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A Home Business WorksHomeschool-Success.com |
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Organizing and Planning |
| I have tried or created lots of different planning methods over the years to help me record what the children are working on and learning. At least for me, I think that what works for one stage may need to be changed as you develop your own style of home educating that works best for your family. If you are using a pre-packaged curriculum you may already have lesson plans and a recordkeeping plan included. I have never used a pre-packaged curriculum because it would be too restricting for me and my children. I perfer a more interest-directed approach in which I taylor our activities to the different learning styles and needs of our children. So what are some options?
Lesson Planning Book If you write down what you plan on covering in pencil, you can make changes and then just check of what is completed as your record book. You can keep individual record books for each child or you can have one book that includes what all the children are doing. If your children are doing similar things each day or you have more than two children you may want to use forms on the computer and just copy and paste the details. The advantage is you are not writing down the same things repeatedly and it is quicker, however you can't erase and make changes as easily.
Record Keeping Software There are quite a few different programs designed specifically for home educators. Some software is free or has a free trial so you can see if it is something you like before you purchase. Some have a money-back guarantee, so you can get a refund if the program doesn't suit your needs.
Check off sheets If your children do a lot of the same activities you can have a check off sheet and simply check off the activities they have worked on that day. I have used check off sheets for the children to mark off themselves which includes chores as well as learning activities. Of course you have to train yourself and your children to regularly check them off each day. Unfortunately, that isn't our strong point so we end up checking off forgetting for two days and then have to remember what we did earlier in the week.
Journal or Log You can use a spiral notebook or computer to record what the children learned or the activities they participated in each day. If you are good at recording each day, this can give you great memories to reflect back on. However, if you want to know how your children are progressing in each subject you need to divide up your journal by subject or spend a lot of time reading through journal pages.
Free Downloadable Planning Sheets Here are some planning sheets you can use. They are in an MS Excel format. If you don't have MS Excel, you can download a free office software from www.openoffice.org This is similar to MS office but free! You can edit to suit your family, but you can not copy and sell or give to others. If these sheets are helpful, please direct other people to this website to access them for their own personal use. If you right click on the tab, child 1 or child 2, etc. you can change it to your child's name. You can also add more children by inserting a page and then just copying and pasting the table from one table to the new page. I print the last sheet, Additional Learning Activities, on the back of one of the other sheets. You can either have your children keep their week's sheet on a clip board, put it in their notebook, or whatever is convenient for you and your family. Lately we have been using the Learning and Responsibility Schedule, but I included the others in case they fit your needs better. click HERE to open the file
If you goal is to have your children take a more active part in planning their day, you may find these planning sheets helpful. They are in MSword format, so you can can add your children's names, change subject titles, or type in assignments. They are also good for parent planning. You can give your child a weekly assignment sheet and have him or her plan what to do each day. Small post-it note page flags can be used so your child can write assignments on the flag and is able to move it around to other days if something unexpected comes up or an assignment is unfinished. This is great for those visual, divergent thinking kids! click HERE to open the file I will be adding links to resources for planning and more of the planning and recording sheets I have created over the last 5 years that you can print and use. Check back soon!
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Works & Wendy Malowany (Mills) All rights reserved. |
