lesson planning Archives - Page 2 of 2

Lesson Planning on the iPod (or iPad)

January 18, 2012Tracy

I’ve been experimenting with a lesson planning app on my iPod over the last several weeks, and I must say that I really have loved it. The app iplanlessons was designed by a homeschool family for the iPod or iPad.

At first, I was a little skeptical, simply because I’ve tried a few different computer-based lesson planning options that were not a fit for us. But I definitely saw the advantage of having my lessons on the same device from which much of our schooling was taking place. So, I gave it a try.

Entering Lessons

The website has several tutorial videos available which were extremely helpful, and really, entering the lessons was a breeze. It did take a little time to set things up and become familiar with how lessons could be entered. But once I got the hang of it, I was able to plan 10 weeks worth of lessons for 3 subjects (one student) in one afternoon.

After entering the students and creating the classes that you need, you may begin entering assignments. The subjects are chosen from a pre-set list, which is not the most convenient method but was ultimately not an issue. Within subjects, you may create your own categories. For instance, I chose the preset subject of Language Arts and created the category “Phonics.” Though you can take the time to enter your resources as well, I did not (it’s just not necessary for me right now).

Other features include recording objectives, standards, journal thoughts, and actual assignments. You can rank priority of lessons, and set status of lessons (pending, partial, done). You can also set the lesson to copy to two or more consecutive days and then change specifics for each of those repeated days.

I read reviews that said using the iPod app was more difficult to use than the iPad app. Of course, I don’t own an iPad to compare. But I had no difficulty entering the lessons or accessing them later.

Accessing Lessons

One aspect of computer-based lesson planning that really did not work for me is that I had to check off an assignment each day; if I forgot, it threw off all my lesson plans by rolling over incomplete lessons. What at first sounded like a great feature, turned out to be a nightmare. It became one more thing to do in a day, and I didn’t always get to it. My lessons were soon a mess.

With this app, the incompleted lessons remain on the day that they were assigned. Tap on that calendar day, tap on the button “not done,” and any incomplete lessons will show up. This way, I can see which lessons we need to go back and do without my other lessons being affected. Also, there is a feature to email a report or a day of lessons/assignments that a student needs to see; you can email a reminder to yourself or directly to the student.

On a daily basis, accessing the lessons is very easy. The lessons can sync to nearly any calendar, though I ran mine entirely within the app itself. The calendar within the app showed me each assigned lesson with each subject showing up as a different color. And once again, because I was using my iPod for educational songs, maps, and apps, my lesson plans were easy to access.

Reports for Lessons

The reports available from the lessons are not as detailed as many other computer-based planners. There is no place to record grades, for instance. Thus, the “reports” that are generated are simply your lesson plans on paper: by subject, by day, by week, etc.

However, as simplistic as this is, it was helpful for me. Because I have a workbox system in place for my kids, I was concerned about it being inconvenient to find what items would need to go in their pockets. But with the reports, I was able to create what I needed and email it to myself. From my email, I printed it off and placed the lesson plans in my notebook. From this page, I could quickly scan and see, at a glance, what needed to go in each pocket.

Conclusion

Though not as all-incompassing as many computer-based lesson planning systems, iPlanLessons was also not as complicated to set up or to use. And, for me, it was much more convenient than a paper planner (which is what I’d resorted to previously). There are a number of features that I haven’t really used mostly because, at the level my kids are at, it just wasn’t necessary.

If you are looking for a convenient paper-less planner, check this one out. It’s available on the app store for $9.99, or you can watch the videos and read more about the app at iHomeEducator.com.

I am NOT an affiliate and earn nothing from this review. It’s simply an app I’ve enjoyed using, and I wanted to pass the news on to you.

Memories of a Homeschooled Homeschooler: the homeschool schedule

December 13, 2011Tracy

I have memories of my mom surrounded by books and tons of paper in the corner of our home that was her “office.” Usually, she was either in the midst of taxes and bookkeeping or scheduling homeschool. We went through a lot of schedules during my homeschool years, and like any great master, Mom was always sure we could do something better or more efficiently. Tweak this subject here, add a little more time there, take out this activity and move it to that time slot. But we were kids, and school was—well—school, no matter where we did it. And I know we didn’t give her an easy time, in spite of her homeschool schedule overhauls. Because of all that scheduling though, we did have time for a lot of really unique experiences that have made for fond memories.

As little kids, we did four day school for a long time. So as early as second grade, I learned how to take five days worth of assignments and work to get it all done in four days. Each one of those four days, I’d work ahead one assignment in at least one subject until I’d earned my extra day off. We loved those three day weekends!

When we got older, working ahead was much harder to accomplish each week, but we still plotted out our assignments and worked ahead where we could for that end goal: to finish school as early in the year as possible. When other kids took extra holidays, spring breaks, and snow days (in Texas, snow days rarely had the same significance as they might in other states), we worked tirelessly, though sometimes reluctantly, toward that goal. And it paid off. We often had the bragging rights of the neighborhood, having finished all of our school books in mid April or early May while everyone else plodded along for another 4-6 more weeks.

In high school, Mom’s scheduling paid off significantly as she helped us plan our extra-curricular activities into our school day. My junior and senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to work part-time at our local newspaper office and have my own ballet studio where I gave lessons and planned performances.

Then, the real test came—college. All of Mom’s hours surrounded by stacks of books and loose paper finally culminated in one great overall success. After watching my mom plan scores upon scores of schedules through the years, my first freshman college schedule was a breeze. Seventeen years old and 12 hours from home, I remembered all those lessons of scheduling and planning and breaking down large tasks, lessons that my mom probably wasn’t always aware that she was teaching me.

And when I began to teach college English and writing classes, I was more often teaching my students how to schedule their time than I was tutoring them in the rudiments of grammar.

So for all of you homeschool moms who think you are “ruining” your children or their learning experience with all of your tweaks and overhauls to the homeschool schedule, take heart. Include your kids in the process. There’s some valuable learning going on behind those wadded up pieces of paper.

Learning to Let Go

September 1, 2011Tracy1 Comment

I mentioned a few weeks back that the pace of the A Beka books we were using seemed to suddenly switch to turbo speed. We’ve been clipping along at such a pleasant pace, and then quite unexpectedly my son and I have found ourselves holding on for dear life.

Phonics: covering 2-3 new sounds each week, plus continuing to learn to read two-vowel words
Numbers: adding 10 new flashcards every three lessons, adding a new addition family, plus skip counting

Thank goodness we had already tackled skip counting by tens, or I’d really feel lost right now. We’ve tried our best, and my son has worked really hard. But in spite of it all, he made a C for the first time on a graded sheet, which merely told me what my gut has been telling me. We are going too fast.

But that meant that I had a decision to make: slow down and start the year already two weeks behind on the beautiful lesson plans I produced, or continue to allow him to struggle through. After all, he might catch on and get caught back up eventually. And then my mom, having had the experience of homeschooling me, reminded me of the greatest privilege of homeschooling. I don’t have to be controlled by a lesson plan!

Think about it. If you hired a tutor for your child, would that tutor stick rigidly to a lesson plan she had created, or would she work with where your child was having difficulty? The answers obvious, right? Yet, it is sometimes so hard, in the daily grind of home education, to remember this principle—that I am my child’s tutor and that curriculum is merely my tool not my master.

So, we’ve taken these last two weeks of summer completely off (much to my son’s displeasure). For one, we all needed a breather, especially me; and hopefully, the worst of the morning sickness will be over by the time we start back. Second, by starting the year off two weeks behind my planning, I will have officially and dramatically let go of those beautifully typed out plans. There will be no need to force ourselves to “stay on schedule” to the detriment of learning, since we are already “off schedule.”

And I say “off schedule” rather tongue-in-cheek. We are on lesson 110 of a kindergarten curriculum; my son is four. He loves learning, which is why we started in the first place, to capitalize on his desire. Up until this last month, he has absolutely devoured everything we’ve tackled and made 100s on every graded sheet. We’re coming to the end of our two-week break, and every day my son has begged to do school with the statement, “But Mom, I LOVE to read!” We’re hardly behind.

Thus, with everything in perspective, I suppose we’re not starting two weeks behind, but rather one year and 110 lessons ahead. With that in mind, I guess I’ve got some wiggle room, don’t you think? How silly of me to even struggle with the decision—to waste an opportunity to learn (and enjoy it) or to protect a piece of paper with clean lines.

I know this won’t be the last time I struggle with the decision to “let go” of the lesson plans, but I do hope that this moment will be a precedent for me to come back to. I want to remember that learning is not a lesson plan, it’s the joy on my son’s face when he understands what he has discovered.