Lesson Planning and Organization Archives

Freedom from Procrastination Book Review

March 30, 2023Tracy

I’m not sure I’ve met anyone who doesn’t ever struggle with procrastination, but I know it’s definitely something I’ve struggled with. And I can see that those I know who have ADHD definitely struggle with procrastination. Some of that battle has to do with time blindness and time management, but there’s also a heart-battle involved. That heart-issue leading to procrastination is what caught my attention when I saw Barb Raveling’s book Freedom from Procrastination mentioned on instagram. She graciously provided a pdf copy for me to review and share with you. The book has been extremely helpful, as I’ve mulled over it for the last couple of months, working through the different “Renewal” questions and worksheets provided, and studying the devotional parts of the book. If procrastination is your struggle, and you are ready to get to the heart of the issue, this book is a tremendous resource.

Freedom from Procrastination review:

Getting to the Heart of What’s Holding You Back

How to find your Homeschool Values

July 22, 2022Tracy

homeschool value | homeschool planning | homeschool objectives | homeschool curriculum

When we think of homeschool planning, most of us imagine stacks of curriculum in front of us, a planner of some style, colored pens or highlighters, and that intimidating blank page. Planning a year’s worth of learning for multiple kids in different grades is daunting, I don’t care how many years you’ve been doing it. But planning your homeschool doesn’t start with curriculum or even with the lesson plan. It doesn’t start by calculating days and weeks or blocking out vacations. The planning starts by identifying your homeschool values, those core principles or ideas that are most important to you.

A tour of my Homeschool Planner (plus, a free download!)

October 1, 2018Tracy

I’ve tried a number of different homeschool planner options through the years, and it always seems that there is something that bugs me.

I can’t do my planning online; it has to be on paper.
I don’t like the feeling of my pen scratching across cheap paper.
I hate large planners; the 8×11 planners are just too big and clunky.
And I hate plain and ugly; I need something beautiful if I’m going to be successful.
I don’t prefer days of the week on the planner, since our homeschool week doesn’t include the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.

Maybe I’m a planner-snob, but I just know if I’m going to be faithful to use something every day to plan, it has to be something I enjoy using. Because I’ve had so much trouble finding something that fits all my criteria, I finally took some time last winter and made my own homeschool planner. I’ve loved it! My homeschool planner is so much fun that I’m actually disappointed when I’ve got all my planning done. I spend a few minutes wondering if there is anything else I could possibly write down.

Here’s a look at what’s included in my homeschool planner (and info on how to get it for free) as well as how I set up and use my planner.

Setting goals for your hard homeschool moments

March 28, 2018Tracy

setting homeschool goals | homeschool overwhelm | hard homeschool moments

Hard homeschool moments force me to ask myself hard questions. Why am I struggling through a particular subject with a particular child? Why am I teaching literature analysis to my children? Why does my daughter with dyslexia need grammar anyway? Why am I teaching her to read hard things? Why do we do what we do? The reason I ask these questions is, quite frankly, homeschooling is hard. Homeschooling dyslexia, in particular, can be overwhelming. And overwhelming moments make us question everything. Which isn’t a bad thing, I’m learning. Questioning everything brings purpose and certainty and conviction. Answering these questions helps me to battle through the hard homeschool moments and to press on. Answering these questions helps me to define my goals and objectives for both my homeschool and my child.

I’m not talking about a list of learning standards. I’m not talking about a list of topics we are supposed to cover or a list of skills she should have by the end of the year. I’m not talking about a list of books to be read in so many months. What I am talking about are clear objectives for the end of her education. What is my end goal, my final objective? Who do I want my homeschool graduate to be?

If I know my end goal, then I can clearly look at each step in our path and decide if it’s leading us closer to that end goal. If the end goal is college, then I will have certain decisions to make along the way to prepare for that goal. If the end goal is a particular career path, then that goal will shape the next several years. My end goal determines a number of smaller goals and objectives along the way.

For our family, when I started asking the hard questions, I came to one solid conviction: I homeschool to disciple my children, to train them to be followers and learners of Christ. When I realized this goal, it was an emotional epiphany for me, a very tearful “a-hah!” moment. It put all the hard days into perspective. Why do I struggle to help my daughter to read and to read hard things? Because I want her to be capable of reading the Bible and understanding it. Why do I teach her grammar? Not necessarily to help her write well, which may surprise you, but to help her read well. I primarily teach grammar to my children to help them to read, to give them the tools to break down hard passages and difficult texts so that they understand the message. So when they tackle that hard passage in one of Paul’s epistles, they know how to find the main clause and the main message.

Your goals may be vastly different for your family, but knowing your end goal, your final objective, will help you to start making the smaller decisions along the way.

There are tons of learning standards and book lists and curriculum options. That alone creates a lot of homeschool overwhelm. We start to ask, which choice is the right one? Then, when we hit an obstacle—a hard homeschool moment—the tendency is to second-guess our choice; of course, we must have made the wrong one. And yet, taking the time to think through our goals helps so much with all of this guilt and indecision. Your end goal for your family and for each child helps you to see your smaller goals for each subject and even each curriculum purchase.

If I know my goal, then I narrow my choices. Once I make my choice, I evaluate how well that choice is moving me toward my goal. Regardless of the hard homeschool moments, I’m keeping that end goal in mind and aligning everything with it.

My objectives prepare me for the hard days. They strengthen me and give me resolve. I can press on when the going get’s tough, because I know where I’m headed. I know why I’m choosing harder books or trying a new curriculum. I know why I’m assigning some literary analysis. I know why we are learning grammar and diagramming sentences.

I know why. And knowing why is more than half the battle.

A day in the life of Homeschooling Multiple Ages

February 21, 2018Tracy2 Comments

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is that we can all learn together as a family, and yet that also presents one of the greatest challenges—homeschooling multiple ages. I’ve homeschooled while pregnant, with a newborn, through the destructive toddler years, while potty training, into the preschool stage; and now, my youngest is finally kindergarten. Each stage has its challenges, and our routine has looked different at each stage, sometimes changing throughout the year. But no matter what our current challenges are or how I change the routine, a few principles have remained constant and made a world of difference in successfully homeschooling multiple ages.

Quick Tips for Homeschooling Multiple Ages

Budget your time.
Combine all that you can.
Don’t try to do it all.
Less is more.
Train independence.

A day in the life of

Homeschooling Multiple Ages

Though not everyday is exactly the same, most days we participate in our extracurriculars in the morning and begin schoolwork after lunch. Monday afternoons, I devote to my oldest. We meet together for a couple of hours with a cup of coffee or tea and go over the last week’s work, the new week’s assignments, and our Tapestry of Grace history and literature discussions. It’s also our video and game day, which means that my younger ones watch geography and Spanish videos, play learning games, or work on projects; they are occupied with these special activities that I only offer them once a week, which allows me some (more or less) uninterrupted time with my sixth grader. The rest of the week, he works pretty independently, checking in with me only if he has a problem or question.

On the other four days, I work with my kids from youngest to oldest, starting with my kindergartener. Together, my youngest and I work on phonics (Logic of English Foundations B), math (a mix of RightStart Math A and Math Mammoth 1), and handwriting for about an hour. Then, he goes off to play legos, and I switch my attention to my fourth grader. She’s dyslexic and ADHD; between her learning challenges and anxieties plus the ADHD distraction, working on her own is sometimes challenging. Because I cannot work with her in every subject every day, I budget my time with her. We work together for about an hour and a half in a block schedule. On certain days, I work with her in RightStart Math and Easy Grammar; other days we work on writing and comprehension skills. She then works for about another hour and a half on some copy work activities, reading, and craft projects. A couple of days a week, I’ll wrap up our homeschool day by working with my oldest for about 20 min. in his grammar, using the Abeka 6th grade grammar workbook. We read through the instructions together, and I’ll have him work through a certain number of sentences until I’m confident he’s grasped it. (By no means do we work every problem or even every exercise.)

For history, I choose a read-aloud for the lunch hour and assign some independent reading and projects for my older kids to do on their own. Science is another independent subject for my kiddos. My oldest works on his own throughout the week in his Elemental Science Biology for the Logic Stage, while my daughter is reading through the Thornton Burgess Book of Birds and Book of Animals and choosing projects about the animals in her stories.

On a good day, we will finish up around 3:30 or 4, but of course, there are those days when I wrap up our day just in time to start dinner.

Homeschooling multiple ages is a work in progress. It’s about finding a groove that works for one stage in your life, and being willing to make adjustments as your kids grow and change. It’s about looking at your whole day to find the best moments for learning. It’s about seeing all the opportunities in your day. It’s about thinking outside the box and taking advantage of all that homeschool freedom and flexibility.

5 tips for Planning for your Homeschool Challenges

January 17, 2018Tracy

The reality of any plan is this: it’s going to change. I’m constantly planning, constantly changing, constantly rethinking, constantly trying to make our days run more smoothly. But I’ve learned that the key to a good plan is how well it flexes. How well does a plan hold when life hits it? Planning for your homeschool is so much more than plotting out what days you do math and when you finish the year. There are toddlers and sick days and unexpected visitors and laundry and overflowing toilets and doctor visits and — life is messy, unpredictable. Planning your homeschool well involves planning for your homeschool challenges, anticipating what can and will go wrong and allowing for the chaos in your plan.

5 tips for Planning for your Homeschool Challenges

Routine vs. Schedule

Over the years, I’ve homeschooled with a newborn, toddler, poop-throwing potty training toddler, preschooler, ADHD times 2, dyslexia, month long stomach flu, and a coast to coast move. Let me tell you, the key to a good plan is a good routine. And I don’t necessarily mean a timer that goes off at 8:30 to indicate school has begun. (I’ve done that, too.) A good routine is a rhythm of life that fits your family. Set up your day by routines rather than specific times; have a morning routine, an after-snack routine, an after-lunch routine, a before-supper routine, etc. The idea is to allow for some distractions and upsets. If your child ends up in the bathroom at 9:00 in the morning and stays there for 15 minutes, you’re not behind schedule; you simply pick up wherever your routine left off.

Realistic Expectations

I am the worst at assuming I can do more than is realistic. But the reality that reigns me in is that I do only have so many hours a day. One of the first things I do when I’m planning a new routine is to list how much homeschool time I really have. What can I personally give my children, and what will need to be done independently? When I had a newborn and was nursing, I had to realize I could not personally provide all the instruction my kids needed. I purchased website subscriptions and online learning games. When potty training, I set up a lot of our homeschool time near the bathroom and in the hallway.

The idea is that we have got to lower our expectations. We simply can’t do it all. Something does have to give. In order to have a successful plan, be realistic about what you can do. I know I can provide one hour of instruction for my daughter and one hour for my kindergartener. That means with my fourth grader, we don’t do every subject every day. I work with her in a few subjects on certain days and the rest on other days. I understand that my priority has to be quality over quantity. In other words, one good writing lesson once a week will get more accomplished than a stressful, distracted, rushed lesson everyday. A good 10 minute lesson will teach more than 45 minutes filled with disruptions. Less really can be more.

System that flexes

My motto this year has been “the next thing.” I’m learning that some days, we knock out a huge amount of work and other days we come to a screeching halt. Instead of stressing over what is or is not getting done, I’m focusing on “the next thing.” We cover our studies one lesson at a time; we move on when my kids are ready to move on. That means we take two weeks for spelling lists instead of one. That means, my son lets me know when he’s ready to take that Latin quiz; sometimes its at the end of the week, and sometimes he needs two weeks. (I do set a two week limit.) Somedays we get through three math lessons with Right Start, and some days I can’t get past the warm up. We move on to the next topic in history when we’ve read the books and finished our projects for the first topic. We take things one at a time, because I’ve seen over and over again that it all washes out in the end.

How does this work in my actual lesson plans? I have an overall plan for the year and for each term; then, I sit down each Sunday night and plot out what I think we will get to in the week. If we finish it, I put a checkmark. If we didn’t finish it, I put an arrow through the box and write it into the following week’s plan. For my kids’ assignments, I don’t write out specific lesson numbers. Instead, I assign “math for 30 minutes” or “Read a chapter in Courage and Conviction.” They move through their assignments in the same way we move through the week, doing the next thing.

Celebrating the little things

Sometimes learning takes on a mind of its own. Your kids find an interest and run with it, a free video lesson pops up in your newsfeed that you know they’ll love, you stumble upon a gem on Netflix that you’ve just got to watch together, you get caught up in your read-aloud and can’t put it down. Maybe your kid writes and illustrates his own comic book, or repairs an appliance in your garage. These are all learning opportunities, and a flexible plan allows you to embrace these moments. Often, I will record these in my planner, too. It’s learning. It happened. I want a record so that at the end of the week when I have that “what have we gotten done” moment, I can see that learning did happen even if all my boxes aren’t checked off.

Willingness to try again

Planning for your homeschool challenges, bottom line, is a willingness to keep planning, to try again. Don’t scrap the whole plan, but be honest about what isn’t working. Maybe your time with your child is awesome, but independent work just isn’t happening; try a new plan. Just try it out. The best inventors and innovators, those found the most success in life, realized that every failure brought them one step closer to success. In the end, these are the life lessons that are the most meaningful for our kids. We are educating more than just their minds. We are teaching them that it’s okay to try and fail and try again. It’s part of the process. It’s part of life.

Homeschooling is challenging and filled with ups and downs. It’s beautiful in the way that birth is beautiful—a painful, messy beautiful. It’s life, and life is unpredictable. Planning for your homeschool challenges means you have a direction, a vision, and an end in mind; but you are also embracing that homeschooling really is about the journey, not just the destination.

What to do when you don’t love your homeschool

January 8, 2018Tracy

Psst. I’m going to let you in on a secret. There are times and seasons when I don’t like our homeschool. Maybe we’re getting things checked off and the kids are learning, but it’s far from satisfying—and very, very far from beautiful. We’re muddling through, surviving. But I sure don’t love our homeschool.

Honestly, that was me this last fall. We had moments: fun projects, glimmers of happy learning. But overall, I survived the fall, and hated it. So this December, during our month off, I spent a lot of time rethinking everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING!

Our fall was a perfect storm of factors. For one, my whole curriculum plan for one child seemed to crash and burn on week 2 of our homeschool year. I didn’t have the time to make those kinds of drastic changes in a thoughtful way. So, I threw together a Plan B and muddled through. Then, my homeschool app that I’ve used FOR YEARS to plan my homeschool didn’t update with the latest Apple updates. Yep, lost the whole thing at the start of the year and scrambled to find a new method. Again, I threw together a solution, but not one I loved. Lastly, our whole schedule turned on its head this year. Days we’d had off were now filled; days that I’d dedicated for one-on-one homeschooling were now video school days so that I could go to different meetings and Bible studies. We managed to get through the term, but I noticed that I’d lost a lot of things that brought enjoyment and meaning to our homeschool. I had a lot I wanted to change.

So, what do you do when you don’t love your homeschool? Where do you start? What do you change? Here’s what I’ve spent the last month doing.

What to do when you don’t love your homeschool?

Remember Your Vision

I remembered back to the last time I loved homeschooling. What was I reading? What was I thinking? What brought joy and satisfaction? I pulled out those books and tried to rethink those first thoughts again. I went back to that original vision, that original purpose. For me, a lot of that began with learning about Charlotte Mason and her approach to learning. I’m far from hard-core Charlotte Mason, but I love to blend those ideas into our classical homeschool. Charlotte reminds me of my overall goals: to educate my whole child (not just the mind), to inspire with ideas (not just cram with facts), to create an atmosphere (of love and character and discipleship).

Think back to a time when you loved your homeschool. What was it you loved? Was it more intentional and less distracted by work projects or social media? Was it more spontaneous and filled with outdoor exploration? Was it more character-focused and discipleship-driven? Get back to that happy place.

What if you have never loved your homeschool? Start with a brainstorm or vision board. Collect pins on a special “homeschool vision board” on pinterest, or get a poster board and cut out magazine pictures. Write down all the ideas that come to mind. What do you envision when you think about your homeschool? Know where you want to go before you make a plan to get there.

Find your focus

I don’t know about you, but I need more than a goal; I need a single word that helps me remember that goal. Something I can whisper under my breath in the hard moments and get the reeling chaos back in focus. That word, for me, was “discipleship.” I took a class on how to study the Bible this last fall, and one of the exercises was a form of diagramming the verse, looking at subjects and verbs and parallel structures. I remember tearing up in class thinking, “This is why I’m determined to teach reading and comprehension and some level of grammar to my dyslexic child. This is why it’s important to me.” Not so that she can ace an achievement test, but that she could be a better disciple; I want her to have all the tools she needs to study the Bible deeply. When I sat down and remembered my vision for our homeschool, this one word kept coming back to me. I wanted to educate my whole child, not just mind and academics; I wanted more discipleship.

What is that one thing for you? What is that one thing that, at the end of the year, if you only did this one thing well you would still call the year a huge success? Could you sum it up in one word? That one thing is your focus, and it will make a world of difference in the daily grind of homeschooling.

Make a Plan

Or in my case, make a planner. Seriously. I sat down and created my own planner. I was tired of making things work, of adapting things to fit how I wanted to plan. So I sat down over Christmas break and made my own planner. I filled it with the Charlotte Mason quotations and beautiful graphics that inspired me. (And I’m sharing it with you for free! Scroll down for more details.)

I plan with a weekly overview. I don’t like to see my week split up by days because I need the flexibility to move things around. I plan the things I hope to get done within the week. If we get it done, I check it off. If we didn’t get it done, I put an arrow through the box and move it to the following week. If I decide to skip it entirely, I put an x through the box. For certain subjects that need to be assigned to specific days, I write an initial for the day of the week I hope to do it (M for Monday, W for Wednesday, R for Thursday, etc.) When it’s done, I circle the initial.

free homeschool planner download

free A5 homeschool planner

I’m not expecting perfection. I know we are still going to have chaos and bad days and failed plans. But even with the imperfection, there can still be satisfaction. You can still love your homeschool, when it’s loud and messy and chaotic. You can still love your homeschool, even when it’s far less than perfect.