Plans for Next Year (7th grade, 3rd grade, plus a toddler)

It really helps me to write out my plan for the year.  I know from experience that some of them will work out, and some of them won't, so I'm not terribly attached to it.  I would think that this might be helpful to a homeschooler interested in an eclectic plan.  I just piece together things based on what has worked for me and my children in the past.  Much of their learning is unplanned, of course.  


Overall:

• I'm continuing to aim for efficiency and low stress for me.  My main job has to be taking care of my busy 1-year-old.   The boys are both taking 8 hours per week of classes at a coop.  
• I'm considering trying Homeschool Planet or Scholaric for lesson planning and record keeping.  That way I can set it up in advance, and the boys can log in and see what they need to do.  I think that will make it easier for me to hold them accountable.  And less for me to remember.  I just have to take care that I choose their assignments carefully and don't assign too much. 
• We are going to enjoy this year!  I am going to save one day per week for a fun outing, preferably somewhere outside.  My precious Bee only has 2 more school years until high school.  
• I want to keep most of our school supplies in a big tote bag.  I'd love to do more school at the park, and then enjoy the day there.  That is something I've always wanted to do but haven't yet. 
• For the formal work we do at home, we will be starting our year in July and taking May and June off, as well as November and December.  (The boys will continue coop classes for part of May, all of November, and part of December, and we will do fun outings and field trips too).  I think this will give me the rest I need, as well as the time to plan. 

For Bee (7th Grade): 

• Reading:  We will listen to audiobooks in the car.  I will also keep a large ziplock bag with books that I think he might like to read, to pull out at times that he is bored.  This is in addition to the reading that he does on his own. 
• Writing:  Bee will be taking a writing class at our coop with a teacher that I think does an excellent job!  It is very student centered, and there is a presentation at the end of each 8-week session, so there is a purpose to their writing.  
• Spelling:  We will continue All About Spelling.  I made the difficult decision today to discontinue the sentence dictation, even though I think it is so valuable.  It just has to do with my time and energy and the fact that we will have a crazy toddler running around.  But I would like to continue aspects of the program.  
• Language Mechanics:  We are going to try a different workbook, one from the Basic Not Boring series.  
• Math:  We'll continue with Khan Academy.  Bee will be taking an enrichment class at his coop, as well.  
• Science:  We have plans to do the TOPS Radishes kit, and we'll see how that goes.  Maybe we'll do more kits.  Bee is doing FLL (lego robotics) again.  
• Social Studies:  Bee will be doing stock market team again through our coop.  He'll also be taking a class that centers around the game Diplomacy.  I hope to listen to more of Joy Hakim's US History series in the car.  And I'd like to do something on American government, with the election coming up--I just don't know exactly what.  I think we may try Crash Course Government, for one thing.
• Spanish:  We are going to try Spanish for You! and see how it goes.  I would love to continue with Homeschool Spanish Academy, but I also want to keep our schedule more open. 
• Music:  Bee will continue piano lessons.  
• Art:  Bee will take pottery camps this summer.  
• Drama:  Bee will participate in a drama class this fall.  
• PE:  Bee will continue class at the climbing gym.  And we'll do our normal family stuff of hiking, biking, park days, skate park, etc.  

Bug (3rd grade):  

• Reading:  We will listen to audiobooks in the car.  I will also keep a large ziplock bag with books that I think he might like to read, to pull out at times that he is bored.  This is in addition to the reading that he does on his own. 
• Writing:  Bug will be doing writing with me this year.  I haven't decided exactly how it will go, but we'll be doing lots of funny, silly prompts together.  I got some dry erase handwriting boards for Bug to practice his handwriting on. 
• Spelling:  We will continue All About Spelling.  I made the difficult decision today to discontinue the sentence dictation, even though I think it is so valuable.  It just has to do with my time and energy and the fact that we will have a crazy toddler running around.  But I would like to continue aspects of the program.  
• Language Mechanics:  We are going to try a different workbook this year. 
• Math:  We'll continue with Khan Academy and a workbook called Math for the Gifted Student.  Bug will be taking an enrichment class at his coop, as well.  
• Science:  We have plans to do the TOPS Radishes kit, and we'll see how that goes.  Maybe we'll do more kits.  Bug loves science.  He is also taking a class on lego robotics at our coop.
• Social Studies:  Bug will be taking a class on both ancient and US history through our coop.  That is just how it worked out this year.  I hope to listen to more of Joy Hakim's US History series in the car.  And I'd like to do something on American government, with the election coming up--I just don't know exactly what.  
• Spanish:  We are going to try Spanish for You! and see how it goes.  I would love to start Bug with Homeschool Spanish Academy, but I also want to keep our schedule more open.  
• Music:  Bug will continue piano lessons.  
• Art:  Bug will take an art camp this summer.  He will also continue with sewing. 
• Drama:  Bug will participate in a drama class this fall, as well as a puppet class.  
• PE:  Bug will continue class at the climbing gym.  And we'll do our normal family stuff of hiking, biking, park days, skate park, etc.  

Dot (toddler):  Board books, snuggles, songs, kisses, hugs, cuddles, playtime outdoors and indoors, funny toddler jokes, and more kisses.  

A Year of Homeschooling with a New Baby

So, I last posted in August.  It's been quite a year.  Adding a baby to the mix (right after an interstate move) was not easy in any way.  What got us through was our resources that involved a minimum of effort from me.  My boys took multiple outside classes.  Bee went back to taking writing from WriteGuide.  He kept up with Homeschool Spanish Academy for much of the year.  We used Khan Academy.  They took piano lessons.  Bee did robot team.  They read many books on their own and listened to hours of audiobooks.  They joined a rock climbing class.  They performed in a play.  Bug took two science classes, a writing class, a sewing class, and a puppet class. 

We did a weekly park day that I organized.  It helped us to make some new friends.  I'm not going to continue that park day, but I have networked enough to figure out what groups I want to be involved in.  Some of them are secret, invitation-only type things, which I find frustrating but understandable.  I have met dozens and dozens of people and networked my butt off.

My boys learned a lot this year, even if it wasn't exactly how I planned in the way I planned it.  In addition to their academics, they learned a lot about babies, which I think will help them immensely one day when they become fathers.

I held my baby, I snuggled my baby, I nursed my baby, and I gave her a million kisses each day.  My baby took her naps on my body. 

And my boys missed some things they might have done.  I would have liked to take them to more places.  Bug really needs to work on his handwriting, and Bee really needs to work on his language mechanics.  But we'll do that next school year. 

Now, baby Dot is about to turn one. She is much easier to take places, and we are able to be outside more, which is how I like it.  We're taking May and June off from any formal school that we do at home (although they are still taking some classes that end next week). 

What I would recommend to any homeschooling mom adding a baby to the mix: 

• Outside classes, if you can afford them.  Get your kids out of the house and with a friendly homeschool teacher.   
• Online classes, if you can afford them.  
• Free online resources, like Khan Academy.  
• Audio books.  See what you can borrow electronically from the library and consider an Audible subscription. (I wish we'd done more of this for the car). 
• Documentaries.  Get some playlists ready for your kids.  (I wish I'd done this.)  
• Buy some books ahead of time to read to your children.  Keeping up with library books ahead of time may be stressful (and expensive if they get lost!)
• Friends.  Take advantage of any offers of help.  And don't move far away.  : (  
• Generally find resources that will not require much planning and effort on your part.  Try to enjoy your children and minimize stress.