Thinking of totally re-vamping lesson plans

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

The "agenda for the week" thread got me thinking. In August, I had made lesson plans up through the end of December. I planned on making the rest of the year's lesson plans up during this Christmas break. I mostly have each subject planned out, but what I've been doing is taking each day and breaking down each subject into little chunks for each day of the week. I do this along with my calendar, so I can make allowances for Swim & Gym, book club, etc.

 

So, for example, I'll have a list like this one from last year:

 

Opening Ceremonies: Pledge, Song, Poem Recitation, Calendar, Exercise Captain

 

Language Arts: FLL Lesson 78 pp. 138-139 Titles of respect

Copywork- address an envelope

 

Spelling Worksheet- Plurals! (LOOK IN BOOKMARKS AND WEB FOR SHEET)

 

Eddie- Read The Barn

Andrew- Read MTH: Dragon of the Red Dawn

 

History and Geography: SOTW Ch. 15 Alfred the Great

Coloring Pg. 60

UILE pp. 214-215

 

Math: MUS Beta Lesson 23 Telling Time, Hours

Corresponding Worksheets

 

Art : Make a water color painting

 

Music Learn On the Yangtze from Hands on Recorder book

 

 

So each day is planned out like that.

 

But, now, I'm thinking of just having each subject have it own section in the binder with all the assignments I want to do for the rest of the year in a list. Then, we can work on things at our own pace, instead of "We must do music today, because the lesson plan says so." If history is going well, we can work on ahead a little, then catch up on music the next week. I think this might work, because there are several subjects (science and MCT, especially) where the kids want to keep reading ahead and keep doing more projects and finding out more information about that particular thing at that particular moment. I don't want to quell that desire.

 

Any opinions on this method?

[swellmomma]

My lessons are planned out like you do in the example. I just don't feel the need to accomplish everything on it each day. So I will list it out like you did but if we only get to half the list, or skip 1 subject I don't care, we will pick it up the next day. I do not date each lesson day. I list everything like that because somedays we really do finish everything on it, and that way I can keep it more balanced. For me if I planned it how you were saying with each subject separate, I would lose track of the balance I wanted and would end up with days too heavy in 1 subject. So for me planning how you are now, and then just taking each day as it comes workiing through that list is working. I guess I run my days like how the loop schedule is but not quite the same.

 

Every family finds a different way to schedule that works for them. Try out this new idea of yours and see how you like it. The worst that can happen is that you don't like it and have to try a different method. No harm done.

[funschooler5]

I like this idea! :001_smile:

 

We've been getting burned out on doing almost every subject every day. There are some days where we are really on a roll with a certain topic...it just makes sense to continue on with it. I think I've kind of limited myself by the way I schedule (I have a daily one, too) and I'd love to have the flexibility to move things around easily if I want to. We are way behind this year and I actually have to go into my Homeschool Tracker program this week and reschedule everything, which is going to take me forever. Maybe I will see if there is a way to just do a weekly schedule.

[Cricket]

That's what I did. I have a master schedule for what subjects are covered on which day. Then each child has a three-ring binder divided into subjects. Each subject has a checklist of the year's work. As they finish the assignment, they date it and check it off. It is so much easier than having to rewrite lesson plans all the time!

[Aunty Social]

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[Embassy]

I did that last school year. It worked very well, except I tended to not do some things often enough.

[MrsH]

We switched to scheduling on a weekly basis, for the same reason you said: sometimes dd is just in the mood to keep reading her book, or doesn't feel like doing a math lesson. So on Monday morning I give her a sheet with all of her assignments for the week, listed by subject. I also mark the things she's expected to independently. She looks at how many assignments she has and how many days to complete them, then divides that to determine how many assignments to complete each day.

 

This does mean that I try to make assignments be all about 30 minutes (give or take). Rather than saying "read One Wintry Night" I make it into five assignments: "read ch. 1-2 from One Wintry Night" etc.

 

She likes making those choices every day.