Jump to content

Menu

Big Picture Goals for your AL in 2020


Gil
 Share

Recommended Posts

Love these threads, Gil. School is over next week, so I've already gotten into planning mode for my younger for the 2020 academic year.  Will have some goals to post in a few days!

ETA: just read your list on the other planning thread. You are an inspiration when it comes to working with gifted kids. Can you copy that post over here so we can discuss it? Or I can.

Edited by lewelma
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apparently I have never participated in these threads, but my goals this year are simple:

  1. Enjoying, both of us, this last year of homeschooling.  So far we are on track with that--it's amazing how smoothly things go when discussion is the only output required!
  2. Getting into and enrolling at a college that is a good fit.  Keeping my fingers crossed!
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, lewelma said:

Love these threads, Gil. School is over next week, so I've already gotten into planning mode for my younger for the 2020 academic year.  Will have some goals to post in a few days!

ETA: just read your list on the other planning thread. You are an inspiration when it comes to working with gifted kids. Can you copy that post over here so we can discuss it? Or I can.

Which post? You can copy it. I'm not sure if you want the year-round schoolers post, or the math post. But whatever you want, copy away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gil's post from General Board

Quote

re: how are your plans for next year going? Our plans are pretty simple, so they should be done sooner, rather than later. Nothing terribly exotic. The Boys will be in "7th grade" and have 4 courses:

Autodidactic Studies (Home made | Required, based solely on The Boys interests/whims)
I don't care what it is that they work on, but they must work on something and will be checked up on/monitored.
Communication and Composition (Home made | Parent-directed,  all-inclusive language arts, speaking, reading, writing, etc)
This is the space where we work on oral reading and silent reading, reading comprehension,  writing passages, essays, reports, stories and what have you, discussing books, vocabulary building, grammar patterns, word play, etc. I also count a few other activities under this umbrella, such as public speaking. We use the books that we have at home or get via the library, more of a method than any particular publisher.
Information Technology (Home made | Parent-directed, based on a  combo of what I think they should learn and The Boys interests), we're going to be working on programming, hacking/cybersecurity and hardware. I'll also be helping with a couple of individual projects. (*mumble, mumble*).
Intensive Japanese (Store bought | Parent-supervised, child-led)
They're going to shift their literacy focus towards tackling Kanji this year. Outside of a text, they'll continue to read any childrens books we can get and keep up the media immersion outside of systematic study/practice. I told them they're required to have a "program" and they're still researching options. So this is our one unknown.

We'll be keeping the same routine of work 2.5 to 4hrs a day, Monday to Saturday and 1 to 2 hours on Sunday.

Edited by lewelma
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gil, what I found so interesting about your course studies is that there were only 4 courses but they were all very grand in vision and holistic/non-silo-ed.

I particularly like how you have certain courses be specifically child-led, forcing your kids to actually be self-directed, but then you also create parent-led courses that are specifically designed for your kids. That you are In Charge, and they Know it. But you also say "we will be working on..." and this phrase is so full of camaraderie and so we-are-in-this-together, but yet at the same time you have very clear standards and requirements.  I think that we teach and facilitate in much the same way, but you are just much much better at explaining your approach and much clearer in your goals. 

My younger has always been pretty bad about being self-directed, and you have inspired me to create an Autodidactic Studies course for my ds during our school holidays.  He told me just yesterday that he thinks he will be bored over the 6-week holiday and would like to continue learning for an hour or 2 a day.  I wonder if I might not convince him to do an hour *with* me, but then to rise to the occasion and be an autodidact for a second hour. I think that he would love that label and might work for it. For this boy it is all about 'selling' an idea so that he will own it. 

Can I also say that I am *super* impressed that you are doing so well with your *second* foreign language when you personally don't speak either. Big thumbs up for that one.

Edited by lewelma
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The last few years have been about foundations, now we're on to application.

We were doing Greek declensions and conjugations, now we're reading and writing in Greek.

We learned the kana and 1,000 kanji, now we're beginning a grammar.

We began formal literature analysis, now we're expanding the books he writes.

He finally has a math curriculum instead of just doing what he wants.

I got him a notebook to start planning his own studies, books to read and such.

He's having fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2019 has been a year of transition. We moved back to the US, weathered DH’s job change (including having him gone for several months of training), & adjusted to a new way of doing things lessons-wise as DS’ desire for autonomy in his studies increased. 

My big picture goal for 2020 is getting to the bottom of DS’ sensory / attentional needs so that he can better participate in extra-curricular activities that aren’t high-energy athletics. 

Lesson-wise we are largely planning to expand developing skills (creative writing, culinary arts, arts / handicrafts, reading, mathematics) while adding in a few new skills (paragraph formation, music, cursive handwriting, typing). 

Edited by Expat_Mama_Shelli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DS has shifted some of his interest from Math to Linguistics recently so it will be interesting to see how the year pans out. Big goals:

 Languages and Linguistics:

     1. Ancient Greek - kiddo took Lukeion Ancient Greek this fall and just received his grade report today  98.61 (A+) one of the highest scores in the class. He did this with no outside help (neither of us know any Greek) and put in many hour of work. It was a very tough class but I'm more impressed at how he budgeted his time and planned his studies. He will continue in spring.

  2. Continue Mandarin at home with me. Goals here are simply to have some daily exposure and gradually improve reading ability. He took a year with a native speaker (CTY class) but we simply don't have time for him to go full speed with 2 languages.

  3. Practice problems for NACLO and learn most of the IPA.

  4. Reach a point in Analytical Grammar where he's learning something new. 

Math

    He's studying Intermediate Counting and Probability from the AoPS book this year. Goal is simply to finished the book and maybe do a major project (something on paramutal betting systems perhaps since he has a strong interest in gambling). Practice for AMC 10 and also since he attended MathPath last summer and wants to go back he needs to finish his application for 2020.

Integrated Course

   We're doing a self-designed course on Edgar Allen Poe that will cover literature, poetry, some history, etc. Most of kiddos Language Arts work will be done in this course. DH has an MFA in Creative Writing so will be teaching the bulk of it.

We have a few other odds and ends we want to study including continuing chemistry and piano, studying for the National Mythology Exam, some outside fun classes at a homeschool enrichment center, etc. but the above three things will be the bulk of his work. 

 

 

   

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, lewelma said:

 

It is just the 2020 planning thread. I just didn't want to discuss what Gil had to say on the general board, because sometimes my goals can make others feel bad. So I wanted to discuss his plans here. 

Thank you! I appreciate the accelerated learner board because I don't get lectured, but it can also be a little frustrating when I ask for a resource for my first grader and someone recommends a college course. We need levels on this board!

8 minutes ago, Gil said:

What approach did you use for learning the Kanji?

Remembering The Kanji. Don't judge me.

Edited by Slache
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Slache said:

Remembering The Kanji. Don't judge me.

It figures; Did you do volumes 2/3 as well? The Boys are still confused on RTK after discussing it with the local language group--they couldn't get a straight answer.

What is there to judge you for? :unsure:I'm not sure if I'm out of the loop or if everyones gone nuts in my absence.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Gil said:

It figures; Did you do volumes 2/3 as well? The Boys are still confused on RTK after discussing it with the local language group--they couldn't get a straight answer.

What is there to judge you for? :unsure:I'm not sure if I'm out of the loop or if everyones gone nuts in my absence.

No. We weren't taking it seriously, just laying a reading foundation before preparing for formal/traditional kanji studies. Remember that we started in 1st when he was like "teach me Japanese!" and I was like "Ahhh!" so we really just messed around for 2 years. Lots of conversation and audio, kana and kanji, games. He had fun and he has some awesome foundations to start a grammar now. He can read manga and children's books.

I was talking to the Japanese Reddit group and they ate me alive, particularly over RTK. I had 100 Americans telling me I was an idiot and could never teach my kid Japanese while the only 3 Japanese people in the subreddit were totally cheering me on. It was ridiculous. I don't go there anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/11/2019 at 7:07 PM, EKS said:

Apparently I have never participated in these threads, but my goals this year are simple:

  1. Enjoying, both of us, this last year of homeschooling.  So far we are on track with that--it's amazing how smoothly things go when discussion is the only output required!
  2. Getting into and enrolling at a college that is a good fit.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Traditionally, neither do I. I always just created the threads the years I was active. This is the most posting/discussion I've ever done in one of these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Gil said:

Why people don't seem to do RTK 2 and 3--certainly not at the same level as RTK1.

Just doing RTK 1 will get you by in any reading and writing that you need. It won't as you go through it, but as you learn Japanese and can take all of this information and context it will. If you do 2 and 3 then you would be the equivalent of a native Japanese scholar. Most people don't need that.

This is information that I gathered on the Japanese subreddit and never verified.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/12/2019 at 2:13 AM, lewelma said:

Gil, what I found so interesting about your course studies is that there were only 4 courses but they were all very grand in vision and holistic/non-silo-ed.

Honestly, I'm not so sure about the "grand in vision" part. I just didn't feel like typing out a slew of nitty-gritty information that no one but me really cares about. As for the courses themselves, it just shook out that way--I build the day around our actual priorities, not tradition/social expectations. I don't have all day to devote to their education, so I try and get the most bang for my buck, so to speak.

I particularly like how you have certain courses be specifically child-led, forcing your kids to actually be self-directed, but then you also create parent-led courses that are specifically designed for your kids. I try and keep the course design rooted in the reality of the kids that I have, not the kids that I think I could have had by now, if 5 years ago when the stars had aligned I'd done XYZ while Mercury was in retrograde or some such nonsense. I don't plan my school for the student that some (home)school publisher had in mind when they wrote their program. I build my school plans for my students. The ones that live in my house, attend my school.
The Boys aren't shorter, squeakier versions of some hyper-focused, high-achieving adults. They're (fairly normal) and NT children who benefit greatly from having An Adult invested in their short and long-term well being.

That you are In Charge, and they Know it. you also say "we will be working on..." and this phrase is so full of camaraderie and so we-are-in-this-together, but yet at the same time you have very clear standards and requirements.  I think that we teach and facilitate in much the same way, but you are just much much better at explaining your approach and much clearer in your goals. Maybe. But I think that there is a chance that you're idealizing some also. I'm not that fascinating, I think you're just in a ponderous mood lately. In a few months you'll probably find what I wrote in the planning thread pedantic or uninspired.

Not to be argumentative, but I don't know if we teach and facilitate in the same way or not. I have no idea how you teach and facilitate, though I'm aware that you get fantastic results. I feel confident that you do a spectacular job of educating the whole child--if you opened a school, I'd enroll my kids in it. I'm not sure that what I've written in the last two days has been all that insightful and expository. I'm feeling a little under the microscope right now, honestly.

My younger has always been pretty bad about being self-directed, and you have inspired me to create an Autodidactic Studies course for my ds during our school holidays.  He told me just yesterday that he thinks he will be bored over the 6-week holiday and would like to continue learning for an hour or 2 a day.  I wonder if I might not convince him to do an hour *with* me, but then to rise to the occasion and be an autodidact for a second hour. I think that he would love that label and might work for it. For this boy it is all about 'selling' an idea so that he will own it. 

Can I also say that I am *super* impressed that you are doing so well with your *second* foreign language when you personally don't speak either. Big thumbs up for that one.
Thanks. We are feeling really proud of our language-based accomplishments right now. Its so cool too see it paying off, but it's also overwhelming to think of the next 5 years. I hope to write something to tie off the Logistics Thread for the year in a week or two. I'll have to think of something nifty.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Gil said:

But I think that there is a chance that you're idealizing some also. I'm not that fascinating, I think you're just in a ponderous mood lately. 

Haha. Maybe I am. And I am sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. I have always enjoyed reading your posts because you help me to think through what I want to do and what I can do. But I will quit calling your posts fascinating. 🙂  

Edited by lewelma
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

I build the day around our actual priorities, not tradition/social expectations.

I like this. Sometimes it is easy for me to lose my way and start to tick boxes. This is an excellent reminder to both identify my actual priorities and keep my eyes on them. I'm planning for the next month, so this is timely. 

Edited by lewelma
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, lewelma said:

I like this. Sometimes it is easy for me to lose my way and start to tick boxes. This is an excellent reminder to both identify my actual priorities and keep my eyes on them. I'm planning for the next month, so this is timely. 

Thanks, but it's essentially Homeschooling Commandment #1.

Over the years, when I get too out of line from the 10 Commandments, things usually start to go wrong. So, when I notice morale dropping and tempers rising, I go back to the commandments and check what we've been up to, and see if it's inline with the The 10.

I've had them for years now, and they seem to still be working well for my homeschool.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only goal this year is reading.  Dd 6 read the first box of Bob books in September, yesterday she easily read me a few pages of Ramona the Pest.  I’ve been working with her, but she’s making a lot of progress on her own.  Her classroom is still working on kindergarten sight words like “that” and “they,” so she’s somehow teaching herself?  (I did basically the same thing at her age, I wish I had a better idea how I did it.)  Regardless of how the magic works I can’t wait for her to be able to be an independent reader.  We have loads of high interest books around, I hope she will be able to feed her curiosity and entertain herself with books.  We will always read aloud, but she wants and needs more.  We are getting so close!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2021. She can graduate this year, but wants to live on campus, and many schools limit that before age 16, so she's taking the 4th year vs graduating after 3. She's double skipped and will have over 60 college credits as is.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm so bad at big picture goals that I usually just skip these threads! But I'll try this time, just because it'll be interesting to compare it with what we actually get done after the fact!! lol. I've really enjoyed our push to read more books together as a family this year. My oldest two have read the first five Harry Potter books and the Hobbit with me (takes so much longer than reading independently!! lol), and our entire family has read the first four Little House books together, as well as a few other classics a la Wizard of Oz, King of the Golden River, Pirate's Promise, and Reddy Fox. I'd love to see us continue this trend, and get into some deeper books (not just fun fantasy type stuff).

DS10: Finish Barton, tackle IEW, work towards independence (though I'm not sure exactly what that means yet). He's flying through materials on Alcumus and has completed 2.5 years of middle school science material on uzinggo in the last 8ish weeks (low-output, I know, but golly he knows his stuff when I question him!), but I feel like the kid still can't independently feed and groom himself adequately, let alone remember to use his fork...

DD8: Find something she loves doing and excels at. We just moved 1000 miles and she had to give up her one passion (there are no ballet schools within a 90 minute drive of us). She had made her peace with that at the time (though there's still been a grieving period), but now we're really noticing a dramatic decrease in confidence. While the little bugger is surely bright, she's very much 2E and the truth is that right now, almost *everything* is hard for her (academically, emotionally, socially, etc.) Nobody wants to be bad at everything. 😞 It does not help that she is currently refusing to do other things that she's really good at (she's a very gifted musician and has often used it to soothe herself, but has decided in the last year that she hates piano and violin, and so is refusing to play/practice). 

DD6: Get reading fluent, learn lots of board and card games, and try hitting HWOT to address dysgraphia. She could easily be more accelerated than she is, but prefers to be climbing trees and wading in the creek, so her academics are extremely slight.

DD5: ?? Until oldest finishes Barton, I'm not sure I have it in me to start teaching another kid to read... Biggest goal for her would be to wean her off of the ABCmouse that gets more of her time than I'd like when I'm busy with the older three... 

All: Revive minority language (all but abandoned the last eight months as we prepare to move, and more and more difficult to maintain now that children out-number me and just use English with each other). Start learning Spanish. 1 hr of outside time each day, regardless of weather, on average (I'm setting a tracker that will keep a running average for me, and we bought good rain gear!). Try our hand at nature journaling.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like we’re in flux right now. I’m going to give this a shot, but it may all go out the window. The major issue at stake is that we’re researching private schools for DD to attend next year, which would shift our focus. So I have two sets of goals, one for if she is headed to school, and a different one if she stays home.

If she is going to school, the goal is to find the most appropriate placement for her, and support the transition. In the meantime, we would hit writing skills pretty hard, both content and the actual act of writing. We suspect mild dysgraphia. I don’t know if handwriting is something that can improve if we really focus on it, or if we should put all our focus on typing. She can produce a fairly solid paragraph at this point. She can produce a good essay for her age, but it is a lot of work for her, so we would focus on making this a smoother process. And then the later part of 2020 would be supporting her through any bumps of transitioning to school.

If she is staying at home, we will be focusing on social connections and exploring interests. This year, we upped the academics. She has proven herself very capable of high school level work, but she really doesn’t like the structure of it. We would be returning to our more relaxed way of doing things. I’d like to get back to what we used to do - some math, English, and Spanish most days of the week, and everything else up to her. Minimal outsourcing, just for fun stuff.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/16/2019 at 7:34 PM, 4KookieKids said:

I'm so bad at big picture goals that I usually just skip these threads!

 

Me, too.  I also don't see my kids as accelerated, even though I know they are, so I don't view this board as much as I probably should.

dd18: Starting full-time college a semester early (in two weeks).  She's very excited.  We went on campus and found all her classes (it's a maze in there!).  We're going next week and buying her books.  It's the community college for two years and then she's transferring to a local university.  It doesn't sound glamorous, but her first semester's tuition was like $830.  That was IT.  We paid cash and she's living at home (she doesn't want to leave her dog).  No loans/no debt.  It's a great feeling.  She also did so well on her college placement tests that she only has to take one math class for her Bachelor's degree (which the advisor said to take it the first semester and get it over with). 

ds16 and dd14: these two are about at the same level and they do everything together, except math (dd14 is actually only one math class below ds16).  We are continuing unit studies, because they are really enjoying them (and I'm enjoying them).  I want the unit studies to be shorter this year, though.  We did a unit study last year that basically lasted all year (and it was just a little too long).  I'm going to try to limit them to about 6-8 weeks now.  They are currently working on robotics as a team (which is harder than it sounds!), we're going to learn to use a 3D printer, they're going to work through the MicroChem Kit and read several books about the Manhattan Project and Albert Einstein.  This spring, I want to do a unit study on the American Revolution and the French Revolution.  I'm thinking about doing a huge Mark Twain unit study this year at some point.   I am focusing on adding art this year (we stopped doing art for some stupid reason). 

dd12: also doing unit studies.  She's also working on Robotics with the older kids right now.  I want to get them doing a little bit of coding with the robots, too.  We downloaded the software to get the computer to communicate with the robot brain.  We're getting ready to build a crane and then we'll see if they can write a program for it.  She is also working through the Intro to Chemistry kit from Home Science Tools.  I also have started gathering resources for her to study the American Revolution this spring.

ds4: started My Father's World Kindergarten.  He loves it.

Artsy/creative things they are doing (we have a very artsy family):

dd18: taking art classes at the college.  Opened an Instagram page to sell her artwork.  She does fluid art on wood - it's this thing where you mix paint/chemicals and set it on fire.  

ds16: playing guitar, sketching

dd14: waiting for results of Scholastic Art & Writing Competition (Southwestern states).  She places every year and this year, she sent in some incredible artwork (her best ever).  She also taught herself how to play the piano this year and she's getting pretty good.  Still plays violin.

dd12: doesn't like art, but we're trying to get her to do more.  She can solve a Rubik's cube in under a minute, though.  So, I bought her a set of competition cubes and I'm going to see if we can take her to one of the competitions. 

Oh, well.  That's what we're doing this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/16/2019 at 8:46 PM, Jackie said:

She has proven herself very capable of high school level work, but she really doesn’t like the structure of it. We would be returning to our more relaxed way of doing things. I’d like to get back to what we used to do - some math, English, and Spanish most days of the week, and everything else up to her. Minimal outsourcing, just for fun stuff.

 

When dd18 started high school, I basically ruined our homeschool for a couple of years.  Everyone goes overboard on homeschooling high school/preparing for high school/preparing for college.  It feels like there's so much stress even around "what's a credit," record keeping, etc.  So, instead of enjoying homeschooling like we always did all those years, I became very rigid about reading the right books, making sure there were the right number of writing assignments, making sure we filled the "hours" so we could count something as a credit and I made decisions about what we would study based on how it would look on their transcripts.  Making sure we could back everything up with a textbook of some kind...ugh

Yeah, in hindsight, that was so stupid.  And totally unnecessary.

It would be ok if you go back to your relaxed way of doing things.  We're back to homeschooling like we always did and we are much happier.  I made a point last year to do things like PE again (which we were doing with another family once a week and it was a blast - playing volleyball, basketball, baseball, etc), adding art and music back in.  Scheduling playdates and field trips back into our week....those things are important, even for high schoolers.  I have 4 teenagers (well, one is 12, but she's an honorary teenager) and they need those things, too.  They still need field trips and PE and art....  We did 10 field trips this year (probably the most we've ever done).  It was awesome.       

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will miss this year. I simply do not know what to write. So many things we have started, so many things now to accomplish and too many thoughts to solve the problems in between😓

...but thank you guys for keeping this board alive. From time to time I am reading everything here and get a few ideas where to move and what to use👍

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like we didn't have a thread for 2019 goals, so much has changed since I last posted my big picture goals in December 2017.

Sacha (11 in January):

This summer, he hopes to attend Space Camp, Duke Crisis, CTY Forensics, AoPS Geometry, and San Diego Jr Lifeguard Camp. He also hopes to get his Junior Open Water Diver certification.

He hopes to make Honor Roll on the AMC 8 and to the next round on the F=ma exam in 2020.

He also wants to enter the San Diego Science Fair, with the eventual goal of using the research towards the Genes in Space competition.

He is applying to take a writing class through the Davidson Academy Online, which will be a major challenge for him.

He started kung fu last summer and is working hard toward his next belt. So, continuing to make progress is a major goal for him.

He has also been steadily improving with his guitar and was selected for a sizeable part in his charter middle school's Shakespeare production -- both of which he really enjoys.

Sacha is finally beginning to tie things! I would like for him to continue to work on his finger dexterity with wood working, etc.

Ronen (6, turning 7 in August):

Ronen is improving in his reading. I would like for him to be fluently reading by the end of 2020.

He has been doing well with addition and subtraction. I would like for him to move into multiplication in 2020.

Ronen has also been enjoying kung fu, especially his relationship with his teacher. I would really like to see that relationship continue to blossom for him, as it has helped to build his self-confidence and work on his perfectionism issues.

Ronen has been attending an outdoor school program through his charter school, which he loves, so my goal is really to keep things as unschooly, gameschooly, and as kinesthetic as possible with Ronen. He is extremely intelligent, but is much more emotional and definitely has a mind of his own. So, my homeschool approach with him has had to be very different than with Sacha. I've also learned to take things much slower and just relax. We enjoy a lot of audiobooks together, and that has been great.

Me (old): 

I finished my first two terms in nursing school and have maintained an 80 lb weight loss since my gastric bypass in Jan 2018. Assuming all goes well, I should finish my BSN program in July 2021. I am torn between working in psych and the ICU, so I need to make a decision before I apply to new grad residency programs and to graduate school. In 2020, I would like to focus on getting stronger and more flexible. I would also like to focus more on a better plan for our retirement/finances after I finish school. Full-time nursing school (I had 22 units this term)/homeschooling two boys/running a large marine business has been eating up a lot of my time lately, so my posting here has been sporadic -- my apologies to all my friends here. Happy holidays and a healthy 2020 to everyone! 🙂

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...