Planning vs. Reality

[Slache]

I was hoping to have 42ish week school years and this past year(PK) I was planning on a 30-36 week schedule because we started so late (we pretty much did whatever he wanted until it seemed that he needed a more formal schedule). Well, now it's taking longer than I planned to finish what I wanted to finish. Shocker, right? Do you think it's advantageous to plan for 36 weeks of stuff with the intention of getting it done in 42 weeks? Just say yes. It can be a lie.

[OneStepAtATime]

Your son is only 4?  Goodness, absolutely cut back.  Don't kill yourselves trying to get through this.  Maybe plan a 30 week schedule and take plenty of time for fun adventures and exploration.  Do it now, while he is still hardwired to learn that way.   There will be many, many years yet where you will have to fret over getting it all done.  Not now.   :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Slache]

Your son is only 4?  Goodness, absolutely cut back.  Don't kill yourselves trying to get through this.  Maybe plan a 30 week schedule and take plenty of time for fun adventures and exploration.  Do it now, while he is still hardwired to learn that way.   There will be many, many years yet where you will have to fret over getting it all done.  Not now.   :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

Oh we're very casual. School is only a 20 minute thing and we definitely jump around. My concern is that I want to do more serious stuff later and was wondering if it was foolish to plan what I did.

[Slache]

An example would be getting one year of My Father's World finished if I allotted 42 weeks. That's 6 extra weeks of leeway. That's good, right? That has to be good.

[OneStepAtATime]

Yes planning lots of extra time into a schedule is a GOOD thing in my book.  I always actually try to plan built in breaks, like 4 day weekends, periodically, too.  That way if we get behind we have a cushion, but it also motivates us to finish what we planned on time so we get that time off.  Of course mine are a lot older than yours.  :)

[Arcadia]

Do you think it's advantageous to plan for 36 weeks of stuff with the intention of getting it done in 42 weeks?

You basically plan for 36 weeks and add in a buffer of 6 weeks at the end in case of overflow/overrun.

 

Whether it is advantageous to you depends on your personality. If you tend to follow schedules then the six week buffer takes care of unforeseen circumstances. If not, you might end up finishing after your buffer because psychologically the buffer is there to fall back on.

 

Another way is to plan for a four day week and leave the fifth day as a buffer.

[OneStepAtATime]

You basically plan for 36 weeks and add in a buffer of 6 weeks at the end in case of overflow/overrun.

 

Whether it is advantageous to you depends on your personality. If you tend to follow schedules then the six week buffer takes care of unforeseen circumstances. If not, you might end up finishing after your buffer because psychologically the buffer is there to fall back on.

 

Another way is to plan for a four day week and leave the fifth day as a buffer.

Oh, good idea, Arcadia.  

 

Actually, I've done that in the past and it worked well, OP.  We did 4 days a week of scheduled material and used the 5th day for fun review, academically based games, projects, etc. plus I had that built in extra time so if we had a field trip or a doctor's appointment or we got way behind or whatever, we had the time.  Also, for quite a while I had us take a break every 6 weeks, already built into the schedule.

[Coco_Clark]

Yes, you need a buffer.

 

I plan 4 days of work for every 5 days. That doesn't mean we only school for 4 days a week, that means we school 5 days a week but have plenty of time for extra practice on what wasn't fully understood, following rabbit trails we'd otherwise not have time for, taking advantage of opportunities we didn't know to plan for, sick days, tired days, morning appointments, unexpected visitors, and taking the day off early just because.

 

I also plan an extra WEEK for every quarter (we have seasonal 11 week quarters). Again, that doesn't mean we school 10 weeks. That means we school 10 weeks, have the 11th week to tie off ends, and take week 12 off as a break. Repeat 4 times to make a year.

 

That's quite a bit buffer, but it allows me to balance the "scheduler" in me with the educator that KNOWS individual pacing and rabbit trails are where true learning lie.

[Farrar]

Yes, that's one way to do it.

 

But also... I typically just don't find that planning that far in advance is useful to me. Aiming to get through a certain thing in two months or a year or whatever, sure. But having specific things laid out for each week has just never worked for me. It's just too detailed and stressful, at least for me. If it works for you, then, yes, definitely build in a buffer, but also consider looser planning or doing more short term planning - if I do need specific lessons, then I tend to not do them more than a month ahead so they can stay closer to being on track.

[Renai]

An example would be getting one year of My Father's World finished if I allotted 42 weeks. That's 6 extra weeks of leeway. That's good, right? That has to be good.

 

Many of MFW grades are only scheduled for 34 weeks, and K is less.

[73349]

I plan with an eye to what's on the calendar and build the buffer in. So I know that there's a visit from grandparents one week in fall (always the same week) and one in spring, that we will get less done in November and December, that I will want a week to regroup in the summer, that I should block out one or two weeks for miscellaneous travel (and it's okay to shift which weeks they are)... and then as well, I set one week as a buffer for each subject every so often (staggered)--I just mark it Catch up/Review.

 

That means I'm allowing, next year, from Sept. 1 to July 1 to complete the 42 chapters of SOTW 2, and the same time frame for the 40 lessons in LoE Essentials, but only 16 lessons of the Spanish I bought, because it's meant for older kids.

 

If I just let myself take breaks and stretch this* and drop that ad lib, I would not necessarily keep up a good routine. The benefit of doing my plans on the computer instead of paper is that it's very easy to cut and paste to make changes if appropriate, but my goals are right there to compare with what we're really doing.

 

*I can let a subject take more of the day if we want, on as many days as we want, because there's plenty of margin built into our day, but I do not want to extend it out on the calendar unless it's valuable enough to replace something we were going to do later. I've read enough of these forums to know that's how you don't get to the Civil War until eighth grade. ;)

[momacacia]

Planning is what I do at the beginning of the year. Reality is what I have at the end. ;)

[Butter]

Absolutely okay to plan 36 weeks of stuff with the intention to finish in 42 weeks.  And I promise I'm not telling you a lie ;P

[Slache]

I know I'm not responding, but your replies have me thinking a lot. Thank you for your thoughts and experiences. It's helpful.

[Renai]

Planning is what I do at the beginning of the year. Reality is what I have at the end. ;)

 

This pretty much sums it up. :D Since we're constantly evaluating and revising based on student needs, what we end with may look very different from that which we began.

[EndOfOrdinary]

We are starting year round school this year. It will look nothing like school year school since Dad is home and Ds will more than likely be living at the skatepark as much as possible. However, math, reading, and foriegn languages get to be done three times a week. It means during the school year I am not in panic stricken, mean, stressed out mommy mode. It means we can take really great opportunities when they come along. I do not have to fret if a chemistry experiment doesn't get done or that an essay needs to be written when we are on the road to a speaking a state away.

 

This doesn't work for everyone, but it was a major pressure release valve for both Ds and I.

[Another Lynn]

Planning is what I do at the beginning of the year. Reality is what I have at the end. ;)

 

 

This pretty much sums it up. :D Since we're constantly evaluating and revising based on student needs, what we end with may look very different from that which we began.

 

Maybe we need emoticons for this:  a snow white, birds are chirping, sun is shining one for planning.  and a .... I dunno.... cartoon tasmanian devil for reality?  or maybe Galadriel when she takes the ring?  or the wicked witch ("I'll get you my pretty....")

 

(Apologizing for the de-rail)

[Slache]

Maybe we need emoticons for this:  a snow white, birds are chirping, sun is shining one for planning.  and a .... I dunno.... cartoon tasmanian devil for reality?  or maybe Galadriel when she takes the ring?  or the wicked witch ("I'll get you my pretty....")

 

(Apologizing for the de-rail)

 

This is encouraging.

[Renai]

Maybe we need emoticons for this:  a snow white, birds are chirping, sun is shining one for planning.  and a .... I dunno.... cartoon tasmanian devil for reality?  or maybe Galadriel when she takes the ring?  or the wicked witch ("I'll get you my pretty....")

 

(Apologizing for the de-rail)

 

You mean this

 

 

versus

 

[Renai]

This is encouraging.

 

It's not that bad. We are flexible and adaptable. We have to be. There are kids involved. :D.

[Ellie]

I was hoping to have 42ish week school years and this past year(PK) I was planning on a 30-36 week schedule because we started so late (we pretty much did whatever he wanted until it seemed that he needed a more formal schedule). Well, now it's taking longer than I planned to finish what I wanted to finish. Shocker, right? Do you think it's advantageous to plan for 36 weeks of stuff with the intention of getting it done in 42 weeks? Just say yes. It can be a lie.

 

Yes. :001_tt2:

[JoJosMom]

Yes.

[lots of little ducklings]

Definitely yes, and that's (really truly!) not a lie.

 

I plan 40 weeks, in 40 week files, but really it's 32 weeks of material, with every 5th week being super light to allow for catch-up.  And I really only include content subjects (science, history) in those plans… I pace skills subjects according to each child so those are more "do the next thing." We school year-round right now, so with the exception of scheduled trips, I just take any additional weeks off when I need them.  I have a lesson-planner (pen and paper) but it's a used "journal" style -- I fill it in after the fact as a record of our work.  (btw, this kills my dear mother, a former ps teacher; but it's been a fabulous change for me. My home school does not need to look like an institutional school, I've learned. )  

 

It has been a good combination of structure and flexibility for us. 

 

I will add this, since I'm just a step ahead of you in terms of kids' ages:  if I were to do it all over again, I'd tell myself to spend far less time "planning" for K and 1 (I probably still wouldn't take my own advice because planning is so much fun for this control-freak, but really, I ought to.)  So much is happening developmentally at this stage, and it's really hard to predict what rate each child will progress at.  Most of my plans were tossed out the window by October.    It just makes much more sense in those early years to focus on the skills (three "r's") and on exploring the world than to focus on the calendar and a publisher who must meet the demands of institutions and regulations.  

[Slache]

Definitely yes, and that's (really truly!) not a lie.

 

I plan 40 weeks, in 40 week files, but really it's 32 weeks of material, with every 5th week being super light to allow for catch-up.  And I really only include content subjects (science, history) in those plans… I pace skills subjects according to each child so those are more "do the next thing." We school year-round right now, so with the exception of scheduled trips, I just take any additional weeks off when I need them.  I have a lesson-planner (pen and paper) but it's a used "journal" style -- I fill it in after the fact as a record of our work.  (btw, this kills my dear mother, a former ps teacher; but it's been a fabulous change for me. My home school does not need to look like an institutional school, I've learned. )  

 

It has been a good combination of structure and flexibility for us. 

 

I will add this, since I'm just a step ahead of you in terms of kids' ages:  if I were to do it all over again, I'd tell myself to spend far less time "planning" for K and 1 (I probably still wouldn't take my own advice because planning is so much fun for this control-freak, but really, I ought to.)  So much is happening developmentally at this stage, and it's really hard to predict what rate each child will progress at.  Most of my plans were tossed out the window by October.    It just makes much more sense in those early years to focus on the skills (three "r's") and on exploring the world than to focus on the calendar and a publisher who must meet the demands of institutions and regulations.  

I like everything you said, but definitely the bold. Since he's my oldest I've really been able to let him decide everything. It's been so good for him.

[FO4UR]

Yes.

 

 

I plan 36 week years (less in some subjects).  I have 200 daily planning pages.  Do the math. :coolgleamA:

 

 

[MerryAtHope]

I'm with Farrar. Every time I've planned things for a number of weeks (or used a curriculum like Sonlight which has everything planned out), I find it's not realistic or fully compatible with real life.

 

Years ago, I discovered that Sonlight had this magical, one-page summary that showed all of the books they used for the year, listed in order of introduction with the week each one started. I say magical because it really transformed how I did school! First I followed their 1-page format--and if we got ahead, I added in a "fun" book or a sequel or something else I wanted to do. And if we got behind, I simply crossed off a book that wasn't as high a priority for me. 

 

Then I found--I could make my own 1-page schedule just like this, guestimate the weeks I thought it would take to cover each one and list them in order. I could have an "optional" list for times we got ahead or times we got to a book and I thought "ugh!" And I could cross off ones we didn't end up having time for. They could be saved for another year, for summer fun reading, or sold at the used curriculum fair (or donated etc...)

 

I found that yearly scheduling with a loose reference to weeks worked best here.

 

Anyway, have fun with your kids!

[barnwife]

 

Years ago, I discovered that Sonlight had this magical, one-page summary that showed all of the books they used for the year, listed in order of introduction with the week each one started. I say magical because it really transformed how I did school! First I followed their 1-page format--and if we got ahead, I added in a "fun" book or a sequel or something else I wanted to do. And if we got behind, I simply crossed off a book that wasn't as high a priority for me. 

 

Then I found--I could make my own 1-page schedule just like this, guestimate the weeks I thought it would take to cover each one and list them in order. I could have an "optional" list for times we got ahead or times we got to a book and I thought "ugh!" And I could cross off ones we didn't end up having time for. They could be saved for another year, for summer fun reading, or sold at the used curriculum fair (or donated etc...)

 

I found that yearly scheduling with a loose reference to weeks worked best here.

 

Anyway, have fun with your kids!

I like this enough to quote it. Thank you!

 

Our oldest is almost 5. So far school consists of a letter/Bible theme of the week, lots of read-alouds, playing with c-rods from time to time, and lots and lots of free play. The thought of planning anything like it seems some (many?) posters here do stresses me out. 

 

Which is strange because I am a former PS teacher, and I planned everything then.

 

Anyway, I teach a class for our church. And I am in the process of creating a 1 page summary of each unit for the class. That's totally what I need. I wish I had done it when I was a PS teacher. It just works for me. 

 

I hadn't thought of every applying the same to HS, but I think it would be wonderful for me/us. Thanks for the idea/"permission," MerryAtHope. 

 

[Momto4inSoCal]

I made a year schedule this year and based on the recommendation of a blogger I scheduled in 2 make-up days a month. It has worked perfectly. I always need those two days due to field trips and other things that come up. The only thing that threw me was changing our math program in oct. None of the lessons in our lesson plan book that I worked on for weeks match up since I'm not using the book we started with. It also made it so we wouldn't finish the book by the end of the year and the box checker in me is having a fit. 

[MerryAtHope]

I made a year schedule this year and based on the recommendation of a blogger I scheduled in 2 make-up days a month. It has worked perfectly. I always need those two days due to field trips and other things that come up. The only thing that threw me was changing our math program in oct. None of the lessons in our lesson plan book that I worked on for weeks match up since I'm not using the book we started with. It also made it so we wouldn't finish the book by the end of the year and the box checker in me is having a fit. 

 

I don't know why, but math was always the subject I really felt I "had" to finish by the end of the year. I guess I was afraid I'd get off track when the kids were older & not hit algebra by 9th grade or something? I don't know what wigged me out so much, I was more willing to let other subjects continue over!

 

Anyway, with that said...if you plan to continue with your new curriculum, check out how it's designed and that may give you clues to help you get "back on track" with where you'd like to be. 

 

For example: Some math programs schedule a lot of review at the beginning of the year. I found I could let my kids take tests on the review stuff and skip the early lessons in the next level. 

 

Some math programs schedule more "optional" lessons at the end of a book for schools that might not finish (I don't know if any strictly homeschool math programs are like that, but worth looking). 

 

Some math programs have lots of "review" built in, and you can skip an occasional review lesson and catch up over time.

 

Some programs are designed to have kids hitting algebra in 7th grade, or even in 8th--and many kids aren't really ready for higher level math before 9th grade. This can give you some "wiggle room" to not worry about finishing those math levels exactly at the end of each year. 

[Runningmom80]

Planning is what I do at the beginning of the year. Reality is what I have at the end. ;)

 

Yes!  Things have slowly devolved this year.  We are currently gardening for "school."  :lol:  I may have him do some sort of seed labeling activity so that it doesn't look completely ridiculous. :leaving:

 

Planning in detail, for me, usually ends up in frustration.