Continuing My Homeschool Planning

So to begin with I planned and scheduled the days that we were actually going to “do school” and scheduled in our week long breaks and unit studies.  I posted that schedule here.

 

My next step was to schedule daily what pages we would do in each subject.  After searching for too long, I finally decided on Donna Young’s spreadsheet that you can find here.  Donna Young’s products are free for personal use on her website, or you can purchase a CD.  The Excel Weekly Planner is a 6 week planner which works perfect for me because I’ve divided our year into 6 week segments.  I saved the original download as a template.  Then whenever I start to schedule another six weeks, I save as the dates and child I am scheduling.  I hope that makes sense.  At first the planner was a little confusing, but if you actually read the instructions and follow them, it’s not so bad!  Below is a copy of the first week for one of the older two girls.  So far I’ve planned and printed to October 15, 2010.  On October 25, we will be adding another few subject headings as we will begin our Tapestry of Grace journey.  I will be moving on to this planning after I get more of the preschool program planned and created.

 

I’ve always found that my younger children want to do school too, so this year I am diving into the workbox idea.  I found Confessions of a Homeschooler and her Letter of the Week curriculum and I love love love it.  All the sheets are free on her website, or you can purchase them all together and well organized!  I purchased the file!  At this point in my life I need easy, organized, all in one place.  There has been very little that I’ve had to do to supplement her material.  I just have to look for books at the library and I’ve already started lists on my library system page to order them through interlibrary loan closer to the date.

 

I have spent a good part of my “free” time planning and printing and cutting and assembling for this system.  I can’t wait.  And I know M and W are going to love it.  I am really hoping they can be mostly self-directed with this system.  Whenever the children are around when I’m working on these projects I get tonnes of questions and begging to have the activities NOW.  I’m making them wait.  Because I am laminating a number of the sheets I am really hoping to avoid reprinting and redoing all this work for the future children (R and the new baby).  Now I just need to find a system of storing all this stuff!

 

So for the first six weeks of school, the preschoolers will be learning about the vowels – A, E, I, O, U – and the letter B.  The printing and planning is time consuming, but the more I do, the quicker the process is becoming.  By the time I get to Z I will be a pro!  My midwife has always told me to have a project to keep me busy in the last few weeks of a pregnancy.  The project needs to not be physically demanding but something that does not have to be finished should baby come early.  In other pregnancies I have worked on a blanket (crocheting).  I have no desire to crochet that heavy blanket in the summer heat.  I am so thankful for this project.  I really do need to get at least the first 6 weeks planned, but after that I think I’m good.  Worst comes to worst, we’ll review the first six weeks during the second six weeks so that I can get the next 6 letters planned and organized.

 

Striving to learn and live God's purposes,