blondeviolin Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Around this time the boards are full of planning threads. I'm just wondering if anyone just does the next thing in the younger grades. For example, this school year we will start SOTW. There are 42 chapters, so I figure some weeks we will double up, but mostly we'll do a chapter a week. The week or so before, I'm planning on looking at the text and AG, deciding if we can double up, place appropriate books on hold at the library, etc. I chose RSO over BFSU because it seems like RSO would be less planning for me. It also seems that whenever I plan something, someone goes ahead and learns the material all on their own before I get to it. (Happened this summer with a few unit studies... :glare:) Anyone else a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants homeschooler? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Me! *raises hand* I've learned my best plans are done in pencil and only so far as the day ahead - I go through less erasers that way. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Most of our grammar stage subjects are just do the next thing. The exception being science (which I'm writing myself), history (which, again, using a spine but adding in my own resources\activities), and music and art study (putting together myself). All of my 9th grader's work is do the next thing, and I only have to plan out science and history for my 7th grader, since I'm writing those too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I plan what materials I'll be working with, but then approach them in a "Do the next thing" way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I plan what materials I'll be working with, but then approach them in a "Do the next thing" way. :iagree: I'm a completely devoted planner, but a very flexible implementer. I have a plan for the next 5 years ;), which will be changed many times I am sure (I did the same thing when I was in college!:D) But yeah, during the course of the year, we work at the pace that makes sense, and when we finish something, we just move on to the next thing. We finished a bunch of stuff in March & April, and started new things then . . . so we'll finish stuff "early" next year too, and then just move on to the next thing. I have a sense that I'll need to be a little more organized with starting and stopping for high school/transcripting purposes, but for now, we work flexibly day-to-day within a fairly detailed long-term plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 When my oldest kids were the ages in your signature, absolutely. :) Now my oldest kids are middle school age, and the then babes are now grammar stage kids themselves. "Do what's next" still works fabulously for some curricula, but my teaching time is now crunched severely enough that lesson plans made ahead of time ensure it will get done. I can do it in big blocks, 6-9 weeks at a time, and that relatively short amount of time I spent poring over books to make the plans makes "do what's next" possible for every subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 :seeya: Me. I feel like what we are doing right now is working well so we basically just continue along and move up a level when it's time. I also find that the unexpected happens a LOT so any plans I make too far ahead end up changed anyway. This also allows me to move faster if a kid gets a concept fast or slow down if extra explanation is needed. For history, geography, science, art, etc. (anything but the 3r's) I have a general order of topics but don't plan by dates since things often take longer (or I don't get to them when I thought). Although that plan also changes a lot and is about to change again since I think I was too ambitious and need to go with something simpler, especially with summer here. :tongue_smilie: It's probably a lot easier for me to be loose and by-the-seat-of-my-pants living in a non-reporting state and with kids who are slightly "ahead" of the public schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yes, I have always had that approach at the young stages and it has always worked great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yes, and it's working great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We do the next thing, but I have to have it planned out in some manner (we'll do xyz today, and abc tomorrow) or I will forget to do something. :tongue_smilie: I don't plan out what we'll do in math for the entire year or anything like that (can't possibly plan that!), but I can put all the lessons in HST+ and see where we are, then each week, I decide what to assign for the week, and we have our checklist. With two students schooling, I'm especially finding that I have to do this now, especially since I've bumped up the level of expectation for my 3rd grader this year. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nov05mama Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We do the next thing, but I have to have it planned out in some manner (we'll do xyz today, and abc tomorrow) or I will forget to do something. :tongue_smilie: I don't plan out what we'll do in math for the entire year or anything like that (can't possibly plan that!), but I can put all the lessons in HST+ and see where we are, then each week, I decide what to assign for the week, and we have our checklist. :iagree: This is how we've done it as well. I do have everything planned out, but only b/c HST+ makes it so easy for me. I have the lesson plans created, but only assign on a weekly basis, so I can adjust based on what comes up. We basically just "do the next" thing in all our books, but I am able to keep track MUCH easier by having it in HST+ already...it's a matter of clicking "Done"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 "Do the next thing" here. The most I might do is plan out the week, wanting to be finished with a certain thing (usually a science topic) by the end of the week or by library day. We have a routine daily though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mélie Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I have a general idea of what I want us to accomplish this year in history, but science will be completely interest-led and math and English will be "do the next thing". :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathy_overman Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We just finished our 1st year, and I have been trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of for next year. I keep looking at MFW, BP, HOD, etc., then I realized - I don't like being told what to do when!! I won't admit this to my husband.:glare: If the schedule says read pg. 2-10 on Monday, chances are I won't. I like to do what I want when I want. I love this flexibility. I realized the programs that worked best this year were those that were very easy to 'do the next lesson'. It works great for us, and the kids. They know when they finish Lesson A they are done w/ math for the day. I would love to hear ya'lls thoughts on the curriculum that are most adaptable to this approach? Should I start a new thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 We do what is next for the most part, but this next year I am planning about 6 weeks ahead with SOTW. I found that I wasn't getting the books from the library, or doing ANY of the projects by just looking the week before. My version of planning is just looking at the first 6 chapters, and picking what projects look fun and what extra books look good and writing them down so I can make sure and have the things on hand when needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Yes, we are 100% Do the Next Thing here. I can't imagine it any other way for a K'er. I have a friend who loves to make elaborate lesson plans for her 5 year-old and I just keep thinking all of that time could go into actually teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joani Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'm very much a fan of doing the next thing. :D We've basically been doing that for the last three years, but I think I'll need to do more planning with 5 or 6 home next year. Ugh. I'm not a huge fan of planning. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 ... It also seems that whenever I plan something, someone goes ahead and learns the material all on their own before I get to it. (Happened this summer with a few unit studies... :glare:) This happens to me all.the.time! It used to drive me crazy, but now I've learned to be flexible and go-with-the-flow even in my intense planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I sort of do. I make a big library trip about every 4-6 weeks. We use FIAR for preschool/K so I get the books for that and any science/history books. I have to plan before the trip so that gets me to plan a chunk ahead at a time. For most everything else I plan a week at a time. This spring we went to a system where I give my son a list of all the things I want him to do that week. So it might say "Finish through Spelling List 20" "Do Three Days of Week 14 in WWE" etc. He then can choose what to do and how much on a given day. We talk on Monday about what the week will be like so he knows in advance if Friday is busy then he needs to get work done earlier in the week. His personality is such that he likes the control. Things always happen during the week and if we don't finish something, I just put it on the list for the next week. It's made things a lot more relaxed for us to do it this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 THat is pretty much what I do, my dds will be in 2 and K next year. I have a big picture idea of what I want to accomplish, but I don't plan things out day to day. I look a short way ahead to see if I need to have anything ready. I think it helps that we tend to use a pretty CM approach, so a lot of study is done just reading books and narrating them. It is pretty easy to mosey along with all of our literature and history that way. I do have an idea how far I might get in the year so I can order my materials, but it's pretty flexible. I want the kids to learn and enjoy themselves, not meet some external goal. With math and LA - we've been using EFTTC for LA - it works well too. And with the LA I just skip things if they don't work for us, or if we have done something else that covers the same basis. With things like art we are largely interest led. Probably music is our most scripted subject, but I am not the one who does the scripting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) We did it this year and it is definitely my style. I know roughly how many pages/lessons we need to get through for each subject. I did plan out our history because I was heavily supplementing a spine but even that I ended up flying solo for the second half of the year. I had done a spreadsheet plan and it really helped me plan read alouds, readers and activities. Thinking back on it, I should probably do that again this year as our history was more meaningful and memorable during the first half of the year. We are doing BFSU through the summer and I go at whatever pace our schedule allows. I do pre plan by ordering books through the library and making sure we have the supplies (almost half way through BFSU1 and I don't think I've ever needed to purchase any supply but if I did it was at my small town grocery store). For AAS, I actually blew through the first 4 levels with the kids and didn't plan but went at an aggressive pace. Next year I really want to slow it down as spelling doesn't need to be top priority. I'm thinking we should be able to get through levels 5 and 6 so I will calculate how many lessons per week and then see how it goes. I love the flexibility of knowing you can always adjust as you go. Or even change to a completely new curriculum if necessary. We did drop GWG and switched to FLL which was a great change for us. That meant I upped how many FLL lessons per week we did, but again it was very loose. If we were Edited June 21, 2012 by warneral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Yes, we've always been do the next thing types. I've been at it for 18 years now and my plans have always looked like over-arching goals, but never day by day schedules. It has suited our family well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) I just do the next thing too because I have a tendency to get analysis paralysis if I try to get it all planned out in advance...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis Edited June 21, 2012 by LivingHope Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I just do the next thing too because I have a tendency to get analysis paralysis if I try to get it all planned out in advance...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis Ah, this article is me. Even taking it day by day doesn't relieve my vexation, though. It's just me keeping busy while I agonize over what would really be best for me to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I am, pretty much. I do like to sit with a curriculum for a few months, tho, and really absorb what's in it. I picked things for dd that were easy to just do the next thing, like Saxon, Rod and Staff grammar, SOTW... That's one thing that is making me nervous about TOG. It seems I need to preread the teacher notes, digest it, and then lecture dd on the material, some of which is new to me (or needed to be refreshed cause I've forgotten!). Scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I am, pretty much. I do like to sit with a curriculum for a few months, tho, and really absorb what's in it. I picked things for dd that were easy to just do the next thing, like Saxon, Rod and Staff grammar, SOTW... That's one thing that is making me nervous about TOG. It seems I need to preread the teacher notes, digest it, and then lecture dd on the material, some of which is new to me (or needed to be refreshed cause I've forgotten!). Scary. We definitely have the style homeschooling OP is describing. I have an idea of how many pages/chapters/books we need to complete, and work at it in a very flexible way. Some days, we will work on math for two hours because things are "clicking along." Others, maybe 20 minutes because it is not going so well. We pick it up the next day, and usually are clicking right along again. We get so much less done and have less retention when we schedule one page of this, two of that, 20 minutes of this, etc. Chris in VA, I also use this approach with TOG. It does take time to review the teacher notes and prepare for the discussions, but I do not feel like I cannot look over the notes as I am going over it with them. If I find a lot of extra books at the library we want to read, we do it. If we feel like we aren't enjoying a week as much as others, I speed it up. I read quite a bit aloud to the kids since I am also refreshing my memory on so much of the information. You'll be fine. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Yes, I bought BFSU and then realized it wouldn't work for our family. I need our curriculum to be open and go. For Climbing to Good English we need to do 1 page a day. MM needs ~ 2 a day. I don't plan either and they both are just open the book to the next page types of curriculum. We are adding MCT for next year which should be interesting. I have the schedule someone else made for MCT. I'm hoping that will make it doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I am in some subjects, and not so much in others. Right now, everything but history is "do the next thing", but next year I have history and some literature planned out, plus a weekly reminder to do art, because we haven't been getting to that. And my plan is weekly, not "Monday read X, Tuesday map the expansion of the Assyrian empire" etc. I've tried to do stuff that requires advance planning (BFSU comes to mind), but it doesn't happen, and then it sits on the shelf for months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I am definitely that kind of person I have realized. I can plan and plan and overplan but it will not get carried out. Lots of unfinished projects over here. I have piles and piles of printed out lessons I wanted to cover..hah! I never get to the library on time to get the needed books-they either arrive at my house too late or too early. Then the book just goes in the "just read it before bed" category. I am not good with Sonlight way..where we read a few pages here and there in one book and another book a few pages here and there. That didn't work however it would be nice to get a curriculum with all the books there. So far the curriculums most adaptable to this method are: WWE/WWS, FLL, AAS, Story of the World, Right Start, Singapore, Key To series, Saxon? Someone add more please..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precious4b Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 This year I'm having to plan alot more because last year's curriculum just didn't work for us. My son is a hands on learner and so I've done a lot of research to find the best hands on curriculum that will push him and yet still be enjoyable :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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