Just wanted to share: I did it!...Hunter's planner

[stm4him]

Ok, I know it really isn't Hunter's planner but she was the one who posted it (and reposted it) and so I credit her with it because I'm not really familiar with the lady on the video and I don't do Waldorf educational methods.

 

Again, I am too lazy to go and find the link for you but I'm sure Hunter has it handy (and maybe others on here). It is the one where you fold up a big piece of paper into 16 squares and make a year at a glance planner out of it. I did it today and it felt SOOO good and I'm excited to have A PLAN for the next few months laid out as I transition out of survival mode (pregnancy and son with cancer) to normalcy (at least, as normal as it gets around here with so many little ones). Here is how I used the squares:

 

Front:

-One square for each month with dates written that we have important things going on that will interrupt schooling or otherwise affect it such as birthdays, trips, field trips, holidays, cancer treatments, etc. At the bottom of each square I listed the companies I want to place an order with for school stuff for that month as well as about 2 goals regarding home management or school organization or mothering focus.

-The bottom four squares have a list of the goals (which I then put on the months) and the resources I want to use to help me with those in one square. In the second one I have a list of the companies I order school stuff from typically and the months I want to place orders (which I then put on the months squares), as well as a list of schoolroom items I want to purchase this month as I reorganize it this week (which is my goal for the month of March). I also penciled in very tiny letters which subjects I have to buy for each kid (ex. Math- F, G, M). In the third square I jotted down all the categories of stuff in my schoolroom and how many bookshelf cubbies each takes up and then made a plan for how I am going to reorganize these this week. Since this is really specific to this week I may end up erasing it when I am done and using that square for something else, but it was helpful for now. The fourth square is still blank.

 

Back:

-One square for each month with goals for each subject listed. For example:

Literature- continue

Latin/Greek- derivatives, finish wkbks, review

Memory Work- lapbook

History- SOTW 1, Presidents 5-8

Science- Zoology Unit Study

Geography- Draw Your World (Africa)

Fine Arts- Discovering Great Artists projects

Math- Lessons 70-90

Grammar- F weeks 1-12

Spelling- phonics review, SP Lists A sentences

Writing- PS/HW/CW, letters/journals

Reading- McCall lessons 40-60, BB 5.5-5.8/W-Z, McGuffey lessons 40-60

Bible- VP timeline

 

-Bottom four squares list my 4 kids and their list of curriculum from this year......

 

Try it!

[Hunter]

Here's

:lol:

 

It really is awesome isn't it? Whenever life takes a new nosedive for me, I immediately draw up a new planner, and it IS really comforting.

 

I also do The Artist's Way morning pages for awhile. I color code mine so all the scrambled thoughts leaking onto the paper, can be easily reviewed throughout the day and crossed off one by one.

 

Scheduling in the interruptions, listing priorities, and only using one piece of paper, are the amazing too-good-to-be-true features of this method.

 

I also spend less when using this method, and buy less impulsively. I tend to follow my plans instead of switching plans, and I don't buy resources until just before I need them. And when I do purchase things, I can get what I want, because I saved for them.

[stm4him]

Now I'm wondering if I want to type it up or leave it as is. The nice thing about as is is that it is all in pencil so I can fix it really easily without having to re-type and print. Although I love doing detailed planning (or typing up my detailed plans) on google drive, it seems as soon as it is typed I revise

[stm4him]

Sorry, my toddler just posted before I was done....lol.

 

Anyway, as soon as I type it it seems I need to revise it. Maybe I will redo it in pretty markers or something fun like that. It is always easy to just make another one...and practically free! The annoying thing about pencil is that it smears over time and then is hard to read......

[freeindeed]

That looks great.

[Hunter]

stm4him :rofl: :scared:

 

The point of this planner is to keep it SIMPLE! :toetap05:

[Hen]

Hunter, I just bought "The Artist's Way" tonight after you mentioned it on this thread. I looked at it before, and liked it, but decided as a major A.D.D. -procrastinator I shouldn't buy one more book to add to my "let's get organized" book pile...but I couldn't resist this time after thumbing through it. I keep telling myself, "this time, this will be different" ha! I like the planner idea, too- it's simple enough that I might be able to do it :D

 

* this is a hazard of these boards, random book recommends!

[Hunter]

Hunter, I just bought "The Artist's Way" tonight after you mentioned it on this thread. I looked at it before, and liked it, but decided as a major A.D.D. -procrastinator I shouldn't buy one more book to add to my "let's get organized" book pile...but I couldn't resist this time after thumbing through it. I keep telling myself, "this time, this will be different" ha! I like the planner idea, too- it's simple enough that I might be able to do it :D

 

* this is a hazard of these boards, random book recommends!

 

I use morning pages more as an organizational tool, that to dig around and stir things up. I don't need to stir; there is plenty of chaos on the surface to deal with :lol:

 

The modified morning pages along with the Waldorf planner are good to use in a crisis, because they don't require anything but a pencil and paper, and maybe crayons if you are going to use my color coding modification. When I'm in crisis I don't always have access to a working printer with fresh ink in it. To buy ink was often one of the first things listed on my morning pages to do :lol:

 

Also writing, especially in cursive, is calming. Color and crayons are also calming. I need to be calmed when planning.

 

Most libraries have the Artist's Way.

 

The reason Artist's Way is so effective, is that it's a lot of trauma recovery and bits of other therapy disguised as creative recovery, so is palatable to the general public. So often our lack of creativity and organization is rooted in dysfunctional relationships past and present. Sometimes we cannot work on ourselves until we set boundaries with those around us.

 

My tutoring got better last year when I stopped being co-dependant with my students and stopped adapting my teaching to them so much. The more solid I became, the more solid my teaching became. It got calmer here, if nothing else.

[lovemykids]

I love that planner! Thanks for the reminder.. :thumbup1:

[AngelBee]

So much to think about.

[Hen]

AngelBee, yes I agree- "so much to think about"

 

Hunter- I am a frustrated artist who does not paint...I have been using photography and blogging as a quick outlet but I want to paint again, I am hoping The Artists way will get me actually "doing" something, I guess the added bonus of recovering will be good and maybe what I need. My NPD mother just died this Summer, I know I have lots of "stuff" affecting what I do and how I think. Thanks for the recommend :)

[mom2myboys]

Adding "The Artist's Way" to the reading list and going to try this method of planning today. :thumbup1:

[Hunter]

AngelBee, yes I agree- "so much to think about"

 

Hunter- I am a frustrated artist who does not paint...I have been using photography and blogging as a quick outlet but I want to paint again, I am hoping The Artists way will get me actually "doing" something, I guess the added bonus of recovering will be good and maybe what I need. My NPD mother just died this Summer, I know I have lots of "stuff" affecting what I do and how I think. Thanks for the recommend :)

 

 

You are the target audience for this book. :lol: Don't worry about doing the book "right" the first time. Do as much of it as feels good. Return to it again and again when life feels out of control, or when you are feeling particularly blocked. You'll get further along in the book each time you return to it.

 

If you can find a cheap used copy, it's worth it to rip the copy up and keep the weekly chapter in your purse, so you can pull it out and read it while stuck waiting somewhere.

 

 

Adding "The Artist's Way" to the reading list and going to try this method of planning today. :thumbup1:

 

 

Less-is-more methods don't work for everyone. Some people do better with worksheets. I'm just too far gone to benefit from worksheets :biggrinjester: . They never apply to my brand of chaos and they need to replaced or reprinted of re-something, exactly when I need them most. :banghead:

 

If anyone is trying to use the morning pages more as a recovery tool than an organizational tool, be careful how much of them you devote to others. Writing about others can feel disempowering. I find it better to focus on myself as much as possible. I'll write about the damage I sustained. I'll write about others as TYPES of people rather than as individuals. I have a journaling rule not to name people by name in my pages, unless it's a color coded reminded to do something for/with them. If nothing else in life is mine, at least my journaling is all mine, mine, MINE. I've had to work hard at making ME the center of MY life, as ridiculous as that sounds.

 

Some people write their morning pages as a letter/prayer to their diety and that works well for them.

 

I think morning pages can work for almost everyone, but I think they just need to find their style first. They are enjoyable to write, not a chore, once you find YOUR style. I'm OCD so mine are basically a color coded list. On the other end of the spectrum I had a dramatic tutoring student that...I'm not sure how to describe hers, other than to say they were :party: dramatic :rofl: .

[In the Rain]

I remember planning that way! I love Melisa's videos. She is so open and friendly. It feels like you are in the room with her. She also puts out a nice Waldorf Curriculum.

[AMJ]

Thanks for posting this! I found the videos on You Tube (and then lost them again), but watched all 3 before I lost them. I like to use a laminated year-at-a-glance poster calendar (hold-over from my work days) for a good view ahead of major day-eaters, but this folded paper bit would be a handy addition -- you see, there's no good place on the poster calendar for notes like "March is an allergy-heavy month" or other unscheduled-yet-heavy-impact stuff. And I need to track these things or they continue to sneak up on me.

 

It seems the folded paper would also be good for monthly summaries and lessons learned -- what worked, what didn't, what unexpected things occurred, etc. I'm new to homeschooling (will be switching to it this summer) and still planning, but from my work days I'm big into garnering lessons learned and sharing. And, of course, vulching on others' lessons learned here.

 

While I am not born organized I do appreciate a good system for keeping track of things, and I like to take what works and run with it. I'll be looking into the pointers you all have posted here. So much to keep track of, including before I even start the homeschooling officially.

 

Thanks, everyone!