Okay, this is STUPID

[Mama Lynx]

THIS is why I've never actually planned out a homeschooling year.

 

Let me explain. Each year I plan out the subjects and resources for each child, but we do things in a very relaxed way. I use whatever resources work for us at the time, switching whenever we need to. I've never written out academic goals for any year - we just work on math, Latin, writing, etc. at whatever level we are. I've never worked out a calendar - we just do school on most days.

 

But this year, for my oldest, at least, I need more of a plan. He's heading into 7th, and I can see where some of my relaxed attitudes need to change for him. He needs the structure to come from me. He, and the up and coming 5th grader, also need some more definable points at which they can say "We are done with X subject," or "when we finish Y, the school year will be over." They've never known when a school year was over. I have always decided arbitrarily.

 

And, in the areas where we are not where I want us to be, and the reason is simply because of slacking off on my part, it is time for me to make a plan and get us on track. It is time to decide on goals, and be accountable to them.

 

But one reason I've never done this is simply because I hate making decisions. I hate to feel locked into things. I value the ability to change based on circumstances. The up side of this is that we're flexible, and able to take advantage of teachable moments; the downside is that if we're too flexible, we may never get where we're going, right?

 

Anyway. My first hurdle is simply a calendar. No, not even that. It's simply to define periods of school - terms, if you will. I want to choose a time period of weeks to teach, and then at the end of that period we can assess where we are, and make changes as necessary.

 

And I can't do it. I've been back and forth over this all weekend. Two semesters? Three trimesters? Nine weeks on, two weeks off? Six six-week periods?

 

Isn't this insane?? I know full well that whatever I decide, I can amend, whenever necessary. But I can't make a decision, and therefore, I can't go any further with planning.

 

Help? Tell me how you decide on terms, or periods of assessment. Or even, how you go about making decisions when you hate making these decisions so much that you lock yourself into stupid minutiae.

 

Sigh. You know, when I used to work in an office, the first thing I did at any new job was look for outs. Where could I hide? How many breaks could I take? How could I contrive ways to run errands, or get out of the office? The first thing I did at school was always to count up how many absences I could have without incurring any penalties, and made sure I took every single one. "Don't Fence Me In" could be my theme song.

 

(Add to this, every time I talk about getting busy with school, my dh reminds me that we're so close to DC now, we should not worry about school but spend as much time as possible on field trips. Well, yes, BUT ... [and yes, part of my planning involves leaving plenty of time for such field trips].)

[KIN]

I'm planning my year in 4-9 week segments. At the end of each quarter I will evaluate if we are on track, what we need to speed up/slow down, what is working or isn't. I feel that will give us a long enough period to accomplish quite a bit, yet isn't so long that I don't have time to alter something if it isn't working. Clear as mud? :) I think semesters would be too long, especially for someone that doesn't want to be boxed in.

[momofkhm]

do any of them have predefined terms? Do one or more of their books have a big test every so often? Use that. I'm using TOG. Mostly it is separated into 9 weeks units. So our breaks are every 9 weeks.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I don't plan in breaks. I am trying to plan, generally, the work. Then we'll just take breaks as we need them. I do plan the bigger ones, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I do a couple of fall breaks and a couple of late winter and early spring ones when we are fried! I have done 2 weeks into the new year already.

[Murphy101]

I go to this website and print off the calendar on the right beginning with the month I want to start schooling.

 

Then I mark out absolute no schooling days.

Sundays, christmas week, easter week, some time off for new baby arrival.

 

Then I start and don't worry about the end date. We just continue on until we're satisfied we're done.

[Chris in VA]

Y'know, I'm generally a pretty indecisive person. I tend to research the heck out of something, and I mean the HECK out of it. Love that part. Want all the info. I use information gathering to handle my anxiety.

 

But eventually, one has to make decisions.

Ok, I'm pasting a response I just made to someone on the curriculum board about making decisions.

 

Once when I was on the phone with a df, going on and on (I'm sure) about a decision I had to make, she said, "It's like this. You've got the p-nut butter and jelly and the ham sandwich. If you pick the ham sandwich, you can't have the p-nut butter and jelly. BUT YOU'VE GOT A GREAT HAM SANDWICH!"

 

Stopped me cold. Although it feels like it, so much does NOT "depend upon the red wheelbarrow, glazed with rain, beside the d@mn white chickens" (obscure poetic reference, "d@mn" inserted by me).

 

I have been paralyzed by indecision many times. Now, not so much. I'm learning.

 

Make your choice, give it a really, really good go, and see if it works. You'll be ok.

[Trivium Academy]

Breathe. :) Start with something in the middle, say 6 weeks with a week off - just plan for that and see how it goes. You can do a loose plan for the year but know that you can stretch that first term to 9 weeks if you want. You have 52 weeks of the year, -3 for Thanksgiving, Christmas and a Spring Break, so that's 49 weeks. You DO have wiggle room and you can be flexible. Most curricula are only 36 weeks long (thanks to the traditional school year), so you have 13 weeks of wiggle room if you homeschool year round. If not just minus your summer vacation time from the 13 weeks and that's your wiggle room. ;)

 

You don't have to be rigid, try not letting your goals stress you out. You can do this. Just use a pencil and have a BIG eraser on standby.

[Jacquelyn in NC]

Where are the holidays? How much time do I need off around Christmas so I don't go crazy? Is there a point when I definitely want to be finished with school, like an early summer family vacation? Then I work backwards, seeing how school will fit around that. Use a pencil with an eraser and just play! You can do it!

[Mama Lynx]

Chris, I had to LOL at this, because I hate that poem! I think your insert adds to it considerably ;-)

[MerryAtHope]

Every time I plan a specific type of schedule, I never end up following it! I just count our school days & when we get to 180 we're done.

 

This year my tentative shedule has every other Friday off. We'll see how that works...

 

Merry :-)

[jail warden]

What KIN is doing is basically what I'm doing too. I am trying to make sure my days are fairly even, so I'm planning when to start things at different times of the week, etc. But, my basic is dividing the year into four quarters and deciding what needs to be accomplished.

[bettyandbob]

In my case that would be the curriculum year for dd's ballet program. Or do your kids have friend in public or private school and wish they could be out to play with said friends on their breaks.

 

We've always somewhat followed the public school calendar. My dc are well aware when their friends are running carefree in the streets. I try to build my program so my kids have a few more days off then they do. My ps has 9 week quarters. I take each piece of curriculum and mark where I need to be by specified dates before the end of the quarter. Then I break the materials down further into weeks.

 

Maybe I plan too far out, but when my oldest was in first, I looked FAR AHEAD. What options did I want ds to have at hs graduation. For instance, in math, I want my dc to be able to finish 1 year of calculus before college (I know this is not what everyone does, just my example). To be able to do this, a student my complete Algebra in 8th grade. To complete algebra in 8th grade....Since I'm more of a science/math person I follow the WTM for writing/grammar expectations for each grade (I don't trust myself to make that up off the top of my head).

 

To figure out your more structured plan, I would suggest you look ahead. You are more setting goals for yourself as a teacher so that you dc will have a range of options available when they are ready to further their education without your or go out on their own. What I've seen some families do, is not look closely at the end and then when the child is entering his junior year of high and he only has algebra 1 completed and he's always thought he wanted to be a veternarian (or insert any strong science related career) find that the child is way behind on this future option. Sure he can spend time in cc after high school to move on in core math and science, but I would really hate to put my child in a position of having to make up what I didn't offer him.

[Mama Lynx]

do any of them have predefined terms? Do one or more of their books have a big test every so often? Use that. I'm using TOG. Mostly it is separated into 9 weeks units. So our breaks are every 9 weeks.

 

Not really. Most of what we use is not really separated like that - Classical Writing, Latin Prep, Story of the World/WTM logic stage history, etc.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Help? Tell me how you decide on terms, or periods of assessment. Or even, how you go about making decisions when you hate making these decisions so much that you lock yourself into stupid minutiae.

 

How about arranging it to match other dates you want to remember, like the Solstices and Equinoxes?

[Faithr]

I'll follow up on Rose's comment. Our year starts up in early September because that's when lots of activities start up. Then the holidays roll around and that's a natural breaking point. Then I get the winter doldrums and we go into unschooly time, then Lent starts up and that gets me into a more structured frame of mind and then we need to get through our end of the school year testing before summer hits.

 

So really the way I plan the year depends on what is going on in our lives. It feels very natural that way and I don't feel the need to make a decision about anything. It's already laid out there for me. So I think you should forget the different approaches and figure out what's important to you and plan around that.

[Alenee]

Last year we had several subjects that had predefined endings. One ended each week for 4 weeks so when the last was done, I ended the year. This year we added in TOG so I'm using the units as my basis for breaks as well as holidays and those times where I'm just gonna say, "Enough! I can't do this today!"

[Tree House Academy]

All I really know is that I am letting my kids take off on their birthdays (just the one who is having the birthday though!) and we are taking off from just before Thanksgiving until just after New Year's so we can enjoy the holidays and all that goes into planning and preparing and so forth.

 

I use Calvert, so it is scripted for me...lesson 1 - do X, lesson 2 - do x, and so on. I am not worried about WHEN those lessons get done, just that I do all that I deem necessary per lesson. If we miss a day, we just pick up with the next upcoming lesson and call it good. :)

[laylamcb]

Chris, I had to LOL at this, because I hate that poem! I think your insert adds to it considerably ;-)

 

Whew. So glad someone else said it. HATE that poem. HATE IT!! Grrr... :001_smile:

 

Ahem. I'm OK now. Ambleside Online uses a 3 term (12-weeks per term) schedule, which seems just right to me: long enough to assess whether something's working, with a light at the end of the tunnel when you've had just about enough of whatever you've been working on.

 

Just throwin' that out there to add to your confusion. ;)

[Peela]

I go with our external structure- the structure imposed on me by external classes, which follow school terms. So, we follow school terms- which divides the year nicely into four 10 week sections with holidays in between.

 

If I didn't have that external structure, I think I would do 5 weeks on, one week off, although kids playing on the street is another external structure I take into consideration- my kids don't like to be doing their work with the neighbourhood boys knocking on the door wanting them to play!

 

Then, I plan ahead generally, based on our year in the history cycle- I work out our spines, generally what we will use.

 

Then I plan in more detail for the term ahead.

 

I inevitably plan too much, or something doesn't work.

I like to see each new term as a fresh start, so for me its like a creative project- how can I spark some life into the term, what can I do that's new.

Then of course, life happens, but with a basic structure, things do get done.

[jpklehm]

Hi Stephanie!

 

Good question. I go with the 36-week schedule and let the boys take off the time the ps take off (because they have friends in the neighborhood that come over and want to play). I go with the 36 weeks because that's what I was used to from being a teacher, and John's spelling book is broken down into 36 lessons (silly, I know!).

 

I do like Betty's suggestion to break down the boys' books into quarters then make sure I make it to each "mark" by the end of that quarter. I plan to do this; I love how tangible it is! I'm used to writing out a detailed calendar at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year, trying (sometimes desperately) to get all books complete. I hope this is the end of that!

 

I am also very indecisive, so this has been a big help for me!

 

Hope all is well, Stephanie! Hope to talk soon. :001_smile:

PAM

[Carol in Cal.]

I want to feel that we have made it through 20 math lessons and about the same number of grammar lessons. I want DD to have progressed significantly in writing--we use several programs for that, so I don't use a particular criteria. I want to have done some significant science and history.

 

A month is long enough to 'smooth' weeks with birthdays, illness, or field trips, but short enough to be able to catch yourself and make mid-course corrections. For instance, one year I let DD slide on math after standardized testing was over, and at the end of that month I realized that I really had let her stall me WAY too much and that we had to get CRACKING! That was a good thing to figure out, and it didn't drag on too long before I saw some results.

 

Personally I would rather do more shorter days than fewer longer days, so we end up schooling all year round. I feel that that gives us leeway to jump on field trips, crazy Mommy adventures, and vacations from time to time while still feeling very good about our progress.

[8filltheheart]

I tried to attach a copy of our calendar, but I don't really know what I am doing and it said it exceeds the file size.

 

I basically take 172 days and figure out what days we want off and when we want to end and work backwards. We school about 6-7 weeks on and 1 week off.

 

My kids need to know what their months are going to look like. They like to plan special things during their weeks off. They like to feel like they have some control over their lives and having a calendar creates that.

[kat19]

Thanks for the link.. I have this site bookmarked, but never noticed the academic planner part of it before.. I just printed out my calendar and the 36 week planner for the kids :001_smile:

 

I go to this website and print off the calendar on the right beginning with the month I want to start schooling.

 

Then I mark out absolute no schooling days.

Sundays, christmas week, easter week, some time off for new baby arrival.

 

Then I start and don't worry about the end date. We just continue on until we're satisfied we're done.

[Mama Lynx]

I tried to attach a copy of our calendar, but I don't really know what I am doing and it said it exceeds the file size.

 

I basically take 172 days and figure out what days we want off and when we want to end and work backwards. We school about 6-7 weeks on and 1 week off.

 

My kids need to know what their months are going to look like. They like to plan special things during their weeks off. They like to feel like they have some control over their lives and having a calendar creates that.

 

That's part of what is going on here. My older kids need to feel that they have some control, and know what things are going to look like. I am having an incredible amount of difficulty in letting go of that control.

[Mama Lynx]

Hi Stephanie!

 

Good question. I go with the 36-week schedule and let the boys take off the time the ps take off (because they have friends in the neighborhood that come over and want to play). I go with the 36 weeks because that's what I was used to from being a teacher, and John's spelling book is broken down into 36 lessons (silly, I know!).

 

I do like Betty's suggestion to break down the boys' books into quarters then make sure I make it to each "mark" by the end of that quarter. I plan to do this; I love how tangible it is! I'm used to writing out a detailed calendar at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year, trying (sometimes desperately) to get all books complete. I hope this is the end of that!

 

I am also very indecisive, so this has been a big help for me!

 

Hope all is well, Stephanie! Hope to talk soon. :001_smile:

PAM

 

I've looked at the ps schedule here, because my kids are already playing with ps kids in the area, and this will become an issue. (There are kids to play with, Pam, right next door!!!)

 

I don't like it much, though. PS here starts in September, and they take very few breaks. I prefer to start earlier and take many breaks.

 

I began this homeschooling journey doing very casual, year-round school, and I've chosen programs and curricula that reflect that. Most of what I do doesn't lend itself well to a 36 week schedule ... but again, part of that is my desire to 1) not relinquish control, and 2) not fence myself in. Argh.

 

I think I just need to grit my teeth, plan everything out for six weeks, and see what happens.

 

Nice to "see" you! :)