Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Tweaking our Planning/Record Keeping Yet Again

I am forever changing our planning and record keeping.  As my boys get older, I feel like it is more important to keep good records, but it doesn't come naturally for me.

I started the year with The Ultimate Homeschool Planner.  I really liked it at first but found that I didn't keep up with it well. 

I have found that a monthly calendar with a subject checklist for each day works well for Bug (4th grade).  I leave extra time on Fridays in case we don't get everything done the other days.  So that's our plan, and I can retain it as our record of attendance.

For Bee (8th grade), I tried using an weekly extensive checklist by subject for each week that I made in Google Drive and that he could check off online . This worked for a couple of weeks, and then it didn't.  He just stopped using it, and I couldn't seem to get him to start again. 

I have now printed out a monthly grid for him and am simply filling out a "reverse checklist" with what he accomplishes each day.  I typically only write the subject done, so not too specific.  He is doing math and Spanish daily, and we are blocking history, science, and English for the remainder of the year.

I will continue with a version of this system for as long as it works, tweaking it as needed.  Both grids are up on the fridge where I can remember to fill them out/check things off frequently.  And I only have to print them once a month! 

Monday, March 5, 2018

Homeschool win with Nature Journaling

I have struggled to do science well this year.  We have had some successes, but have been struggling to get into a good flow.  And then today Bug suggested that he go look for things outdoors and learn about them.  I had already been thinking along these lines, so I was more than happy to agree. 

For some reason we then had a long argument about whether he should be required to take a photo of whatever it is that he found.  I insisted that he would need to take a photo, identify the plant, animal, rock, or other object, research it, write about it in his own words, and cite his source. 

Bug was able to do this really well and is making his nature journal in Google docs.  He chose our neighbor's ornamental cherry tree for his first entry, and I am so pleased with the result.  It was good writing and research practice as well as science learning.  And it was very much self initiated with just a little guidance from mom. 

A scattered mom homeschooling a scattered son

We deal with attention issues in my family.  I don't write a lot about it because, even though this blog is kind of anonymous, I feel odd about blogging about my children's medical issues and what treatments we choose to use.  There is a lot of judgement in the homeschool community towards those of us who take a medical approach.

Anyway, I have attention issues and so does my son Bee.  Sometimes I really struggle to make a schedule for him and get him to stick to it.

I have been trying a new approach this week, which is to use more of a block schedule, to have him do math and Spanish daily and one other subject.  So, we are going to finish social studies, then geology, then writing, but not do them at the same time.  We are going to try a more block approach with subjects that lend themselves to it and see how that works to finish out this school year.

I just absolutely can't believe that Bee is going to be finishing up the 8th grade in May.  Eight years of homeschooling.  I'm really proud of what he's accomplished and excited for what is to come for him.

Next year, I will just be his mom and facilitator because he will be taking all of his classes either at our co-op or online.  I think it will be really good for both of us to have someone else create the structure for his learning.

Next year, I will just be homeschooling Bug (who does not have attention issues) and raising Dot (who will be 3).  Big changes.