teaching assistance like AAS, WWE, etc .

I also agree these forum can rob you of time better spent.

 

:iagree: Except maybe for the last part. I gotten so much good advice in this forum that has actually helped my hs. However, I visit the forum late at night when I'm done. Or very early before ds wakes up. ;)

[woolybear]

That's too funny!!!

 

I've always worried that too much pre-planning would curb our spontaneity and keep us from doing the fun things we want. But now I'm realizing it's just the opposite.

 

 

This is actually one of the reasons I stopped unschooling. Because whenever one of the kids wanted to do some cool science project, art, or whatever, I never had what we needed. I'd put it on a list, but by then the moment was past. Planning means they actually get to do cool science projects, art, and whatever.:tongue_smilie:

[Mommy22alyns]

For science, history and art I have a huge plastic container. Inside that container are 36 large ziplocked bags with an index card inside with the week number on it. I purchased all the supplies needed for the year for these subjects and divided them into the bags. Now, all I need to do is head to the box and grab the right week number. The plus to this is I do not lose precious time hunting down things while dd sits there growing bored. I know I have all items in supply. Nothing like going to grab paper mache and finding it gone. The things we use for our lessons are away from her supplies she can use freely. Did I mention the time saved? Our first year taught me a ton about my lack of organization. This year we will see if the learning sank in.:D

 

This is SUCH an amazing idea!

[HiddenJewel]

I've always worried that too much pre-planning would curb our spontaneity and keep us from doing the fun things we want. But now I'm realizing it's just the opposite.

 

It is a bit like outlining a book. A year ago my dd15 (a budding writer) HATED to even hear the word outline. But now, after using One Year Adventure Novel and seeing how much richer an outline causes the story to become, she is all for them.

 

Same with a schedule. It can keep you on task so you know things are covering all the basics BUT you can also add embellishments to make it richer.

[redsquirrel]

Same with a schedule. It can keep you on task so you know things are covering all the basics BUT you can also add embellishments to make it richer.

 

Right there. I say that routine gives us freedom. I do prob work harder in the day to day homeschooling than many of my friends. But, I have so much more peace of mind. I don't worry I am not doing enough. I just don't. I worry about lots of other things, but at the end of the day or month or school year I know I met my responsibilities. Our school year has a sense of calm and rhythm that I enjoy. If something comes up that is unavoidable then we roll with it, but don't panic, because we know the thread is there to be picked up.

[cajunrose]

Cajun, now that you've gotten plenty of bolstering about the need for diligence, I wanted to toss out the compassionate side. (Not that the others weren't compassionate, but you could use a little extra!) If your dc had vision issues this year (I've forgotten your story, sorry), then please don't feel badly about the academics that didn't get done. We lost 9 months to vision therapy this past year, and I have to tell you life DOES go on. The important thing is to make sure your curriculum choices are as *efficient* as possible. For instance, you have *4* programs listed for LA. I know you're wanting to do a good job, but that's still a lot when you're only 7 years old! Are you thinking this child is dyslexic? A regular child could go into SWR (similar in approach, just more efficient than AAS) and jump 3-4 grade levels in spelling and reading in a year, no joke. And using SWR along with narrations and a light touch of FLL you'd have all her grammar, all her writing, all her spelling, etc. Learn how to take one tool and use it powerfully. Streamline some of that and use the things you keep more deeply. MILK them and pull out of them the greatness.

 

Hmm, did I have any else to say? Nope. Oh yes, it's time to be diligent. But you know, she's *7*. Or is she 8 now and you just haven't updated your sig? Be diligent, but don't be TOO diligent. Be diligent 4 days a week and be wild one day a week. That's a good balance when you're 7. When you're 8 or 9, yes be diligent 5 days a week. But it's ok to be little, kwim? They have so little to learn right now, it's really ok to have that balance.

 

Since she has had vision problems, are you now building time in your day to do fun stuff that works on visual processing? Puzzles? Games that use vision like tanagrams or Chocolate Fix or Memory? You want to do this! Don't get so uptight feeling behind that you don't make time for these valuable things. She's 7. That means you're looking at 3 hours TOTAL for her academics a day. Do it and be diligent, but don't fret over it.

 

As far as your accountability, I've done things different ways each year. One year I did a pocket chart with cards. Around 8 or 9 I finally switched over to checklists. When she was younger I wrote into a planner what we did as we did it. When you do that though, you need to have things set up as a "do the next thing" kind of approach. If you're realistic about how much work she needs to do and set up a routine you think you can live with (plenty of time out and about, time for fun stuff, etc.), you'll get there. It was hard to have a routine when you were having the vision problems, but you'll do better this year. We've homeschooled 7 years now, and yet we still feel like we're starting over for finding our routine. The therapy route just jostles you so much. So give yourself a bit of grace and allow yourself to learn. You'll get there. :)

 

Ok, I had NO idea that this thread was still getting comments. It forgot to email me. So I'll catch up.

 

She's 8..I need to correct my siggy..lol Yes, she is in vision therapy. We drive an hour and a half one way once a week to therapy. We have 30 minutes of homework daily. That'll end in October.

 

I'm waiting on the rest of my grammar to come in. My daughter writes books..beautifully thought out books, but she has NO sentence structure, spelling is horrid, etc. She is asking to learn these things. I'm not sure I'll continue AAS as that's not sticking...but I don't know what would. I think time? She NEEDS the Writing programs though. The only thing that is wishy washy is WWE. I will see how that one goes. In looking at my grammar, I think I'll take maybe 20 minutes a day. I don't think that's horrible. I can do that..she can too. I think we'll have the grammar up in the air since we are just introducing it..we have to see what work and what doesn't, you know? She hasn't ever comprehended it enough to even try it. Now she does..now we do it.

 

Love all of the advice you gave me...thank you!!!

[cajunrose]

Ok, I sat down for several hours last night and laid out our history, science, math and WWE. I didn't want 2 projects in one day. I didn't want 2 narrations in one day. I'm excited about what I have. I did 6 weeks worth. When the rest of my grammar gets here, I'll pencil that in. I'm still wishy washy about the spelling. She WANTS to learn to spell better. She gets frustrated that she can't. Part of her vision problem was that she had little to no visual memory (at late 7 years old, she tested at a 4 year old level). That made spelling correctly impossible. She is slowly getting better. VERY slowly..lol Anyway, I still have yet to figure that out..what to do.

 

I think the best piece of advice here is to figure out how many days I want to homeschool and break that up into months, then weeks and days. Wow. I never thought of doing that. It's a bit liberating for me.

 

I also think that by creating a schedule, I will make myself feel better that she is getting everything in..thus giving us more time. I'm not...at 8 pm...saying "Raelee, you need to do your flashcards!"

 

My plan this year...in 3 weeks (MIL is visiting the first 2 weeks of august), is to start school at 9 am sharp (we just can't do 8..rofl). I'll have to wake her at 7:30 (SLOW riser), but so be it. That's one of our biggest problems. Her waking up late. Me spending just a little more time on the computer..and look at that...it's 11 am and we haven't started school!

 

Thank you guys so much for your help. You really did help me and I'm glad others got something out of it too!

 

Stephenie

[HiddenJewel]

Ok, I sat down for several hours last night and laid out our history, science, math and WWE. I didn't want 2 projects in one day. I didn't want 2 narrations in one day. I'm excited about what I have. I did 6 weeks worth. When the rest of my grammar gets here, I'll pencil that in. I'm still wishy washy about the spelling. She WANTS to learn to spell better. She gets frustrated that she can't. Part of her vision problem was that she had little to no visual memory (at late 7 years old, she tested at a 4 year old level). That made spelling correctly impossible. She is slowly getting better. VERY slowly..lol Anyway, I still have yet to figure that out..what to do.

 

I think the best piece of advice here is to figure out how many days I want to homeschool and break that up into months, then weeks and days. Wow. I never thought of doing that. It's a bit liberating for me.

 

I also think that by creating a schedule, I will make myself feel better that she is getting everything in..thus giving us more time. I'm not...at 8 pm...saying "Raelee, you need to do your flashcards!"

 

My plan this year...in 3 weeks (MIL is visiting the first 2 weeks of august), is to start school at 9 am sharp (we just can't do 8..rofl). I'll have to wake her at 7:30 (SLOW riser), but so be it. That's one of our biggest problems. Her waking up late. Me spending just a little more time on the computer..and look at that...it's 11 am and we haven't started school!

 

Thank you guys so much for your help. You really did help me and I'm glad others got something out of it too!

 

Stephenie

 

Glad you were able to get some planning done! It is a good feeling to have framework in place for covering the necessities. We do our schedules by the school day (1-180) not the date. Thus if we only school M-Th one week it doesn't mess us up. We just pick back up on Monday with Day 5 (or whatever the next day is).

[johnandtinagilbert]

Ok, I sat down for several hours last night and laid out our history, science, math and WWE. I didn't want 2 projects in one day. I didn't want 2 narrations in one day. I'm excited about what I have. I did 6 weeks worth. When the rest of my grammar gets here, I'll pencil that in. I'm still wishy washy about the spelling. She WANTS to learn to spell better. She gets frustrated that she can't. Part of her vision problem was that she had little to no visual memory (at late 7 years old, she tested at a 4 year old level). That made spelling correctly impossible. She is slowly getting better. VERY slowly..lol Anyway, I still have yet to figure that out..what to do.

 

I think the best piece of advice here is to figure out how many days I want to homeschool and break that up into months, then weeks and days. Wow. I never thought of doing that. It's a bit liberating for me.

 

I also think that by creating a schedule, I will make myself feel better that she is getting everything in..thus giving us more time. I'm not...at 8 pm...saying "Raelee, you need to do your flashcards!"

 

My plan this year...in 3 weeks (MIL is visiting the first 2 weeks of august), is to start school at 9 am sharp (we just can't do 8..rofl). I'll have to wake her at 7:30 (SLOW riser), but so be it. That's one of our biggest problems. Her waking up late. Me spending just a little more time on the computer..and look at that...it's 11 am and we haven't started school!

 

Thank you guys so much for your help. You really did help me and I'm glad others got something out of it too!

 

Stephenie

:hurray:

[PeterPan]

Ok, I had NO idea that this thread was still getting comments. It forgot to email me. So I'll catch up.

 

She's 8..I need to correct my siggy..lol Yes, she is in vision therapy. We drive an hour and a half one way once a week to therapy. We have 30 minutes of homework daily. That'll end in October.

 

I'm waiting on the rest of my grammar to come in. My daughter writes books..beautifully thought out books, but she has NO sentence structure, spelling is horrid, etc. She is asking to learn these things. I'm not sure I'll continue AAS as that's not sticking...but I don't know what would. I think time? She NEEDS the Writing programs though. The only thing that is wishy washy is WWE. I will see how that one goes. In looking at my grammar, I think I'll take maybe 20 minutes a day. I don't think that's horrible. I can do that..she can too. I think we'll have the grammar up in the air since we are just introducing it..we have to see what work and what doesn't, you know? She hasn't ever comprehended it enough to even try it. Now she does..now we do it.

 

Love all of the advice you gave me...thank you!!!

 

Cajun, if you wanna die, my dd had the visual memory of a *2* year old when she started VT. That was the end of 5th grade when we had that evaluation done. We did VT all summer, similar situation with the long drive and daily homework, and it took till about Christmas. So essentially we lost an entire calendar year. And I'll tell you that last portion of VT where they really got into the visual processing part deeply made a HUGE difference. About 2 months into VT she started trying to sound out words and asking about letter sounds. These were things we had worked on since she was 4 and 5, and now at 11 she was able to LEARN them!! She could spit them out before, but it didn't click. Especially with that work toward the end on visual processing, it was like she needed to go back and RELEARN, with her new eyes, all the things we had done before.

 

In your situation, I'd look into SWR or WRTR. AAS isn't very efficient. Get WRTR from the library and see what you think. I always advise that as a cheap way to see what you think of it, how it can work for you, and get a sense of what extras you need. Then, if you like the jist of what you see and have the money, SWR is sort of the ultimate in that vein, the kahuna. The Wise Guide for SWR has dictation sentences for every single word. With my dd it seems to take a mix of things. Just understanding the spelling isn't enough. Just dictation doesn't get us there. Just seeing the word without thinking through it doesn't always make it stick. So mark and discuss the words, then later do dictation using the words.

 

Have you read Freed's book "Right-Brained Child in a Left-Brained World"? It has some interesting techniques for spelling I want to try. Also, I'm still plugging away at "The Mislabeled Child" by the Eides, which you might find helpful.

 

So yes, you can get the words to stick, but for us it has been a mixture of seeing them a lot (computer programs), using them a lot in context (dictation, either from literature or those SWR sentences), and understanding and thinking through what you're seeing (SWR marking).

 

Check out the Spelling Dictation Resource book for Spelling Plus. I haven't used it, but I like it a lot from looking at it in person. http://www.susancanthony.com/books/db.html The words are useful and she has spiraling dictation sentences. Again, I'm HUGE on dictation. Dictation gives them so many inputs at once (visual, auditory, kinesthetic). I would have her read it back after she wrote it, just to give her one more chance to see it correctly. The Eides suggestion dictation and spelling on the computer, but I haven't tried that yet, just read it today.

 

Does your dd get worn out with her VT or get headaches from it? Mine did. If that's the case, you might back off on written academics a while. What I'd do in that case is use the auditory spelling techniques in Freed's book. She can learn all the sounds for the phonograms and start working through word lists (SWR/WRTR, Spelling Plus, doesn't matter). I'll remind you that SWR will help her jump a LOT faster than AAS. It's going to mix them up, rather than going by spelling pattern, so she's going to come up to grade level very quickly. See with smart kids it's not just whether they can spell, it's whether they can spell what they WANT to spell. Until you get to that point, they feel dumb, kwim?

 

Also get her a spelling dictionary. I got the Alphalist by Sanseri (goes with SWR), and dd used it a lot at that age.

 

Writing programs. Hum, well I hate to say this, but when you said how illogical your dd's brain is for writing my first thought was that she's probably dyslexic. You might as well consider that and do the reading on it. Better yet, once you get the eyes checked get her evaluated. But whatever. My dd did spell adequately, in spite of her poor visual memory pre-VT, but it's because we did SWR from the beginning and worked HARD on it. I would often do 3+ spelling programs with her. I had her doing a page of written dictation a day. It just took a lot more work than it should have to get her to a normal place. That's also why I was surprised about your wanting to schedule DOWN some of these skill builders like narrations. If it's hard, I hate to say it, but you need to be doing more, not less. And if it's easy, well than that's always good reason to do more too.

 

I would do WWE but without the workbooks. I didn't have the workbooks with my dd, and I don't totally see the point. You need to do narrations. You WANT to do narrations. But make it sneaky and get them in all day long. A child that age should be doing say 3 or 4 dictations a day. Tell Daddy about your day. Talk about the movie you just watched. (You conveniently walk out of the room to fold laundry and ask her to tell you what happened while you were gone!) Have her remind you what happened in the previous chapter of your read aloud. Have her summarize/retell the history read-aloud for the day while you type. Those are all EVERY DAY. Then you rotate through the special ones like science narrations two days a week, book narration one day a week, etc. So the narrations don't all have to be written, but you want them to be DONE. Trust me you want to do them.

 

If she's having trouble on the narrations, you may need to back up and figure out why. WTM/WWE makes it sound like it's this thing that just happens. They don't tell you that there can be some, what we'll politely call learning differences, that can make those things hard. For instance, if she hasn't been visualizing, then she doesn't get an visual images as she listens to you read. So she gets to the end and doesn't have enough memory to narrate. The solution is to stop periodically and ask questions that lead to visualization. Or have her draw a picture of it while she listens. Or there can be working memory issues that are getting in the way.

 

Well I'm rattling on. Read those books I mentioned. Do more, not less on the skills. Don't be afraid to change how you do things during this VT. The VT is going to let her take big steps later. With my dd it literally seemed like for 2-3 months after VT things were just sort of gelling and all the new methods coming together. I'd even, given your timetable, make plans just till December, then reassess and think through your situation afresh for January. I had a totally different kid after VT.

Edited July 23, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[HiddenJewel]

In your situation, I'd look into SWR or WRTR. AAS isn't very efficient. Get WRTR from the library and see what you think. I always advise that as a cheap way to see what you think of it, how it can work for you, and get a sense of what extras you need. Then, if you like the jist of what you see and have the money, SWR is sort of the ultimate in that vein, the kahuna. The Wise Guide for SWR has dictation sentences for every single word. With my dd it seems to take a mix of things. Just understanding the spelling isn't enough. Just dictation doesn't get us there. Just seeing the word without thinking through it doesn't always make it stick. So mark and discuss the words, then later do dictation using the words.

 

 

Just so no one is confused, the dictation recommended by SWR when going through the WISE Guide words is NOT the same as dictation Charlotte Mason style. You CAN use the sentence for dictation that way, But the word dictation process is totally different. It is also an integral part of the learning process as it is where you get the multi-sensory learning.

[Jane Elliot]

I haven't read all the replies and this may sound crazy but I blog. I started blogging back in 2006 when my oldest was in 2nd grade. I would write down what we did that day. I felt like we weren't getting much done but once I wrote it all out I was surprised at how much we were getting done.

 

Take one lesson at a time :001_smile:

 

This doesn't sound crazy at all, but very clever.

 

I'm not into blogging, but you are right--having it all written out helps.

[PeterPan]

Just so no one is confused, the dictation recommended by SWR when going through the WISE Guide words is NOT the same as dictation Charlotte Mason style. You CAN use the sentence for dictation that way, But the word dictation process is totally different. It is also an integral part of the learning process as it is where you get the multi-sensory learning.

 

Yes, I wasn't being very precise. The Wise Guide gives sample sentences for every word in the lists. Sanseri never envisioned them as WTM/CM-style dictation sentences, but they sure work well for that. :)

[LivingHope]

I recommend this homeschool planning guide from Simply Charlotte Mason.

http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/planning-your-charlotte-mason-education/ The pdf file for $11.95 was enough for me and self explanatory. As a homeschooling mama of eight years, I still had a light bulb moment with this resource.

 

...And I definitely agree about having supplies available in advance as other posters mentioned. We keep our science and art supplies ready in lockable (and they are locked) toolboxes from The Home Depot ($8 orange homer boxes).

[cajunrose]

I sat back down again and have all of my first 4 weeks planned out and a list of stuff I need to gather. I'll put all of that in one place so I'm not searching. I'm so excited!! I will clean my homeschool room next week. The next 2 weeks, I'll enjoy my MIL's visit (she sleeps in the homeschool room so I can't school), then we start right after she leaves!

 

Thanks SO much for the advice!

 

Stephenie

[NittanyJen]

This is what I love about Homeschool Skedtrack. You can schedule things by the calendar, but default is to schedule things by the lesson. Once you finish one, you put in the date you did it, and it gives you the next lesson you've scheduled for the next day. For some reason, this really, really works for me. I feel motivated to do the lessons but not terribly overwhelmed when I get a little behind.

 

Plus, having a sheet printed out for your daughter so she knows what's supposed to get done might help keep both you and her accountable. Some days I make sure my son gets his lessons done; other days, he's the one making sure I get them done. (I'm such a terrible mother, that half the time my first grader is more responsible than I am. Oh, well.)

 

This helps me as well.

 

We are roughly halfway through our first "quarter.". When I entered our lessons, I designated lessons in each subject to be goals, as in END Of TERM ONE.

 

This week is a reckoning week. Due to various disruptions-- summer camp, travel, off days, etc, DS 7 is spot on in math and spelling, one lesson behind in chem, one week behind in grammar, terribly behind in Latin, 2 weeks off in history, etc. So this week, he gets some fun time in alternate math activity, skips spelling, puts in extra time on history and Latin, and stays the course in Grammar and Chem. DS10 is spot on in everything. He keeps practicing trumpet, gets to do fun math, fun chemistry (Basher books, T&K experiments) extra reading of his choice and a treasure chest for history, skips Latin, reads a children's book I found in German, etc. We'll move ahead in writing.

 

I don't really care when we 'finish' a school year; it should fall within a calendar year, and end roughly together without missing anything.

 

I also agree with the PP who said these boards can be a tremendous time-suck. I certainly spend more time here than I can afford-- I need to set a timer on myself!

[HiddenJewel]

Yes, I wasn't being very precise. The Wise Guide gives sample sentences for every word in the lists. Sanseri never envisioned them as WTM/CM-style dictation sentences, but they sure work well for that. :)

 

I totally agree. I just know of some who have confused the dictation as CM dictation so I wanted to mention it.

[AppleGreen]

I haven't read all of the replies but just wanted to add my very simple .02/ tough love response

. I am my children's teacher. I teach. I could be working, making beaucoups bucks and relieving some pressure from my dh. Instead, we homeschool. In order to homeschool I have to actually SHOW UP to homeschool. It's my job. If I had a "real" job I would show up to it. Actually I have a real job and I do show up to it.

I read about education all.the.time. I learn and grow as an educator. Marva Collins and Rafe Esquith, SWB, the Moore's, Holt, Wilson, et.al all have great things to say about being an excellent educator. There is always more to learn as an educator. You can't teach effectively what you don't know. Are you learning and growing as an educator?

 

I have a clear vision for what I want for my kids. I have a clear pedagogy. It's not perfect and I'm not perfect and we do have slacker days. One of my biggest regrets with my older dd is that I did not push her harder. I'm not making the same mistake with my other kids. Not becaaue I have some vindictive idea of ruining their childhood -they have great ones imho- but because I KNOW that they can and will do and go so much farther if I mentor them well. I am giving them a gift of my time and talents and we are going to make the most of it. It is a matter of stewardship. I can make the most of this time or fritter it away.

 

Wow! Yes, yes, yes! I so agree with this and sort of had this epiphany this school year. And I totally agree with 8FtH about deciding to home school and how that may shape and influence my children's future and their options.

 

This was just exactly the post I needed to read as I am prepping for the year. Great thread!

[MeganW]

I am naturally so lazy, but needless to say that isn't an option as a homeschooling mom.

 

I have a checklist with subjects down the left side, and 5 columns. One column per day. I write one or two words in each box. Today's science said "nervous system". History said "Columbus".

 

DH grabs my checklist and brings it to the dinner table each night, and uses it as conversation starters with the kiddos.

 

On days that not much gets done, he KNOWS. He doesn't say much, but that's embarrassing to me, and so I am more likely to get it done!

 

I have a line at the bottom of the checklist that says "Days # to #. Goal - 15 schooldays per month. Need to finish the <#th> day by the end of <month>." Makes it very obvious when I am falling behind, to both me and DH!

[johnandtinagilbert]

I am naturally so lazy, but needless to say that isn't an option as a homeschooling mom.

 

I have a checklist with subjects down the left side, and 5 columns. One column per day. I write one or two words in each box. Today's science said "nervous system". History said "Columbus".

 

DH grabs my checklist and brings it to the dinner table each night, and uses it as conversation starters with the kiddos.

 

On days that not much gets done, he KNOWS. He doesn't say much, but that's embarrassing to me, and so I am more likely to get it done!

 

I have a line at the bottom of the checklist that says "Days # to #. Goal - 15 schooldays per month. Need to finish the <#th> day by the end of <month>." Makes it very obvious when I am falling behind, to both me and DH!

What a great way to be accountable.

I am also naturally LAaaaazy. It takes real effort to do this job! So, I'm off again to plan some more for next week! Hope all continues to go well, OP!

[KLA]

I agree with what everyone has said. My bit of practical advice is along the lines of getting science supplies ready. Make all copies needed at the beginning of the year and have them accessible. This has been so helpful, particularly as the kids have gotten older. I wasted so much time making them wait while I copied something for the day (or worse, when they came to me telling me they needed something copied since I hadn't prepared for the day). It may cost a bit more up front but it is so efficient.

 

Blessings for a great year!