Hello ladies,

I only signed up to this forum a couple of days ago, but I have really enjoyed the "atmosphere" of this forum already.

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping y'all (yes, I'm a Texican ) can help me with.

First, I have just about finished my goals for each child for the school year and am wondering, how do I keep this from just becoming a bunch of papers stuck in the back of a notebook for the next year. In other words, how do I convert goals to lesson plans. Gee, I hope this makes sense.

Next, I could really use some help with scheduling. It seems like I spent all of last year trying to find what would work and consistency received a major blow because of it. When school was going well, the house fell apart and fast food became a way of life. And when the house (laundry, home-cooked meals, etc.) was presentable school suffered. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. If it helps to know, I have three children 8th grade, 6th grade and 1st grade. I double up on a lot of things with the 8th and 6th grader.

Your help is appreciated.

Welcome, bwpilgrim!

As far as goals go, before the school year, I sit down & write out the goals I'd like to see my son's reach by the end of the year. Then, I look for curricula that I feel will best help my son reach those goals. My lesson plans come from that curricula. Does that make sense? I keep a copy of the goals with my lesson plans in my little homemade planner & peek at it periodically (about after every quarter or so) to see how we're doing. It keeps us all pretty much on track.

I'm sort of a...er, um ... tyrant when it comes to our daily schedule. It's not like I sit over everyone all day & , but consistency is the key to keeping things running smoothly at our house. During the week, we get up at the same time, eat at almost the same time, have school during the same hours, go to bed at the same time, etc. Even on the weekends, with the exception of school, we pretty much stick to the same schedule. Our daily, monthly, & yearly chores are all planned out & included on the big honking calendar stuck to the whiteboard in the kitchen so nothing (hopefully) gets left undone or sneaks up on us. Sounds rather boring & does make me sound pretty tyrannical, but we have plenty of fun & since my husband is one of those folks who loves spur-of-the-moment surprises, there's just enough spontaneity to make things interesting.

More information than you probably wanted, eh?

Good luck!

Hi bwpilgrim, Donna has step by step instructions on Homeschool Planning for Beginners. I hope they are helpful to you, they sure are to me. Ask any questions and someone will try and answer .

Ang explained that very well. The goals helps you decide what books (or parts of books) to use. Having the goals written down helps you if you forget exactly what it was that you wanted to do. I always keep mine in the front of my notebook right behind the calendar and before the course of study.

That's the question of the year. Managing a house and school at the same time is a juggling act. Make chore lists for your kids and yourself and schedule it into the daily schedule. Ang probably already explained that. That is the big secret though, housework has to be included in the schedule. It's easier typed than done. For me, getting the chores, or at least certain light-weight chores that make the house look neat, finished first thing in the morning gets that off my back.
Make time for yourself too


Michelle, thanks for linking the Homeschool Planning for Beginners web page.

I guess the only thing I can think of to add is, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get everything done you want to in a particular day or week or even month. It will all get done eventually (or wasn't meant to be done). And the fun is in the journey.

Remember we are all learning all the time, kids and grown ups too, don't "try" too hard, or you'll miss out on it all!

I have to agree with Janet! there are times my house is a mess, the laundry is piled high and the kitchen sink is running over!! But I have found that if the boys are having a really great time learning I tend not to care to much!! If necessary to catch up on the house work I we take a day or two off school and get caught up!! I guess the way I look at it is the housework will always be there but they will only be children once!! As far as planning goes, Donna's web site is great for that!! Helped me a lot!!

Thank you all so much for the tips. I probably should have mentioned I tend to get real hung up on details and sometimes miss the "big" picture. That may not make a lot of sense unless you have that problem, too. Anyway thanks again. I wish I could give you all a big hug.