If you were to create your own personal homeschool planner, what would you have in it

[Gamom3]

So far I have come up with a school calendar, attendance record, book log, lesson plan, grades(something my dc want this year)...what else would you have?

 

I would like one for both dc(5th and 7th grade)

[kls126s]

This isn't my blog, and I don't even know this woman, but I find this blog post very helpful...

 

BTW - if this is your blog - thanks for the great info! :001_smile:

[Melanie]

I'd like to have an activities log. Something I could scribble in, "Boy Scouts, service project, 3.5 hours" or "Piano, lesson, 30 minutes" or "Dance, ballet, 2 hours" or something to that effect. I use Homeschool Tracker for that sort of thing, but if I used paper, I'd really need that activities log.

[starlashine]

Depending on how your state is, I would have a copy of the state homeschooling laws.

[AudreyTN]

What about a field trip log/journal?

[Bambam]

What about a page to track homeschool purchases for budget purposes?

 

I would include a list of life skills based by age that I want my kids to also learn. Also might be a list of character qualities that we all need to work on.

 

One of the first pages I make is a very broad overview of what I want to accomplish. This is actually three pages with each one showing 13 weeks of school. This gives me "the big picture" so I can see how we are staying on track throughout the school year.

 

I would also have blank pages for writing down things ... words that I need to add to the personal spelling lists, thing my kids ask me that I don't know (okay, on the way to a funeral, my kids (who know how the ancient Egyptians prepared their dead) want to know what we do now to prepare a body -- does anyone know this off the top of their head?), things that spark our interest, books that someone recommends, etc

[monk17]

I'd have an interface to MS outlook. I like one place for scheduling. Great ideas, I didn't think of the budgeting piece, but why? You can't deduct it and if you really need it you will buy it.

[PeterPan]

I didn't think of the budgeting piece, but why? You can't deduct it and if you really need it you will buy it.

 

Uh Mike, some people have to budget... LOL I don't (both too lazy and don't need to, either I have the money or I don't), but some people's finances are a LOT tighter. Some people around here plan a year in advanced and shop diligently to find everything used because they really don't have the money to buy things otherwise. You're very blessed if you don't have to. ;)

[elegantlion]

How about a goal sheet for each subject?

 

I also started adding a sheet to my planner called "spontaneous learning". I modified a page from DonnaYoung. I use it for those days such as when ds decided to work on his Star Wars drawings all day. He made storyboards, watched behind the scenes to do research, and spent several hours on this activity alone.

[PeterPan]

Hi Gamom3! Good for you that you're working on planning so much! It does feel good to wrap your brain around things and feel more in control. I'll tell you, I've done things a bit differently each year, but I feel like I'm finally coming into my groove for planning. And I don't know about you, but I'm one of those types who can get lost in the PROCESS, turn out something beautiful, but not have it actually work, kwim? That's just me, hehe.

 

So anyways, what I've found, through trial in error, is that rather than having all those components in one single, master place and being "the woman," I seem to do better with a few purchased components that individually do their jobs well and together are just what I need. For instance, on the calendar, Franklin Covey sells a $5 yearly calendar at Target that is just TERRIFIC. I've bought it 3 years in a row now, and it really is the greatest thing. It's pretty (ok, at least pleasantly colored), has plenty of room for writing things, a sturdy cover, the yearly overview to use for counting out your school weeks and the monthly sections for writing in everything you have going on, and did I mention that durable cover and spiral binding? For $5, it's just not worth the hassle of making one yourself. I'm just saying that, as one woman to another, one who could make (thinking I had to), not realizing a purchased product could affordably meet my need.

 

Next, on the lesson plans, I tried to do this for my first few years of homeschooling, buying those planners (I had some I really liked!) with the squares, rows for each subject, blah blah. It was great, but our kids are old enough that they're really moving out of that stage, kwim? There's nothing more frustrating than fiilling in the squares, only to have it NOT GET DONE, ugh. So anyways, what I do now is I make tables or write out plans for individual subjects. For instance, in my history I'm creating a chart with what I want done per week (or VP card). For science, ditto, a handwritten chart of what lessons and how I want them grouped, the readings, etc. for each week. Some things are utterly no-brainer, do the next thing, like math, so you don't need plans for those. Then I take those master plans for each subject and I create a daily work checklist. Now other moms do it here differently. There are nifty student planners you can buy where the students themselves write in what they need to accomplish each day. You need to move from YOU driving things to your KIDS making their work happen. That's what is going to make your work easier. Last year I had a Word file with dd's checklist (3rd grade) and I wrote in all the assignments. Now what I've started doing and like is I created a checklist and printed out say 60 copies. Then I just go through at the beginning of the week and write in the lesson numbers, etc. For a 7th grader, I'd probably kick this up a notch and put the ball even more in their court. I'm just saying you want something that helps it change from being you-driven to kid-driven as much as possible. And you know, they LOVE that independence! You could even let them pick out their own planner with the daily grids from the teacher supply store. My dd likes the checklist I made her in Word (date at the top, list of subjects with little lines in front to check off). I think kids like stuff like that, gives them a feeling of satisfaction and independence. Don't take more on yourself than you have to.

 

The other thing you might consider is whether your ideas are complex enough that you would benefit from Homeschool Tracker. Don't spend time reinventing something that already exists, not if you can purchase something to do almost the same thing. If HST is too expensive, then buy individual components (Covey calendar, etc.) like I do and put them together to create the effect.

 

Hope your plans turn out well and get your year as organized as you've always dreamed! :)

[monk17]

Uh Mike, some people have to budget... LOL I don't (both too lazy and don't need to, either I have the money or I don't), but some people's finances are a LOT tighter. Some people around here plan a year in advanced and shop diligently to find everything used because they really don't have the money to buy things otherwise. You're very blessed if you don't have to. ;)

 

I realize that! We budget also, it's just that it's a very dynamic need and like you said you either havethe money or you don't. But hey if they want it in this prototype wish list that we're building I'm alll for it! :001_smile:

[nukeswife]

I don't want to burst any bubbles but most of the things mentioned here can be found in Westvon Publishing's (history scribe people) The Master Planner.

 

You should check it out.

[monk17]

I don't want to burst any bubbles but most of the things mentioned here can be found in Westvon Publishing's (history scribe people) The Master Planner.

 

You should check it out.

 

It's a great forms generator, but not an on-line interactive tool. It's automates a manual process to a certain degree. A great forms generator but not a software tool that interacts with you as you're planning.

 

Any othr candidates out there ?

[MtnTeaching]

I'd have an interface to MS outlook. I like one place for scheduling.

 

Mike, I love my MS Office OneNote. I can interface with my Outlook and every other Office Product.

 

Everyone, I can't tell you what this program has done for the organization of my home school. I'm able to keep EVERYTHING in one place. I made a template for my daily lessons and put a log of the week at the bottom, I scan any related pages and pictures for that week onto that page also. I have "notebook" templates for a fieldtrip logs, planning and research forms for each subject and child, attendance, curriculum costs and purchase locations, reading lists, forms, etc.

 

It's extremely easy to use and it's like having one notebook for all of your information. For instance, if I'm planning science for the year, I have a "notebook section" for science and I can make new "pages" for each focus of study. I'll put everything on a reference page I come across that looks good, i.e. cool websites with a brief description, recommended books, links to Word or Excel documents, pdfs, scanned items, anything I want to put in there. I can put stuff in there all year as I come across it until I'm ready to put it all together.

 

I have a digital scrapbook of the kids doing projects in its own notebook. I also have a separate Notebook for my household (menu plans, monthly and yearly home maintenance items list, car maintenance log, gifts, Christmas planning, vacation planning and packing templates, etc.) I even have a notebook for my current landscaping project.

 

I like that I don't have to pay someone else to keep track of what I'm doing. I also like being able to make my forms and templates just the way I like them in a very fast and simple format.

 

I love this program and cannot begin to imagine life again without it (I'm ADHD and it is an incredible resource for me. My handwriting is chicken scratch and this program reduces my need to make "piles". I just scan something in and toss it.).

 

My OneNote came with my Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student package (Word 2007, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote.) We got all of this for $132.99 at http://www.viosoftware.com/Office+2007/Office+2007+Home+and+Student+for+3+PCs.html

If you do not have Outlook 2007, you may need to upgrade.

 

I don't mean to be hawking a product like this and I hope I don't offend anyone, but it has revolutionized my planning and organization.

[nukeswife]

It's a great forms generator, but not an on-line interactive tool. It's automates a manual process to a certain degree. A great forms generator but not a software tool that interacts with you as you're planning.

 

Any othr candidates out there ?

 

I didn't see anywhere in the original post that they were looking for an online planner or interactive tool.

[MtnTeaching]

I didn't see anywhere in the original post that they were looking for an online planner or interactive tool.

 

I truly appologize if I did not follow forum etiquette when I replied about the actual tool I use for planning instead of planning pages.

 

This is actually the first forum I've ever joined and I'm still learning the steps and manners.

 

I do apologize to the original poster.

[Targhee]

stapled to every month in the calendar :willy_nilly:

 

But seriously, I would have a record of my HS budget in there somewhere, maybe in the form of a materials list. I guess this is more important if you are on a budget for materials, buy things throughout the year (have a plan for future purchases), have things you want to resell, or (like me) have materials that belong to the umbrella school as well as materials that are ours.

 

A Goal/Intended Learning Outcome/Objectve/whatever-you-call-it sheet for each student broken down by subject (with a nice check box and comment section).

 

Are you thinking of developing one, or just drumming up ideas for a personal use one?

[nukeswife]

I truly appologize if I did not follow forum etiquette when I replied about the actual tool I use for planning instead of planning pages.

 

This is actually the first forum I've ever joined and I'm still learning the steps and manners.

 

I do apologize to the original poster.

 

 

Just wanted you to know I was responding to another poster. I don't think you did anything wrong. To each person a planner is a different thing. I took it to mean she was looking for a paper planner where she'd write things in. Someone else thought that my post about a place to generate forms to make your own customizable planner wasn't what was being looked for.

 

Maybe I should have been more clear that mine was a "form generator" and not a planner.