2013-2014 Planning: I need help with something

[Sahamamama]

We're finishing up VBS tonight.  :hurray:  It's been a good summer so far. I'm well along with planning out our curriculum for the upcoming year (3rd & 1st [twins]). I have nearly everything ordered and in the house. I've started setting up the homeschool room for the new school year. I think we need a pack of paper, some pencils, and that's about it. :)

 

Here's what I can never seem to get a handle on: The Yearly Schedule. 

 

In a way, up until now, we haven't exactly needed a yearly schedule (that we actually followed). Instead, we simply organized ourselves each day around what needed to be accomplished -- family, rest, play, work, school. This has served us (mostly) well up to this point, but I think to continue this method would put me too much in charge of determining "on" and "off" days based on what's happening. While I've appreciated the flexibility with little kids and a husband who travels (overnights) continually, I think we're entering a new season in our lives when we need to be more orderly and predetermined with our time. With what I'm lining up curriculum-wise this year (for my 3rd grader, especially), I think it's important to decide in advance, as much as possible, what will be our school days and when we will be "off." We all need to be motivated by the calendar, which tells us, "Today is a school day. Get to work."

 

In our state (NJ), we have no set number of days we have to record, so that aspect is open-ended. We can set our own time frames for school work, or have none at all. I've heard about 6 on/1 off. I tried that. Like I said, my husband is in and out, in and out, all the time. We have absolutely no clue what his schedule will be two days from now. Or, we think we know, but it could change with a phone call. So, we live with that limbo all the time. It's a way of life. But how do I plan a "school year" around it?

 

I don't know. I've talked to my husband about it. He says that, while he believes that what we do is important, he'd like us to try to work when he's away and spend time with him when he's home. I think I understand him on this: Just because the calendar says "School Day," if he hasn't seen us in two weeks... Hello! Staying connected to Traveling Man is one reason we homeschool in the first place.

 

Do I plot out my (arbitrary) 180 days? More (for a lighter work load each day)? Fewer (for a heavier work load each day)? Throw out the numbers completely? Do I simply schedule the work for X number of days, and then work out each day one day at a time?

 

As you can see, just because we've been homeschooling from the beginning, I've never figured how this works in my real life. I've usually planned for 36 five-day weeks (on paper), not tied to dates on a calendar. Is there a way to tie it down to dates, or would that throw a wrench in it?

 

[Heidi]

I like to print a yearly calendar that fits on one page (from donnayoung.org) and in pencil number the weeks of school for the year.  I do 6 on 1 off as well.  It is easy to go back and erase and re-plan if you need to adjust down the road.  This way you can see if you can afford to take an unplanned week off or not.  It probably really won't matter yet with the ages of your kids, but eventually it will.  I would make sure that math is at least scheduled; that is one subject that you just don't want to get behind in.  Maybe on the days he is home could be a math-only day or something.  I put the week number at the top of the math pages to keep track.

[Alte Veste Academy]

In your shoes, I would plan out an undated 180 days worth of work. Then I would have a family meeting and explain that any day Daddy is gone is a school day and any day he is home is not. I assume he works at least 180 days a year, obviously. :tongue_smilie:

[Meriwether]

Would it work to have 2  systems?  A few subjects would be done every scheduled school day - math, Bible, reading, whatever you feel needs to be done daily even if Daddy is home.  Everthing else could be planned out but not attached to specific dates.  You could cover those subjects over a year's time but only when Daddy is away.

[dragonflyer]

I would more likely consider working with a 4 day school week, and schedule breaks around holidays.  This way you could simply have days 1-4 of school that week and if daddy is home Mon & Tues you work Wed-Sat. 

 

It could also be neat to have one of the days that dad is home as a presentation day or save fun field trips, art, or science experiments to do with dad.

[TraceyS/FL]

Would it work to have 2  systems?  A few subjects would be done every scheduled school day - math, Bible, reading, whatever you feel needs to be done daily even if Daddy is home.  Everthing else could be planned out but not attached to specific dates.  You could cover those subjects over a year's time but only when Daddy is away.

I'd be inclined to do this - unless his time home is always short.

 

But can you do the basics for an hour, leaving the rest of the day for Daddy time?

 

It is hard, I hear you on the traveling schedule thing changing daily btdt, and doing it with my boyfriend (who is on the road about 300 days a year). The kids Dad travels with a more set schedule now, he is in town for the weekends (not that he attempts to see the kids on "my" weekends despite missing his mid-week overnight... oh, oops, sorry!). We've dealt with it for a couple of years with just schooling year round - except this summer we took more time off for a variety of reasons. 

 

But i don't think you can commit to a schedule without causing yourself frustration.

 

:grouphug:

[TracyP]

I like to print a yearly calendar that fits on one page (from donnayoung.org) and in pencil number the weeks of school for the year.  I do 6 on 1 off as well.  It is easy to go back and erase and re-plan if you need to adjust down the road.  This way you can see if you can afford to take an unplanned week off or not. 

 

This is what I do. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to me if we follow the plan *exactly*, but I like to see it written out. If we take off the week of the 2nd, then we don't take off the week of the 16th like I had scheduled. It isn't a big deal. It should be obvious if too many weeks are being taken off and you can readjust as needed.

 

 

[Sahamamama]

I like to print a yearly calendar that fits on one page (from donnayoung.org) and in pencil number the weeks of school for the year.  I do 6 on 1 off as well.  It is easy to go back and erase and re-plan if you need to adjust down the road.  This way you can see if you can afford to take an unplanned week off or not.  It probably really won't matter yet with the ages of your kids, but eventually it will.  I would make sure that math is at least scheduled; that is one subject that you just don't want to get behind in.  Maybe on the days he is home could be a math-only day or something.  I put the week number at the top of the math pages to keep track.

 

Before I posted this thread, I was working on that same one page calendar, with colored pencils. :) I was actually thinking about having a certain number of "full days" and a certain number of "math only" days. Even if I could just get a sense of how many "math only" days we could have (as opposed to full), then it really wouldn't matter where those days land, would it? If Daddy's home, we can either call it "off" or "math," depending on various realities.

 

From what I was filling in on my one-page calendar, it seems doable to get in enough full days and still have plenty of room left over for some days when we still get math done (especially with the 3rd grader).

[Sahamamama]

I'd be inclined to do this - unless his time home is always short.

 

But can you do the basics for an hour, leaving the rest of the day for Daddy time?

 

It is hard, I hear you on the traveling schedule thing changing daily btdt, and doing it with my boyfriend (who is on the road about 300 days a year). The kids Dad travels with a more set schedule now, he is in town for the weekends (not that he attempts to see the kids on "my" weekends despite missing his mid-week overnight... oh, oops, sorry!). We've dealt with it for a couple of years with just schooling year round - except this summer we took more time off for a variety of reasons. 

 

But i don't think you can commit to a schedule without causing yourself frustration.

 

:grouphug:

 

Well, sometimes his time at home is too short, sometimes it's just right, and sometimes I say, "Honey, how long do you think you'll be working from home this time?" LOL. He does mess up my tidy plans, but I love him.

 

(Bolded) It is so good to hear you say that. I really don't want to be frustrated with my husband being home!

 

This "hour of math every day" idea attracts me, for two reasons: (1) It's important for us to do math daily, as a habit, especially for my verbal girls; and (2) Daddy is the math genius around here, and might take an interest in what they're doing.

[Ellie]

We're finishing up VBS tonight.  :hurray:  It's been a good summer so far. I'm well along with planning out our curriculum for the upcoming year (3rd & 1st [twins]). I have nearly everything ordered and in the house. I've started setting up the homeschool room for the new school year. I think we need a pack of paper, some pencils, and that's about it. :)

 

Here's what I can never seem to get a handle on: The Yearly Schedule. 

 

In a way, up until now, we haven't exactly needed a yearly schedule (that we actually followed). Instead, we simply organized ourselves each day around what needed to be accomplished -- family, rest, play, work, school. This has served us (mostly) well up to this point, but I think to continue this method would put me too much in charge of determining "on" and "off" days based on what's happening. While I've appreciated the flexibility with little kids and a husband who travels (overnights) continually, I think we're entering a new season in our lives when we need to be more orderly and predetermined with our time. With what I'm lining up curriculum-wise this year (for my 3rd grader, especially), I think it's important to decide in advance, as much as possible, what will be our school days and when we will be "off." We all need to be motivated by the calendar, which tells us, "Today is a school day. Get to work."

 

In our state (NJ), we have no set number of days we have to record, so that aspect is open-ended. We can set our own time frames for school work, or have none at all. I've heard about 6 on/1 off. I tried that. Like I said, my husband is in and out, in and out, all the time. We have absolutely no clue what his schedule will be two days from now. Or, we think we know, but it could change with a phone call. So, we live with that limbo all the time. It's a way of life. But how do I plan a "school year" around it?

 

I don't know. I've talked to my husband about it. He says that, while he believes that what we do is important, he'd like us to try to work when he's away and spend time with him when he's home. I think I understand him on this: Just because the calendar says "School Day," if he hasn't seen us in two weeks... Hello! Staying connected to Traveling Man is one reason we homeschool in the first place.

 

Do I plot out my (arbitrary) 180 days? More (for a lighter work load each day)? Fewer (for a heavier work load each day)? Throw out the numbers completely? Do I simply schedule the work for X number of days, and then work out each day one day at a time?

 

As you can see, just because we've been homeschooling from the beginning, I've never figured how this works in my real life. I've usually planned for 36 five-day weeks (on paper), not tied to dates on a calendar. Is there a way to tie it down to dates, or would that throw a wrench in it?

 

You know, I'd just plan to do school every day that Mr. Sahamamama isn't home and not worry about counting how many days that is or isn't. There's no point in counting days, or trying to tie dates to a calendar.

[TraceyS/FL]

Well, sometimes his time at home is too short, sometimes it's just right, and sometimes I say, "Honey, how long do you think you'll be working from home this time?" LOL. He does mess up my tidy plans, but I love him.

 

(Bolded) It is so good to hear you say that. I really don't want to be frustrated with my husband being home!

 

This "hour of math every day" idea attracts me, for two reasons: (1) It's important for us to do math daily, as a habit, especially for my verbal girls; and (2) Daddy is the math genius around here, and might take an interest in what they're doing.

:D Yup, i've often wondered that.... how long are you home this time???

 

They do throw a wrench into plans, which is why I think the two routines is the better way of approaching it. That way you still feel like there is enough of a schedule that you are on track, and then you just pick up when he leaves again.

 

You might also talk to him about thinking of having the math only days the first two days, then if he is around more adding in extras? Or how often to take a longer break. If he is gone two weeks, then home a week, gone a week and back a week - well, taking all the time he is home off could muck you up. But if you figure a 4 week on, 1 week off schedule you might have a better feel for a cushion.

 

Gee, am I making any sense? Because I think I should go to bed (my 9yo couldn't go to sleep last night and woke me up at 3... and right after I finally fell asleep the out of town person called me.... i gave up at that point!).

 

I think you are on the right path!

[Sahamamama]

You know, I'd just plan to do school every day that Mr. Sahamamama isn't home and not worry about counting how many days that is or isn't. There's no point in counting days, or trying to tie dates to a calendar.

 

Yes! That's been my rationale, exactly! I start to plot it out, knowing full well that there IS no predictability to our schedule, and think, "Why? What's the point?"

 

We've been making progress by doing what you said: Work when he's away, catch up on family time when he's home.

 

For example, this summer's line-up is:

 

Away 6 days, home 1

Away 5 days, home 2

Away 6 days, home 1

Away 5 days, home 2

Away 6 days, home 1

Away 5 days, home 2

Away 6 days, home 1

 

Seven weeks like that. September and October are lining up to be the same. When he is home, we empty the suitcases, do laundry, and repack. We mow the lawn, get stocked up on groceries, pay bills, and do other "hubby" jobs that don't get done when I'm flying solo. All in one or two days. Then we say good-bye again, and pray that he comes back.

 

That's life, but I was thinking how lovely it would be have all our "school days" mapped out like normal people seem to do. ;) 

[TraceyS/FL]

That's life, but I was thinking how lovely it would be have all our "school days" mapped out like normal people seem to do. ;)

Tell yourself everyone else is using smoke and mirrors..... They really are just like you! :D

[MerryAtHope]

I wouldn't change anything. This is why you homeschool--so you can be flexible to spend time with Dad etc..! I might make a minimum number of days if I felt it necessary, but really--what you are doing is working, why mess with it? 

[MerryAtHope]

 

That's life, but I was thinking how lovely it would be have all our "school days" mapped out like normal people seem to do. ;)

Normal is highly overrated!

 

My dh is disabled, and his sleep schedule is erratic. We've tried in vain to make it regular. Frankly, I'm very glad we have the ability to move schedules around so that we can spend time with him when he's able to be up. It's a real blessing to have that flexibility.

[Sahamamama]

Normal is highly overrated!

 

My dh is disabled, and his sleep schedule is erratic. We've tried in vain to make it regular. Frankly, I'm very glad we have the ability to move schedules around so that we can spend time with him when he's able to be up. It's a real blessing to have that flexibility.

 

Merry, you are so right. I'm married to a David, too. :001_wub: I regularly pray for your family. I had undiagnosed Lyme disease, years ago, and they think that brought about an autoimmune problem (Hashimoto's hypothyroiditis). Then I had thyroid cancer, had it out, had the horrible treatment. It was a journey. You do KWIM. I'm probably okay now. As normal as I'll ever be, LOL.

 

Years ago, I was friends with a family whose oldest daughter, a teenager at the time, had sickle cell. She slept so much of the time, and could not go to school like the other children did. That family was so caring towards her, and made the most of whatever time they did have when she was awake, to support her, love on her, and laugh together. I remember being blown away by how they all lived out the principle of loving-kindness. The Hebrew word is 'hesed.'

 

My husband is home this morning. Slept until 10 am, exhausted from lecturing to surgeons all week. The lawn awaits us, LOL. The laundry, too. But time together is certainly precious, isn't it? I'm on my second cup. ;)

 

You're right, this is our normal. We're blessed to have each other, have time together, to be able to homeschool. We'll make it work.

[happypamama]

In your shoes, I would plan out an undated 180 days worth of work. Then I would have a family meeting and explain that any day Daddy is gone is a school day and any day he is home is not. I assume he works at least 180 days a year, obviously. :tongue_smilie:

That's what I would do as well. Plot it all out so it's not "do this on Monday, this on Tuesday," but rather "do the next thing, whether that happens to be Monday or Thursday." Aim for 180 days, and if it's a little less or a little more, that's okay -- you'll still be covering a lot of material.

 

If he's only home for 1-2 days at a time, with a week or so in between, I wouldn't plan on any work, not even "just a little math," on those days. Take the stress off of yourself, and let your children enjoy as much Daddy as they can in that time. If he happens to hit upon a schedule where he's routinely home for 4 or 5 days, then I would prioritize the subjects in whatever order you want, so that you get *something* done each of those days, whether it's the same subject every day, or a rotating list, or whatever. But if you have it all written out with "do the next thing," it should be relatively simple to say, "hmm, we haven't hit science this week; let's do a bit of that today," or "okay, today's math lesson."

[MerryAtHope]

Merry, you are so right. I'm married to a David, too. :001_wub: I regularly pray for your family. I had undiagnosed Lyme disease, years ago, and they think that brought about an autoimmune problem (Hashimoto's hypothyroiditis). Then I had thyroid cancer, had it out, had the horrible treatment. It was a journey. You do KWIM. I'm probably okay now. As normal as I'll ever be, LOL.

 

Years ago, I was friends with a family whose oldest daughter, a teenager at the time, had sickle cell. She slept so much of the time, and could not go to school like the other children did. That family was so caring towards her, and made the most of whatever time they did have when she was awake, to support her, love on her, and laugh together. I remember being blown away by how they all lived out the principle of loving-kindness. The Hebrew word is 'hesed.'

 

My husband is home this morning. Slept until 10 am, exhausted from lecturing to surgeons all week. The lawn awaits us, LOL. The laundry, too. But time together is certainly precious, isn't it? I'm on my second cup. ;)

 

You're right, this is our normal. We're blessed to have each other, have time together, to be able to homeschool. We'll make it work.

 

Thank you so much for your prayers! Wow, you have been through a lot.

[meggie]

My husband has a wonky schedule.  Not as bad as yours, but not "normal".  Now there's talk of schedule changing every three months!  That's when I smacked my head and thought, "How the heck am I going to do this?"  What I ended up doing was assigning school days 1-5.  Days 1-4 are the traditional academic days.  Day 5 is one of DH's day off.  That is either field trip day, project day, art day, nature walk day or something fun day.  Right now, day 1 is Monday.  Day 5 is Wednesday and days 2-4 are Thurs-Sat.  This will help me when they switch and change his days off.  But at least I could organize my days according to the type of day we have and know what we'll need to do, no matter what his schedule is.

I remember a thread at one point where someone decided to label her days something like "Ant, grasshopper, and something else"  (let's just pretend like something else is bumblebee).  The ant days were when her husband was gone.  They were busy and productive.  They got their work done.  The grasshopper days were when her husband was home and they could just play.  The bumble bee days were when her husband was home long enough that they needed some routine, where they were productive, but still needed some time to play and enjoy his presence while they had it.  It might have also worked for the days when he had been gone so long that she was overwhelmed and needed a lighter load.

So, she had a basic outline of what each type of day would look like and her children could acclimate to each day.  Then she would be able to say, "Ok today's an ant day.  I expect all of you to work hard."

[Sahamamama]

My husband has a wonky schedule.  Not as bad as yours, but not "normal".  Now there's talk of schedule changing every three months!  That's when I smacked my head and thought, "How the heck am I going to do this?"  What I ended up doing was assigning school days 1-5.  Days 1-4 are the traditional academic days.  Day 5 is one of DH's day off.  That is either field trip day, project day, art day, nature walk day or something fun day.  Right now, day 1 is Monday.  Day 5 is Wednesday and days 2-4 are Thurs-Sat.  This will help me when they switch and change his days off.  But at least I could organize my days according to the type of day we have and know what we'll need to do, no matter what his schedule is.

 

I remember a thread at one point where someone decided to label her days something like "Ant, grasshopper, and something else"  (let's just pretend like something else is bumblebee).  The ant days were when her husband was gone.  They were busy and productive.  They got their work done.  The grasshopper days were when her husband was home and they could just play.  The bumble bee days were when her husband was home long enough that they needed some routine, where they were productive, but still needed some time to play and enjoy his presence while they had it.  It might have also worked for the days when he had been gone so long that she was overwhelmed and needed a lighter load.

 

So, she had a basic outline of what each type of day would look like and her children could acclimate to each day.  Then she would be able to say, "Ok today's an ant day.  I expect all of you to work hard."

 

LOL, that was me! ROFL, I'd forgotten my own brilliance. :lol:

 

Here it is, thanks for reminding me:

• Ant Schedule -- hard at work all day, preparing for the future, lifting heavy loads, start and stop times
• Honeybee Schedule -- getting the essentials done, making sweet memories by working together, taking time to smell the flowers, a short list of work to do
• Grasshopper Schedule -- playing the fiddle, singing and dancing, not a care in the world, no school work on the list for that day (perfect for when Daddy's home, LOL)

Still laughing... :laugh:

[meggie]

LOL, that was me! ROFL, I'd forgotten my own brilliance. :lol:

 

Here it is, thanks for reminding me:

• Ant Schedule -- hard at work all day, preparing for the future, lifting heavy loads, start and stop times
• Honeybee Schedule -- getting the essentials done, making sweet memories by working together, taking time to smell the flowers, a short list of work to do
• Grasshopper Schedule -- playing the fiddle, singing and dancing, not a care in the world, no school work on the list for that day (perfect for when Daddy's home, LOL)

Still laughing... :laugh:

 

Oh my heck, this is awesome!  I thank you for your remembered forgotten brilliance because it's what helped me figure out how to work w/ DH's schedule.  And I'm glad I guessed sorta right on the bee one, I almost said "ladybug" then thought, "Ladybugs aren't known for their work ethic. Why would forgotten genius have picked that one?"

[Pen]

...

 

Away 6 days, home 1

Away 5 days, home 2

Away 6 days, home 1

Away 5 days, home 2

Away 6 days, home 1

Away 5 days, home 2

Away 6 days, home 1

 

...

 

Maybe do what you are doing, but if there are so many away days and so few home days, also give yourselves some extra days off.  You could have a 5 days on 2 off, it looks like each week.   Or perhaps, not withstanding your state rules, you could go year round.  Or just keep following the daddy away, home schedule.

 

Either way, I am a big fan of "do the next thing" planning.