Anyone else having a hard time planning?

[....]

We're year-round homeschoolers, so we actually won't finish this round of curriculum until about November.  However, ds5 will be finished with MFW K in September.  I really need to plan for my 3 remaining homeschoolers.  I'm having the hardest time in the world.  What is wrong with me?  I'm usually great at planning our school year.

I just realized that one of the reasons I'm having a hard time planning is Covid.  Yeah, Covid is wrecking my homeschool plans!  Normally, I use the library for almost everything.  Unit studies?  No problem!  Check out 15,000 books from the library!  Ugh.  That's probably not going to be possible this school year.  Field trips?  Geez, I don't think we can do those either any time soon.  ☹️  Outside classes/activities??  What if I pay 3 million bucks for a class and it ends up on Zoom?  Double ☹️☹️.

Anyone else having a hard time?  Am I just whining?  

And my 15 year-old is acting like I personally created Covid in a laboratory to thwart her plans to do musical theater this year.  Ugh...  

I almost feel like I need to purchase ALL the books the kids are going to read this year, which is something I never do.  And if I do that, I need to plan early, because I'm going to have to stagger my purchases.  

I also have this really strange idea - which I'm not sure if this will work or not.  I'm thinking about not even scheduling the next school year.  I'm kicking around the idea of designing a Charlotte Mason curriculum for dd15 and dd12, buying all the books and just boxing everything in a bin for each student.  Every day, we can do math, Latin and German.  Then, they can work at their own pace through all the books in their bin.  I would give them daily writing assignments based on what they were working on.  Does anyone do this?  Is this a strange idea?  

I want to do unit studies this year, but without the library and field trips....unit studies would be awful.  😖  Maybe I could somehow do unit studies....

Anyone else having a hard time planning?  Wanna commiserate?  Lol

I really need a crying emoji.

Edited June 24, 2020 by Evanthe

[....]

2 minutes ago, mms said:

So not helpful probably because my eldest is only eleven, but this is basically what we do. It’s like parent-led unschooling. She does Latin and math and some sort of language lessons daily and then I just buy books for her to read. We discuss stuff she reads. Not formal narrations but discussions over meals and dishes. Sometimes she gets really into a subject and starts writing essays on it. Every time I try to change the set up I have pushback. I actually see this as a system for the rest of her schooling because this really does work well for her though I occasionally panic if it’s enough.

I am having a hard time planning for our co-op classes. The idea is that I need to plan three lesson plans for every meeting: in person, Zoom and substitute ready in case someone in my family is quarantined. Um, no, not doing that. Thankfully, I am not the field trip coordinator. 

 

I love this idea!  I'm glad it works for your student!!

I feel so bad for co-op teachers right now....well, and just all teachers in general.  I have no idea how they're supposed to plan for August.  

[Shoeless]

36 minutes ago, Evanthe said:

Anyone else having a hard time?  Am I just whining?  

 

I'm having a hard time.  I don't think you are whining. It's hard to plan for the future when it feels uncertain. 

I used to run a some art appreciation classes for local kids, but I'm not doing it this year. I know that none of the families that usually come will be willing to wear a mask and they have not been socially distancing, so that's the end of that. 

[8filltheheart]

Your libraries might open back up sooner than you think.  Ours opened for cubside pick up for weeks before opening back up for going in.  They are limiting the number of people allowed in and no one is allowed to stay for more than 1hr and the only thing you can do is check things out, but they are open.

[Shoeless]

50 minutes ago, Evanthe said:

I also have this really strange idea - which I'm not sure if this will work or not.  I'm thinking about not even scheduling the next school year.  I'm kicking around the idea of designing a Charlotte Mason curriculum for dd15 and dd12, buying all the books and just boxing everything in a bin for each student.  Every day, we can do math, Latin and German.  Then, they can work at their own pace through all the books in their bin.  I would give them daily writing assignments based on what they were working on.  Does anyone do this?  Is this a strange idea?  

 

I've been kicking around the same idea. We've always had a loose schedule, but I'm really leaning toward doing nothing "formal" except math and the science units that DS11 likes. Everything else will be "Read the book and talk about it" or maybe working on big projects together. 

[....]

7 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

 

I've been kicking around the same idea. We've always had a loose schedule, but I'm really leaning toward doing nothing "formal" except math and the science units that DS11 likes. Everything else will be "Read the book and talk about it" or maybe working on big projects together. 

 

Right!  Well, and that's kinda what we do anyway, except I try to schedule everything out every day.  And I think I just plan too much.  It may be less pressure/stress just to throw everything in a bin and tell them to dig in!  

Also, now I'm wondering why I methodically plan their booklists every year.  Maybe they could choose what books they want to read for their bins.

[....]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Your libraries might open back up sooner than you think.  Ours opened for cubside pick up for weeks before opening back up for going in.  They are limiting the number of people allowed in and no one is allowed to stay for more than 1hr and the only thing you can do is check things out, but they are open.

 

I am a little depressed about not being able to use the library all year.  I actually have about 3 levels from Five in a Row.  I really could use that with ds5.  I'm worried it would become very expensive if I had to buy all those books.  Plus, if we bought extra books to go along with what we were studying.  ☹️  I may sit down and price out the books on Amazon.  I'm slowly resigning myself to the probability that this is going to be an expensive school year.  

[knitgrl]

11 hours ago, Evanthe said:

 

I am a little depressed about not being able to use the library all year.  I actually have about 3 levels from Five in a Row.  I really could use that with ds5.  I'm worried it would become very expensive if I had to buy all those books.  Plus, if we bought extra books to go along with what we were studying.  ☹️  I may sit down and price out the books on Amazon.  I'm slowly resigning myself to the probability that this is going to be an expensive school year.  

Used books from abebooks.com are usually less expensive than amazon.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

In answer to the title question, yes, me!!!  I've actually gotten SO MUCH done.  But I don't have a clear mental picture of our daily routine and how I want to track assignments for the big kids and little kids.  We have done planners, charts, clipboards... in the past, and I'm just not quite sure how I want to do it this year.  I'd like planners for the bigger kids, but those were the hardest to keep up with, unlike their checklists on clipboards.  But clipboards take up space, and space is at a bit of a premium here.  Sigh.   

[kristin0713]

Planning over the past few months has kept me sane.  I am not going to depend on the library at all for our schooling.  One thing we are doing that is living-book heavy is Guest Hollow Geography and Cultures, but I chose just the most important books for us that I was willing to buy and cut a bunch out.  I'll use what we have as well as the scheduled videos and links.  Of course our activities and outside programs are up in the air.  But I've actually really enjoyed planning for next year.  

[Wheres Toto]

I'm having a very hard time this year.    I run science classes for homeschoolers.   I don't have to worry about Zoom because my classes just won't work that way.  If we can't open, we're closing for good.   But if we can open, I have at least 7 brand new classes I have to do all planning for.   Plus my kids homeschool stuff the way we've been doing it the past few years because of the science center.  

But if I can't open, no need to plan those classes of course, but I also would need to do homeschooling completely differently.  

At this point, I have to act as if we'll be opening up again but it's some days it's hard to feel optimistic about that.   We're in one of the spots that are showing improvement (NJ) but numbers are starting to creep up again. 

[mellifera33]

I feel the same way. Usually I am happily and busily planning for the next year by the end of June, and this year I'm just blah. We're finishing up our current school year this week and I'm hoping that my motivation picks up again by mid-July. I blame covid too. Everything has just felt like it's been on hold for months now and there's no sign of it letting up.

[Little Green Leaves]

I've been doing more planning than usual, because my kids are getting older so I really do have to plan ahead more than I did in the past. But yeah, the fact that the libraries are closed is killing me. Normally, we go to the library once a week and bring home twenty or so books: books to read aloud together, books for science and history, books for free-reading, etc etc etc. Now that I have to actually pay for everything, I have to be SO much more thoughtful about selecting the right books. I can't just grab everything that looks interesting and then sift through them at leisure and then go back for another stack next week. I'm also trying to discipline myself because I've spent way more on books than I wanted to over the past few months.

I'm kind of on pause now, waiting to see whether the libraries will open up again soon and, if they do, whether they'll be operating more slowly than usual. We don't start the school year until September, so I should be fine. It's frustrating though, because I actually have a lot of planning energy right now and I'd like to use it. I guess I should use that time to create lists etc.

 

 

[barnwife]

23 hours ago, mms said:

So not helpful probably because my eldest is only eleven, but this is basically what we do. It’s like parent-led unschooling. She does Latin and math and some sort of language lessons daily and then I just buy books for her to read. We discuss stuff she reads. Not formal narrations but discussions over meals and dishes. Sometimes she gets really into a subject and starts writing essays on it. Every time I try to change the set up I have pushback. I actually see this as a system for the rest of her schooling because this really does work well for her though I occasionally panic if it’s enough.

Ditto this mostly, except our oldest is only almost 10 (but our other kids are almost the same ages, 8, almost 7, 3, and soon to be baby). We do phonics or reading (once they can read they read a page of Wise Owls Polysyllables or a book of their choice to me each day) on the couch. Then we do maths and language. Everything else is either covered through morning time, or random reading. 

I also sometimes panic that this is enough or rigorous enough or something. But, it's currently working so I always come back to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

OP, I am having a hard time with this fall/winter due to that's when baby will arrive. Of course, that means everything (other than fun reading) will halt for a while. And then by the time we get back to more formal school, what will they have learned and forgotten? (I won't even mention what the world could be like due to CV19.)

So...I plan to continue with the maths and language programs we currently use. If for some reason a change is needed, we will fly by the seat of our pants, say a prayer, and try something new, perhaps without tons of research. Who knows what doors that could open?

[Ausmumof3]

Our planning was somewhat done before Covid was in Aus, but we were finishing up some stuff from last year.  By the time Covid was starting  I was having a weird feeling about this year that made me quite unmotivated about planning.

I wouldn’t buy all the books because our library has opened again.  I’d buy about a months worth.

I have been doing exactly what I said this year.  I have bits from several curriculums I want to use so I have been filling bins and letting the kids work through them at their pace.  My grade 8 kids probably done a couple of curriculums worth my younger kids not so much.  They either narrate or write a summary of what they read.  They do also have a separate writing program or project each.

I think if I was you I’d write a list of certainties and uncertainties.  You know you need math, latin etc.  you don’t know if the library or field trips will be available.  You can then make some plans for how to handle the uncertainties like buying a month of books, assessing what you have already that might work, (benefits to being a book hoarder!), asking around to see what you can borrow from friends.  I loaned out most of our early readers during early Covid for example.  You can note down a few virtual field trip options and then keep in mind that if things open you can switch gears.  
 

and most of all give yourself space for processing.

[JessinTX]

Totally! And I'm a big planner so all this not knowing what will happen is really causing a lot of anxiety. 

My biggest struggle is my 4 year old (almost 5). I'd always planned to homeschool her. We homeschooled PK4 this past year, but our public school opened up a dual immersion language school for PK-2. We applied and she was accepted for next year. It felt like such a great opportunity for her because she was adopted and her biological family is all Spanish speaking (bilingual). But now I have no idea what will actually happen. Our governor has said schools WILL open in August, but what will that look like, how much will be in person. Will it get shut down at some point? I'm not much interested in distance learning for 4 and 5 year olds (and for us the whole point was the language part, how does that even work distance learning?) So if she can't go to school I'll probably just homeschool her instead of whatever they plan. Part of me wants to just say forget it about the school program, but it really is a great opportunity and if we withdraw she'll lose her spot and may not get another the next year. 🤪

Add to that if I was homeschooling she'd be doing Kinder next year, but the school will put her in PreK again as her bday isn't until October. Which is fine because she will be learning everything in Spanish, and she's a bit socially immature and possibly ADHD, so I don't want her to be the very youngest in her class on top of that. But I was planning to do some afterschooling anyway to make sure her reading continues to progress. She's very ready to start blending and reading simple words. 

But now my dilemma. Do I plan some additional things like math and writing especially in case I need them, or just wait and see what happens and try to wing it if it comes to that. I'm not good at winging it. But also don't want to waste a lot of unnecessary time or money. 

I imagine all the public school teachers are having the worst time too!

[73349]

🙋‍♀️

If group A opens in person, two things will be in our schedule that can't be done via Zoom. If one of them doesn't happen, it just doesn't happen; if the other doesn't happen, I'm replacing it (already have the book but haven't paced it out). Group B has not even asked people to submit their activities yet, since they have no idea whether it will be prudent to open in September. Libraries just opened for curbside pick-up by appointment, and it's not going smoothly yet. The situation here is not improving (but I'm taking DS to see another kid in person today, for the first time since March 7, just because he's an only child and this is a friend he misses).

And I changed curricula in virtually every subject. The writing choice I have high hopes for is going to require me to create a lot of my own materials. And I need a new daily task management system, or not. And I was sick for most of the spring. And I need to see what I need to buy for supplementary books. And P.E. is a great big question mark--we sold his bike when he outgrew it, spring track was canceled, the Y is closed, and we have no room for exercise equipment in our home.

But other than that, sure, it's all good. 😬

[....]

On 6/25/2020 at 7:25 AM, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

In answer to the title question, yes, me!!!  I've actually gotten SO MUCH done.  But I don't have a clear mental picture of our daily routine and how I want to track assignments for the big kids and little kids.  We have done planners, charts, clipboards... in the past, and I'm just not quite sure how I want to do it this year.  I'd like planners for the bigger kids, but those were the hardest to keep up with, unlike their checklists on clipboards.  But clipboards take up space, and space is at a bit of a premium here.  Sigh.   

 

I am the worst at daily planning.  I don't know why.  I'm going to try one of those big planners this year - https://shop.wellplannedgal.com/index.php/shop/planners/2020-2021-planners/2020-2021-homeschool-planner.html

I don't know if that will help or make things more complicated.  There's no way I could keep up with planners for each of the kids, but it's good idea!  We do have checklists - like you describe.  They're not on clipboards, but I have a thing on the wall for papers (hard to explain) and we just put everyone's checklists for the week into the whatever it is.  (It's like a file holder on the wall)

[....]

On 6/25/2020 at 7:41 AM, kristin0713 said:

Planning over the past few months has kept me sane.  I am not going to depend on the library at all for our schooling.  One thing we are doing that is living-book heavy is Guest Hollow Geography and Cultures, but I chose just the most important books for us that I was willing to buy and cut a bunch out.  I'll use what we have as well as the scheduled videos and links.  Of course our activities and outside programs are up in the air.  But I've actually really enjoyed planning for next year.  

 

I think people who rely on living books for their homeschool are probably having a hard time this year with limited library services (like us).

[....]

21 hours ago, square_25 said:

I'm definitely having trouble planning :-/. I had all these plans, and they basically all went out the window. And I also can't figure out what our friends are doing, which means I can't even think about what our social schedule looks like... 

I guess this is more applicable to the general shape of our days as opposed to our academics, which are pretty fixed, though. I figure our academics won't change that much. But I'm really not sure what life will feel like, and that's stressing me out. 

 

Yeah, and half of the kids' activities and outside classes this year - you can barely plan for those!  No one knows what's going to happen in August.  And we just went backwards in our state with a mask order.  It's frustrating.  Our ballet school usually gives out the schedule for the next school year every March.  It's almost July and we just got the schedule.  I heard a rumor that the place we take theater classes might not survive the coronavirus.  ☹️ I think everyone is waiting until the last minute to enroll in classes.

[....]

20 hours ago, barnwife said:

So...I plan to continue with the maths and language programs we currently use. If for some reason a change is needed, we will fly by the seat of our pants, say a prayer, and try something new, perhaps without tons of research. Who knows what doors that could open?

 

When we go into emergency mode (like when moving or having a baby), we do:

• math
• writing
• a reader and a read-aloud

We've had go into emergency mode several times.  

Congratulations on your baby!

[....]

2 hours ago, whitehawk said:

 

And I changed curricula in virtually every subject. The writing choice I have high hopes for is going to require me to create a lot of my own materials. And I need a new daily task management system, or not. And I was sick for most of the spring. And I need to see what I need to buy for supplementary books. And P.E. is a great big question mark--we sold his bike when he outgrew it, spring track was canceled, the Y is closed, and we have no room for exercise equipment in our home.

But other than that, sure, it's all good. 😬

 

I don't know what's worse - trying to choose curriculum or daily task planning!

I'm sorry track was cancelled!  We ended up being able to do track club over the summer, which was awesome.  I think my son started to feel human again.  But, now they have restrictions on groups of 100, so the track meet for tonight was cancelled.  I don't know what football is going to look like this fall...  😑

[importswim]

I just priced books for our homeschool end of the year sale and I've got a stash full of books to sell. EVERY time I picked up a new book I was tempted to put it back and not sell it because what if I need it because of covid and amazon stops selling and it books like gold because of the world shutting down...THIS book could get me a loaf of bread! Then I think badly of myself and this hmmm...but what if schools stop and I have a friend who may need it (because I feel bad about thinking only for myself apparently)....🙄😂

I normally don't justify with myself much about giving away or selling books but this has made it harder. Maybe I should talk to someone? Half laughing/making fun of myself and half wondering. Is that anxiety? I still put the books in the sale (even though I didn't want to....)

[Lawyer&Mom]

As soon as we finished distance Kindergarten with Dd6, I started homeschool kindergarten with Dd(almost)5.  (My goodness it is so much easier to homeschool K than doing it online!)  In terms of planning, I can’t and I didn’t.  (Working full time, struggling with anxiety).  I bit the bullet and bought the complete Memoria Press Kindergarten including all the extra read alouds.  Expensive?  Totally.  But being able to whip out new books each week has been a completely magical life changer.  If you can afford it, this might be the season to buy a box curriculum with books and not look back. 

[....]

Well, I bought a planner!!  That should help!  It's that A Simple Plan planner.  Lol.  I do need a simple plan.  😂

I think I have figured out what we're doing.  I am going to use the Five in a Row I already have with ds5.  I am most likely just going to buy all the books at the beginning of the semester.  I priced them out and it was a little over $100.  I have to buy Phonics Pathways (I loaned out my OPGTR to the neighbor) and math and that's it.  So, probably $150 for ds5 (which is more than I usually spend on a 5 year-old, but it'll be ok).

I'm going to try my box idea with dd12 and dd15.  So, every day, we are going to do Math, German/Latin, Grammar and Writing.  After that, they can dig into the boxes and read whatever they want.  

DD12 is going to have Sonlight core J in her box + that Applied Engineering curriculum from MB + an electricity experiment kit from HST + model rockets.  

DD15 is going to have Sonlight core 300 in her box + Apologia Biology + living science books.

I'm done with the SL Instructor Guides.  Every time I use SL, I only use the IG for about 6 weeks and then I just toss it aside.  I don't like any of their writing and their schedule moves way too fast.  I mostly follow TWTM for writing.  I now immediately cull about 1/3 of the SL books when we use a core.  Charlotte Mason would've lost her mind if she saw how fast kids read through those books in SL.  (And I agree!  lol)

Anyway, I FEEL better!!  😀

I hope everyone else's planning goes well!

Edited June 28, 2020 by Evanthe

[Arcadia]

On 6/26/2020 at 11:41 AM, Evanthe said:

 

I think people who rely on living books for their homeschool are probably having a hard time this year with limited library services (like us).

I have library cards for five different library systems. However, they are only open for curbside pickup. I do have to rely on “copyleft” copies on internet from time to time. We can afford to buy but we don’t have the space to keep. Can’t keep in low traffic area of my home because of silverfish problem. 

[Arcadia]

We are just doing the next thing so no planning required other than time management for DS14. We school year round with a break in Fall. It doesn’t look likely that we could do a short trip in Fall with the current COVID situation. So it’s more of planning how to keep kids going emotionally and mentally when everything is online. 

Tennis started back with recreational classes of 4 kids to one instructor. My kids aren’t in any competitive sports so we aren’t as affected by cancellations of matches/tournaments. 

[CAtoVA]

I'm having trouble due to our large state homeschool convention being cancelled. I usually purchase about 50% of the books we use at the humungous used curriculum sale there but no convention so no sale. I am relying on bookfinder.com to ferret out the best deals on used books and it is taking me three times as long to plan and purchase as it used to take. Our library has been open since the end of May for curbside pickup, holds and returns. Phase three starts tomorrow and I am not sure what that adds to the library yet. The kids are completely fed up with anything Zoom (so far just dance classes, piano, etc.) and are dreading if co-op classes end up going the Zoom route this fall. As of now, co-op will be in person but that is subject to change. Of course. Like everything else.

DS (10th grade) is ready to quit high school all together and in general all the kids are just "down" with parks and rec pools closed, no camps, etc. I will purchase a Y pass for swimming so there's that. < sigh>

[....]

8 hours ago, CAtoVA said:

The kids are completely fed up with anything Zoom (so far just dance classes, piano, etc.) and are dreading if co-op classes end up going the Zoom route this fall. As of now, co-op will be in person but that is subject to change. Of course. Like everything else.

DS (10th grade) is ready to quit high school all together and in general all the kids are just "down" with parks and rec pools closed, no camps, etc. I will purchase a Y pass for swimming so there's that. < sigh>

 

Yep, we are not fans of Zoom classes.  I was saying in another thread - I think we're just going to lay low this year.  We can do ballet and outside sports, but I'm not registering them for enrichment classes that will probably end up on Zoom.  This really isn't going to be an impressive year for my high schooler's college applications, that's for sure.  My teens work once a week at an equestrian therapy center and that place will never reopen after this.  It's been closed since February.  It's terrible.  

The best thing we did this year....we bought season passes to a water park.  All 5 of my kids (even our adult kid - lol) have been going once a week and are in love with that place!

[Arcadia]

9 hours ago, CAtoVA said:

DS (10th grade) is ready to quit high school all together and in general all the kids are just "down" with parks and rec pools closed, no camps, etc. I will purchase a Y pass for swimming so there's that. < sigh>

DS15 (11th this Fall) was ready to quit last summer. We change the goalpost to completing an associate degree while in high school and he became more enthusiastic. He went plants shopping at the nurseries with us every two to three weeks during sheltering in place order, twice to a local supermarket and that kept him from being more moody.
 

DS14 (10th this Fall) isn’t interested in quitting high school, he is more passive. He did totally forgot about one semester course so he is redoing that in summer as he only completed 20%. 
 

Our summer camps restarted about two weeks ago for day camps. The parks and recreation department have to change their usual camp schedule to three weeks long camps instead of week long so that the same kids stay in the same group longer. It’s their way of complying with minimum interactions between groups of participants. 

[scbusf]

Also having trouble planning over here. Honestly, though, it mostly has to do with the fact that for a few more weeks, I am teaching a full online college load. I was lured in by the paycheck, but I am barely keeping my head above water these days. Keeping the kids alive and fed and no one has burned the house down yet. LOL

But also, my kids are going into 9th, 7th, and 5th, and my brain is having trouble focusing on anything these days.

[Runningmom80]

yes. All three of mine were supposed to be in B&M school in the fall. My oldest has been homeschooled and was starting high school, so honestly it's easy to just keep going. We are homeschooling high school I guess, but he's being wishy washy about what he wants to study and I have plain old decision fatigue from constantly navigating this world.

 

My twins were in PS and going into 5th grade and im about 75% sure we are pulling them out and homeschooling, but that 25% of uncertainty is making me drag my feet about what we are doing. I have a lot of stuff left over from DS, so it's not a huge deal, but im usually not like this.

Oh and I am in a masters program and my college just announced that 50% of classes will be in person. I'm in OH and though we aren't sunbelt spiking, we are spiking nonetheless. (I'm also buy a large city so my county is one of the harder hit in the state.

My kids haven't played with anyone since this started and we don't really have any families that are taking precautions seriously so I think we are all sort of low level depressed. 

TLDR; I just okayed my DD making slime at the dining room table if that tells you anything about my state of mind.

[cintinative]

Last week I was at my brother's and I worked pretty consistently on my youngest's geography course. Now that we are back home, I feel like I have just moved about the house getting absolutely nothing of substance done. I am so unmotivated.

For fall we have two courses up in the air that are supposed to be at co-op: bio lab and Spanish.  Spanish I can most likely find a replacement for online but I feel a bit like I am running out of time. If I am teaching bio lab myself, I would prefer to begin ordering things and planning very soon.  Also I don't know what the co-op plans to do regarding COVID safety/cleaning/precautions and if they put out something that I can't have peace about, we will have to change plans.  One of the hardest things about this planning in a pandemic thing for me is that I have to hold everything so loosely--there are things I would like to see move forward, but week by week, it is so obvious that I am not the one in control of that.  It's unsettling at the very least. 

[Zoo Keeper]

17 hours ago, Plum said:

I just announced we are taking a break next week so I can plan. I hope to finish all of it for the year. First time homeschooling high school, I'm excited! 

I need to:

• finish all of the planning and format it
• make a planner for them to use
• finish all course descriptions & syllabi
• make my own transcript
• update my new high school blog
• order an embosser with my school logo - more for me than for them. 😊🧐

 

 

^ Color me impressed if you can do all that in one week (not being snarky, seriously, I'm impressed!).

I would need weeks to get all that done!  Too many people want a piece of me throughout the day to maintain momentum in big projects.  I just have to do 15 min. here, 15 min. there and hope for the best. 🙂

[sweetstitches]

YMMV but....

I have been homeschooling almost 18 years and I can tell you, the years I had everything planned out in detail we got significantly more work done (even if we still took off after some rabbit trails) than the years we “just did the next thing.”

But I will admit I am having a really hard time buckling down and planning for next year. I think everyone is just feeling the strain of being cooped up and feeling like all we do is school.

[Runningmom80]

8 minutes ago, sweetstitches said:

YMMV but....

I have been homeschooling almost 18 years and I can tell you, the years I had everything planned out in detail we got significantly more work done (even if we still took off after some rabbit trails) than the years we “just did the next thing.”

But I will admit I am having a really hard time buckling down and planning for next year. I think everyone is just feeling the strain of being cooped up and feeling like all we do is school.

 

This is motivating!

[scbusf]

4 hours ago, Patty Joanna said:

I don't homeschool anymore, but I did 90% of my planning sitting by the pool while the kid was in swim team practice or just messing around.  BUT I had one kid, not multiples...

And I was really good at planning.  It was the execution that killed me.  

SAME.

[Condessa]

Yes!!!

 I know I will have my two boys home with me.  If they are the only two and my little’s special ed preschool reopens for her twice a week, then I want to do lots of fun, messy projects and build in time for individualized rabbit trails, the way we homeschooled when I was just teaching my oldest two.  But that’s not going to work if I have a whole bunch at home.

My oldest two girls decided they wanted to try public school before all of this happened with quarantine shut downs.  If schools are open in the Fall, they will be going, but they are not doing public school distance learning or some kind of hybrid.  If they’re home, they’re homeschooling.  We are still waiting on news from the school district before I can plan for them.

My foster dd8 will be attending her same public school if it is open, but I have put in a request to homeschool her through my kids’ homeschool charter if they are doing distance learning.  We could do way better for her academically, combine some subjects with other kids to save me teaching time, and not have to deal with trying to do things on the school’s timetable.  This would apparently require permission from a judge, and who knows how open he/she would be, or how long permission might take to get.  But we can’t ask until the school gives a solid plan.

And, to top it off, my foster girls’ sisters (7 & 10) might come to us in August, right before the school year starts.  If so and their school is closed, I will make the same request as for dfd8, but there will be little time to try to get a request through.

 

 I normally spend all summer doing very light school and using my extra time to plan and prep everything, but I feel paralyzed.  I have some rough ideas for some curriculum choices at least for my four I’ve already been teaching, but that’s about it.  Part of me keeps trying to worry about questions of how I can manage if I have all eight at home, would foster dds be offended if I combined them in subjects with younger bio kids they are at a level with, etc.—But generally I’m trying to just leave all that alone until the school district tells us what is going on.  I hope it is soon.

[Meriwether]

On 7/2/2020 at 4:55 PM, sweetstitches said:

YMMV but....

I have been homeschooling almost 18 years and I can tell you, the years I had everything planned out in detail we got significantly more work done (even if we still took off after some rabbit trails) than the years we “just did the next thing.”

But I will admit I am having a really hard time buckling down and planning for next year. I think everyone is just feeling the strain of being cooped up and feeling like all we do is school.

Of you change 18 to 13, this describes my situation. I know I have to get it done to have a good year. I hope July is more productive than June.

[Another Lynn]

10 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Oh just lack of feeling like executing the plan, lol! Frankly I’d rather let them swim in our pool and sit poolside reading a book all day but I don’t think that’s an responsible option. And then I think of cooking and cleaning and I’m like how the heck am I supposed to get all of this done?! 😂 I feel like my Executive Functioning skills have been significantly reduced since March. 

Swim and read?  Just add a little math and I think it sounds great!  If you cook and clean on top of that, you’re my new hero. 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Finally made a forward step.  My little guy has been wanting a sticker chart, so I finally made him one.  😂  I figured his weekly checklist was the easiest to do, so I started with him.  One down, 3 to go...  

- Finished history planning and book orders for Modern history!  

- Finished middle school Philosophy, Geography, and Science cursuses (yes, that is an accepted plural of cursus...) and most book orders

- Rough sketch for literature, but still needs work

- Rough sketch for weekly rhythm, but still needs work.  Going to try a new direction, with Fridays being our literary days with heavy reading, poetry, research, and writing concentrated on that day, along with most book discussions from their reading lists.  Planning to use quick and deadly sentence-level writing work throughout the week.  

 

Lots of printing/photocopying left to do, plus more thoughts to think before launching my Literary Fridays.  

 

 

[Another Lynn]

8 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

We did math. Dd wrote a letter and I had ds read and do an oral report ala IEW. I’ve gotten a load of laundry done. I’m feeling successful. I should swim over to ITT because I’m not a slacker for once and would have something to post. 😂 

🏆🏆🎉🎉  This is awesome!  Except you might be a little deceived about what we actually do over on the ITT, lol.  Slacking is our speciality!  But we do hand out chocolate and trophies generously!  🤣

[EmilyGF]

On 7/6/2020 at 9:12 PM, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Oh just lack of feeling like executing the plan, lol! Frankly I’d rather let them swim in our pool and sit poolside reading a book all day but I don’t think that’s an responsible option. And then I think of cooking and cleaning and I’m like how the heck am I supposed to get all of this done?! 😂 I feel like my Executive Functioning skills have been significantly reduced since March. 

I'm two days back in, so hopefully things will go better here, but the beach and the pools are all closed. My answer to why we are starting back is, "Because we can't go to the pool or the lake." If I were you, with a pool, we wouldn't be doing school yet!

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

We usually do school every year during hottest part of the summer (after taking off all of May and some of June) so that when we finally have pleasant weather here during the fall we can be off........but  I think this year I just lost my mojo. 

We are hoping we can do a weekend vacation in-state in Lake Tahoe or Monterrey in Fall which is our typical vacation time.

DS14 is only doing US history and non-credit recreational German online for summer. That’s all he can deal with as he copes much better with in person classes. DS15 is happily doing dual enrollment Japanese (synchronous, online), recreational German (using Zoom with DS14) and pragmatically doing English literature with a online teacher one to one. 

ETA:

If my kids are your youngest two kids ages at this time, I would be spending everyday at the YMCAs and evenings playing Legos.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Arcadia

[hs03842]

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Edited December 9, 2020 by JoyKM