How do you make sure things get DONE?

[I.Dup.]

Please be gentle and don't attack me. I am very overwhelmed and insecure about this, but wanted to ask to hopefully gain some tips and coping strategies.

 

I took a MB personality test awhile ago and in the description of my personality type, I am the one that looks at the job of building a fence and says "why does it need to be there? Does it really need to be there?" where other people pick out the supplies, do the planning, do the building, etc. I'm over here wondering "why does it need to be done?" LOL....a large part of this is obviously just my personality, and it extends to everything in my life. I don't do things just because everyone else does them. I'm always asking "why" and deciding on the necessity of doing it. Could that be laziness? Not sure.

 

Either way, this affects our homeschooling. I start the year with a gung-ho attitude and great curriculum and it never fails that by the end of the year we are never doing all of it. We completely dropped history halfway through this last year. I wasn't doing anything regular with my kindergartener. Truly, the only things that got done were the 3-R's with my older kids. I guess because that's what I decided was absolutely necessary and important. Planning and researching and book chasing and printing and all of that for history and the other subjects just became less and less important to me so I quit doing them. (please don't attack me)

 

So I'm wondering, how do you plug along day after day, week after week, month after month, and stay the course with ALL of the subjects? How do you keep up the motivation that every subject, every worksheet, every activity that you choose is really necessary and worth doing?

[Hunter]

Awesome thread!

 

Some of it isn't worth doing! Life is short. We all need to chase SOMETHING to not get overwhelmed with the realities of life. Chasing SOMETHING numbs us and keeps us busy and builds us up. But the SOMETHINGS we chase don't really matter much.

[creekmom]

I struggle with this also! I think part of the problem is that a classical education requires a lot of time/energy/dedication to do it well. It's so easy to get overwhelmed. I've found that I'm most consistent with curriculum that they can do fairly

independently. For example, I love AAS, but it just doesn't get done on a daily basis. I found an online spelling program by Calvert that she can do every day without my help - and it always gets done. So, for the subjects that are difficult to get around to, look for online programs or other independent resources to help you.

 

 

[Critterfixer]

I don't always get everything done. But most days we do.

One thing I try to do is to keep to the time. Once the time is up, that subject is done as far as I'm concerned. Chances are, if we don't finish the lesson it is because I tried to cram too much into one time frame. The rest I either let go, or put on the board under assignments. Assignments are there for the dawdling/ failure to pay attention/ complained-longer-than-I-worked attitudes. If you don't get it done in the time alloted, you do it in your free time. Which is not my time. And it seems to be helping the boys to transition to doing work without me having to hover. I like it.

 

I don't actually have much in the way of lesson planning other than doing the next thing, or just getting x chapters of history read, or getting through a Latin lesson in a week. I don't actually sit down and lay out what we will do each day. That doesn't work for me as well as just having time to do what we need to do and staying close to that time limit. I had to put in the assignment time, though. The boys figured on whining their way through a lesson and getting out of it. :D

 

I do the same thing with my housework. I know what I can get done in a set time limit and when I reach that limit I'm done. End of housework for the day.

[Ellie]

Please be gentle and don't attack me. I am very overwhelmed and insecure about this, but wanted to ask to hopefully gain some tips and coping strategies.

 

I took a MB personality test awhile ago and in the description of my personality type, I am the one that looks at the job of building a fence and says "why does it need to be there? Does it really need to be there?" where other people pick out the supplies, do the planning, do the building, etc. I'm over here wondering "why does it need to be done?" LOL....a large part of this is obviously just my personality, and it extends to everything in my life. I don't do things just because everyone else does them. I'm always asking "why" and deciding on the necessity of doing it. Could that be laziness? Not sure.

 

Either way, this affects our homeschooling. I start the year with a gung-ho attitude and great curriculum and it never fails that by the end of the year we are never doing all of it. We completely dropped history halfway through this last year. I wasn't doing anything regular with my kindergartener. Truly, the only things that got done were the 3-R's with my older kids. I guess because that's what I decided was absolutely necessary and important. Planning and researching and book chasing and printing and all of that for history and the other subjects just became less and less important to me so I quit doing them. (please don't attack me)

 

So I'm wondering, how do you plug along day after day, week after week, month after month, and stay the course with ALL of the subjects? How do you keep up the motivation that every subject, every worksheet, every activity that you choose is really necessary and worth doing?

 

NOT LAZY!!!!

 

Actually, you sound like a perfectionist, possibly a first born (according to Keven Lehman's Birth Order Book.). I can relate, because both Mr. Ellie and I are first-borns. Life around here can be interesting, lol.

 

I eventually learned how to choose instructional materials and methods better. I have to really read through something and imagine myself actually doing it; I know that I tend to drop things if I cannot do them perfectly--whatever my concept of "perfectly" is, lol. I am much better at knowing that it isn't always necessary to be perfect. I am better at evaluating the amount of time I have in a day and choosing things which will fit into that amount of time, rather than choosing things which look amazing but which, truthfully, don't fit my own teaching style (or my lifestyle) and which will make my brain bleed if I try to do them. My brain could not bear all the planning and research and printing that I've seen described here; it is why I eventually went with KONOS (we were hsing before KONOS was written), why I'd consider doing Beautiful Feet Books if I were hsing again. It is probably why I counted things like Camp Fire and 4-H and Missionettes, even ballet and Highland dance, as a big part of our homeschooling.

[violamama]

For me it's writing down what we did in my planner and having everything prints out before the term begins.

 

Looking ahead, I plan to buy a core of books for the year and supplement with the library because then If I don't get to the library, the core is still there. I can sell them or donate them if I need a tax write-off.

 

I found that stuff has to be ready or I'll find reasons not to do it.

[fairfarmhand]

I decided that as much as a CM/literature based history and science study appealed to me, it was more important that my kids have at least SOME exposure to history and science in a systematic way. So I buy Apologia science books where the lessons are already laid out and ready to go. I buy curriculum that might not be PERFECT rather than getting nothing done.

 

Alternately, I do all my planning/printing for the year in the summer.

 

But if getting all our subjects done depends on my researching, printing pages, pulling library books each week, all year, eventually, I will drop it, because I am so inconsistent and I can;t maintain that focus all year long.

[lorisuewho]

For me it's writing down what we did in my planner and having everything prints out before the term begins.

 

Looking ahead, I plan to buy a core of books for the year and supplement with the library because then If I don't get to the library, the core is still there. I can sell them or donate them if I need a tax write-off.

 

I found that stuff has to be ready or I'll find reasons not to do it.

 

 

I agree. I don't buy a curriculum that comes with lesson plans, so I make up my own generic form that each day I check off the boxes. I like crossing things off a list or checking things off because it gives me a visual goal. I don't know if that is true for everyone.

 

I also need to have everything planned out or I will feel overwhelmed and won't do it. For history this year, I did my own with library books, but I took the summer and looked up every book I wanted to use at the library and wrote them down in order on the calendar. That way each week I could just look ahead and request what I wanted from the library via the internet, and show up and pick up my stack of books. If I had to do more than that, I would never have finished history.

 

I plan everything in the summer. I learned this as a classroom teacher, and it has always served me well.

 

I do think the questions you are asking are ultimately important. Better to be sure you know why you are doing it than to just do something "just because." But once you have determined, yes I need to do this, then I would write down a plan to make sure it happens.

 

Homeschooling is challenging. I think the questions you are asking are the big first steps. Steps that are ultimately important and should not be belittled.

[I.Dup.]

Thank you all!!

 

For me it's writing down what we did in my planner and having everything prints out before the term begins...I found that stuff has to be ready or I'll find reasons not to do it.

 

Alternately, I do all my planning/printing for the year in the summer...But if getting all our subjects done depends on my researching, printing pages, pulling library books each week, all year, eventually, I will drop it, because I am so inconsistent and I can;t maintain that focus all year long.

 

 

This is my exact problem as well. As long as it is planned out in a way that makes sense to me, it will get done. Part of the problem with history was that I only planned 6 week chunks, and after 2 times of doing that it just didn't seem worth it to continue. Maybe if I had planned the entire year in advance, printed out ALL of the pages, gotten ALL of the activities organized and ready, the entire year would have gotten done. I just wasn't organized enough to do the entire year at once.

[lorisuewho]

 

Me, I like good, solid, no-frills (actually, "busywork") stuff that requires a challenge on my part. Singapore and Spalding both gave me something to delve into and understand, for instance. It is when I go into intellectual shut-down that I can't do it — I need homeschooling to be educational and stimulating for me too.

 

 

Love this. I need it to be intellectually stimulating for me too!

[Walking-Iris]

First I don't worry about getting content subjects done. And I don't homeschool by the calendar. It's important to set your unique priorities. Sounds like yours are similar to mine in some ways. It's important to me that my children do the basics as well. I prioritize their learning to read and write and do math. History and science get "done" because we're never "done" doing it. ;) See how sneaky that is? I don't look at our history or science etc resources and think "how to get through this in about 36 weeks or so" or "how to divide this into weekly lessons for two days a week." I think about routines in our life that make it likely for us to do history and science, and then I make it our lifestyle. Friday is when we do art, not because we're more likely to get it done if I plan for it, but because Friday is just when we do it. And so then we do it. See? That's just what our Friday is all about. I don't have to write it in a planner for the school year because our life doesn't fit in a planner for a school year, it's just what we do. As we grow and change maybe some other thing will take it's place. My priority for those subjects are that my children will be curious about their world and see that they are always learning about it their entire lives. If my kids graduate high school one day with the idea that they are "done" with history and science etc then I will feel as if I failed. i really stress the lifestyle of learning more than the requirements.

 

So we're always reading, watching, or doing some activity as an ongoing thing. Done is just not an option here. Take away the idea that you need to "get done" and you may be more likely to actually enjoy the process of learning those content things. I have the same ideas about writing and reading of literature. I don't feel like there are certain books we need to read by year's end or in a certain grade, and I don't feel that writing is a school subject as much a part of life (thank you Bravewriter!!) so again I don't worry about certain things getting done.

 

I also have blinders on when it comes to curricula and blogs and websites etc. Ignorance really is bliss in this area. I try to find the thing, the methods, that work for us where we are right now in this journey and I just ignore ignore ignore all the chatter about all the great other curricula out there. Only when I sense a real need for something do I then begin to research the possibilities.

[Spryte]

First I don't worry about getting content subjects done. And I don't homeschool by the calendar. It's important to set your unique priorities. Sounds like yours are similar to mine in some ways. It's important to me that my children do the basics as well. I prioritize their learning to read and write and do math. History and science get "done" because we're never "done" doing it. ;) See how sneaky that is? I don't look at our history or science etc resources and think "how to get through this in about 36 weeks or so" or "how to divide this into weekly lessons for two days a week." I think about routines in our life that make it likely for us to do history and science, and then I make it our lifestyle. Friday is when we do art, not because we're more likely to get it done if I plan for it, but because Friday is just when we do it. And so then we do it. See? That's just what our Friday is all about. I don't have to write it in a planner for the school year because our life doesn't fit in a planner for a school year, it's just what we do. As we grow and change maybe some other thing will take it's place. My priority for those subjects are that my children will be curious about their world and see that they are always learning about it their entire lives. If my kids graduate high school one day with the idea that they are "done" with history and science etc then I will feel as if I failed. i really stress the lifestyle of learning more than the requirements.

 

So we're always reading, watching, or doing some activity as an ongoing thing. Done is just not an option here. Take away the idea that you need to "get done" and you may be more likely to actually enjoy the process of learning those content things. I have the same ideas about writing and reading of literature. I don't feel like there are certain books we need to read by year's end or in a certain grade, and I don't feel that writing is a school subject as much a part of life (thank you Bravewriter!!) so again I don't worry about certain things getting done.

 

I also have blinders on when it comes to curricula and blogs and websites etc. Ignorance really is bliss in this area. I try to find the thing, the methods, that work for us where we are right now in this journey and I just ignore ignore ignore all the chatter about all the great other curricula out there. Only when I sense a real need for something do I then begin to research the possibilities.

 

This sums up anything I'd have tried to say, only better!

[I.Dup.]

First I don't worry about getting content subjects done. And I don't homeschool by the calendar. It's important to set your unique priorities. Sounds like yours are similar to mine in some ways. It's important to me that my children do the basics as well. I prioritize their learning to read and write and do math. History and science get "done" because we're never "done" doing it. ;) See how sneaky that is? I don't look at our history or science etc resources and think "how to get through this in about 36 weeks or so" or "how to divide this into weekly lessons for two days a week." I think about routines in our life that make it likely for us to do history and science, and then I make it our lifestyle. Friday is when we do art, not because we're more likely to get it done if I plan for it, but because Friday is just when we do it. And so then we do it. See? That's just what our Friday is all about. I don't have to write it in a planner for the school year because our life doesn't fit in a planner for a school year, it's just what we do. As we grow and change maybe some other thing will take it's place. My priority for those subjects are that my children will be curious about their world and see that they are always learning about it their entire lives. If my kids graduate high school one day with the idea that they are "done" with history and science etc then I will feel as if I failed. i really stress the lifestyle of learning more than the requirements.

 

So we're always reading, watching, or doing some activity as an ongoing thing. Done is just not an option here. Take away the idea that you need to "get done" and you may be more likely to actually enjoy the process of learning those content things. I have the same ideas about writing and reading of literature. I don't feel like there are certain books we need to read by year's end or in a certain grade, and I don't feel that writing is a school subject as much a part of life (thank you Bravewriter!!) so again I don't worry about certain things getting done.

 

I also have blinders on when it comes to curricula and blogs and websites etc. Ignorance really is bliss in this area. I try to find the thing, the methods, that work for us where we are right now in this journey and I just ignore ignore ignore all the chatter about all the great other curricula out there. Only when I sense a real need for something do I then begin to research the possibilities.

 

Can you please share how you make history and science part of your lifestyle without needing to plan for it? Thank you!

[alef]

 

So I'm wondering, how do you plug along day after day, week after week, month after month, and stay the course with ALL of the subjects? How do you keep up the motivation that every subject, every worksheet, every activity that you choose is really necessary and worth doing?

 

Short answer: I don't.

 

I have my short list of most important subjects, i.e. math, and do everything in my power to make sure those get done almost every day. The rest--I try to not plan too far ahead. 4 weeks is nice, then a week break to plan out the next 4 weeks. We school year round, so my personal "core" subjects are getting done almost every day, even during breaks (unless we are traveling or sick or something). I might do 4 weeks of history, then 4 weeks of science; I might skip both in favor of doing nature walks and copywork. I might have a couple of weeks just to enjoy read-alouds together. My oldest child is a list-checker type so she keeps plugging away happily with her own work, but the work that is my responsibility--I prioritize based on what seems important to me.

[2_girls_mommy]

By the end of the year, we don't even do all of the worksheets for math and english. I don't feel I have to do all of anything to consider it done. My dd8 is on lesson 130 of 170 math lessons in her book this year. We will stop school at the end of this month, no matter where we are. We avg. 3-4 math lessons a week, never more. So at most we can get to lesson # 150, if all goes perfectly. But I looked through her book. The point of the last lessons is to learn her math facts, multi and divi. up to the 9s. She is on division of the 8s. Once she has drilled those for awhile, I will make sure she gets to the 9 multi facts. If she never drills the 9 division facts, its ok. By now she has the concept of it being the opposite of the multiplication. We won't finish spelling or English completely, much less history (SOTW) though I will continue to read through SOTW w/no work to do on it until we finish the vol. We took science at co-op this year. Co-op is over. We are hatching chicks at home now. We might dissect some more owl pellets I have on hand. We will go to the zoo and science museums. But there are going to be no more science worksheets, lab sheets, or diagrams for the year.

 

I still think we have done a good job of covering lots this year. I don't think we need to finish every book to get a good education.

[boscopup]

I have a routine that we follow. If it's something we do every single day, it's easier to get done. I also print out a checklist for the week (just for DS1's stuff right now - DS2 is easy to "do the next thing", as he just has 3 subjects plus read-alouds). I split it into "work with mom" and "independent work". As I cycle through the kids, I make sure everything on the list is done. When I'm done teaching, I can go do housework... or piddle around on the computer (as I'm doing right now :D).

 

I also make sure we start first thing in the morning. If we start at 10am, we're not likely do get much done, even though we technically have *time* to do it. I just lose motivation too quickly. So we eat breakfast, do Bible and read-alouds during breakfast, then head upstairs to the school room and get to work. I start with the youngest and work my way up.

 

I have my entire year roughly planned out, entering lesson plans into HST+. These have no dates attached!!! Every Sunday afternoon, I make assignments from those lesson plans, then print out the weekly checklist. This way, I'm keeping track each week of where we are in the curriculum in general. I don't worry much about finishing at a certain point... Most of my subjects change levels at a different time. My oldest just finished a math book a couple weeks ago, he will end the school year halfway through his spelling book, he just started a new handwriting book, we'll finish up his Latin book before starting a new program sometime after our new school year starts (we take a 3-4 week break between school years), and our history will end up going a couple weeks beyond the end of the school year. But even though everything starts in a different place, I like being able to see at a glance where we are and what we need to do each week. It keeps me on track.

 

Other things that help me get things done... Have a clean, orderly school area (be it your kitchen table or a separate room - wherever you teach), and having the house basically picked up. I focus a lot better if the house is reasonably clean. This weekend, we got the house pretty clean, and the school room was picked up well yesterday, books put away where they belong, etc. Today was VERY productive. I'm trying to keep it that way this week! :tongue_smilie:

 

ETA: I do not do every single worksheet/lesson/book/whatever in every single subject! I just make sure the kids understand the material.

[PeterPan]

Thank you all!!

 

 

 

 

This is my exact problem as well. As long as it is planned out in a way that makes sense to me, it will get done. Part of the problem with history was that I only planned 6 week chunks, and after 2 times of doing that it just didn't seem worth it to continue. Maybe if I had planned the entire year in advance, printed out ALL of the pages, gotten ALL of the activities organized and ready, the entire year would have gotten done. I just wasn't organized enough to do the entire year at once.

 

Bingo. Some people need a lot of structure upfront to pull them through. Some people are better about winging it on the fly. And you know I think each year you get a bit better at it. It's ok to say this year you got 2/3 of the amount of planning done that you'd like to and that you'd like to step that up for next year. It's not like you have to be PERFECT every year. Get a bit better each year and then retire. :D

 

I don't know the ages of your kids, but by the time they hit high school please make sure you have a plan to hit the necessary subjects. As long as you're on track for that, the stuff you do till then usually pans out in the wash.

[texasmama]

I make our schedule, daily and weekly, with all subjects. It is specific (read pp 213-218 of XYZ book, for instance). I make out the history and literature schedules for the entire year in August. Then I make out grammar and math a semester at a time for the older two. The little one is still in the "do the next thing" stage with her language arts and math. My kids take Latin and science at co op, so the co op syllabus drives this schedule, and the boys are 100% on their own regarding homework/studying for tests.

 

I think this works for me because it is MY schedule, not someone else's. I tailor it to our particular life, which includes me working 10 hour days two days a week and taking Fridays off the other subjects while we attend co op. When I was less busy and didn't work, had younger kids and didn't attend co op, we got LESS done. I firmly believe that this was due to lack of scheduling. Science almost never got done. I couldn't make it through Song School Latin. Now, my schedule is sacred, and I rarely deviate from it. It is doable, and we make changes/adjustments due to illness, standardized testing, birthdays, etc. Otherwise, we stick to that sucker! In fact, I add literature classic read alouds to our schedule. We read aloud on weekends when time permits.

[Five More Minutes]

I'm doing better this year with getting things done, but it has taken more commitment and energy from me. (My poor blog is sadly neglected, but something had to give! :-) ) I'm learning to pick books, resources, and programs that I can actually use day in and day out. I can't do overly scripted programs or ones with a rigid schedule, because I need to make my own plan and schedule. (I dunno why; it's just one of the things that gives me energy to do this.) I minimize a lot of projects; history here is pretty much limited to reading SOTW, narrating, and doing the mapwork. And that's just fine.

 

In the summer (or even earlier) I start to schedule how our programs might look in each month. (For example, Ch. 1 - 5 of history, or a particular science topic, or just the name / level of the math program that I expect will be our spine.) This gives me my overall plan for the year. Then at the beginning of each week, I plan what we'll do in each topic area that week. I scribble those plans down in my binder (of course, I had to make my own weekly planner because, again, that sort of thing works for me). During the week I check off what we actually did. I can't plan in detail any further ahead than a week, because things just change way too much.

 

I have a routine for the school day because both my dds and I seem to work best with that -- we start first thing and get our core subjects done right away. Then we move to content/extra subjects. I aim to cover at least two different content subjects a day (like history, science, art, Bible, foreign languages).

 

I also write "report cards" for my girls every quarter, which are really just reflections on the learning that has happened that quarter. My daughters LOVE these, and I find that they are a good kick in the pants for me when I've started to let some things slide. Once I was writing up a report for a quarter and realized that by always pushing off one particular subject (maybe science or geography), I had completely dropped it for whole quarter! That big empty spot on the progress report made me rethink our routines, my expectations, and our program so that we could start to get that subject done. On the flip side, those reports also are a time for me to celebrate all that we DID accomplish, which sometimes gets lost in the day-after-day incremental progress.

 

One other thing has saved me a few times: telling myself that even five or ten minutes is okay. I believe that small amounts of time, done daily, really add up over time. And I can usually get myself motivated to launch any subject if I only have to commit to five minutes of it. I'd rather do five minutes regularly than wait until I have the energy to do a big lesson ... because that rarely happens!

[LEK]

How do I get it all done? I have a weekly timetable. Honestly it works for me. I am the tick the boxes, write and complete a to-do-list kind of person. If it is not on the timetable or to-do list it just never seems to get done, EVER!

So start of the year I write a weekly timetable (finalise it after 1-2 months once we work out what works and what is not working etc) and that is it. It lays out what we are doing each day as some subjects are daily and some are 1-2 times per week etc so every day is slightly different. The timetable also (ironically) allows me to be more spontaneous as I do not have to spend time and brain power working out the basics. I do not have work planned as such, my timetable includes the following; "reading", "game", "puzzle". "manipulative play", "history activity session" etc on it, I know what sort of activity to prepare (ie grab from the cupboard at the last second lol) but it is my choice (or i let the kids pick) what we do in that area that day. It gives me confidence knowing that our weekly schedule is well rounded and I am not forgetting or neglecting anything but also the freedom to select activities daily that we want to do that day. BTW, although I have a weekly timetable I am not the kind of person that you stick to it and that is it, if we do as it says for maybe 3/4 the time I am happy, if one day we are busy or want to do something else that is fine as I know the well roundedness of my overall plan will carry us through in the end.

[NASDAQ]

When something is falling off of the cliff, I put it first in the day for awhile to get it back on track.

 

I set myself deadlines in my Google calendar.

[regentrude]

This is my exact problem as well. As long as it is planned out in a way that makes sense to me, it will get done. Part of the problem with history was that I only planned 6 week chunks, and after 2 times of doing that it just didn't seem worth it to continue. Maybe if I had planned the entire year in advance, printed out ALL of the pages, gotten ALL of the activities organized and ready, the entire year would have gotten done. I just wasn't organized enough to do the entire year at once.

 

 

I consider myself an organized person, but planning out the entire year would NEVER work for me. My kids would get off schedule immediately because they want to do extra of the subject, or less, and every.single. time we had a schedule, we were off by the 2nd week.

 

What helps me is to make sure time on task is spent. I decide on a certain amount of hours that must be spent on school work (depending on grade)- but within that frame, I am flexible and let the kids work on whatever they choose. Math is the only thing that is mandatory daily, everything else averages out over time. I radically cut out busywork (worksheets, fill-in-the-blanks, projects) and try to limit myself to using few, well chosen resources.

I have found that things don't get done when I have too many good ideas and too many different things I want to incorporate into a course. I offer the kids what I have selected and let them choose what works for them. DD for example found that of everything I had assembled for Ancients she wanted to use the text, the TC lectures and original literature, but used only a few of the auxiliary books and documentaries that I had selected. I usually find I have too many ideas and options and need to streamline. Time on task is a tool that works well for us.

[TheAutumnOak]

:bigear: Listening in because staying on track throughout the year for the long haul has always been a struggle of mine...Whatever I don't have planned out completely just does not get done...I have to come up with a better system!

 

Thanks I.Dup. for starting this thread...

[PachiSusan]

You know what keeps me on track? My people pleaser/do the right thing/don't let anyone judge you personality traits. I could not stand the criticism if I didn't finish it, and it would prove to the people who think home schooling is bunk that I am not educating my daughter like she deserves to be educated. Whether that's a good thing or not, I'm motivated by that.

[I.Dup.]

Thank you all! This thread has helped me realize my exact problem- I need to do more planning or it won't get done. As long as things are planned and pulled together in a way *that makes sense to me* it WILL get done. Sonlight's IG didn't work for me when we tried it, because it didn't make sense to me, being so choppy. Then instead of tailoring it on my own each day, we just quit doing it because I didn't have a plan. So yes, I am the type that DOES need a plan.

 

I don't know the ages of your kids, but by the time they hit high school please make sure you have a plan to hit the necessary subjects. As long as you're on track for that, the stuff you do till then usually pans out in the wash.

 

 

Yes, we have always done well with the necessary subjects (especially math- we don't miss a day of math). It's the "extras" that I have a hard time finding the motivation to keep up with.

 

I have a routine that we follow. If it's something we do every single day, it's easier to get done. I also print out a checklist for the week (just for DS1's stuff right now - DS2 is easy to "do the next thing", as he just has 3 subjects plus read-alouds)....

 

I have my entire year roughly planned out, entering lesson plans into HST+. These have no dates attached!!! Every Sunday afternoon, I make assignments from those lesson plans, then print out the weekly checklist.

 

 

I am not familiar with HST, but I am confused what you mean by lesson plans, then assignments, and then a checklist. What does that look like?

 

I do not have work planned as such, my timetable includes the following; "reading", "game", "puzzle". "manipulative play", "history activity session" etc on it, I know what sort of activity to prepare (ie grab from the cupboard at the last second lol) but it is my choice (or i let the kids pick) what we do in that area that day.

 

 

If you don't have assignments to do each day, how do you know what needs to be done next, or how do you know that you have the necessary supplies for the activities, etc?

[LEK]

If you don't have assignments to do each day, how do you know what needs to be done next, or how do you know that you have the necessary supplies for the activities, etc?

 

 

For most of our curricula I do not plan lessons, we just continue on with the book. I find pre-planning does not work here as sometimes we get through 2 lessons in a day and sometimes it takes a week to do 1 lesson, I would rather schedule the topic only and do a reasonable amount per day, where we get to is less important on a daily basis than actually doing that subject regualrly. Most things are open and go I find so really I do not need to schedule lessons, we just pick up wherever we left off. For the things that are not quite so open and go I like to pre-read the entire term in the holidays and make a note of any supplies we are not likely to have on hand at the last minute, I then get them in one lot so they are ready and waiting.

 

My timetable for my 1st grader today looked like this:

 

Reading (we continued with OPGTR)

Grammar (next lesson in FLL)

Explode the code (we usually do 2 pages)

WWE (next lesson)

AAS (finish lesson, typically we take 2-3 days per step)

Game (we did a board game from the shelf, time focus)

Math (next lesson in MM)

Computer game (15 minutes educational game, child choice)

Sport (HS class)

Science (next lesson in book)

 

Some days we do science after lunch, some days it is history etc, each day is different. I also alternate between different curricula and activities mixing things up over the week. The timetable gives me the structure to make sure I cover each subject over the week and don't forget something but I also have several chooices most days in terms of what games and hands on things we will actually pull out.

[Lilaclady]

For subjects like math, we just keep going and it is more of a do the next thing. Science and history are my main ones that I need to schedule out so I can get the supplies ready. My kids like doing the activities in SOTW so I make sure that I have most of the supplies in the summer ready to go. For literature, I kind of plan out the books we want to read and then make sure we have them ready. I sometimes do vocabulary words so I need to work ahead and cull those from the books before we get to the book but I don't have to do everyone one in the summer.

[happymomofboys]

Haven't read all the replies, but I just want to say that you're not alone. I struggle with the same issue and I always feel as if we're behind because I'm never able to get done everything I've planned to do. One suggestion I can make is to be very clear about each part of your plan. I'll use history as an example. First, write out clear reasons why you think it's important to study history. Not the reasons I might have or a book might suggest but your reasons. Then choose the time period you plan to study and write the reasons why you think it's important to study that time period next vs. some other time period. Once you've chosen that, move on to curriculum. What are your reasons for choosing curriculum A over curriculum B? If you can take the time to go through this process at the beginning of your planning, then half-way through the year when you're facing the winter doldrums and spring fever, you will be able to remind yourself of the precise reasons why you need to build this fence on this spot with these tools and that may be just enough motivation to keep you going.

[Murphy101]

Are you wanting to know mentally or physically?

 

Mentally? I don't think it matters what job I would do, I'd get bored with it or begin to wonder if it has any purpose. However, if I had a paying job, I know I wouldn't let that attitude be my excuse for just not going to work on any given day or piddling about because I didn't feel motivated. I feel my kids are worth at least the same amount of dedication as any job I'd get paid to do. So I set my alarm and make a routine that works for us and stick to it.

 

Physically? I suppose I could tell you all the gritty details, but it boils down to choosing curriculia that works for us and I manage our time as best I can.

 

So if the problem is that your curriculia seems pointless busy work rather than truely stuff you think any decently educated person should learn, then by all means, ditch it.

 

Otherwise, I think it's more than that, likely unrelated to curriculia, and more about you than the kids or materials. I'd start looking at how the days are going to pinpoint trouble spots to correct.

[8filltheheart]

I spend my summers researching materials and forming a general framework for the school yr. That framework becomes the backbone that we build around.

 

I write individualized plans in 6-8 week chunks, but the framework/ sequence of the materials normally follows what I spent the summer planning.

 

Fwiw, my planning means I have selected materials that keep me interested and involved. I need to be mentally engaged in their school work. I would be bored out of mind if I had to teach the same material the same way yr after yr. I am a high need for mental stimulation type person.

 

Anyway, their daily plans keep us on tack and remind me of where we are going.

 

Oh and another fwiw, we do not do worksheets or workbooks.

[fairfarmhand]

I consider myself an organized person, but planning out the entire year would NEVER work for me. My kids would get off schedule immediately because they want to do extra of the subject, or less, and every.single. time we had a schedule, we were off by the 2nd week.

 

What helps me is to make sure time on task is spent. I decide on a certain amount of hours that must be spent on school work (depending on grade)- but within that frame, I am flexible and let the kids work on whatever they choose. Math is the only thing that is mandatory daily, everything else averages out over time. I radically cut out busywork (worksheets, fill-in-the-blanks, projects) and try to limit myself to using few, well chosen resources.

I have found that things don't get done when I have too many good ideas and too many different things I want to incorporate into a course. I offer the kids what I have selected and let them choose what works for them. DD for example found that of everything I had assembled for Ancients she wanted to use the text, the TC lectures and original literature, but used only a few of the auxiliary books and documentaries that I had selected. I usually find I have too many ideas and options and need to streamline. Time on task is a tool that works well for us.

 

 

I am not familiar with HST, but I am confused what you mean by lesson plans, then assignments, and then a checklist. What does that look like?

 

 

 

If you don't have assignments to do each day, how do you know what needs to be done next, or how do you know that you have the necessary supplies for the activities, etc?

 

Here's what I found was the best approach to planning for my family. I needed to plan in the summer. However, certain subjects we might get ahead in, others might take more time. So laying it all out on a grid (weekly work page with the entire week's work assigned) was not practical. WE could be on week 4 for math and only on week 2 for science.

 

Rather than do it that way, I switched to subject notebooks. WE'd have a notebook for science, history, literature, etc. containing all of the assignment lists and in the dividers, I'd organize the paperwork that went with it. Then I'd make a daily checklist. Day 1: Read p. 1-3; do assignments and mapwork. Day 2: etc. I'd check off each day's work as it was completed. That way, I could pick up a single notebook and know what to do that day in that subject. Each Friday, I'd look over the next few day's stuff to make sure I had library books, all the pages printed etc.

 

I found that this way was better for middle school and especially for high school. My oldest dd got tired of waiting on me to give her assignments, but with this method, she knew where to look for her stuff and could complete things without waiting on me.

[Walking-Iris]

Can you please share how you make history and science part of your lifestyle without needing to plan for it? Thank you!

 

 

Well I think other pp have said similar things without my reading the replies closely. I make yearly goals rather than lesson plans. So for example my goal for my oldest ds is to concentrate on American History and some civics/government. I then research and look for those materials that will help me do that. But instead of feeling like I need to get through the books in a year or in a certain amount of time, I instead go through and familiarize myself with the lessons already there or with the layout of the book. I might mark some projects that I really think we would all like. Or I may make note (I write in composition journal books a lot) of areas or skills i think my ds needs to work on for that year and then search fro the resource to help me cover that. I've done that with my SOTW AG, made notes in it of projects and books we especially like. That's the extent of my planning. I journal about my kids rather than make schedules or lesson plans.

 

Also I don't worry about doing an activity or reading in order. For example we made a model Nile River long after we were beyond reading those chapters. I allow for reading and doing things as the time is right rather than as a "should." I definitely don't feel like I have to follow another person's or publisher's timetable. I use them as a guide but it has to be tailored for my unique family or it could just be an exercise in frustration.

 

History lifestyle to me means reading a bit every afternoon. Or at least watching a doc on Netflix. Or do a project. Also I like a spiral approach to history. I like re-reading and covering a topic again from different angles. I also do history all year.

 

I think everyone needs to find a way to plan that is good for them. Some need to sit down and make extensive lesson plans and a yearly schedule so they know what chapter they will be reading by a certain week in the year. I don't work like that. I make broad goals and then just jump in and get started. I have tried to sit down with planners and go through and plan like that. I've struggled with the feeling that i should plan like that. The time it takes to do that frustrated me. NOW I fill in our planner after we do something! as a record of what we did rather than plans for what we will do. I sometimes think when things are planned like that then a person is more likely to beat themselves up when it doesn't get done and lose sight of all that they really do get done.

 

So my plans are broad yearly goals and a list of materials to accomplish, not specific chunks of calendar time lesson plans. That works best for us.

[FriedClams]

I've read some of the replies, and I will admit that I am substantially more black and white about homeschooling than others. I embrace the homeschool lifestyle. We travel a lot. We have a blast - but we get our work done every day we're not on a real vacation (M-F, and this with a husband who has a WEIRD job schedule, LOL!!) I have a great mentor and she encouraged me to look at homeschooling as a job. You block out the time in your day and don't let other distractions get in the way. Not every hang-out-and-play day is a legitimate educational opportunity. Sometimes we just get distracted and don't want to work. I think you're being super honest in recognizing that your balance may be off. It's courageous to admit to yourself - and more so to others.

 

My techniques:

 

Worklists. I make a list of everything that needs to be done for a week. I find the kids and I are WAY better about getting it all done if it's on paper. "Oh, we'll just push that to next week" is harder on paper. I also have been training the kids to manage their own lists,so that helps, too. We highlight as we go. I find it it's not printed by Sunday we don't start smoothly on Monday. I make mine weekly so anything that does fall through the cracks gets picked up quickly.

 

Tight routine. I wouldn't call it a schedule, but we've got a pretty predictable routine. Get up - chores (includes reading the proverb of the day), piano, breakfast. Start with math.. History... Science.. then the other stuff. That way, all the majors get hit. I don't consider it a school day unless Math, History, and Science are done. History includes literature (we did VP Self Paced with Lit last year). Some things I slacked on last year we're killing this summer - writing is a major one.

 

Embrace my schedule. Wednesdays for us are art and music. We have 3 hours of lessons that day. We still get math, history, and science done - but not much else. That's OK. I have to be real about it - and get done what we can. It doesn't mean we get a pass and don't have to do anything.

 

Limit disctrations. No tv or screens until all schoolwork, chores, and music are done. No unnecessary appointments or errands (though my kids are now old enough I can leave them to history and science and head out for an hour). No playdates during school time. My theory is that we can do small amounts of school near daily and live a full and relaxed life - or I always feel "behind" and push through schoolwork. I'll take the former!

 

Check myself. Would I call the papers if my kids were in public school and their teacher acted like me? Would I laud their education or scream for reform? If I were a tutor would I recommend myself or fire me? That keeps me honest on most days. ;-)

[carriewillard]

Kindergarten and history are not two words that go in the same sentence here. :) I do very little school until age 7, before that I teach reading only.

 

I get it done with 7 kids by: doing math first. Limiting to 4 subjects a year. Right now it is math, grammar, history, writing. Science every other year. Language every other day.

 

Maybe you're expecting too much of yourself?

 

Hth,

Carrie

[Murphy101]

Yep. I focus on 4 Rs below age 10. Any science or history we do is from the reading we do. And I don't normally do any extracurriculars below that age either. Maybe swimming or foreign language. Maybe.

[JenC3]

It depends on your definition of ALL. We usually school year round and if what I want to do doesn't get done during the year then I work it into the summer. I also only feel like the Math, Grammar, Writing, and reading books are the most important subjects. If these are covered daily, I'm happy. My dd has also worked through Science this year because that's her passion. We are going into year 6 of hsing and I feel like the routine is down with the older 2. This was our year:

Math

Grammar

Spelling-independent

Writing

Handwriting-independent

Science-independent

Reading books and field trips

 

Summer will consist of finishing the art program and History along with Math and daily writing. We also have weekly piano lessons, music history dads, etc.

I like school to be done by lunch so that they can pursue their other interests. This is why a block schedule of subjects work for us.

[I.Dup.]

I totally get the idea of looking at it like a job. I really do. That just doesn't apply for me on this because the problem is NOT that I forget my kids are worth it, or that i don't care that they get a quality education. My problem is looking at each subject and wondering how much effort is really worth putting into it. Is history for my kids' ages really worth 1-2 hours of work a day (or whatever)? Is science really necessary at these ages? Because those eat up a LOT of time and planning.That is the kind of thing I lose motivation with. I have never lost motivation with the main things that I know they need to do and stay caught up on (math, handwriting, reading).

 

Kindergarten and history are not two words that go in the same sentence here. :) I do very little school until age 7, before that I teach reading only.

 

I get it done with 7 kids by: doing math first. Limiting to 4 subjects a year. Right now it is math, grammar, history, writing. Science every other year. Language every other day.

 

Maybe you're expecting too much of yourself?

 

Hth,

Carrie

 

I will have to think about this. I think for the younger elementary years (through 4th grade or so?) I will mostly just read living books for history and science. Do occasional activities, but not on a weekly or daily basis. In reality, we will probably get to the activities and projects more often than I think we will, but I won't expect to do them weekly. As they get older and can be more independent they can start doing more activities. Does that seem enough?

 

Check myself. Would I call the papers if my kids were in public school and their teacher acted like me? Would I laud their education or scream for reform? If I were a tutor would I recommend myself or fire me? That keeps me honest on most days. ;-)

 

I think similarly and try to keep things like this in mind. In truth, I would never offer to homeschool anyone else's child at this point because I know they'd be learning more subjects on a regular basis in another, more rigorous setting than what we have been doing. But that's because I tend to be more un-schoolish in the younger years and am constantly questioning what is really worth the time and effort.

 

Well I think other pp have said similar things without my reading the replies closely. I make yearly goals rather than lesson plans. So for example my goal for my oldest ds is to concentrate on American History and some civics/government. I then research and look for those materials that will help me do that. But instead of feeling like I need to get through the books in a year or in a certain amount of time, I instead go through and familiarize myself with the lessons already there or with the layout of the book. I might mark some projects that I really think we would all like. Or I may make note (I write in composition journal books a lot) of areas or skills i think my ds needs to work on for that year and then search fro the resource to help me cover that. I've done that with my SOTW AG, made notes in it of projects and books we especially like. That's the extent of my planning. I journal about my kids rather than make schedules or lesson plans.

 

Also I don't worry about doing an activity or reading in order. For example we made a model Nile River long after we were beyond reading those chapters. I allow for reading and doing things as the time is right rather than as a "should." I definitely don't feel like I have to follow another person's or publisher's timetable. I use them as a guide but it has to be tailored for my unique family or it could just be an exercise in frustration.

 

History lifestyle to me means reading a bit every afternoon. Or at least watching a doc on Netflix. Or do a project. Also I like a spiral approach to history. I like re-reading and covering a topic again from different angles. I also do history all year.

 

I think everyone needs to find a way to plan that is good for them. Some need to sit down and make extensive lesson plans and a yearly schedule so they know what chapter they will be reading by a certain week in the year. I don't work like that. I make broad goals and then just jump in and get started. I have tried to sit down with planners and go through and plan like that. I've struggled with the feeling that i should plan like that. The time it takes to do that frustrated me. NOW I fill in our planner after we do something! as a record of what we did rather than plans for what we will do. I sometimes think when things are planned like that then a person is more likely to beat themselves up when it doesn't get done and lose sight of all that they really do get done.

 

So my plans are broad yearly goals and a list of materials to accomplish, not specific chunks of calendar time lesson plans. That works best for us.

 

I like your idea of making yearly goals and going from there. I think I probably do need more structure than that, but the idea of making yearly goals is a good one. I just haven't been doing enough consistent planning and I realize now that is a huge part of my problem. I went through TOG again yesterday to review what we learned, and realized we really did cover a LOT of material, even though we didn't get through the entire year. We covered pretty much all of the ancients. We stopped before ancient Greece, but I believe SOTW 2 starts with that, so now I know to just start there at this point.

 

The problem was (and what I suspected) is that when I "quizzed" my oldest, she remembered very little of the details we learned. And we did hours, and hours of history when we did it. For that reason, I need to find a way to make history more spiral as well, so they're getting constant review because it's so easy to forget even basic facts and that does seem like a waste of time when we're using a program that is so time intensive.

[regentrude]

The problem was (and what I suspected) is that when I "quizzed" my oldest, she remembered very little of the details we learned. And we did hours, and hours of history when we did it. For that reason, I need to find a way to make history more spiral as well, so they're getting constant review because it's so easy to forget even basic facts and that does seem like a waste of time when we're using a program that is so time intensive.

 

 

I do not expect my children to retain all the details from their history studies.

My goal for history is to create the broad background knowledge about eras, people, recurring themes. I want them to have an overview of history, being able to place important events and persons in the right sequence and context - but details? Nope. (For example, they need to place Queen Elizabeth firmly in the correct half of the correct century, but don't have to recall the exact dates of her reign.)

I want them to be familiar with the methods of historians, with the way history is written, with ideas of analysis. But I do not consider it necessary to do a spiral review so that they remember all the details.

OTOH, I do not consider it wasted to learn about the details. You can not teach history in the abstract, but have to be specific. the details are specific, make the era come alive, make it interesting. We use the details to understand common themes, typical developments. The big picture that was developed using the details will stay with the student long after the individual dates and minutiae are forgotten.

[mothergooseof4]

Your thread feeds right into mine that I just started here:

 

http://forums.welltr...something-else/

 

I often don't get it all done because I don't feel it is all necessary. My kids don't like most projects scheduled in a lot of curricula. I find multiple readings in history to be redundant. Much of the information in elementary science books is picked up by living life. Many of the skills in some LA curricula is picked up in everyday life. I don't see the point of most comprehension questions since my kids can typically tell me what they read. Ultimately, I find that a lot of curricula has a lot of busy work, so I have a hard time doing it.

 

I want stream-lined school with time to focus on what we want to learn in our own way.

 

ETA: I, too, often want to know why something needs to be done. Sometimes I don't see the point and then later realize I missed out, so I fix it if I feel the need. And, I am a first born as Ellie said.

[laughing lioness]

I have a very simple system for Keeping Things Straight. It consists of the big picture and 5 x 7 file cards and coming to terms with the fact that I won't get everything done.

[I.Dup.]

I do not expect my children to retain all the details from their history studies.

My goal for history is to create the broad background knowledge about eras, people, recurring themes. I want them to have an overview of history, being able to place important events and persons in the right sequence and context - but details? Nope. (For example, they need to place Queen Elizabeth firmly in the correct half of the correct century, but don't have to recall the exact dates of her reign.)

I want them to be familiar with the methods of historians, with the way history is written, with ideas of analysis. But I do not consider it necessary to do a spiral review so that they remember all the details.

OTOH, I do not consider it wasted to learn about the details. You can not teach history in the abstract, but have to be specific. the details are specific, make the era come alive, make it interesting. We use the details to understand common themes, typical developments. The big picture that was developed using the details will stay with the student long after the individual dates and minutiae are forgotten.

 

 

I don't mean that I expect them to be able to recall dates or specific details off hand, I would just like them to retain some basic facts. For example, to remember that Hinduism is the primary religion of India, or that Egypt is in Africa (she got the latter correct because we have studied Egypt time and time again, but remembered very little at all about India).

 

Your thread feeds right into mine that I just started here:

 

http://forums.welltr...something-else/

 

I often don't get it all done because I don't feel it is all necessary. My kids don't like most projects scheduled in a lot of curricula. I find multiple readings in history to be redundant. Much of the information in elementary science books is picked up by living life. Many of the skills in some LA curricula is picked up in everyday life. I don't see the point of most comprehension questions since my kids can typically tell me what they read. Ultimately, I find that a lot of curricula has a lot of busy work, so I have a hard time doing it.

 

I want stream-lined school with time to focus on what we want to learn in our own way.

 

 

Yes!!!! I will check out your linked thread.

[2_girls_mommy]

One way I keep history fresh and retained is to use programs that incorporate different strands. Our official period is ancients this year. Next year we will be in middle ages w/SOTW2 w/the younger. She will take the ELE for the first time next year which includes Roman mythology and culture and sometimes geography and history. So we will use LCI for latin. It includes readings of Famous Men of Rome. We are doing MP's Astronomy as well. It includes reading Greek myths alongside it as you learn the constellations. We did all of that this year, but by doing those small readings alongside she will be reminded and make new connections and we will drill the Roman names as we go back through the Greek stories. We read science history and biographies along w/science too.

 

Another way I keep accountable and finish things is by doing co-op. I do teach other's children there. So I make a plan and stick to it.

 

oh and SOTW2 starts way after Ancient Greeks. It starts with the Fall of Rome. Maybe you could read some of the Roman history over the summer to get ready.

[Tracy]

I start with curricula that do double-duty. SWR provides handwriting, reading, spelling, grammar (and potentially, composition, though I prefer WWE). TOG provides history, literature, geography. We listen to SOTW on audio CD, mostly in the car (though I have been hearing it more and more in the house in place of music).

[Soror]

I have just a couple of thoughts, which may or may not be useful as I think we all have different needs, priorities, strengths and weaknesses.

 

re: History or Science:

I planned this out for the first 2 yrs or so and then felt a bit of guilt when we inevitably didn't keep with it. Like you I just didn't see the point in it for the younger grades. So, even though I found SoTW relatively easy to implement we stopped about 3/4ths of the way through. This year I decided it was ok for us not to do anything formal, for k-2 we don't have to do these in a formal way, so I let go of the guilt. We still have done them informally of course, lots of documentaries and reading books and such but no pressure on me or them in this regards and it is great (and they learned tons by making it more of a learning lifestyle).

 

For next year I have thought over what we tried previously and what I liked and didn't. I read about what other people did and listened for those who seemed to resonate for me. This coming year I picked a time period, Middle Ages, and I have a long list of good books and documentaries related to this. We will read and enjoy, both read-alouds and silent reading, no output expected. I find maps and timelines to be busy work, although I know others like them. I could see getting related coloring books for time periods for dd but for ds he would not enjoy that at all.

 

For science we are trying out McHenry's Elements, which should last about 10 wks. If we love it we will try some of her other programs. If not we will be doing library book science. He will read every day about some science topic.

 

I've already planned a general outline of the year for history so there isn't so much to think about through the year as it seems if it isn't down before it isn't done.

 

I've also figured out I like weekly plans rather than daily, that might change but it suits is for now. My plans are very, very simple at this point. I divided up our Math book, Spelling lessons etc by the week and figured out how many we needed to get done to be done in 36 weeks. Science and History will be assigned a time slot, though and I have 6 periods planned out for 6 periods of school in History w/ corresponding booklists for each, how much we get through the in each period (6wks) will likely vary.

 

I also prioritized, which is the the 3 Rs as they say, Math, Writing, Literature, and Spelling/Phonics.

[boscopup]

I am not familiar with HST, but I am confused what you mean by lesson plans, then assignments, and then a checklist. What does that look like?

 

 

HST+ is a scheduling program. It's very huge and convoluted with a big learning curve, but once I figured out how to use it, it made my life MUCH easier. :D

 

Basically, I set up a "lesson plan" for each subject. So for math, I go through the Singapore HIG schedule and enter in all the lessons that are mentioned (ignoring tests, as I don't do those). At the end of my entering, I now have a big list of all the lessons necessary to complete that book. I have a lesson plan like this for each subject, and I have one big one for Sonlight history (I entered everything in for Core D, but did NOT do that for P4/5, as P4/5 jumps around a lot more - I just put "Week 1 Day 1" for P4/5 and keep the IG schedule in a small binder in a bag of books for that core). Dates are not attached to these lesson plans. They are simply a list of lessons.

 

Now on Sunday afternoon, I go through each of those lesson plans and decide what I'd like to teach that week. I know my kids well, and I can usually look at it and determine how much we'll do. For example, if we're in a math topic that my son is finding very easy, I might schedule 2 lessons per day while doing that topic. Or if the topic is really challenging, I might schedule 1 lesson to be spread over 2 days. Because I'm only assigning dates to the lessons a week at a time, if we don't follow that week's plans, it's easy to reschedule as needed. Or if we do more than I thought we would, I just mark the extra assignments as "used" in the lesson plan (meaning they've been used as assignments already and won't be visible when I go to assign the next lesson). Assigning lessons takes just a few clicks. I think they're all assigned in about 5 minutes most of the time.

 

Ok, for the checklist... Here is where I get OCD. :lol: I do not like the checklists provided by HST+, so I actually make my own. I downloaded a Donna Young weekly planner page and modified that. Right now, I only do this for my oldest (3rd grade). He has a lot more to keep track of than my K'er (who just does 3R's and Sonlight P4/5 read alouds). I still track my K'er's math in HST+, just so I know where we are, but phonics and handwriting aren't being tracked, since they're more free flowing. Anyway, back to 3rd grader... I have the list of subjects down the side, and Monday-Friday across the top. There are big boxes to enter data. So let's say we're doing one math lesson each day... I would put in the first box "TB p#-#; WB Exercise #". Then I do the same thing in the next 4 boxes. So when we get to math on the list, we know exactly what needs to be done. Since we're doing Sonlight this year (and next year), I have it broken down into "reader", "read aloud" and "history", since they basically have you reading 3 books all week most of the time. So this week, we're reading The Journeyman as our read-aloud, so I have a row for that, and it says "Chapter 1" on Monday and continues through chapter 5 on Friday. So each day, we can mark that off after we've read that chapter (I read the Sonlight read-aloud at breakfast, after doing Bible). This core isn't choppy, so it's easy to do this. P4/5 is much choppier, hence the bag-o-books with a binder in them. :) Also, on this checklist, I have color coded the subject headings such that it's obvious which ones are independent and which ones are done with Mom. That way, I can tell my son to work on his independent work (spelling, handwriting, and reading), while I work with the younger kids on their seatwork (which is all dependent at their ages).

 

Hopefully that all makes sense. :)

[I.Dup.]

Bosco, do you find that utilizing HST really saves you much time since you're having to handwrite your own weekly plans each week, anyway? I have only ever done the handwritten weekly plans.

[Brooketopia]

"why does it need to be done?" LOL....a large part of this is obviously just my personality, and it extends to everything in my life. I don't do things just because everyone else does them. I'm always asking "why" and deciding on the necessity of doing it. Could that be laziness? Not sure.

 

I would actually view this as a strength. You don’t just follow the pack because it’s what everyone’s doing. You take the time to really think through something before making a decision. That’s good.

 

Either way, this affects our homeschooling. I start the year with a gung-ho attitude and great curriculum and it never fails that by the end of the year we are never doing all of it. We completely dropped history halfway through this last year. I wasn't doing anything regular with my kindergartener. Truly, the only things that got done were the 3-R's with my older kids. I guess because that's what I decided was absolutely necessary and important. Planning and researching and book chasing and printing and all of that for history and the other subjects just became less and less important to me so I quit doing them. (please don't attack me)

 

So I'm wondering, how do you plug along day after day, week after week, month after month, and stay the course with ALL of the subjects? How do you keep up the motivation that every subject, every worksheet, every activity that you choose is really necessary and worth doing?

 

You sort of answered yourself already with that bolded section. Maybe you don’t think anything beyond the 3R’s is actually important. If that’s not the case, then I would say that you’re dealing with consistency issues.

 

I don’t offer that “diagnosis†as an insult—I deal with the same problem myself.

 

What has worked for me, as I battle with this same situation:

• Seriously question WHY I’m homeschooling. I pay taxes to the school district, which would take my kids and turn them into adequately educated citizens. WHY am I not doing just that? That’s a really important question to have a firm and grounded answer for. (This also helps you to make your curriculum/lesson/subject choices.)

• I start planning for the next school year (which starts in July/August) in January/February. This helps keep me focused. I can’t start Level Y of the spelling curriculum if we haven’t finished Level X by the end of this year. That motivates me.

• Monthly check-off lists for the kids, with a big reward on the last Saturday of the month if everything is checked off as it should be. This keeps them a little more motivated, and Dad takes care of the “Super Saturday,†which allows me an entire Saturday to myself…I will work my butt off for a day to myself!

• Turning Friday into “Fun Friday.†It works with the above-mentioned “Super Saturday†bit. “Hard†school takes place M-Th, and Friday is left open for art, music, etc. If all the M-Th work is done, you get a Fun Friday. If you have make-up work to do, it gets done at the expense of Fun Friday. This also allows me to just schedule field trips and the like on a whim, without it destroying my carefully laid plans for the entire year. (I’m Type-A, and I’m OK with that.)

 

I don’t know if any of that helps, but it’s worth sharing. I wish I was a more consistent person, so I find ways to help me fake consistency. :)

[duckens]

I have not read the other posts.

 

I.Dup. (OP),

 

1) When you describe your personality type, that just tells me that you are not a follower. More importantly, you are a critical thinker. You DEMAND comprehension before expending resources and effort. Oh, if only more people were this way!!! May I clone you?

 

There ARE times when being a follower IS necessary. In the army, one must follow rules and orders because lives are on the line. Likewise, hopefully our accountant is following all of the rules, and not inviting questions from the IRS or disappearing to Brazil.

 

Perhaps the reason you homeschool is because you ask these sorts of questions. You don't want your kids to do half a year of review curriculum when they could test out of it on September 1st.

 

2) Do you really think that the teachers in public school complete every part of their curriculum? Really? Really?

 

They may plan for 180 days of curriculum, but what about snow days, days that the teacher is sick (and just assigns "enrichment" to the sub), and days that are eaten by field trips, concerts, and school assemblies?

 

We all just do the best we can.

 

3) I'm glad you are focusing on the three R's. The three R's are tools used to evaluate more complex data in our world.

 

And as long as you have a reasonable limitation on junk media (non-academic tv, computer games, books), and YOU are the judge of that, I'm sure that your kids are learning like crazy. **

 

I have a box set for science this Kindergarten year (dd is 6). We've used it (maybe) twice this year. It is stored under my desk as I type this. So....no science this year.

 

(Disclaimer: Shameless bragging to follow!)

 

In the meantime, dd6 has made a coral reef diorama after learning about the oceans through Usborne's Encyclopedia of Oceans and Seas and their quicklinks.

 

She can tell you about traits and location of different Rhinos after we read Zoobook's Rhino volume.

 

She watches NOVA and Nature with me, and is exposed to ships and chariots of the ancient Egyptians, cathedrals that are crumbling, 4 billion years of evolution in Australia, and identifying a few stars and constellations (StarGazer, not NOVA).

 

Non-science: She was downright demanding to finish the books as we read Shakespeare and Dickens (also Usborne). :lol:

 

Please do not think that my child is enthusiastic about "learning." She still doesn't want to do math or piano any more or less than any other kid.

 

**We consume our fair share of junk media in our house!

[boscopup]

Bosco, do you find that utilizing HST really saves you much time since you're having to handwrite your own weekly plans each week, anyway? I have only ever done the handwritten weekly plans.

 

I don't handwrite. I type. But yes, it does save me time because all page numbers are right there in front of me. I don't have to look everything up.

[PachiSusan]

What's with all the spamming?