It's July! Time For Winning at Planning

I had every intention of beginning my planning long before this day, but as many of you can relate, life got in the way. If you've been with me for any length of time, you know that I am a planner. Flying by the seat of my pants is not the way I roll, so bare with me as I obsess about planning! After 30-something years (like how I skirted around an exact #), I have come to terms with my obsession. 

So, let the games begin! I have most of our curriculum picked out and purchased. As always, I am prepared to sideline anything that doesn't work and go on a hunt for a replacement.

Last year, I had a blog series called Winning at Planning. I have revamped the entire series to match up with my B.Y.O.B Build Your Own Binder Homeschool pages. I truly hope that this series continues to bless you and help you navigate your way through the early days of homeschool planning.

Back To Reality

It's Sunday, the last day of our holiday vacation. Tomorrow, it's back to work. While I love teaching my kids, I have truly enjoyed the break from our day-to-day schedule. Today I sit down to plan our next 6 weeks of school. I have a full pot of coffee ready to go. My wonderful husband is doing the grocery shopping for me, so that's off my list. And to top it off, it's a cold and rainy day here so there are no temptations to lure me out.

The planning marathon is about to begin. Are you planning today, too? If you are, I'd like to share some things I've created to help with my planning. All my planning items are free to download.

{Weekly Student Planner}

{Curriculum Planner}

{Homeschool Planning Pages- 14 pages}

12 Days of Teacher Freebies: Day 6 Organization Freebies

12 Days of Teacher Freebies

Winning at Planning: Step 4

This could also be called "research time", "going-insane-time", or "giving-your-printer-a-workout-time". The whole idea with steps 1-3 is to to hopefully make the arrival at step 4 a wee bit better. Finding the perfect curriculum is a goal of many homeschoolers. The truth is, it doesn't exist. What works for your friend's children could turn out to be a complete flop for yours. You can read 10 reviews that praise the curriculum you have on and you'll be ready to buy it. Then, just as you're about to hit the purchase button, you read 1 review that rips that curriculum to shreds. And there it is, the seed of doubt that will blossom into full hatred by Thanksgiving. 

I don't disagree with reading reviews. I habitually check Amazon for reviews before I purchase anything, even if I am buying something at a brick and mortar store. Just keep in mind this one little thing:

Curriculum is ONLY the map for your school year.
YOU are the PILOT.
You choose when to follow the map and when to go rogue.

But choose your map wisely. If you know that you are not a hands-on kind of teacher, don't choose a science curriculum that has you making something 3 times a week. I looked at one science curriculum that had a supply list longer than Santa's list! I can't imagine anyone not feeling like a failure with that set up.
On the other hand, if you have a child that is not content learning by merely reading, look for curricula that engage the learner and have lessons that are hands-on. The task of finding a good fit for teacher and student is daunting. 

I've created some planning pages to help you keep track of the information flood you are about to experience.

As you research various curricula, keep track of the information on the Curriculum Shopper.
Use 1 per subject, per child.

Once you've made a decision, record your choices the Curriculum Planner.

Use 1 per child.

If you can, print out the TABLE OF CONTENTS for each curriculum as you purchase it.
Many companies provide this as part of the preview and many times the lesson are divided evenly over the customary 36 weeks or 180 days. Now you can fill in the Scope and Sequence.

 A good starting point for actual lesson planning, is to create a Scope and Sequence.
It's basically a WHAT you teach, WHEN you teach it document.
Fill in the subjects along the top and then fill in the general lesson idea for each week.
Example: MATH- addition without regrouping, measurement (liquids)

All pages are available in my B.Y.O.B
Build Your Own Binder Homeschool Planner

Winning at Planning: Step 1

As you may have noticed, I am a planner. Not that I don't find spur of the moment activities to be fun, but for the most part, I like to have a plan. One thing I have learned from being a classroom teacher and now a homeschool teacher, I hate being unprepared.

My new goal for next year is to be ahead of the game, not one step, but several steps ahead. This idea inspired my new series I've created, Winning at Planning. If you are looking to get more organized, better prepared and just a happier person (yes, I'm promising happiness), then you will want to follow this series.

The foundation of your planning is deciding what subjects you will be teaching. Math, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Spelling, Science, History, Health, Bible, Latin, Spanish, French, Art, Music, etc.
This is the time to be very realistic. Be sure to include classes and activities that will be taught outside of your home. Piano lessons or Latin Club at the local homeschool co-op should be included on your list.

This step is just choosing what to teach, not choosing the curriculum that you will use for each subject. That's the next step. This step is choosing subjects and possibly even narrowing it down to a particular course. Instead of just math, you might write Algebra. Instead of history, you might write Ancient Civilizations.
I know this first step seems like a baby step but it is important. We are going to take this one baby step at a time so that we don't get overwhelmed or go broke trying to find the perfect fit.

If you're using my B.Y.O.B Planning Pages for Homeschoolers, you will want to fill in the subjects column of the Curriculum Plan page. Use one page for each of your children and it is ok if you need more than one page for each of your children.