Step 5: Step by step
In this post, I am going to go through my planning for Katie’s school year, step by step. In my last post, I talked about “chunking,” which is how I decide where each child is in their learning journey. In our family, we do not do anything with rigidity. Everything is subject to change, and it DOES quite often. Life can throw some unexpected (to us!) curveballs. What I prefer to do, is make a routine, not a schedule. With a schedule, if I miss a day, I am “behind.” With a routine, if I miss a day, I can jump right back in where I left off. No guilt, no problem. NOTE: As you…
Part 4: “Chunking” and Curriculum Choosing
I learned a long time ago to “chunk” my kids’ school years. I take each child and break their school years into workable chunks, like this: Katie: (K – 3rd) (4th – 6th) (7th – 9th) (10th – 12th) Inside of these chunks, I have a list of skills that I want to see accomplished. For example: K – 3rd is focused on learning to read well, understanding math, exploring the world around them, learning to observe closely, etc. Each family will have different goals for these chunks of time. If you haven’t “mapped” our your children’s chunks, you might find it helpful to do so. So, I have a…
Step 3: Mapping Our Current Lives
To have a good plan, I have to take the time to get a good look at what our lives are right at the moment and what they are going to be over the school year. When I take a look at life in its current place I see: *I have a 7th grader (12) and 11th grader (16 -17) *I take a good look at my life and the family calendar and ask myself these questions: 1. How much time do I have personally to do one-on-one teaching: with each child and group? 2. What subject am I going to require independence? (This is based on strengths and weaknesses.)…
Step 2: Praying for each child
Step 2 starts with a review of our family goals. * That we grow in our own personal relationships with Jesus *That we hide His Word in our hearts *That we all grow in our maturity and relationships *That our children grow in the areas of information but through the Biblical Worldview based on what God says *That their faith be built through apologetics * That we all grow more disciplined in our attitudes and actions toward each other and others outside of the family * That we serve and pray for those less fortunate than we are I spend a considerable amount of time in prayer for each child on a daily basis,…
Step 1:Pre-planning
I decided to blog the process of school planning this year. I recently asked the group on my Jelly Bean Jar Publications Facebook page if anyone would be interested in seeing the rather unglamorous process I go through each year; the response was overwhelmingly positive! Before I start this, I want to make sure everyone reading these ramblings, understands that every family is different, and what works for me may or may not work for you! That’s the beauty of homeschooling – the ability to make it work for our individual, unique homes. Having said that, maybe following me through this process will make you feel more secure and confident in…