The Heart of the Matter weekly Meme
I thought I would do a “Top 5” list of tips with the reason we choose to use them.
Number 5: Have occasional “Review Days.” This tip actually presented itself yesterday. This week has been an absolute nightmare for homeschooling, so little got done. I seriously felt like our week was a total wash – - and in the midst of my own personal pity party, I had this moment of inspiration: Let’s Do Review. At the very least, it will keep her mind fresh and maybe having some review time will make this week not feel so wasted. We were in the car for a total of 4 hours on Friday – - the last two hours were spent reviewing what we learned in the previous three weeks. (We also had a brief break – - for an unplanned field trip). I was absolutely astounded at how much she retained!!!
Number 4: Take those moments for unplanned Field Trips and/or use seemingly wasted errands as Field Trips. Yet another tip that presented itself this week. On Monday (1/14), I had two appointments on my calendar (Tuesday and Friday). By Tuesday morning at 8:00am, the number of appointments increased to 6 – - 5 of which were on Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, the appointment count was up, by two, again (one on Wednesday and one on Thursday). We used MANY of those appointments as “Field Trips.” Also, after Friday’s appointment, we were pleasantly surprised when we made an unplanned ‘Field Trip’ at a “Food Store and Factory.” Boo spent nearly an hour watching the production in the factory, through the viewing window.
Number 3: Take some time to make a basic plan. When I homeschooled my oldest, we did a LOT of ‘winging it,’ as I did not have (or take) the time to put together a basic plan/curriculum. When we finally decided to pull Boo from school, I had a couple months to prepare. At this point, I had some concrete experience as a home educator, several cyber-friends who introduced many wonderful resources and I had long term plans/ideas. Since we are on a fairly strict budget, I wanted the biggest bang for my buck – - which I found with Ambleside Online. I am currently using ‘Year 1’ as a rough guide – - see My 20-week Schedule. I printed a copy of the schedule – - and highlight the items as they are completed. I use the 20-week schedule as a foundation for my daily assignments – - which is tip Number 2.
Number 2: My specific plans are done day-by-day. I use the 20-week schedule as a GUIDE when I decide what to do each day. Because my schedule is constantly changing, making specific plans farther out than a day would be insanity on my part. Not only would it make me crazy, I would also start to feel very overwhelmed by all of the things I need to ‘fix.’ It also allows me to work things in that are not specifically on the 20-week schedule. For example: The days when we read “Just So Stories,” instead of using the specified science for the day, we did more in-depth studies on the spotlighted animal. Also, since Boo was invited to spend the week with my sister, we decided to speed up the “Alice in Wonderland” reading schedule so that she would not have to wait until she got back to finish up the book.
Number 1: Homeschool Tracker (the FREE version). I used HSTracker with my oldest daughter and absolutely loved it!! I learned that for us, the best way for me to plan is day-by-day. Each evening, I look at the 20-week schedule and decide what we need to accomplish for that particular week. I also take into account any appointments or errands that are scheduled for the day (and rest of the week). Then, I make a mental checklist of the items I would like to study and gather books and other materials for them. Once I have a workable plan, mentally, I input the plan into HSTracker. I review again prior to printing it out. Finally, I take all the materials and the printed assignment list and put them on the dining room table, where Boo can review them in the morning when she wakes up.
