Today we'll talk about my old-fashioned homeschool planning, for which I used a binder. This system really helped me get a handle on my curriculum, which I was always putting together myself (as opposed to the obvious sanity-saving measure of just buying a pre-packaged one, no thank you, not for me, I am not attached to my sanity!).
We've been having a nice organizing chat here, taking advantage of that January burst of energy, ahead of the February doldrums. (I have a suggestion for fighting off those February blues as well.*)
So far:
- If your method of keeping a list of tasks works, go with it. If you need a new thought, how about To-Do's using sticky notes? Key learning: Make a long list of to-do's — but only ever focus on 3 to 5 of them at a time, because, well, that's all you can really do day in and day out.
- Make notebooks of your own. This could be mildly helpful to your organizing mojo or it could create a giant mess, but it's fun and cute and finds a use for those sweet greeting cards you can't part with.
- Other ways and means, including the 5-year journal.
- Deirdre dishes on her journal habit and her particular planner.
And what about homeschooling? I promised you I would show you what I did.
I went through years of homeschooling without ever really recording much at all.
Between using mostly old or free materials and my celebrated lack of commitment when it comes to complicated systems of record-keeping, the method I finally developed could be termed old-fashioned — or bare bones — or simply grossly inadequate.
But you asked!
I will say that psychologically/temperamentally, if you have a tendency to meander around, open dozens of tabs in the course of searching for curriculum ideas, and generally suffer from too many ideas, not too few — it might help to have things written down on paper.
Here in Massachusetts, we don't have to do a lot of record-keeping in the home school. That fact is somewhat enabling to a lazy person like me. We did the work, but I didn't record it very well. So this is what I developed (eventually), because actually, even for me — a person who homeschooled almost solely for the purpose of avoiding record-keeping and anything that threatens to be paperwork — having a paper trail is a good thing.
It's good to be able to prove to yourself and to anyone who has the right to inquire that you are actually doing something in what feels like a jumbled up, blurry succession of days and weeks and months when the pregnancies, nights-long nursing sessions, toddler-wranglings, chauffeurings, and everyday family-life scenarios erase your memory.
Did we read? Did we do grammar? Fractions? French? Did anyone ever write a paper??
Bonus secret: If you keep a good record of what you did with child #1 in fifth grade, you will have most of the work already done for you when it comes to child #2! Not to mention child #7 who is coming along when you are lacking in, ahem, energy.
I know.
Duh, Auntie Leila.
For those of us who can't help making up our own curricula, putting the work in writing, up front, is gold. I'm just telling you to save you from my fate. Let's not re-invent those particular wheels!
How I did it, all disclaimers taken as read:
The binder is basically the “To-Do” list of your home school. Since by the time I figured this system out I was down to my last three kids, I put them all in one binder.
This binder is the outline for the year: one per year. It starts out rather slim, with sections. As the year goes on, the assignment sheet (one per child per week) gets filed after the fact.
In it, you collect your goals, book lists, any random materials that you foresee printing out and using (or come upon in the course of the year) such as black-line maps, extra math practice — anything that you want handy; and pockets for storing productions of the kids that need filing elsewhere, eventually. You can record grades, if you give them (and in high school, you might have to, depending on what colleges are in the offing. I know, it's dumb.)
All the forms I use I found on the Donna Young site (or made from her inspiration). Again, I am now two years out of the homeschooling business and I made all my decisions before there were a ton of options — not like now. And I have no doubt that there are one bazillion options out there. Still, I will say that poking around on her site is very helpful! If nothing else, she gives you the idea of how to make your own forms. (I particularly like her history timeline forms and thoughts — because to me, a binder for the timeline is also the way to go.)
A binder is flexible. By now you know I like flexible.
In the binder, on the inside cover, put a copy of the school district's calendar. Trust me. Many things in town go by this calendar, and it's good to know when their vacations are so you don't choose that week to go to the Science Museum or what have you. As you make your quarter plans (below), this calendar will be helpful to figure out when the weeks in the quarter actually are. It helps you build in breaks — important if you live in a neighborhood with public school children who will turn up at your door with sleds (I hope they will!!).
I start with a sort of book list of some kind — which, guess what, ends up being the curriculum. It's by no means every book you will read in the year! Nor is it every thing you will do. But it's the skeleton. (In Massachusetts, this is fine as a statement of the curriculum. Pop a cover letter on that bad boy, stating who's being homeschooled, send it to the superintendent of schools in the district, and that's it.)
Now you will start to see that I went from the universal to the particular. After countless hours of intensive study and research, complete with grandiose fantasies of the ultimate, classical, Charlotte Mason–driven, and utterly charming year ahead, I would decide on what to do and read. Then I would work out the books I wanted to use. (This is not an easy thing to describe — where to get the books. I have a whole category of posts to direct you, and still don't get the job done. You're welcome.)
The Course of Study.
Then I would write out a “course of study.”
The Goal
Although at first I scoffed, I realized that I needed to be humble and write down my goals for each subject:
The goal of “logic and rhetoric” is “to think clearly.” Also, and not in a parallel fashion, “Essays.” But you get the idea.
Again, I think that Donna Young was a genius to encourage us to put this page in our planner. Sometime in February we are going to be wondering why the heck we are reading this random essay. And most importantly, when it comes time to teach the next 10th or 11th grader, we will not want to have to go through all the effort again!
For a sixth grader the goal of the year might be “to write a good sentence.” Usually by the middle of the year, homeschooling parents are in the grips of two opposing wishes: to give up on schooling entirely, and to teach that sixth grader to write like Hemingway. It's good to open your binder to the “goals” page and read: “Goal: To Write a Good Sentence.” It comes in handy when all your friends are discussing the latest magic curriculum that gets your sixth grader to write like Hemingway.
For two years I homeschooled a friend of Bridget's along with her. That responsibility didn't quite shake me out of all my natural aversion to planning and recording, but it did make me a bit more official in writing down my goals:
The actual book list was a separate page, but it was there.
The Quarter Planning Page
Because I was always putting together a curriculum (no matter how hard I tried to use a pre-packaged one), I needed Donna Young's “quarter planner” so that I had an overview of the weeks.
You can see that you need to make use of some abbreviations — thus, it's really helpful to make a key of those abbreviations in your book list or at the bottom of the quarter plan. You know, for another year or another week when you have no idea what GWW could possibly ever, ever mean.
Pro-tip: If you want to teach a certain book, such as George Washington's World, you don't need someone's packaged curriculum for that. You need the ability to divide up the book amongst the weeks! Looking at it, and considering your 5th grader's ability to read and pay attention, you might decide that it will take you five weeks to read and study. (Perhaps it has five chapters, for instance — can't remember, but that would be the idea.) This was by far the most difficult thing for me to wrap my mind around in my whole homeschooling career: You then plan it for five weeks. There are other books you want to read and study. Just line them up, divide them up, and record what you want to do in your quarterly planner. The good news is that math books are always keyed to a basic 180-day schedule, so you don't have to worry much about dividing them up.
The Weekly Plan
Once you have your quarters mapped out (and there will be three quarters, not four — not in our homeschool, where summer is OFF!!), you can pretty easily come up with a weekly lesson plan. You are just consulting your quarter planner and fleshing out the week's assignments, complete with activities that are scheduled in.
Although it is not pictured here, I recommend adding music and art along with their practices and lessons.
Eventually I figured out that if I printed out a week's worth of work and posted it on the fridge, the child could see what was expected (rather than come to me every hour or so to ask what to do, or worse, just disappear), juggle his own assignments, check them off, and actually learn to manage his own time. And we'd still be on track to achieve our goals.
When a week's work is done, file it in the binder on top of the quarterly form. At the end of the year you should have three quarter pages, in reverse order, separated by their respective weekly plans, also in reverse order. That is, when you open the binder, the May weekly plans should be on top.
As time went by, I did start doing these weekly plans out on the computer and printing them out. And now I see that Donna Young has a way to sync your plans on your Google calendar. So I'm sure all of this can be put online.
The binder helps you go from the general to the particular. It helps you keep a record. It keeps you from being at the mercy of your sudden bright ideas about the one true way to achieve enlightenment. And it's flexible, because you can open it up and insert a page when you need to!
Making your own curriculum isn't easy. But a homeschool planning binder really helps.
____________________________
*In addition to the bright ideas in that post, after reading this one, you can see how energizing it would be to be able to look at your goals and lists in your binder. “Oh, right, I already thought this through last August… “
Anel says
A wonderful dream. Thanks Leila
I’m still only dreaming, trying to obtain the virtue of longanimity.
🙂
Leila says
Anel, hang in there!
Mrs. B. says
Dear Leila, what did you do whenever the weekly plan and real life disagreed? Would you simply adjust the next weekly plan, putting in it what had not been checked off the week before?
My current problem is that the fight between real life and the plan is the rule, not the exception… mostly in the form of a bewildering toddler, a mix of clingy-ness (oh no, Mamma went to the bathroom! I better have a major meltdown!) and rambunctiousness never seen in the older siblings. This is by far our toughest year yet – thank you for your ideas: trying to organize things better and make the children feel more responsible might really help us.
Leila says
Mrs. B, it’s of the utmost importance that you arrange the schedule to take into account all the possible interferences. Leave wiggle room. Schedule in “catch-up weeks” and recognize those weeks when you ought to put in schoolwork for four days, not five, or mornings only.
When you see that the work hasn’t been completed this week, you’ve built in a way to get it done next week.
I have various strategies for when school just seems not ever to get done. One would be to find an effective bribe to get the school-age children to be motivated to tackle things very early each day (a favorite TV show of 1/2 an hour later in the day comes to mind — get old ones from the library or Netflix… or being allowed to take down a board game that involves a lot of pieces at the dining room table… you get the idea).
Toddlers get into the habit of ruling the roost, although they actually don’t like it. Sometimes you have to go through the “Hebrews moment” — Hebrews 12:11: No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but in the end yields the peaceable fruit of justice! A week of early bedtimes and more alert discipline will be a week of unpleasantness — but it will pay off. It’s okay to give that toddler the idea that he must start being part of the “pack”!
Combining discipline with a purposeful schedule of activity (getting outside no matter what, lots of running around in the basement if possible, wrestling with the brothers) will get you through a bad patch with a disruptive toddler.
Always have an idea of what the “minimum” is that must be achieved — the math and the reading, and be ready to ditch the rest. It’s okay. You can always read out loud during nap time! Don’t worry — this is how homeschooling is in a big family! You are doing fine.
Mrs. B. says
With all the lovely dreams about “utterly charming” learning, as you joke, it’s frustrating to stick to the minimum, even if just for a short season of homeschool life. But even this humility is good… Truly I always find that homeschooling teaches the mother just as much as it teaches the kids – different lessons perhaps, but how badly needed!
My youngest is like a little wild squirrel, keeping his Guardian Angel busy, until he suddenly remembers he needs Mamma, Right Now! When I look at him I always think of Chesterton’s description of young children as suffering from an “excess of life”…
Ah, yes, the catch-up weeks… We always end up using them!
Rachel says
Oh, how I wish Donna Young’s site was still free!!!!
Leila says
Rachel, I’m going to say that $25 a year is well worth it. You can read the site and get a lot of info. If the forms are going to make life easier, consider that a good planner would be at least $25.
That said, I think that if you are good at Word, you can make a lot of the forms yourself once you have the idea. It’s all about what your time is worth and whether it would take you a long time.
logan says
Ok, can I ask some questions not related to the binder (which is old school and analog and awesome)? I have kinda the non binder, pile of horizontal papers, organization “system” that I shuffle through every day to figure out what we’re doing. I could see a binder really shaping things.
I see B’more Cat. on there. Now I was excited to come across one and pick it up because I thought I would love it, but I dunno, it’s kinda, so, punctilious? Moralizing? I can’t tell if I’m just so culturally brainwashed that I can’t appreciate the kitchy road to heaven and hell illustrations. I’d love to hear an apology of it sometime though because sometimes you (me in this case) miss things.
Now I’m not exactly opposed to moralizing, just the manner, but I don’t know that I see the B’more cathechism as a living book. I’d rather get moralized by say, this: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Woodcuts-Albrecht-D%C3%BCrer-History/dp/0486210979
Durer’s woodcuts are incredible and probably shaped my entire childhood sense of right and wrong.
I forget what my other question was!
Alison says
My kids LOVE the kitschy pictures! When they are young, the BC#1 the pictures are sweet, or like the pictures of hell, help the child to understand a concept. As my children have gotten older & used BC#2 the have enjoyed the pictures even more, because the are so uncool. We all still talk about the picture of a child being tempted to go into the movie theater where on the marquee the title is literally, “Bad Movie”. This is quite a joke in our home, but has helped on so manny occasions to illustrate sins against purity & peer pressure.
Even if the pictures are “cheesy”, they illustrate real struggles (I’m thinking especially of the Ten Commandments section because that’s what we are focusing on right now).
The BC gives you precise language to understand weighty theological concepts, now and later on. The BC’s build on each other and offer an early introduction into logic and arguments/ rhetoric . That said, we break it up with more literary options like St. Patrick’s Summer, for fun sometimes.
One last thing, the BC is efficient! It is truly “open & go”, which is a God send for mothers of few brain cells & many children. Also, if my day is crazy, I can use book 1 or 2 with all my kids, if that is all the time I have for Catechism.
All that said, there is no “right” way to do this. If you find a resource you like better (& it’s faithful to Church teaching) have at it!
Leila says
Haha, Logan, if you remember your other question, let me know 🙂
The Baltimore Catechism, I suggest, is an outline for YOU. It follows the time-tested catechism format of CREED-SACRAMENTS-PRAYER and explains things very well (for the most part, and it’s important that as the parents we are always informing ourselves with other, more in-depth sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and all its sources). In particular, I think the way they handle the 10 Commandments is quite excellent in its understanding of how the child’s mind works. I do add to the modesty section that boys must dress respectfully (eg not walk around in underwear t-shirts) and I omit one sentence that seems overly harsh to girls who dress immodestly without taking responsibility for how boys show respect. Most of the time I’m paraphrasing…
It is very good for the children to memorize the formulas, and that’s where it is most helpful. Not even all — just the main ones. Many a soul has been saved by knowing the answer to “Why did God make me?” by heart.
It has all the prayers handy. It does a good job of connecting the OT Law with the Great Commandment of Jesus.
I would not hand it over to the child. I would (and do, in the CCD class I teach) use it as my resource and outline, reading the Scriptures with the children, following the points as I ask them questions, and using the Q&A to quiz them.
Thus, the pictures are not really an issue one way or another.
As an outline, it’s obviously by no means the only resource you would use. Great art, Bible stories and later reading the Bible, making a timeline… so many ways to teach the faith!
Jana says
There is also this wonderful Baltimore Catechism published by TAN without the illustrations. Also, the Catechism of the Council of Trent is a joy to teach from – clear, concise, well-ordered, and written by an actual Saint, not a committee of saints!
Leila says
Ooooh, good to know about the TAN BC. Thank you, Jana…
And a hearty laugh to “written by an actual Saint, not a committee of saints”! Generous, I’m sure 🙂
logan says
Thanks!
Cami says
Auntie, I’m wondering about 2 things: 1) where in the home you did school (and stored your supplies so they didn’t take over any space) and 2) what was your approach in teaching religion? I never had religion class growing up as I was public schooled. And my catechism classes were pretty poor. I learned what it really meant to be Catholic as an adult. Husband had no spiritual leadership in his home either. But as adults we are passionate Catholics and really want a strong foundation for our children (all 3 still under the age of 4), so I’d appreciate any comments on how to get the good stuff into them!
Leila says
Cami, we schooled at the kitchen table and on the sofa. My kids would disperse to the dining room table and basically wherever. We didn’t have a separate school room — I always found that I was in the kitchen anyway, or needed to sit in the den anyway…
I stored the kids’ books on shelves in the pantry — there was a little part of that little room set aside for their things and in their reach. We also made use of little rolling carts that tucked under the counter in there (this was in my old house, not my present house) that I’m not seeing at the moment. At first I thought this was a mistake. Did we not need a room? Should each child not have a desk and shelves and all sorts of places for the materials? But later I realized that it’s good to keep things simple and to use the same books over and over — old, good ones.
I live in a big old house that has some cool closets. One is in the den and can store all the various craft items and the homeschool books that are not in the rotation at the moment. But over the years, I pared down that supply of books, realizing that I did not need the latest zowie curriculum… I just needed the tried-and-true.
As to teaching the faith to our children, I was a big flop at that — having a similar background to yours and just. not. getting. it — until I realized that you must LIVE the liturgy — the liturgy is the teacher of the faith — LIVE your home life — which also, connected to the liturgy, teaches the faith, as the home is the place where the family is what God means it to be: community of life and love. That, plus the resource (see the comment above) of the Baltimore Catechism and of course Scripture, will be what you need.
I wrote, with David Clayton, the book The Little Oratory, which I believe answers your question! I wrote it to be the book I wish I had had. Living the liturgy at Church and at home, along with a very few other resources, will be what we need!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Little-Oratory-Beginners-Praying/dp/1622821769/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Cami says
Thank you! Thank you! Gotta get your book. And any future ones on the way! Please adopt me. 🙂
Jen says
Ditto. And what to do in kindergarten and first grade for regular school? I am thinking of giving up on homeschooling as we will be moving this summer and having a baby in sept. God willing and hubby at a new job…oldest kid is kindergarten then a 4 yo and 2 yo
Leila says
But this is the best age — they will just go along with you, doing whatever you do! The 1st grader can do a page of phonics and a page of math… and then read and skip and help you unpack. The Kindergartner will do whatever the 1st grader is doing!
Do check out my other links on education. Since the move is your moment to make your home and create the environment you want, the children will be delighted to do that alongside you. Your binder will be very simple indeed.
Annalisa says
Jen, we didn’t move but we did have a baby in September to put us at 2nd grader, Kindergartener, 2.5 year old, and newborn. You can do it, maybe especially because, as Auntie Leila says, 1st grade and kindergarten really need not (ought not) be that involved. Could you begin the year at a reasonable time and take a break of however long you need when the baby comes?
Jen says
I will be moving during the summer and my husband teaches and coaches football so august and all fall is insane. Maybe I need to not stress out that he is not a grade ahead in everything as our local classical catholic school is. We read and work on printing. Math is very sketchy.
Annalisa says
By all means, do not stress!
Leila says
And Jen, I just take it for granted that you will take time off for the baby’s arrival. It’s actually a magical time of resting and the children proving to you that they can figure out their own activities in a well ordered home — they enjoy being able to play games, read what they want, and run around with Dad (who hopefully has a little time off). Little by little, you get back into the swing of things!
Woman of the House says
I did something very similar to you when I was homeschooling. I used forms from Donna Young and put them in a binder, thinking “backwards”: starting with the goal~ what I wanted my girls to learn~ and working backwards into specifics from there. We just kept plugging away, especially on the days when I felt foggy (February, ahem). “Do the next thing” was my mantra. Plan the work, work the plan. Just stick to it and resist second-guessing. I always, always made my plans in the summer because I knew I couldn’t wing it, and I knew I needed the clear-headed, fresh perspective I got only in the summer. It was low-tech but simple, and if I were still homeschooling today, I would use the same plan.
Leila says
Ah, Woman of the House — “do the next thing.” Exactly!
Those of us who like to overthink find it a revelation to… rely on the thinking we already did!!
Woman of the House says
Yes! That’s why I always planned over the summer, and then mid-year I could remind myself that I had already thought things through and should just stick to the plan (unless something was proving to be an utter disaster, which did happen from time to time). I could trust the thinking I already did, as you put it. So helpful when in the trenches!
Dixie says
Seeing this makes a huge difference — it makes me think I could actually homeschool! Thanks!
Betsy says
So timely! I love that you start with the goal in mind and break it down from there. Wonderful! Your style is very like mine, but I’ve struggled with the breakdown/organization bit. I already have them using binders, so this is the next step. Thank you!
Annalisa says
My question pertains to the sub-topic of the daily process of getting the next thing done once it’s been planned. What I would really like to know is when I can expect them to follow a schedule for any period of time on their own. Posting the weeks plan and allowing them to move through it on their own, under their own steam. This sounds like a lovely dream. My older two are only in second grade and kindergarten, the oldest just becoming comfortable with reading some simple things on her own, let alone things that are as rich as her mind is ready to engage. But even when working on the things she is academically capable of accomplishing on her own she must be (almost always) prodded through each step. She’s a ponderer and I’m a doer so I find myself trying to motivate her with techniques that would help me, but apparently not her. Or do I primarily need to give her more time to grow up?
Leila says
Annalisa, we build up to the responsibility gradually. For a second grader, it’s not difficult to know what the day’s work will be. Personally, I love the MCPlaid math series for its clarity of scope and sequence, and also for the ease of saying to the second grader: Do a page of your math workbook. Ditto their phonics book — a page in the workbook. (Elsewhere in my teaching the child to read series I specify which edition of workbook to get.)
The child knows where the math manipulatives are kept. He has his little shelf of books to read — chosen perhaps from the Ambleside book list. He also knows where the books are kept in the house — he can always go get one of those — a nice picture book to read to his sibling, his favorite chapter book…
Yes, for these young children, Mom will be there directing them in the few actual assignments they have.
It seems better in general to have “math time” and “phonics time” rather than a task that seems to go on forever. Keep it all short and sweet. The ponderers in particular are better off with fewer tasks when they are so young. Better to arrange things so that this sort of child is begging you for more responsible sorts of assignments than for you to be in the position of dragging him along.
Most of what you do in terms of school will be reading to them, encouraging them to make “books” and draw, starting musical instruments, singing some hymns or folk songs, and other “life with kids” activities that aren’t amenable to a weekly chart with things to be checked off. Mostly I hope they just play!
By fourth or fifth grade you will see a big difference in how the self-motivated weekly chart can be accomplished.
Annalisa says
Thank you Leila. Two things you say here strike me. First, that ponderers need fewer tasks when so young. This is a good reminder. I wonder if you would you say more about arranging this so that she is begging for more responsible sorts of assignments. Just do less? Second, I am pleased to say that your description of “most of what you do” is indeed most of what we do in a day. And really it’s quite an enjoyable time even while it requires me to be very involved in all the kids’ school.
Leila says
Annalisa, reverse psychology works so well with children — it was invented for them 🙂
When you put something interesting juuuusssst out of reach and wonder aloud “when you will be older maybe you can take a look at this” — oooohhh….
When there is an attractive notebook and pencil but uh uh, no touching that just yet…
When you are interested in something and talk about it with your friends but don’t actually talk about it with her…
In fact, this is how I started homeschooling. I talked about it with my friends but not with the children, and they told the librarian one day (they did run to the library by themselves — they were maybe 8 and 6) “we are homeschooling this year!”
Well, just to keep face…
Annalisa says
Ah, okay. I’ll have to give this some thought.
Amy says
Hi Leila, thank you so much for sharing. It appears that you taught Euclid. After reviewing some articles on Ambleside I’m a little intimidated to say the least. Do you have any suggestions on how to teach Euclid that you would be willing to share? Thanks again!
Leila says
Amy, Euclid is terminally intimidating. The assignments you see there were to be taught by Deirdre, who had taken Euclid in classes in the school she went to the previous years. So it was a case of the older student leading the younger, and I don’t know that it went very far!
Later I turned to Jacob’s Geometry, which is the closest you will find to a “canned” Euclid course that I know of.
I tried to convince a reader I met in real life to produce a Euclid course (maybe with videos?) for homeschoolers, but gosh, he has a life…
I thought Khan Academy was going to venture into it, but it seems like it’s not…
I dunno. This is a problem, because I would say that Euclid is the most important subject for a high schooler to learn!
Readers, do something!!
Amy says
Thank you, for the response.
Mrs. B. says
I’m years from even thinking about this, but is this of any help? http://afterthoughtsblog.net/2012/11/teaching-euclid-in-homeschool-part-i-by.html (Part 2: http://afterthoughtsblog.net/2012/11/teaching-euclid-in-homeschool-part-ii.html)
Amy says
Thank you, this looks promising.
Sarah says
I have no experience with this free downloadable textbook, but intend to look into it:
http://starrhorse.com/euclid/
Leila says
Thanks, Mrs. B — I will have to delve into those materials at some point — I hope they are helpful to someone out there.
I find that with Euclid it’s like a language. If you’ve been taught from the books, you can teach it. Otherwise you need some sort of really comprehensive “canned” program. I can teach French to a child although I’m not really fluent (I can read and listen pretty well). But Spanish, no (don’t know Spanish, even though I can figure things out from my other knowledge).
I took Euclidean geometry in school and loved it. But it wasn’t from the Elements, it was from a textbook (which isn’t as preferred a method by the Euclid lovers but I got a ton out of it — my teacher was fantastic). Picking up the Elements was something that didn’t work for me as far as teaching it — perhaps because I also had dinner to make and all the other things to do.
We’ll chalk it up to that 🙂
Mrs. B. says
This discussion reminds me of your post on oxbow lakes… well, it wasn’t about the lakes obviously, but I think more on the necessity to recognize that we won’t be able to pass down everything we’d like. We should remind ourselves often that schooling is just a beginning: then they can take their education in their hands, and really, it takes a lifetime. Our job is to put them on the right track by forming their minds properly and caring for their souls as best as we can.
Leila says
Yes, Mrs. B. — unfortunately (for me and my falling short of my goals), Euclid isn’t a bit of info — it IS the way to teach and pattern the mind to be able to take in all those uncountable bits of information and make sense of them.
A nice little explanation can be found here, at the page of a school run by friends of LMLD in Ohio: http://thelyceum.org/faq.html
I know you know this, dear Mrs. B, and are just trying to console me. I did my best and my children did learn to think one way or another!
Mrs. B. says
Oh I didn’t mean to downplay Euclid, and I’m all for a classical education. You are done with your part and can have some regrets, perhaps – I am still immersed into it, and need to remind myself that there will be holes, sometimes bigger than oxbow lakes 🙂 You yourself see that the holes in your children’s education haven’t hurt them too much, so there’s hope!
I wonder what I would do if I could send the children to a school like The Lyceum, or the Memoria Press school in KY. They sound so wonderful, and I know that academically they would do a MUCH better job of teaching than Poor Little Me – and yet I can’t bear to send my kids away for so much of the day…
Kimberlee says
Wonderful post! So akin to the way I have done things as well – Donna Young forms, the kitchen table and couch, and books books books. I’m schooling my last few children now and it’s delightful to just pull out those old tried-and-true courses of study filled out years ago for the older ones. Sure you can do it with a fancy ‘school room’ and color-coded printed checklists and all sorts of hoopla if you like, but it’s certainly not necessary. And bless you for making that clear to the next generation of homeschool mamas. As Dixie said above, ‘Seeing this makes a huge difference — it makes me think I could actually homeschool!’ Hurrah for Auntie Leila!
PS I love the line ‘I am not attached to my sanity.’ Practicing detachment is always good, right!? 😉
Lisa @ 6andahalfhearts says
Oh this is good helpful stuff! Since we started homeschooling our 4 last year I’ve been trying and trying to find a system of organizing the curriculum and schedules that works for us. I just stumbled across Homeschool Minder http://www.homeschoolminder.com which is an online way of scheduling/recording keeping and so far I love it. I think this is going to work for us because my two older sons can log in themselves and see what needs to be done and then check it complete when it is. However, it only takes care of the actual curriculum part, I still would like to put down on paper my goals and a vision for each year, so I’m going to start a binder. Thanks!
Polly says
Oh, thank you so much for this fascinating peek into your homeschooling brain/binders. I am always interested in how other homeschooling parents organize their school-y lives.
I seem to plan excessively at the start of the year (I’m also a DIY-curriculum girl) and then just after Christmas I swap and change and beat winter blues by doing a little gentle upheaval. (And by the way, seeing George Washington’s World on the 5th grade list–sigh! I love Genevieve Foster! I LOVE that book!) That’s what I’m doing now–my gentle upheaval.
My own approach has been to create a private blog for my eyes only where I keep a little journal/log of what we do. That way when the panic sets in around February and I start to wonder what, exactly, my child has been doing all this time, I can look at this comprehensive, easily-updated retroactive journal-list and stand amazed at what we’ve done. It’s a balm for the soul….retroactive list-making.
The planning and charts I keep on paper, in binders. And I’ve recently started using Evernote to help plan some of the topics that don’t just involve sticking our noses in books–it has been so useful!
Somehow Donna Young intimidates me, especially now that there’s a fee. (I happily used her calendar pages, with half a blank page, for my son when he was around first-ish grade–so he learned ‘calendars’ that way and decorated them in the cutest manner!)…. I’m perfectly useless in Word, though, so the fee could be worth it for someone like me.
January is the best time to publish a post like this–because the doldrums are settling in and it’s fun to think of new ways of doing things!
Leila says
Polly, I agree that the DY site is old-school (like me LOL) and a bit intimidating. I do recommend just poking around.
I’m definitely not saying it’s the be-all and end-all. It vastly helped me but I have no doubt there are others out there.
Stephanie says
Dear Auntie Leila,
Thank you for sharing this tutorial, your experience, and your thoughts!
It looks, in the binders, as though you have many reference to Scripture, including Psalms. May I ask whether you worked (deliberately or through natural exercises/processes) on Scripture memorization? I seem to find that my Protestant friends’ families tend to work on it more actively/specifically, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, and any recommendations that you might have for methods for Scripture study and, in this case, memorization. (For adults included! I, like some others have expressed here, also grew up without formal religious education, and the question of Scripture memory is one I’ve been pondering more recently in my own “spiritual journey,” to use a phrase that feels New-Agey to me, and yet entirely accurate at the same time!)
Thank you! 🙂
Stephanie says
…many *references, not reference – sorry for the typo! 🙂
Leila says
Stephanie, I really wanted my children to at least hear some certain Scripture verses. Now that this old convert has gotten more edumacation in the mysteries of the Liturgy, I would say that a better way to do this would be to follow the Liturgy itself and use the Antiphons and Psalms of the day as a guide.
Now I realize that we often intend to read the Psalms (and learn them by heart, at least a few of them) and we set out to do it in our usual way that I call (after Michael Oakeshott) “rationalistic.” We think we know everything at first glance and we start at the beginning and march along until we lose interest.
If we thought to see it, we would realize that knowing the Psalms according to God’s plan is to read them along with the Divine Office. THAT is the order He has in mind…
Anyway, at that point I just wrote the verses on the blackboard that I wanted to be sure to have them learn. But then of course I forgot to do it.
So I’m a big failure in that regard!
Stephanie says
Thank you, Auntie Leila!
I suppose that what I am seeking, too, is edumacation ( 😉 ) in the mysteries of the Liturgy… and in God’s Word in general! I appreciate your guidance and your reflections on these matters! Somehow I find it particularly reassuring from a fellow convert … does that make sense? To see what you have learned and built and accomplished, and to see the way that you still seek and grow… it gives me a lot of hope and encouragement. Not sure I’m wording this quite as well as I could, though I’m quite sure I’m not the only reader who feels encouraged in that way! 🙂 Thanks again for sharing your wisdom and ways with us! 🙂
Leila says
Thank you, Stephanie. It does make sense and I appreciate your taking the time to put it into words!
As the children get older, there are systematic ways to study Scripture, of course — and to learn it and memorize it as well. We can talk about those at some point. I do have some recommendations in The Little Oratory in the Resources section.
When they are young, you can be sure to have writing practice using Scripture verses you would like them to remember and ponder. In my Writing posts I mention that technique — very effective, I think!
Anel says
Auntie, as a not-yet-homeschooler, two questions: 1. Did you implicitly trust your kids that they actually did read the books/go through the program? Did you actually test them to check, or what did you do? Testing would seem overwhelming to me.. 2. Did you and your husband plan the curriculum together, or were you solely responsible for it? What if he had some other opinions? How did you navigate that? Thanks very much.
Leila says
Anel, it’s not a matter of trust the way you mean, because of course the assignment is there on the chart and they check it off, but they are doing it under your nose. And part of the assignment is going to be “discuss it with me” or “write thus and such about it” and then… you know. You see the history timeline, you enjoy the nature journal, you read their papers (when they are older), you correct their grammar lessons.
If it’s math, then yes, there’s a test.
At the end of the year, you know if they know. You KNOW ALL 🙂
My husband totally entrusted this to me, more’s the pity.
Speaking of “implicit trust”… wow. Maybe he should have inquired as to whether all the work was getting done!! LOL!
Anel says
Haha. Thanks, Leila! Amazing. That sounds great.
Elizabeth says
Dear Auntie Leila,
Very helpful, thanks so much! But what I wish more than anything is that you could come over, share a pot of tea, and help me sort through the MOUNDS of curriculum I still have from my mother (despite having gotten rid immediately of everything that I knew would not work for me), and pare it down to what is truly useful, good, and will actually be used! I wish you did consulting! 🙂
Anel says
Hi, Leila
Not sure if you still answer questions on this one..
I have noticed that Ambleside Online also uses 3 terms – I suppose taking summer off – but they use 12 weeks per term… that *only* leaves the summer holiday + give or take 3 or 4 weeks during the rest of the year.. Am I right if I deduce that you took off summer, but used a 9 week term instead?
12 weeks seem like a lot! Although school in South Africa runs from January – December with 4 terms and 3 weeks and 6 weeks vacation respectively over June and Dec/Jan [1 week in both March and Sept as well]. we have quarters of 8 or 9 weeks each. Or did you still space your 9 week term/quarter plan into 12 weeks. Thanks [this sounds confusing.. Argh]
Leila says
Yes, Anel, 9-week terms. When you have the calendar in front of you it makes sense. It’s more stressful to think about it than to do it!
Mary says
Thank you for such a wonderful post. I am old school too and use binders and forms like yours. It is simple and efficient and gets the job done. I second Elizabeth’s request to help us pare down curriculum choices or just maybe share some of the tried and true resources you used and like.
Leila says
Thanks, Mary! If you follow the links in the post you will come upon my recommendations for resources, especially for reading and writing, but for other subjects as well.
I found that the old books were best. As I have posted about before, my mother-in-law had given me boxes of books she had kept from her own school days — some of them from the 20s, I kid you not.
Sometimes I’d hit a snag in my schooling and be wondering WHAT to do with this or that child, HOW to overcome this or that issue. I’d be idly looking at my bookshelves and suddenly — there it was, the book I needed. Very often from that stash. Sometimes from my own school books from the 70s. Sometimes from books I’d found at book sales.
Gradually I just got rid of the “bright idea” curriculum materials I had foolishly purchased. The truth is that children don’t need complicated systems. It’s trite but true that they need the basics!
Erika says
I recently purged the “bright idea” curriculum from my shelves. I kept much of it for so long because of what I spent on it. But oh, it really was infringing on my ability to be peaceful anytime I would enter the school room. I felt so overwhelmed wondering when any of it would get used and with what child. So, out it finally went. Several paper grocery bags worth. Much of it brand new and unused. I offered it to other homeschooling moms and they were shocked that I would be giving away all this new stuff and they wanted to pay something for what they took. But I gave freely so they would never have to look at it and feel it had to be kept because of what was paid.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have plenty of useful materials. But that is the key, they are useful and bring joy to our days.
It is so easy to just go to the computer and search for what is going to fix your current homeschool issue. I learned overtime(my oldest is twenty and the youngest is three, with six children in between) that just as Aunt Leila states above, you just need good books. And old ones are best.
I know it is easy to over buy or be swayed by what a homeschool blog is reviewing. But oh the $$$$ and the where am I going to put it, and the “what will my husband say,” and what about all the work I already put into what we are already doing. Just recently I was at the Memoria Press website looking to use their yearly $10 Christmas gift card to buy a copy of Latina I for my nine year old. Well, I started clicking around, then I started thinking, MAYBE, all my eleven year old needs is their full sixth grade core package and then he will stay on track and be accomplishing all he needs to get done. I actually had it all in my cart ready to complete a purchase. Ugh! Here I go again! Yes, I did click the buy button, but only for the one book I came for.
You all are safe here, reading what Aunt Leila has to say about homeschooling and keeping the home. Thank you, Aunt Leila
Amy says
Thank you for this practical insight to planning, and for “keeping it real”. I have a love hate relationship with homeschooling, I absolutely love it on paper, but on paper I don’t write in the endless sleepless nights up with the baby, I don’t factor in the school age children having their stubborn resistant noncooperative times, and I forget that we may very well stumble upon seasons of learning difficulties I don’t know how to fix or manage…along with the fact that this year seems to have lots of daily interruptions that limit us to only getting in 2-3 full days of school every week. I should expect it, I suppose, and work with it instead of resist it, as this is our reality right now. I am very thankful for your insight and look forward to reading through the comments. 😊
Also, I like your idea of having the public school calendar, the children on our street always come over when they do not have school and it is hard to say no to my children on these days. At least this would help me to plan better and be prepared for lighter schoolwirk on those days.
Mrs. B. says
Amy, this is so much my experience too: Loving it on paper, but then fighting the reality of it, wishing I were so much better at managing our days… I think I need to pray more about this! Thank you for your comment!
Roslyn says
Auntie Leila,
I just love you! When I’m in a grey study about what I’ve gotten myself into with all these children, teaching them standards and faith, and homeschooling them–no less!–I visit you and my sanity is restored. 🙂 Your planning wisdom is excellent–thank you for your tips on saving the older children’s work to help plan for the youngers. I read your post and ruminated on it, then just today discovered a great concept to be applied within the homeschool schedule, wherever certain things just don’t seem to be happening as regularly as they ought. It’s called “looping” and it’s a brilliant way of “doing the next thing” and feeling we are making progress, however slowly, amidst the crazy of life. Hope this will help other women, too. http://amongstlovelythings.com/looping-task-management-for-recovering/ Have great day!
Kasey says
I am very intrigued by Ambleside, but it seems very intimidating to me. As the teacher, are you making sure the children are comprehending and understanding their work by way of narrations? How is copy work and dictation figured out? I am familiar with Sonlight, which lays a lot of this out for you, but I also don’t love Sonlight, and am looking for something different. Thank you so much for all of your wisdom!! I sit in eager anticipation of your homeschooling posts. I am a homeschooler filled with self doubt and second guessing everyday, and I LOVE reading your posts.
Also, I wish I could attach a picture here, because I have been using your post it note planner for years. Only instead of inside a beautiful journal, mine are stuck to my kitchen cabinet so I won’t forget what I need to do. If company is coming over, I just move them inside the door. 🙂
Leila says
Kasey, for me, Ambleside is a starting place to learn how to shed our preconceived notions of what constitutes work from the child and how he learns; they have amazing resources and I’ve written elsewhere about why I do treasure that site.
I have other posts (just search the “education” category — I realize it’s not very well organized — also the subsequent post from Monday about books in the home has links) that give other resources, notably the Bobbs-Merrill readers that I really like for elementary school.
If you check my posts about teaching a child to read and teaching a child to write, you will get an idea of how I think narration fits in the child’s education, and what other means you can use (dictation, copywork, etc) to help them.
But at the end of the day, the attentive parent does see that her child is learning. Maybe do go read those Charlotte Mason works (at least the summaries that you find on Ambleside) to get an idea of how it might play out. Remember, the process starts with oral narration, but very soon you find other modes of expression developing.
That’s the beauty of homeschooling!