How We Feel Successful at the End of the School Day

Thursday, October 6, 2011

I plan backwards.  Or don't plan at all.  Then write it down like I did.

 

I very well realize that I am in no position to offer advice on successful homeschooling, especially in this, our roughest semester.  But I have found a few small things that have made a difference in how I view our day.

One of them is backwards planning.  I keep a day planner next to me the entire time we are "schooling." (I like the Well Planned Day)  As the kids work on the different things, I write it down.  That simple.  Turns out we actually do get things done.


Thanks, christygirl, my friend in real life who shared the idea with me, it's made a big difference.

ps, just saw that all Well Planned Day planners are now 35% off with coupon code hedua927.

What makes for a successful day for you?

5 Creative People Had This To Say:

rebecca @ older and wisor said...

That's kinda how I feel productive about anything. I make a list of what needs to be done, then at the end of the day I add everything I did so I can cross it off. Because it's never anything that was on the list to begin with :)

care said...

I like this idea and I might give it a try, although I think the idea of working "backwards" might take some getting used to for me! I plan everything roughly ahead of time so I can spread out what we need to accomplish for the year somewhat evenly throughout the year and so I know about how much curriculum we've covered at any given time. How do you plan for the year when you do it backwards?

Kristen, pajama mama said...

oh, i plan ahead (obviously, when I buy a Saxon math book, I intend for us to finish the book) but when I plan backwards, I just write down the lesson we did that day, rather than write down the lesson before we do it-does that make sense? i'm just giving us flexibility, and feeling less like a failure. we still do a lesson almost every day, but i have no idea what lesson we will do on a tuesday two months from now. got it?

Lisa said...

Hi! First time to your blog. :) Fellow adoptive momma and homeschool momma. :) This is hoe I do it, too. I love it!! I found this about "learning journals":

"Lesson Plans, or Learning Journals?
Writing a lesson plan for such simple skills might seem a bit excessive, but many parents thrive on following a written plan. Having an official lesson plan makes it easier to chart your child’s progress and evaluate which techniques and activities work best for your child.

An alternative to lesson plans for homeschoolers is a learning journal. Written at the end of the day (or week) a learning journal is a reflection of what has gone on, taking time to examine what impacted the child and which skills were acquired. Annual or quarterly reviews of learning journals are an excellent way to chart the student’s academic development."otherwise

I like to write down what we do as we go, too. Otherwise I forget. :)

God bless you!!
Lisa

Kristen, pajama mama said...

exactly, Lisa! Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear it's actually a respected practice :) It works for us!