When I truly started homeschooling I was teaching my (step)daughters, but we were only allowed to homeschool for two years, so even though I did a lot and we experienced a lot, I'm not going to count that because we were having to please an outside party and had to do things a certain way. When I started homeschooling my son, we'll even include preschool, because it was pretty "aggressive" because of this massive push to get your child to read War And Peace when they're three. It's amazing what we as parents do to our poor children because of what society says a child "must" do. We got halfway through Kindergarten (which, ironically means garden of children...and Kindergarten is NOT like any garden I EVER want to go to) and I remember getting up from the table because my son didn't understand what it was I wanted him to do. He wasn't in tears, I was because I was making him feel that I wasn't proud of him. So we stopped with that book. That's when we started the Charlotte Mason approach. Now, as a teacher, I felt, since this is what public school teachers do, you MUST HAVE LESSON PLANS!!! I was miserable. I would do each day's schedule. Then it went to weekly. Then I wrote out what subjects we would do for each day and laminate it and as they worked they were to cross it off. NONE OF IT WORKED. When you decide to homeschool you need to understand something that's completely detrimental to whether or not you will sink or swim. YOU ARE NOT A PUBLIC SCHOOL. You are a family and therefore you will be totally different from public school. Even if you follow the public school, use their curriculum, etc. If you work outside the home, do you run your house the way your work environment is? Nope, because you are at home. This is not about being lazy, the fact that you don't have 30+ kids from different backgrounds, with different learning styles makes it different. So, go through the deschooling process. Education is not doing 45 math problems. That's a time filler. To demonstrate an understanding of an area is not proved by testing (my oldest graduated 9th in her class, and she didn't do so hot on her SAT)(they told her she couldn't possibly have her GPA with her SAT score!) it's proved by how comfortable you are with the topic. Can you tell someone how to, or can you give details about it? Spitting out dates in history is "useless" - I would rather a date be wrong but the child has a firm grasp on WHY something happened. Most kids cram to "learn" and promptly forget. So if we take longer to go over the Great Depression than we spend on multiplying fractions on a particular day, so what? My daughter is a total lepidopterist (butterflies and moths) and has decided to study more into it. She has learned more science with her desire to learn more about butterflies because she finds it appealing to her likes. So, am I going to insist that she only learn from a textbook, because textbooks are what schools "swear" by? No. I'm going to teach her how to find the resources she needs to learn more. This is education. Not filling out a worksheet. Not only do I no longer do the whole lesson plans thing (thankfully, my state is a VERY easy state to deal with) we are also changing how our family approaches school. This is a neat thing. Just like with everything else, your homeschool life can change right along with you. Remember, what once worked, might not work and you get to change it, you are not bound by anything. Grade levels? Seriously? Do we approach life by levels? Are all adults the same? Grading, also. Do you always cook dinner to perfection? Are your bedsheet corners always crisp? Is your vehicle always maintained at the manufacturer's specifications? Life is not lived as a public school, so why would we further the insanity? If your state requires it, by all means, follow that, but DON"T stress over things that of little importance. Will there be gaps? YES. There are in a public school, too. Will you cover everything? No. Neither did we in public school. You'll make mistakes, you'll have bad days. I don't know about you, but I surely had those in public school. Give yourself a break, be realistic. You aren't going to function as a public school...and why on earth would you want to? If a system is terribly flawed, why would we model after it?
You've definitely been through a journey with your homeschooling but I love what you said about trying to model a flawed system! That's such brilliant way to look at it!
Very great insights! Thank you for sharing so much! The most important things are get through it at their pace and keep it interesting. Follow the progressive methods and be very respectful and supportive.
AWESOME!!! I always feel sad for the kiddos that were taken out of a lousy school system only to be at home feeling more stressed and miserable than before. PEACE
YES 👏 On point! I also dropped lesson planning and everyday when school is done I write down everything we had done that day. 👍 It is more liberating this way ☺
One way I look at my students' growth is the 3Ps: Performance compared to grade level expectations, progress from beginning of the school year (competing with oneself), and process (growth in thought processes, study skills, attitude towards learning, etc.)
This is kinda how I’ve been doing it from the beginning. I thought maybe I was doing it wrong, but I was like “oh well! Who’s going to know?” 😂 But yes! It’s a lot less stress! I have never been good at sticking to a plan!
Having fun learning is learning that is remembered. I have 2 days a month or more where we go out and experience life - 'field trip days' ((camping, fishing, tennis, paddle boarding, mountain biking, museums, etc.)) even if it's just to the library, swimming pool, and errands to the store and bank....he's learning!! I always feel sad for the kiddos that were taken out of a lousy school system only to be at home feeling more stressed and miserable than before. PEACE
Yas 👏♥️ I’m new-ish to homeschool. It’s been disheartening at the beginning because I was feeling overwhelmed and lost honestly. I knew this is what I wanted but it wasn’t what I thought or dreamed of. But isn’t that the point somewhat of homeschooling? Doing what works for you and your family. I’m so glad I’m more “relaxed” now. If she’s doing kindergarten math but first grade writing but not reading as a first grader. Guess what it’s ok! She will get there. I’m not stressed. I know this is best for us and for her. Thank you for being honest and positive about this.
I'm so glad you've found freedom and peace in your homeschool! It took me awhile to get to that point but you're right, once you find it, it makes homeschooling so much more enjoyable and less stressful!
That's what I'm going to do I'm just waiting for the other 3 to go to school I'm starting with 3 the others I can't do anything about cause there not legally mine but either way I'm mom wish I could do more for the boys with time I will
Having fun learning is learning that is remembered. I have 2 days a month or more where we go out and experience life - 'field trip days' ((camping, fishing, museums, etc.)) even if its just to the library, swimming pool, and errands to the store and bank....he's learning!! I always feel sad for the kiddos that were taken out of a lousy school system only to be at home feeling more stressed and miserable than before. PEACE
We’ve been doing this also. Your channel has helped us so much with our homeschooling journey! The All About Reading curriculum has been great for my son and I took your advice and made a video on it to hopefully help other parents as well, because I know how much these videos help me. He’s finally progressing in reading when he wasn’t in the school system. I feel so much better about his future since starting homeschooling. Thank you to all your advice, it’s been a blessing!
Perfectly timed video to ease my lack of planning guilt! I use to plan out several weeks ahead and get so frustrated when interruptions threw it all out (although I did discover erasable pens!) Then I planned a week only, but still felt the pressure and annoyance when something didn't get done. I tried reverse planning but often forgot or was too tired to record by the end of the day. Now I run through a plan for the day while having my morning shower! Yesterday we followed so many rabbit trails and had such a rewarding morning. That would not have happened if I knew we had x, y, and z to do before lunch. However, I might try giving my 4th grader a notebook/planner/dairy to keep track of work done and develop some independence.
It sounds like your planning journey has been about the same as mine. Yes, have our kids write down what they did! It does give them some independence and responsibility!
Hi Becky, I've been homes9for 20 yrs and I agree with you. Most of us start out planning our weeks on the weekends and then change things after awhile. I did the same thing now I write down what they did everyday as we go through the day. Mostly because my last 2 girls try to confuse mom on what they did last and if I have it written down I can say no you did that yesterday. When the weather gets nicer out it is hard to keep my girls on a concentration schedule. So it takes a little more work. The more relaxed way has helped me a lot through the years. O have 7 kids and have graduated 4 already on my last 3. I don't know if I will know what to do when they all graduate because I've been doing homeschool for so long. I'm sure I will be lost. Lol.. My whole like has been teaching and helping others.
That’s how I plan our days too! As for subjects, we are doing Math, Spanish, typing, any Language Arts related subject and Science Mon-Thurs. We will do Story of the World, Geography and Bible study on Fridays. In planning for next year, I’m using the table of contents as a log and we’ll just write a date next to the lessons as they’re completed.
Thank you! I have not used a planner, but always wondered when I would watch videos on planning! I have found out plans made each morning change for me as the day develops!
Thanks so much for your channel! I love watching your homeschool videos! I am finishing up my first year of homeschooling my boys, it went really well. I kept a very loose lesson plan for the week it just kept me on track but I made sure that it didn’t stress me out, I hope everyone’s school years are finishing up great and homeschool on!
I'm an eclectic homeschool right now so I need to plan. What I do if we don't get to something is write in a little arrow in the box. That means we are moving that item to the next week or the next day. An x means we scratched it, and most likely will try something else instead when and if we have time. I plan in pencil. Check mark box that had an arrow means we did it. Sometimes an arrow or x does not get done, but I plan make up days into the yearly schedule. Over all it's basically the same as your saying though, if we need to slow down, we do. Planning only a week ahead helps, less to erase. For example, maybe we did not finnish something important,. Put an Arrow. We finish the next day, "check" unimportant activity gets cut, "x" then we do fun unimportant activity on pre planned make up day.
This is how I schooled last year. My only regret is not looking ahead weekly just to prep for materials. We did science experiments and because I didn’t look ahead we were missing items that I should have purchased ahead of time. But other than that I love this method it’s very freeing.
Yes!!!! I don’t lesson plan either. I used to “plan from behind” but that stopped after about two months. Lol I am definitely a do the next thing homeschooler.
This is really interesting! I do a combination of planning from behind and weekly homeschool planning. But, I think the key is to include margin in your days so that you are able to follow those rabbit trails. We do a mainly literature-based, Thomas Jefferson Education model of homeschooling, so we spend more time in books and exploring our interests and less time doing worksheets or "lessons" besides math. I do have an overarching idea of where I want to end up at the end of the year, and then plan on a weekly basis and with plenty of margin. Each Sunday afternoon I look at where we are within all the resources we are using and then write down what I reasonably expect us to accomplish in the coming week as well as any other activities we are doing outside the house (that would be none right now 🙈). For my kids, daily I will write out what I expect them to do on a list, and then they go through the list. I couldn't imagine trying to plan 6 or 7 hours of school in a day as a homeschooler. I might lose my mind :-) But, I do keep a lesson planner, an Erin Condren Teacher Planner, because it is pretty and makes me happy :-)
I usually have a general idea for the day but I do a log book instead of a planner. That way I am logging what they actually did instead of like you said feeling anxious about what isn’t getting done that I thought we should get done. It is so much less stressful doing it this way because I’m just recording what they did and happy with progress. 😊
I plan for learning, NOT for time - - THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I do homeschooling. Pub School steam rolls kids through. Our homeschooling is based on actual learning. We generally do 3 days a week for each class - similar to my college schedule. 3 days for math, 3 days for science, 3 days ela, 3 days for history-geography, 3 days for foreign language, and 3 days for p.e.-health. * Then there are 4 other classes that are rotated each week.
Also, middle and high can be differ at..you can do 4 day school weeks or not every subject 5 days and make one day light and then go out and experience life...banking,yard sales, Sams price comparison,job shadow, garden,farm etc
Awww, thanks for the thumbs up! :) I've been meaning to show how I make my to-do list each day but just haven't done it yet since it'll be hard to do without sharing too much personal information. I still hope to do it someday. :)
I tried to not lesson plan and just wrote down what was done at the end of the day. It was a mess, made me stressed which made the kiddos stressed. I felt like a failure. So I took a weekend to rework how and what I plan. Also donated a ton of stuff, I was surprised of how much extra stuff I had just to have or "We may need this one day". It really got away from me, lol. I'm much easier on myself these days though. Maybe one day I will try it again to not lesson plan. What has helped us a lot is having the kids be more interactive with their learning versus what us parents think they need.
Not lesson planning definitely doesn't work for everyone so don't feel pressured to plan one way or another. I agree that decluttering really helps to streamline and destress homeschooling!
I am doing more time block like if we do a subject we have a period time what ever gets done, get done if it doesn’t, it doesn’t till the next day.🤷♀️
I'm starting my daughter 8 grade at homeschool this fall. I had been wanting to for a long time but didn't think I could. When I saw how the whole at home public school went from the covid lockdown I saw she wasn't learning anything I thought wow I can do better than that. Plus being Christian I really want a more Biblical style of learning. After watching your videos I've decided to do Teaching Textbook for math. The Good and the Beautiful for English and History just not sure about science yet. Really want to add Bible study too. She's a dancer and has classes 15-20 hours a week(well she did before covid ) so homeschool will really help her to not be so tired all the time. She was always exhausted and never had time for homework. I'm guessing we can start at 10:00 am so she doesn't have to get up at the crack of dawn and do 4-5 hours a day. I guess we will figure that out as we go. How many hours a day did you do in 8th grade? I wanna make sure I do enough but don't want to push so hard she ends up hating it. Any good tips please leave them for me. Much appreciated!
We have a list of things to do in OneNote. More like a todo list. I have 36 weeks of work planned out. When she finishes one week, we move on to the next. Even if it takes her 3 weeks. We both like to see how much she did and how much is left. Also, I like knowing that she is getting all of her curriculum done in one year.
We do the exact same thing. I do look and see if I need anything for prep ahead of times. I get books and supplies I need so I’m not trying to dig it out while mine is working.
I don't lesson plan either. I did the first few years but no more. I just do the next thing. When we used Sonlight for the first few years, it came with an Instructors Guide and I just followed that.
One of the big reasons our family is going to home schooling is our kindergartner’s focus (or lack there of). Being forced to switch from digital school from traditional all day class he is such a happier guy and we can takes breaks and get all or sillies out or do more lessons on days when he is in a better mind set. I also have a 3yo and a 18mo. You can do it and learn together, you got this mama!❤️
Yes, it can definitely be a struggle! Do you have any kind of reward system for your homeschool? If they sit still, stay focused, get their works done, etc., they earn something?
Hi I'm the first like and comment I like your channel and I'm a new subscriber from Egypt I really need to know everything about homeschooling How can I choose the curriculum Where can I get it from How can I plan for the idea to homeschool a 5th grade and a 2nd grade kids What's my role as a mom How can I organize my very busy day as a working mom to homeschool my kids the best way in a quarantine especially Away from schools If you can recommend some sites or links for me to get worksheets and visuals or charts and that stuff I'll be so happy Thanks a lot Best wishes
I know it can be hard to figure out what to do when you first start homeschooling and it would be a lot for me to answer in one response. Have you checked out my homeschooling playlist? There are TONS of videos there that I think you'll find helpful!: ruclips.net/p/PL2ViP1vFsZemGJkdk-DLivrIvoVinPq2p
I love this! I’ve been trying to create a lesson plan because I felt like I *had* to but I think just listing what we do each day will work much better!
You definitely don't have to lesson plan unless you like to plan that way! Find what works for you and don't worry about what you "think" you should be doing. :) You've got this!
I have a 4th grade curriculum choices video here: ruclips.net/video/XaG1RcEx0E8/видео.html Some of these things have changed a bit but at least you can see what we did for 4th grade. I hope it helps!
I’m so glad I found u I felt like a failure for not planning and I kept trying to and trying to but I felt like that wasn’t working for me . I have my books I spend a hour before bed and put together WS and readings and I write it out in a note book and I try to let her lead us in what she wants to study about.
I dont do lesson planning and i have no planner. all of our books have lesson number on top of the page so we do one lesson a day for reading, language and math. we do Science and social study's every other week. and we do that a little different. but still no planning involved.
I’m a teacher and honestly lesson plans are not important. Just follow the books 📚. You plan as you go , just TRY and make sure you cover all the concepts for that grade level . Everyday is different! Sometimes I get through everything planned and sometimes you don’t. Throw lesson plans out the window
What do you suggest for someone starting out, we started homeschooling my son at the end of march when he turned six. Right now we are concentrating on reading before we go on to amything else, he knows his abc's and 123's and can sound out words but he hasn't yet gotten a grasp on reading yet.
@@martinez1701a get a textbook that’s at his grade level , start him off there . Also remember that everyone learns at a different level . BE EXTREMELY PATIENT, build confidence, pray and take it from there . Children are learning everywhere, take learning Beyond the classroom.
I’m considering homeschooling my daughter for kindergarten in the fall. Any recommendations? Any thoughts about the curriculum called Time 4 Learning? I’m stay at home mom and she’s my only child. She on the autism spectrum but is very high functioning and very bright. Already reading very well and understanding math very well, even doing basic multiplication and division already. Any advice? I love your channel.
I've never used Time 4 Learning but I do have lots of other curriculum choices videos in my homeschooling playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL2ViP1vFsZemGJkdk-DLivrIvoVinPq2p I don't think I did one for Kindergarten but you can't go wrong with All About Reading and Teaching Textbooks. Those are the two programs that have made the most difference in our homeschool and have been such a great help to me!
I save myself a lot of time by getting the Home Science Tools Lab Kits. They have every supply needed for each experiment/lesson and I just pull it out the morning-of. : )
When I truly started homeschooling I was teaching my (step)daughters, but we were only allowed to homeschool for two years, so even though I did a lot and we experienced a lot, I'm not going to count that because we were having to please an outside party and had to do things a certain way.
When I started homeschooling my son, we'll even include preschool, because it was pretty "aggressive" because of this massive push to get your child to read War And Peace when they're three. It's amazing what we as parents do to our poor children because of what society says a child "must" do. We got halfway through Kindergarten (which, ironically means garden of children...and Kindergarten is NOT like any garden I EVER want to go to) and I remember getting up from the table because my son didn't understand what it was I wanted him to do. He wasn't in tears, I was because I was making him feel that I wasn't proud of him. So we stopped with that book. That's when we started the Charlotte Mason approach.
Now, as a teacher, I felt, since this is what public school teachers do, you MUST HAVE LESSON PLANS!!! I was miserable. I would do each day's schedule. Then it went to weekly. Then I wrote out what subjects we would do for each day and laminate it and as they worked they were to cross it off. NONE OF IT WORKED.
When you decide to homeschool you need to understand something that's completely detrimental to whether or not you will sink or swim. YOU ARE NOT A PUBLIC SCHOOL. You are a family and therefore you will be totally different from public school. Even if you follow the public school, use their curriculum, etc. If you work outside the home, do you run your house the way your work environment is? Nope, because you are at home. This is not about being lazy, the fact that you don't have 30+ kids from different backgrounds, with different learning styles makes it different. So, go through the deschooling process. Education is not doing 45 math problems. That's a time filler. To demonstrate an understanding of an area is not proved by testing (my oldest graduated 9th in her class, and she didn't do so hot on her SAT)(they told her she couldn't possibly have her GPA with her SAT score!) it's proved by how comfortable you are with the topic. Can you tell someone how to, or can you give details about it? Spitting out dates in history is "useless" - I would rather a date be wrong but the child has a firm grasp on WHY something happened. Most kids cram to "learn" and promptly forget. So if we take longer to go over the Great Depression than we spend on multiplying fractions on a particular day, so what? My daughter is a total lepidopterist (butterflies and moths) and has decided to study more into it. She has learned more science with her desire to learn more about butterflies because she finds it appealing to her likes. So, am I going to insist that she only learn from a textbook, because textbooks are what schools "swear" by? No. I'm going to teach her how to find the resources she needs to learn more. This is education. Not filling out a worksheet.
Not only do I no longer do the whole lesson plans thing (thankfully, my state is a VERY easy state to deal with) we are also changing how our family approaches school. This is a neat thing. Just like with everything else, your homeschool life can change right along with you. Remember, what once worked, might not work and you get to change it, you are not bound by anything. Grade levels? Seriously? Do we approach life by levels? Are all adults the same? Grading, also. Do you always cook dinner to perfection? Are your bedsheet corners always crisp? Is your vehicle always maintained at the manufacturer's specifications? Life is not lived as a public school, so why would we further the insanity? If your state requires it, by all means, follow that, but DON"T stress over things that of little importance.
Will there be gaps? YES. There are in a public school, too. Will you cover everything? No. Neither did we in public school. You'll make mistakes, you'll have bad days. I don't know about you, but I surely had those in public school. Give yourself a break, be realistic. You aren't going to function as a public school...and why on earth would you want to? If a system is terribly flawed, why would we model after it?
You've definitely been through a journey with your homeschooling but I love what you said about trying to model a flawed system! That's such brilliant way to look at it!
@Kimmerrou Great insights and affirmation! Thank you!!
OMG!!! This was very well said, and much needed! Thank you for sharing, and encouraging. I truly needed this.
Very great insights! Thank you for sharing so much! The most important things are get through it at their pace and keep it interesting. Follow the progressive methods and be very respectful and supportive.
AWESOME!!! I always feel sad for the kiddos that were taken out of a lousy school system only to be at home feeling more stressed and miserable than before. PEACE
YES 👏 On point!
I also dropped lesson planning and everyday when school is done I write down everything we had done that day. 👍 It is more liberating this way ☺
Yes, it saves so much time and stress! I'm glad it's working for you, too!
@@aplacetonest ME TOO ❤☺ Thanks for sharing this video!
Great idea you’ll see how much you actually completed
One way I look at my students' growth is the 3Ps: Performance compared to grade level expectations, progress from beginning of the school year (competing with oneself), and process (growth in thought processes, study skills, attitude towards learning, etc.)
This is kinda how I’ve been doing it from the beginning. I thought maybe I was doing it wrong, but I was like “oh well! Who’s going to know?” 😂 But yes! It’s a lot less stress! I have never been good at sticking to a plan!
I am so glad to know I'm not alone in not planning lessons.
Having fun learning is learning that is remembered. I have 2 days a month or more where we go out and experience life - 'field trip days' ((camping, fishing, tennis, paddle boarding, mountain biking, museums, etc.)) even if it's just to the library, swimming pool, and errands to the store and bank....he's learning!! I always feel sad for the kiddos that were taken out of a lousy school system only to be at home feeling more stressed and miserable than before. PEACE
God bless you!!! So nice to see someone left that understands what's REALLY IMPORTANT!
Yas 👏♥️ I’m new-ish to homeschool. It’s been disheartening at the beginning because I was feeling overwhelmed and lost honestly. I knew this is what I wanted but it wasn’t what I thought or dreamed of. But isn’t that the point somewhat of homeschooling? Doing what works for you and your family. I’m so glad I’m more “relaxed” now. If she’s doing kindergarten math but first grade writing but not reading as a first grader. Guess what it’s ok! She will get there. I’m not stressed. I know this is best for us and for her. Thank you for being honest and positive about this.
I'm so glad you've found freedom and peace in your homeschool! It took me awhile to get to that point but you're right, once you find it, it makes homeschooling so much more enjoyable and less stressful!
I bought a planner from Dollar Tree, and as we do each assignment I write down what we did. I buy all of my curriculum, and all of it is open and go.
I love Dollar Tree planners! That's what I used to have my oldest do each day when she finished each lesson. It's a great way to "reverse" plan. :)
That's what I'm going to do I'm just waiting for the other 3 to go to school I'm starting with 3 the others I can't do anything about cause there not legally mine but either way I'm mom wish I could do more for the boys with time I will
Exactly
At what time of the day do you start Homeschooling?
Having fun learning is learning that is remembered. I have 2 days a month or more where we go out and experience life - 'field trip days' ((camping, fishing, museums, etc.)) even if its just to the library, swimming pool, and errands to the store and bank....he's learning!! I always feel sad for the kiddos that were taken out of a lousy school system only to be at home feeling more stressed and miserable than before. PEACE
I needed to hear this ☺️. Thanks Becky!
You are so welcome! I'm so glad it was helpful!
We’ve been doing this also. Your channel has helped us so much with our homeschooling journey! The All About Reading curriculum has been great for my son and I took your advice and made a video on it to hopefully help other parents as well, because I know how much these videos help me. He’s finally progressing in reading when he wasn’t in the school system. I feel so much better about his future since starting homeschooling. Thank you to all your advice, it’s been a blessing!
I'm so glad my channel has been helpful! All About Reading is sooo amazing, right?! I'm glad you and your son are loving it!
i needed this sooooooo much!!!! this makes perfect sence :) thanks for sharing🧡
I'm so glad!
Your kids will always remember the joy of exploring topics of interest while spending time with you. You are growing joyful learners.
I truly hope so! I'm having my youngest keep a "quarantine journal" so she can look back and remember this time.
Post of the thread! I’m a homeschool dad/product presenter. It’s an awesome journey.
Great great video Becky!! Thank you for giving all of us homeschool mommies permission to not be married to a clock or a homeschool plan🌻
You are so welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!
A Place to Nest I know you are busy but I would love to know what you suggest for a 4th grade grammar curriculum?
Perfectly timed video to ease my lack of planning guilt! I use to plan out several weeks ahead and get so frustrated when interruptions threw it all out (although I did discover erasable pens!) Then I planned a week only, but still felt the pressure and annoyance when something didn't get done. I tried reverse planning but often forgot or was too tired to record by the end of the day. Now I run through a plan for the day while having my morning shower! Yesterday we followed so many rabbit trails and had such a rewarding morning. That would not have happened if I knew we had x, y, and z to do before lunch. However, I might try giving my 4th grader a notebook/planner/dairy to keep track of work done and develop some independence.
It sounds like your planning journey has been about the same as mine. Yes, have our kids write down what they did! It does give them some independence and responsibility!
Hi Becky, I've been homes9for 20 yrs and I agree with you. Most of us start out planning our weeks on the weekends and then change things after awhile. I did the same thing now I write down what they did everyday as we go through the day. Mostly because my last 2 girls try to confuse mom on what they did last and if I have it written down I can say no you did that yesterday. When the weather gets nicer out it is hard to keep my girls on a concentration schedule. So it takes a little more work. The more relaxed way has helped me a lot through the years. O have 7 kids and have graduated 4 already on my last 3. I don't know if I will know what to do when they all graduate because I've been doing homeschool for so long. I'm sure I will be lost. Lol.. My whole like has been teaching and helping others.
That’s how I plan our days too! As for subjects, we are doing Math, Spanish, typing, any Language Arts related subject and Science Mon-Thurs. We will do Story of the World, Geography and Bible study on Fridays. In planning for next year, I’m using the table of contents as a log and we’ll just write a date next to the lessons as they’re completed.
Sounds like a good plan!
Great advice, you're so right. Thank you Becky!
I'm so glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!
YES! We are so there with you! It's nice to hear somebody else talk about this! Thanks!
You are so welcome! I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
Thank you! I have not used a planner, but always wondered when I would watch videos on planning! I have found out plans made each morning change for me as the day develops!
Planning ahead-of-time just doesn't work for me but I know it does for others. It's all about finding what works for you, right? :)
Thanks so much for your channel! I love watching your homeschool videos! I am finishing up my first year of homeschooling my boys, it went really well. I kept a very loose lesson plan for the week it just kept me on track but I made sure that it didn’t stress me out, I hope everyone’s school years are finishing up great and homeschool on!
I'm so glad your first year went so well! I think it really helps to not be too strict with planning! Thanks so much for watching!
I'm an eclectic homeschool right now so I need to plan. What I do if we don't get to something is write in a little arrow in the box. That means we are moving that item to the next week or the next day. An x means we scratched it, and most likely will try something else instead when and if we have time. I plan in pencil. Check mark box that had an arrow means we did it. Sometimes an arrow or x does not get done, but I plan make up days into the yearly schedule. Over all it's basically the same as your saying though, if we need to slow down, we do. Planning only a week ahead helps, less to erase. For example, maybe we did not finnish something important,. Put an Arrow. We finish the next day, "check" unimportant activity gets cut, "x" then we do fun unimportant activity on pre planned make up day.
It sounds like you have a great method that works for you! :)
This is how I schooled last year. My only regret is not looking ahead weekly just to prep for materials. We did science experiments and because I didn’t look ahead we were missing items that I should have purchased ahead of time. But other than that I love this method it’s very freeing.
My planner is used for record keeping. I may plan tomorrow out, but even that got getting crossed out today 😛
Thanks for the video and encouragement.
Yes!!!! I don’t lesson plan either. I used to “plan from behind” but that stopped after about two months. Lol I am definitely a do the next thing homeschooler.
Yes, that definitely works better for us, too! I'm glad you agree!
This is really interesting! I do a combination of planning from behind and weekly homeschool planning. But, I think the key is to include margin in your days so that you are able to follow those rabbit trails. We do a mainly literature-based, Thomas Jefferson Education model of homeschooling, so we spend more time in books and exploring our interests and less time doing worksheets or "lessons" besides math. I do have an overarching idea of where I want to end up at the end of the year, and then plan on a weekly basis and with plenty of margin. Each Sunday afternoon I look at where we are within all the resources we are using and then write down what I reasonably expect us to accomplish in the coming week as well as any other activities we are doing outside the house (that would be none right now 🙈). For my kids, daily I will write out what I expect them to do on a list, and then they go through the list. I couldn't imagine trying to plan 6 or 7 hours of school in a day as a homeschooler. I might lose my mind :-) But, I do keep a lesson planner, an Erin Condren Teacher Planner, because it is pretty and makes me happy :-)
Oh I know! There's no way to consistently plan that much work! Yay for pretty planners!
I usually have a general idea for the day but I do a log book instead of a planner. That way I am logging what they actually did instead of like you said feeling anxious about what isn’t getting done that I thought we should get done. It is so much less stressful doing it this way because I’m just recording what they did and happy with progress. 😊
Yes, it's such a stress-free way to get work done!
I plan for learning, NOT for time - - THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I do homeschooling. Pub School steam rolls kids through. Our homeschooling is based on actual learning. We generally do 3 days a week for each class - similar to my college schedule. 3 days for math, 3 days for science, 3 days ela, 3 days for history-geography, 3 days for foreign language, and 3 days for p.e.-health. * Then there are 4 other classes that are rotated each week.
Also, middle and high can be differ at..you can do 4 day school weeks or not every subject 5 days and make one day light and then go out and experience life...banking,yard sales, Sams price comparison,job shadow, garden,farm etc
Thumbs up before you even speak 🙌😊
As a newbie I greatly appreciate this!
Can you please do a video on how you plan in general? (Not homeschool)
Awww, thanks for the thumbs up! :) I've been meaning to show how I make my to-do list each day but just haven't done it yet since it'll be hard to do without sharing too much personal information. I still hope to do it someday. :)
Thank you, I'm definitely more laid back and this gives me hope that it's possible with homeschooling.
You got this!
I tried to not lesson plan and just wrote down what was done at the end of the day. It was a mess, made me stressed which made the kiddos stressed. I felt like a failure. So I took a weekend to rework how and what I plan. Also donated a ton of stuff, I was surprised of how much extra stuff I had just to have or "We may need this one day". It really got away from me, lol. I'm much easier on myself these days though. Maybe one day I will try it again to not lesson plan. What has helped us a lot is having the kids be more interactive with their learning versus what us parents think they need.
Not lesson planning definitely doesn't work for everyone so don't feel pressured to plan one way or another. I agree that decluttering really helps to streamline and destress homeschooling!
I would love to know what’s been working for you since you made this comment!
Thanks so much for this video, I totally agree with you!
You are so welcome!
We just do the next lesson too. I made a curriculum tracker and we just highlight what we complete each day out of each subject.
I'm glad you found a method that works for you! :)
I am doing more time block like if we do a subject we have a period time what ever gets done, get done if it doesn’t, it doesn’t till the next day.🤷♀️
I'm starting my daughter 8 grade at homeschool this fall. I had been wanting to for a long time but didn't think I could. When I saw how the whole at home public school went from the covid lockdown I saw she wasn't learning anything I thought wow I can do better than that. Plus being Christian I really want a more Biblical style of learning. After watching your videos I've decided to do Teaching Textbook for math. The Good and the Beautiful for English and History just not sure about science yet. Really want to add Bible study too.
She's a dancer and has classes 15-20 hours a week(well she did before covid ) so homeschool will really help her to not be so tired all the time. She was always exhausted and never had time for homework.
I'm guessing we can start at 10:00 am so she doesn't have to get up at the crack of dawn and do 4-5 hours a day. I guess we will figure that out as we go. How many hours a day did you do in 8th grade? I wanna make sure I do enough but don't want to push so hard she ends up hating it. Any good tips please leave them for me. Much appreciated!
We have a list of things to do in OneNote. More like a todo list. I have 36 weeks of work planned out. When she finishes one week, we move on to the next. Even if it takes her 3 weeks. We both like to see how much she did and how much is left. Also, I like knowing that she is getting all of her curriculum done in one year.
I'm glad you found a method of planning that works for you! That's what it's all about, right? :)
I enjoyed this video Very much. Thank You!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
We do the exact same thing. I do look and see if I need anything for prep ahead of times. I get books and supplies I need so I’m not trying to dig it out while mine is working.
I'm glad this way of "planning" is working for you, too!
Such great tips! 👏🏽
I'm so glad you liked them! :) Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing this!
My pleasure!
I don't lesson plan either. I did the first few years but no more. I just do the next thing. When we used Sonlight for the first few years, it came with an Instructors Guide and I just followed that.
Yes, instructor guides definitely help!
What about record keeping for high school, such as what will go on a transcript, reading logs, volunteer hours, etc.
This is what I use: ruclips.net/video/-bckN5crPMc/видео.html
I need all of the guidance. It’s been so hard to keep my daughter focus she’s a kindergartner and my four year old
One of the big reasons our family is going to home schooling is our kindergartner’s focus (or lack there of). Being forced to switch from digital school from traditional all day class he is such a happier guy and we can takes breaks and get all or sillies out or do more lessons on days when he is in a better mind set. I also have a 3yo and a 18mo. You can do it and learn together, you got this mama!❤️
Yes, it can definitely be a struggle! Do you have any kind of reward system for your homeschool? If they sit still, stay focused, get their works done, etc., they earn something?
Hi
I'm the first like and comment
I like your channel and I'm a new subscriber from Egypt
I really need to know everything about homeschooling
How can I choose the curriculum
Where can I get it from
How can I plan for the idea to homeschool a 5th grade and a 2nd grade kids
What's my role as a mom
How can I organize my very busy day as a working mom to homeschool my kids the best way in a quarantine especially
Away from schools
If you can recommend some sites or links for me to get worksheets and visuals or charts and that stuff
I'll be so happy
Thanks a lot
Best wishes
If you look at all of her past videos she has many with links to books and visuals that she has used 👍
I know it can be hard to figure out what to do when you first start homeschooling and it would be a lot for me to answer in one response. Have you checked out my homeschooling playlist? There are TONS of videos there that I think you'll find helpful!: ruclips.net/p/PL2ViP1vFsZemGJkdk-DLivrIvoVinPq2p
I love this! I’ve been trying to create a lesson plan because I felt like I *had* to but I think just listing what we do each day will work much better!
You definitely don't have to lesson plan unless you like to plan that way! Find what works for you and don't worry about what you "think" you should be doing. :) You've got this!
Very lovely. Can you plz tell me which lessons you used for grade 4
I have a 4th grade curriculum choices video here: ruclips.net/video/XaG1RcEx0E8/видео.html Some of these things have changed a bit but at least you can see what we did for 4th grade. I hope it helps!
Basically same exact thing I do with my 5th and 10th grader.
It saves so much time to do it that way!
It does- open and go..... and everyone knows how it works!
I’m so glad I found u I felt like a failure for not planning and I kept trying to and trying to but I felt like that wasn’t working for me . I have my books I spend a hour before bed and put together WS and readings and I write it out in a note book and I try to let her lead us in what she wants to study about.
I dont do lesson planning and i have no planner. all of our books have lesson number on top of the page so we do one lesson a day for reading, language and math. we do Science and social study's every other week. and we do that a little different. but still no planning involved.
That's pretty much what I do and it works for us, too! : )
I’m a teacher and honestly lesson plans are not important. Just follow the books 📚. You plan as you go , just TRY and make sure you cover all the concepts for that grade level . Everyday is different! Sometimes I get through everything planned and sometimes you don’t. Throw lesson plans out the window
What do you suggest for someone starting out, we started homeschooling my son at the end of march when he turned six. Right now we are concentrating on reading before we go on to amything else, he knows his abc's and 123's and can sound out words but he hasn't yet gotten a grasp on reading yet.
@@martinez1701a get a textbook that’s at his grade level , start him off there . Also remember that everyone learns at a different level . BE EXTREMELY PATIENT, build confidence, pray and take it from there . Children are learning everywhere, take learning Beyond the classroom.
I’m considering homeschooling my daughter for kindergarten in the fall. Any recommendations? Any thoughts about the curriculum called Time 4 Learning? I’m stay at home mom and she’s my only child. She on the autism spectrum but is very high functioning and very bright. Already reading very well and understanding math very well, even doing basic multiplication and division already. Any advice? I love your channel.
I've never used Time 4 Learning but I do have lots of other curriculum choices videos in my homeschooling playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL2ViP1vFsZemGJkdk-DLivrIvoVinPq2p I don't think I did one for Kindergarten but you can't go wrong with All About Reading and Teaching Textbooks. Those are the two programs that have made the most difference in our homeschool and have been such a great help to me!
Angie P I recommend All About Reading, it’s been amazing for us! It’s a game changer!
How do you prep for lessons that require planning like science that may require supplies gathered before hand?
I save myself a lot of time by getting the Home Science Tools Lab Kits. They have every supply needed for each experiment/lesson and I just pull it out the morning-of. : )
GEMS
What state are you in?
We're in Kentucky.