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Does anyone plan the "old-fashioned" way?


Aspasia
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I am kind of a grandma. I love the computer for some things (like this forum!)but I really like paper, too. When it comes to anything that I need to reference or read (like a planner), I prefer paper. If there are any other old ladies out there, what do you use for planning?

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Most of my curriculum is open and go so there is not much planning ahead for me. I have also found that if I plan ahead and life happens (which it invariably does ;)) that it frustrates me to be behind in my plan. Last year I went back to a paper planner but I use it to record what we have done that day, not to plan ahead. For a while I printed my planner out from Donna Young but this year I bought the Well-Planned Day and I like it. I don't utilize all the features but I like that it's pretty :D

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Pick me! I get those composition notebooks and I have one for writing down homeschool thoughts and ideas. And I use another one to write out my observations of the kiddos. I have also been looking into using The Homeschooler's Journal and I print off forms from http://www.donnayoung.com to keep track of a schedule and book logs etc.

 

And for years I have kept a medium sized spiral notebook. I date one page and write down info as it comes to me that day. When bills need to be paid, drs appts, calls and requests from people etc.

 

I don't do anything by computer that I don't eventually want printed out.

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I agree w/pp. Most of my stuff is open and go for each particular subject so I don't need to do much planning aside from scheduling science and history. For that, I kind of keep a log in my head as in week 9 of history last week, week 10 this week and so forth. Anything not on paper, like reference type stuff or books, drives me nuts.(with the exception of reading books on tape) I have a love/hate relationship with the computer and I much prefer print in my hands. Kindle- bleh. I guess you can consider me a grandma. The forum is great though, and I love coming here for advice and ideas. I feels like an online support group.:001_smile:

Edited by MyLittleBears
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I make lists on Excel, but then I print them out. I have a generic assignment sheet that I made on Word that I alter as necessary (if we add or subtract subjects). Then I write what we're supposed to do in pencil each weekend for the next week based on what I have on my lists.

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Ha! I guess I'm an old lady, too.

 

I use a huge 3-inch binder. It has many tabs. The first one is for general homeschool vision prinicipals that I want to remember. The second tab is for my yearly school calendar schedule and my daily schedule of how we plan each subject in the day.

 

After that are tabs for every subject. Under those I write out plans for each child. Some subjects are open-and-go and so don't require any specific directions, but I plan other subjects myself and need to write out the list of books and how many chapters per day/week we need to cover in order to get them done within the year. I also keep various forms or worksheets which we will need during the year under these tabs .

 

Finally, I have a tab for ideas and curricula I am researching for future years.

 

That said, I have a lot of these documents typed up in Word and filed in my computer as a reference for future years. My binder only has my current year's resources and plans. I find that having a plan on paper in a binder is much faster to access and handy--though maybe that is just my old-fashioned self coming out!

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I use pencil and paper for everything even though it is faster to type. I guess because I only have a desktop computer. I like to get in bed with my stack of books, my pencil, and my planner. I snuggle up next to hubby and plan while he watches a movie.

 

If someone asks me for a copy then and only then do I type it up into the computer.

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The vast majority of my curriculum is not open and go and I use paper for planning. I keep a yellow legal pad handy when I work on a lesson so that I can jot down questions for discussion and also pick out likely rabbit trails to explore.

That said, I use the computer for researching some of those rabbit trails. I also type out some of the questions needed for our writing program, grammar program and the like.

As for personal schedules I print them off and write them out by hand for a week worth of material at a time. I can adjust them as needed with a good old fashioned eraser. I also sharpen pencils by hand...although I keep an electric one for the boys to use.

Ironically I grew up when computers were coming into homes, the internet was new and exciting, and somehow I ended up a pencil and paper curmudgeon. My siblings still shake their heads about that.:tongue_smilie:

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I use one of these per student and one for me:

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-65680/?list=Teacher_Helps

page 4 of the sample pages shows what the planner really looks like. I also draw a line to divide each subject square into two parts.

 

 

And ideas from The Organized Student make the planners even more useful. (I got our copies from Amazon.)

 

HTH

Edited by MicheleinMN
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I like to use paper, too, but can never find a planner that I love so I have started using Mom's Tool Belt to print out pages how I like them and make them into my own planner. Go here to see more.

 

I print the pages I like and make my own planner. Then I use the Proclick to bind it all together!

 

For the kids school stuff, I do a variety of planning but mainly enter all assignments into homeschool tracker plus and then assign everything for the next week sometime on the weekend based on our schedule for that week. This way, it's planned, but nothing has a specific date assigned to it until we're ready to do it. I print out a weekly checklist for my kids and they use that to know what they need to accomplish each day.

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Old lady here, raising her hand. I have a 6 yo dd and our 22 yo is about to bless us with our first grandson. :D

 

Anyway....

I like paper and pencil. I deplore vid games, and have no desire for Kindle. I like printed books and can't sniff or cuddle with a plastic devise that requires batteries and electricity and can malfunction. I have a cell phone cuz I find it a must where we live. Otherwise I would chunk the thing. I don't like that when you go to pay for something perfect strangers know your name and call you by it in front of 10 other perfect strangers. I don't like technology. So, yes, I much prefer to have all of my plans on paper.

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Both?!! I like to make up forms on the computer and print them out and write on them!

 

Merry :-)

 

Me too. I write my rough ideas & scheduling, then I type it up so I [hopefully] don't loose it. I tell DH I'm a paper addict. Comp. books for 50 cents during the back to school sales make me :lol: :tongue_smilie: :w00t:.

 

I do want to use some kind of computer/web program that will print pretty records for me. But I haven't found the perfect one, so I muddle on.

 

I think better with a pencil than a keyboard.

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In Word I have a document that is printed off ones a week. In the first column I have each subject that I have to teach in Minnesota listed, each subject has its own row. Then I have five additional columns next to the subjects, one for each day of the week. On Monday I write in what we did that day for each subject, then in the Tuesday column I wrote what we did Tuesday - so on and so forth. No, not all the subjects are suppose to be done daily but at this point I don't care if Art is done all the time and Free Reading only occasionally.

 

So again that is a table with six columns and nine rows. Easy-peasey.

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I have been creating my own planning sheets and then printing them. I recently came across this http://www.christianbook.com/the-ultimate-homeschool-planner/9781935495659/pd/437600?item_code=WW&netp_id=900202&event=ESRCG&view=details

 

and I think I may have found exactly what I need. I told myself I will wait til January to order anything else for school :)

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I plan on paper first, but then I transfer my final semester plan to spreadsheets that I create myself. Dd is using Well Planned Day's High school planner for her weekly/daily assignments. I use a Christian school planner for ds's weekly assignments more as a written record than for him.

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Both?!! I like to make up forms on the computer and print them out and write on them!

 

Merry :-)

 

Me too! I have a tendency to keep tweaking though. This year I printed out a whole year's worth of planning sheets and had them spiral bound. It has definitely stopped the tweaking, and I love having a proper planner to carry around the house. :001_smile:

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In Word I have a document that is printed off ones a week. In the first column I have each subject that I have to teach in Minnesota listed, each subject has its own row. Then I have five additional columns next to the subjects, one for each day of the week. On Monday I write in what we did that day for each subject, then in the Tuesday column I wrote what we did Tuesday - so on and so forth. No, not all the subjects are suppose to be done daily but at this point I don't care if Art is done all the time and Free Reading only occasionally.

 

So again that is a table with six columns and nine rows. Easy-peasey.

 

This is exactly like ours.

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Both?!! I like to make up forms on the computer and print them out and write on them!

 

Merry :-)

 

I should say that this is me, too. I prefer to print forms and then write on them. I just like the portability of a notebook or binder. Sure, I have an iPad, but it's just not the same as flipping to a page and seeing what I need to see. I've been looking at the Donna Young forms and they seem to be just right for me. Thanks, ladies!

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I use this planner: http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/022426/8c7d97d95a07226eb744aebb

I fill it out every Monday morning with each kid at my side. It kind of feels like a meeting. We figure out what didn't get worked on enough the previous week and what we want to make sure gets completed. It leaves me with a very grounded feeling. I love filling in the planners by pencil.

 

When planning for the new school year (in summer) I use the kids bathtub crayons in the shower to write out how I want the school year to look. It's a process that I love, but stresses me out. I can think clearly and chill in the shower. I'll work on it over a week or two like that. :001_smile:

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I begin by creating an overall map for the year -- sketching it on paper, and then creating a spreadsheet.

 

Then I create and print a blank weekly form that goes in my huge 3-ring binder.

 

Every Sunday afternoon is planning time for the week ahead. I've found that planning further than a week just doesn't work, because we inevitably accomplish more or less than I had imagined each week. At least half of the curriculum I use is open-and-go, so planning for those just involves me writing down page numbers and topics, cross-checking with our overall year plan to see if any adjustments need to be made, and reading any instructor notes that I need to.

 

I just do better planning with pen and paper. :-)

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