Plans For School

This week wraps up our school “year”. I made it through the “crazy” first year, the “trying to get the groove” second year, and I hope to have a few things actually figured out before our third year begins. I have been quietly reflecting the past few days and have in mind some changes that I want to make.

Long-Term Planning

This year I have made lesson plans 1-2 weeks in advance. For next year, I am doing long term plans, with the use of file folders and lots of printing. This will take up most of my planning time in our weeks off.

45 weeks of folders to keep me organized and ready. I will share more about the folders in the next week or so as I fill them, as well as some other changes I am making for schoolwork.

Extended Learning

I want to do a better job of incorporating videos and living books to our core. I have been doing more of this near the close of our year, and it is working well. I look at our lessons, search online for videos and reserve all the books I find at the library. We don’t have many of the books we need at just one, and I am grateful for the library loan system we can reserve from. The long term planning should help with this a lot.

Record Keeping

I am really good with attendance, but I stink at keeping my running log of resources used, books read, and that sort of thing. Since I am doing so much paperwork ahead of time, that will give me extra time to do those things.

Daily Read-A-Louds

We all like to read, but I want to make a more concerted effort to read non-school books to the kids everyday.

Planned Art

Um, yeah. I stink at art. Ideas?

Relax!

If you know me, you know how foreign that concept is! I really would love to be more of an unschooler, but I am the product of public education, and I don’t know how. I have been reading all of the classical education books, is there any way to be a Christian, Eclectic, Classical Unschooler???

Seriously.

And is there a how-to book for that?

If a sweet unschooler wants to adopt me, and show me the ropes, I would love you forever!

Have Fun

I am so not fun. I think I am missing the fun+learning= lots of fun gene. My kids make do…

Keep With The Big Picture

It isn’t about how many pages of curriculum we use, or who is on what level in Math. It isn’t the path I ever wanted to choose, believe me, I fought it as long as I could! We homeschool because we firmly believe with religious conviction, that it is best for our family. We want to raise Biblically strong children. Children who are in the world, not of it.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

If nothing else on my list gets accomplished but this, I will be satisfied. What changes will you be making before