How do you get through planning overload?

[Runningmom80]

I feel like my head is going to explode trying to plan for next year, and it's only 1st grade! Will I feel like this every year, or is this just when you get started? I've been researching for months and I'm getting close to the end, but I've circled around to second guessing the things I've decided on. :lol: Maybe I'll just focus on planning and organizing what I do have. Or maybe I'll start drinking. :tongue_smilie:

[momma2three]

I think it's just like it when you first get started. I know I had to be talked down last year. In retrospect, yeah, I was being sorta crazy. But you just want to do it RIGHT or else you'll mess up your child for LIFE and all those anti-homeschoolers will be RIGHT about your illiterate 10yo who can't spell her name and count on her toes.

 

Or, like most things in life, it's kind of trial and error. The curriculum here that everyone just loves more than life itself is a total bust for your kid. Your kid wants to spend all day doing handwriting or math worksheets, and you're like "no, now it's time for the fun art project part of the day!" and the kid is like "No! Want more worksheets!" and you're like "Is there something wrong with my kid? Who likes worksheets? Isn't the whole point of homeschooling that your kid doesn't have to suffer through all those worksheets I ha to do as a child?" And then a week later the same kid is all "I hate math worksheets!" and you're in a power struggle over adding 1+1 that you just have no chance of winning.

 

And then you kind of get into a groove, and notice that everyone else seems to change curricula a lot, so it's not really the end of the world if the one that you decided was PERFECT turned out to not be so perfect, or even just that another one that you'd never heard of back when you did all your research looks even more perfect.

 

I assume that as kids get older, they need a lot more planning, and it's more important to stick with the plan. But this past year has really been a lesson for me about being flexible, and understanding that needs change, and there are always new products rolling out, and that so long as you're doing something to encourage the 3 Rs, it's pretty hard to mess up the education of an early grade schooler. :001_smile:

[julikins]

momma2three, I love your post. That is so true!

 

When I feel like my head is going to explode, I walk away. I clean my house. I go out with the family. I don't allow myself close to the computer for a couple of days. Then when I come back, I can coherently think of the questions that I need to ask in order to research the topic and make a decision. It just takes time!

 

I also do this once I have "my plan" for the next year. Then I walk away and don't even let myself talk about it for a week, or two. Then I come back and usually cut out a whole bunch of stuff there was no way I could ever get to, but I didn't have the heart to let go of before, and really couldn't afford. It's much cheaper that way and much more realistic as to what we can actually accomplish in a school year. My husband appreciates it too, on multiple levels.

[Joyofsixreboot]

For myself, there is no point in too much planning because we'll be off in no time anyway. I decide materials and break it into 9 week chunks. I make a loose schedule for the 9 weeks. Really loose. I am a big fan of " do the next thing".

[MomatHWTK]

For myself, there is no point in too much planning because we'll be off in no time anyway. I decide materials and break it into 9 week chunks. I make a loose schedule for the 9 weeks. Really loose. I am a big fan of " do the next thing".

 

:iagree:

[NASDAQ]

I don't plan. I just make a note in my calendar for two weeks before we are set to finish a given book, and I decide then whether to get the next level up or change course.

[kalanamak]

I really planned at the beginning, but kiddo, with his quirks and foibles and starts and stops, cured me of it. The best laid plans ....

 

For us, it is simply better if I stay flexible. I have distant goals, I have yearly rough drafts, but I only have weekly plans.

[momma2three]

I don't think there's anything wrong with planning, so long as you're okay with being flexible. I'm at the point now where I get a certain sick satisfaction in planning, just so I can see where things diverge. It's often not the things I expect to go off, too: it's usually the things I think "well, she loves this so she'll whip right through this" and then she doesn't touch it for a month.

[Runningmom80]

I think I definitely need a break! I'm not even lesson planning, just planning curriculum. I really need a :chillpill:

[FO4UR]

How do I get through? I mentally put aside all the long-term planning and focus on the next few weeks.

 

 

On one hand, it's beneficial to have that long-term plan in place...even if it changes every year. Before you know what you want to do next week, you need to see the big picture.

 

On the other hand, it's easy to get too wrapped up the long-term and miss the opportunity to make the best if *right now.*

[KAM]

I think it's just something you do when you're starting out. I too, spent hours and hours trying to decide on different programs/approaches. I think it was time well spent. There are certain things, like math, that we've just continued on into the next level each year, and other things, like grammar, that we ended up changing or ditching entirely.

 

But I do feel like all the time I spent looking at stuff for my first 1st grader made me very aware of what was out there, what the options were....now I don't spend nearly as much time, even with four kids because I already know what I like and don't like and know what I am looking for.

 

I'd definitely take a week or two off from looking and then go back to it. If you've done so much thinking and researching, it's unlikely you would make huge mistakes and order something entirely wrong- and even if you did, it's not the end of the world and it happens to everyone.

[CroppinIt]

I'm a planning junkie. Even though I know what I'm using for next year, I still enjoy reading what others are doing and gathering options. Occasionally I find a gem I didn't know existed.

 

When I'm tired of that, I plan for the next year. I always buy my main items a year or two in advance so I can wait for good deals.

 

I need a hobby. Other than planning hs. :001_smile:

[Mommyfaithe]

For myself, there is no point in too much planning because we'll be off in no time anyway. I decide materials and break it into 9 week chunks. I make a loose schedule for the 9 weeks. Really loose. I am a big fan of " do the next thing".

 

Me too. :iagree:..