2013 Fall Planning :: An Overview

It's definitely that time of year--planning time!

Honestly, I've been planning since the end of May.  Nothing major, at first.  It started with me going back and re-reading the blog posts I shared at the beginning last school year.  I was also posting for other homeschooling families in my local group as we were doing a series of workshops about planning, scheduling, mapping, record keeping, etc.  Here are just three of the ones I read again today.  You can find them here, here, and here if you're interested. (smile)

Part of this initial planning time has included evaluation--a look at what worked well and what may need to be adjusted or thrown out!  I was talking to another homeschooling mom about this the other day and she was taken by surprise.  She didn't really expect me to be doing this.  From her experience/perspective evaluation is reserved for testing your kids.  I am not sure why this is the only use of the word nowadays--perhaps it has a lot to do with our test-centered learning models in public education. (tongue sticking way out of cheek!)  Anyway, I went on to explain that this is only one type of evaluation and that as homeschooling parents, and, well, parents in general, we use these skills and techniques on a daily basis: to figure out what meal to prepare, what time our children should go to bed, when the best time to do a particular activity, etc.  Sometimes it is a bit of trial and error, other times we 'dial a friend' or family member, still other times we go with our intuition or our prior knowledge based on our experiences.

Evaluation is just a natural part of learning and growing--whether you use that term or not (smile)!

This year we did a good number of unit studies.  At the beginning of the year, I wanted to do more lapbooks with the kids and use them as a way to chronicle our unit study information.  It was a whole lot of work--probably a bit more than I initially expected.  However, it was SO worth it!  Our pace did slow down a good bit.  We didn't cover nearly as much as I had thought or even planned for.  But one of the great things I enjoy so much about homeschooling is the flexibility.  We will continue to work on those topics that we didn't get do.

Another plug for lapbooking -- each of my children retained so much more than we did the previous year with simply reading and doing an activity or two.  The lapbooks can be taken out and used to "present" to the grandparents and other guests (my children love sharing what they've learned and how they've put it together).  Please also note that if you'd like your children to get the most out of lapbooking, wait until they're old enough to make them themselves.  I've seen plenty of 'parent made lapbooks' and although they are lovely and show well, I often wonder how much the children actually remember/retain.  Yes, it did take me awhile to get over the 'how will this look' thing--but it's their work.  They'll learn how to cut and fold from cutting and folding.  Just my 7 cents. (smile)

I have been blessed, yet again, by one of my teaching friends with plenty of the basic supplies and some teaching resources.  I actually don't need the resources--so will be sharing them with a few other families who are homeschooling in the area.  I have been looking through them though and gathering ideas.  Right now I'm liking all the ways to record books for comprehension purposes and way to incorporate book reports other than the 'standard' way we all remember from school.

I've also been up to my neck in history resources.  I will devote an entire post to this subject as I'm seeing how important it to our homeschooling journey.

Needless to say, my dining room has been turned into a mini office/classroom space with stacks all around the room of books and other resources.  I haven't yet taken out my calendars to start scheduling things but I am reading and putting myself in a creative space to find ideas to capture our learning in a few new ways this time around.

Later this week, I'm planning to have a little meeting with the children.  I'll ask them what they enjoyed about what we did last year and what things they'd like to do again.  I'll also listen to hear what new interests they have.  I regularly ask them to make lists of topics and activities they'd like to learn about/learn to do.  Each year I try to incorporate at least three things from each of their lists into our learning time.  As they grow and become more independent, my goal is to let those lists lead them in their own pursuits in learning (i.e. independent study).

The more time I give myself, the more thorough I can be in planning.  Yes, it does take a lot more in building my own curriculum but I feel like I have a better handle on what we're doing.  Perhaps this is more about the actual time I take to plan--identifying, locating, reading through, writing down/out, revisiting, revising, you get what I'm saying, right?!  I do feel better prepared and better able to make adjustments as they come up--for we all know they will.

So, how is your planning coming along?  What new things are you looking to incorporate into your homeschool this year?  Will you be building your own curriculum or using one already prepared?  I'd love to hear what's going on in your home.  If you blog, leave your link.  If not, add a comment.

For those who may be new to this whole homeschooling thing, or new to the idea that planning is an intrical part of homeschooling, I am starting a new series of posts that will be shared over the next several weeks about what things you should be doing now in preparation for starting.  Do check back soon.

Happy Home Learning!

Before You Throw out Your Curriculum....Read This!

It's that time of year.  Many of us are finishing things up and coming to an end of one level and looking forward to the new and what we'll be doing again in the fall.  This is the time where you'll find lots of blog posts about the 'new and improved' homeschooling curriculum and resources.  If you're really 'in the loop' on homeschooling things, you've probably already been receiving ads via email and mail from publishers about the new, colorful, better-than-before resources that you just 'have to have' to make it through your next school year.

I'm heading to a couple homeschool conferences and expos and know from past experiences that everything there is going to look beautiful and necessary!  Reps and consultants will be on hand to explain all the reasons why what they're offering is so much better than what someone else is offering and why I must have it in my homeschool this year.

Well, change can be good.  New things are, indeed, nice.  We all get excited about new books and such.  You may even find something that may be a better match for your family.  However, before you simply throw out everything you've already invested in, take a look at these tips to help you evaluate just what you need and what you may not.

Before throwing your curriculum out:

1. Look at your reasons for why you're considering getting rid of it.  Are your children complaining about it?  Are you having to 'fight' with them to get them to do the work?  Is this something specific to a subject/topic or does this show up across the board/every subject?  Are all your children experiencing it this way?

The answers to these questions can help guide you in figuring out whether this is simply a negative attitude, in general, towards the use of this resource or if there is something else causing the frustration.  Perhaps you're not using it as it was intended.  Perhaps you're being too rigid in your use of it.  Perhaps it simply doesn't match up with your family's philosophy and style of homeschooling (i.e. the curriculum requires heavy reliance on textbooks).

2.  Take some time (a week or two) to evaluate how it's been working for you and your children this year.  Is it too rigid for your family?  Does it require extensive prep on your part?  Does it match up well with your children's learning styles?  Are you having to suppliment more than what you would consider reasonable?

These questions are closely related to those in number 1 but go a bit further to uncover the practical uses of the curriculum.  Investing in a curriculum where you are still doing a lot of the researching and supplementing may not be the best thing for your family.  Are there parts of the curriculum that you aren't using?  Would using those additions make the difference in finding success with it? Sometimes we don't go with an entire curriculum thinking that we can make up the difference and find other things that will work just fine.  (I know I'm good for this one.)  But at the end of the day, are you investing too much of your time in search of these 'other items' that it's becoming too much?  Would purchasing those additional parts make using it more useful?

3. Can you re-purpose what you're already using to make it work without having to throw out the entire thing?  Perhaps you like how things are set up and could use the outline to add to it with other resources you already have on hand.  Perhaps what isn't working for one child will work for another, so keeping it around to try again may be beneficial.

As you can see, evaluation is necessary throughout your journey of homeschooling.  Being able to determine the purposes and uses of the curriculum you choose helps you to easily access it's continued usefulness and benefits.  You can keep yourself from getting rid of things that are still useful and at the same time let go of everything that isn't.

Try going through these questions this time around and see if you're able to make better choices for your family.  You may find that there is no need to throw out everything.  On the other hand, should you decide to go with something new, it won't be because you didn't take a thorough look at why you need something else.

How do you make decisions about changing curricula?  What questions have you asked yourself?  I'd love to hear from you.  Comment below!

Happy Homeschooling!