Planning? How far do you go in advance?

[SFM]

I am trying to "plan" I like being flexible throughout our day so I am not really referring to a daily schedule but something that I am following, some sort of course of study. So, does anyone plan years in advance (roughly) have an idea of what they would like to study each year with the children or a program they use every year? Or do you just wing it year by year and child by child? I understand COMPLETELY that children differ, life circumstances change, etc. However, I like planning for the most part and wouldn't be completely bent out of shape if I had to change that plan but I was just wondering if I am a complete nut job for doing it this way.

 

Please tell me I am not alone. :D

[Mama Anna]

Since I follow the WTM fairly closely at this point, I feel like I have an idea of what's coming up in our future. However, there are some things that I want to add in at various points (or change) and I'll often plot those one or more years in advance. For example, dd9 is pretty much finished with handwriting. But when should she learn keyboarding? I've decided to start her on it next year. Not so much because we can't do it this year but because, considering different variables, I think it will be best to do it next year.

 

I love planning ahead! It helps that we're pretty dedicated to homeschooling through high school. Of course, if we ever have to put them in PS, a big part of my plans/world will come crashing down!!

 

So it goes. :)

 

Mama Anna

[jennynd]

I plan yearly. But change it when I see fit, especially when I am not familiar the curriculum

[dbmamaz]

For my high schooler, I tried to have a pretty complete plan (roughly) by the beginning of high school. And then for beyond, as well, since its hard to plan high school if you dont know where you are going.

 

My younger one is a real challenge - very stubborn, throws a lot of crying fits, behind in LA and ahead in math but basically hates curriculum. So its harder to plan with him. I'm trying to plan ahead for math because we're already getting close to pre-algebra level, but other than that . . . i have an idea of what we might do for history next year, as well, but for him its much more fluid

[alisoncooks]

I have a "big picture" plan. Just a rough estimation of how we might continue on through the subjects (particularly history and science, since they are somewhat dependent on what you have/will study). I like to know we have a *flow* that makes sense and I don't miss anything. This is in a Pages file/chart and is tweaked occasionally. ETA: my chart goes all the way to 12th grade for history/science, but I've only filled in a few years for some other subjects (spelling) because I am unsure... :)

 

I also do some yearly planning, before the school year starts. Divided some subjects (character/Bible, handwriting) into 36 weeks, filed them away. For the bulk of our daily learning, I just do the next thing, but look over it weekly and decide what we'll do each day (i.e. Singapore: I just sit down on Sunday, and plan out -- via sticky note on the pages -- which activities/games we'll do.)

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I have a notebook with my overall plan for each child's school through graduation, that gets changed and tweaked every few months. I have another notebook for the actual year plan including my goals for the year, books I want them to read, and anything else important to the year. This gets looked at often and added to/deleted as needed.

[coffeegal]

I am trying to "plan" I like being flexible throughout our day so I am not really referring to a daily schedule but something that I am following, some sort of course of study. So, does anyone plan years in advance (roughly) have an idea of what they would like to study each year with the children or a program they use every year? Or do you just wing it year by year and child by child? I understand COMPLETELY that children differ, life circumstances change, etc. However, I like planning for the most part and wouldn't be completely bent out of shape if I had to change that plan but I was just wondering if I am a complete nut job for doing it this way.

 

Please tell me I am not alone. :D

 

I do run a future chart to see what we'll be studying until my youngest is out of the house. It lets me see upcoming pitfalls, when I want to start my littles in the science sequence, and a general overview of where we're going. Also I discovered that the next 3 years are likely to be my best and craziest years homeschooling with it peaking in 2014-2015: 3 highschoolers, 1 middle schooler, and 2 little ones learning to read. :D It's not a time to add a lot of extras to my schedule. :lol:

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

What is fun is going back over your plans you made last year or years before and see how different your plans are. I sometimes look back and wonder what I was thinking.

[SFM]

What is fun is going back over your plans you made last year or years before and see how different your plans are. I sometimes look back and wonder what I was thinking.

:iagree:

 

Already I am noticing this and it's only been 9 months for us. I love it, I actually enjoy long term planning but I get too stressed with short term "restrictive" planning. I am the same way as some others who just do the next thing for the actual school year. I appreciate all of the tips, I like the idea of having a binder for each and just an overall "flow" chart or list. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone. :grouphug:

[PeacefulChaos]

I am trying to "plan" I like being flexible throughout our day so I am not really referring to a daily schedule but something that I am following, some sort of course of study. So, does anyone plan years in advance (roughly) have an idea of what they would like to study each year with the children or a program they use every year? Or do you just wing it year by year and child by child? I understand COMPLETELY that children differ, life circumstances change, etc. However, I like planning for the most part and wouldn't be completely bent out of shape if I had to change that plan but I was just wondering if I am a complete nut job for doing it this way.

 

Please tell me I am not alone. :D

 

You are not alone! :D

Let's see - I plan for the days/weeks, but not specific as to what date they are (so it just says Week 1, and I do M-F because many things line up well that way. We are currently, however, doing the stuff listed on Friday on Monday because we took a day off a couple of weeks ago... no biggie. It all works out). We don't have specific breaks set or anything like that - I know we want to finish the beginning of June. So we have 9 weeks we can take off, whenever, between now and then. (Well, 44 days to be exact, since we used one. :) But you get the point.) I have the year planned out this way because I like to know what needs to be done.

I also have a basic plan for the rest of school. Literally. The last school year I have written in my notebook is 2026-2027, which should be Pink's senior year. This basic plan is NOT anything extensive - a list of subjects for each kid each year, basically.

This fall I'll go through this basic list for next year (2013-2014) more extensively and add in what curriculums I think we'll be using. Then this winter (by the first of the year) I'll make up a budget for next year, comparing prices, etc - at this point all curriculum will be set in stone. I order everything in February/early March (I do look around to see what I can find secondhand, etc, but I don't let that go on forever) and then I make the schedule for the following year (like what I talked about in the first paragraph) in the spring.

Some people think I'm nuts. I've had people tell me it's ridiculous or stupid or completely unnecessary. :001_huh: But I really enjoy it. I like having it all laid out - and yes, I know things can change and probably will! (curriculum, etc) I'm happy doing things this way, some people aren't. :)

[Hunter]

helps me spend less. Erasing is a pain, and forces me to see what wonderful things I won't be using, if I buy and use a new thing.

 

I can't REALLY plan ahead, because tutoring students come and go, but planning helps me budget and feel more stable. At times I really plan around a certain student--as I should--but I also try and search for a teacher/seasonal plan that helps my home/school not feel like it is orbiting unstable students, with no stable center.

[momma2three]

I research curricula like there's no tomorrow, so I have everything planned out until 8th grade. And then, three weeks later, I decide that something else looks better, and change it. :lol:

 

Keep in mind... we've only barely started homeschooling. :D So I'm well aware that things will probably change once we get down to it.

 

I am super, super impressed with the History Odyssey curriculum, so I'd like to use that the whole way through. I was reading the Stage 2 free samples last night, and most of it was stuff I had no clue about. And I was a history major in college! I'm pretty happy with both Math Mammoth and MEP right now, so I plan on doing that through 5th grade, and then switching to pre algebra. I'd like them to take a gentle Latin course in early elementary, and more seriously by 5th or 6th grade. And a foreign language with a native speaking teacher: we're lucky that DD has that now, and hopefully will continue to. Piano is non-negotiable, at least through 8th grade. I am so impressed by Atelier Art that I'd like to keep using that through 7th grade.

 

Of course, I am 110% aware that plans made this far in advance, for multiple children two of whom I know nothing about how they learn or what their learning personalities are, is asking for a wet sponge of reality to the face. :lol: But I'm a planner, and I can't help it.

 

For realistic plans, I plan in 12 week blocks. I have a spreadsheet with weeks along the top, and subjects/curricula along the left. I schedule a reasonable amount for each week, and this is when I also make note of any library books/supplies I might need to order. Then I have a second row right below that with what we ACTUALLY do. I started doing this last year, and it's lots of fun. Some things we end up ahead, some things we end up behind... almost nothing actually follows my schedule! For pre-K and K (and probably for a few years to come) it hardly matters, but for some reason I get a twisted kick out of seeing how far we deviate from my plans.