Slipper Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 We're taking our daughter out of public school after the Christmas holidays. The homeschool organization we are joining requires that the parent keep lesson plans in a notebook on the material covered. This can be in any format the parent chooses. Can anybody suggest an easy format? I'm trying to pull all of the paperwork together this month and order curriculum that we need. We also have the holidays and two of our kids have birthdays this month. Suggestions and advice deeply appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 How about a homeschool planner from FergNUS? It's really quite basic, it's easy to use, and it's inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Does it need to be detailed or just a list of what you're teaching, essentially? I downloaded a free pdf planner that breaks it down by day and subject. Then I write on there what I plan to do each day and check of as we do it (or move things around, etc). Always in pencil. It's simple, but it keeps me organized. And it was free. You can google and find one you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 We're taking our daughter out of public school after the Christmas holidays. The homeschool organization we are joining requires that the parent keep lesson plans in a notebook on the material covered. This can be in any format the parent chooses. If it's any format, I'd start with essentially journal entries for each day, what you've covered. If you need "lesson plans" you can leave empty pages at the front, and list resources for major subjects; the plan can be to work through them at the student's pace. I'd say that it's really hard to find a good planner until you've lived through some homeschooling and know what you are like. Stay away from the software and online planners, probably, at least until you are less busy after the holidays. When I started I kept a google spreadsheet document for each week, with days of the week in the left column and topics across the top, and filled in my plans when I knew them ahead of time and checked off or entered what I'd done each day. If you want a planner of some official sort, it's hard to go wrong with the FergNUS planner mentioned by a PP. The basic format is two-page spreads for each week, with five rows (for days, but without specific day-names), six columns for subjects, and a generous lined column for notes. I never use the day/subject part for some reason, but enter each week's work in the notes section instead: so it is a very flexible, and inexpensive, system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketgirl Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) Why? But if you just need a notebook of items 'covered' I'd suggest including the table of contents pages from any texts you use, like math, grammar, science, social studies, spelling, etc, and starting a reading list page, movie page, field trip page that you can just add on to as needed. That's what I do, for me, not for a 'group' or even the state. I've also taken kids out of the system mid year, two different times, and i know that can be 'scary'. Don't worry, all you really need to do right now is find out what your state requirements are and make sure you adhere to them. You might check out homeschoolreporting.com. Edited December 2, 2011 by rocketgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 And I'd recommend Homeschool Skedtrack. It's a free online planner that you can print out by week at the end of the year, to show the homeschool organization what you've covered. This approach has a couple advantages: Rescheduling something won't make a big mess of the planner; and losing the planner isn't really a concern. Plus, even if you get sloppy handwriting on a bad day, the people who review your planner will never know! My son has enjoyed having a daily checklist of classes that he's able to mark up, too. I appreciate that I can make one for him without any extra work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3monkeys Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) http://www.donnayoung.org is a free website with just about any kind of planner you can think of! I've used it for several years now....it's great! Edited December 2, 2011 by 3monkeys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I love The Homeschooler's Journal. You should be able to find samples online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violingirl Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I think some of it has to do with your personal planning style too- I really dislike writing out our plans only to not quite get everything done in a day and having to erase and move assignments or if we do extra in a day and part of the next day is checked off, but not all... I like it to look neat! The answer for me has been to make a checklist of all of our work for each month and check off each item as we do it. I know the pace we need to keep to finish by the end of the month (5 math lessons per week, science 2x, history 3x, etc.). If we get done early then we've earned some "vacation time" and we'll have a day or two of art projects and reading. At the end of each school day I write what exactly we did (page numbers, book titles, etc.) that day in our journal, which is just a plain notebook. At the beginning of each month I make a quick "hours" chart and keep track of our daily core and non-core hours as required by our state. It takes just a few minutes, and helps me fulfil that need t okeep a really neat record. It does take a little time to make up the checklists before we start the year, but it's so worth it to me to work that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 Thank you for all the suggestions. I'm still not sure which one I'm using but I will be making a decision soon. The homeschool group I'm joining asks that it be kept in case it's ever needed for legal reasons. I also need something to keep my own brain on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Here's another possibility for you to consider. :001_smile: http://www.newbeehomeschooler.com/freecurriculumplanner.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I started using Homeschool Skedtrack for my dd Kindergarten year even though we aren't technically required to show anything yet. I just wanted to take this time to familiarize myself with the program - and in hindsight, I think it will come in handy to see what we were doing when my younger two get to K level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooketopia Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 If a homeschool group demanded a lesson plan in order for me to join their group, I wouldn't join it. That seems really weird to me that they want your lesson plan on hand for legal reasons...why in the world would they ever need that? I understand YOU needing a lesson plan, but not your group. They want a lesson plan of what you're teaching YOUR children in YOUR home? Why? I don't see how what you do in your home affects the group. It's really none of their business. Am I alone in this opinion? That being said, I love to make lesson plans and always make one up for myself, but I don't think it's anyone else's business what my lesson plan looks like. I've evolved throughout the years and I'm currently just using the Teacher's Planner from Lakeshore Learning. I've tried Homeschool Tracker, but it was too much work for me to go and input it all every day/week. I like to type up what my goals are for each quarter and then I break that down in writing in my planner. Good luck with starting your homeschooling adventure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 If a homeschool group demanded a lesson plan in order for me to join their group, I wouldn't join it. That seems really weird to me that they want your lesson plan on hand for legal reasons...why in the world would they ever need that? It may be a covering school or such (umbrella school). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 I'm so sorry. I'm new to the terminology. Yes, it's a cover school that has requested it. I'm not sure that they need it or a copy of it, etc. But it's a requirement that you have a copy of lesson plans in case it's ever needed. However, it can be in any format that the parent desires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 If you use a curriculum that already comes with lesson plans (like Sonlight or Winter Promise), all you need to do is write the date next to each day's worth of assignments, then check each item you did cover, and put an X or cross through what you didn't cover. You shouldn't need to re-invent the wheel by writing everything out all over again. Try to keep it as simple as you can - don't overwhelm yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 To keep it really simple: Have major subject areas as major headings in a word doc. Copy and paste the subject areas headings into a new date every day, and just quickly type in what you did, do not make this very long. Ex. 15 min quartermile math. Then every month or every semester, depending on your requirements, compile into a paragraph per subject area and turn into your report. This is what I did, and it worked out great. Plus when I was putting together an application for a Catholic high school it made it easy to come up with a list of books studied and field trips attended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) I think you are probably making this harder than you have to. My "Lesson Plan" is the same every week: General - Leading Little Ones to God lesson - 5 days per week - calendar / weather / patterning - 5 days per week - memory work - 5 days per week Language Arts - Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading - 5 days per week - Handwriting Without Tears lesson - 5 days per week Math - RightStart math lesson - 2 days per week - Miquon Orange math lesson - 1 day per week - MEP math lesson - 1 day per week Other - history readaloud - 2 days per week - science readaloud - 2 days per week - Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding - one lesson per week (may be broken up into multiple days) Separate from my Lesson Plan is my Journal. (LP is what I intend to do in the future, J is showing what we actually did.) My journal is a printed chart with the subjects/curriculum listed down the left side, and the days of the week printed across the top, and I write down as we go exactly what we did. "Lesson 24" or "reviewed mechanics of writing Letter H" or "workbook page 42-43" or whatever. My "Lesson Plan" covers the basics only. Figure out the minimum you HAVE to do, and put that in your Lesson Plan and prioritize those things, then figure out anything else that you would LIKE to do and put those on the sheet you actually record on as you go. In most states, the HAVE TOs are reading, writing, math, history & science. You may WANT to add logic, piano, foreign language, etc., but start slowly and only do the HAVE TOs at first! Add in the optional stuff later. Edited December 2, 2011 by MeganW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Why? But if you just need a notebook of items 'covered' I'd suggest including the table of contents pages from any texts you use, like math, grammar, science, social studies, spelling, etc, and starting a reading list page, movie page, field trip page that you can just add on to as needed. That's what most of the people here do. They keep copies of TOC of each resource in a notebook, and just date each lesson as they do it. You may need a separate attendance log if you do that, just to make it easy to go back and count days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Why? But if you just need a notebook of items 'covered' I'd suggest including the table of contents pages from any texts you use, like math, grammar, science, social studies, spelling, etc, and starting a reading list page, movie page, field trip page that you can just add on to as needed. That's what I do, for me, not for a 'group' or even the state. That's what most of the people here do. They keep copies of TOC of each resource in a notebook, and just date each lesson as they do it. You may need a separate attendance log if you do that, just to make it easy to go back and count days. ... I never thought of copying the table of contents ... this seems so useful and simple; who knew many folks here do this? :):):) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 ... I never thought of copying the table of contents ... this seems so useful and simple; who knew many folks here do this? :):):) By "here" I meant the people in my local homeschool group, not "here" on this forum. Sorry - not clear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 ... I never thought of copying the table of contents ... this seems so useful and simple; who knew many folks here do this? :):):) The only time it gets challenging is when your kid doesn't progress at a normal rate. I have been reviewing like 6 chapters of OPGTR for several months now - we are just stuck there, and I don't want to move on before they are ready. If I were just noting on the TOC, it wouldn't look like I was doing anything as we haven't moved forward, but in my journal it becomes very clear that we are doing reading every day - we are just camping out. "M still struggling with xxxx - repeat lesson xx." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 By "here" I meant the people in my local homeschool group, not "here" on this forum. Sorry - not clear! The only time it gets challenging is when your kid doesn't progress at a normal rate. ... If I were just noting on the TOC, it wouldn't look like I was doing anything as we haven't moved forward, but in my journal it becomes very clear that we are doing reading every day - we are just camping out. thanks for the clarification! I feel less dense. Still seems a pretty elegant solution ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Thank you for all the suggestions. I'm still not sure which one I'm using but I will be making a decision soon. The homeschool group I'm joining asks that it be kept in case it's ever needed for legal reasons. I also need something to keep my own brain on track. I'm not even required to do anything legally for hsing yet (not until ds is 8), but I keep records/work/etc just in case. If I ever had to put him back in PS or my competence to hs were challenged (unlikely, but just in case), I will have a binder of every year detailing what we did with his work in it. I could literally be like "here is what we did". I also keep a general list of what we are doing for the year (as in what week we're doing each chapter from SOTW and such) so that it'd be an easy reference if someone else had to take over schooling my child. Probably anal, but I like to have my bases covered. It also will help when my younger two are old enough to formally hs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnella Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 If it's any format, I'd start with essentially journal entries for each day, what you've covered. If you need "lesson plans" you can leave empty pages at the front, and list resources for major subjects; the plan can be to work through them at the student's pace. I'd say that it's really hard to find a good planner until you've lived through some homeschooling and know what you are like. Stay away from the software and online planners, probably, at least until you are less busy after the holidays. I had to pull my son out just before Thanksgiving of last year. I did journal entries last year, just writing what we did on a weekly calendar. It was a very good way to start while we figured out what curriculum worked, and how quickly we could move through it. This year I'm doing a weekly planner for him with one page per day of assignments. It took a little while to set up, but it's easy to keep up with now. For subjects like spelling and handwriting, we just check them off. For English and most other subjects, the lesson is listed. (Next year I plan to make a monthly schedule and make him keep his own weekly schedule to help him learn to be responsible for that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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