Our lesson plan: {sample page}

Someone asked to see my lesson plan, so here is a sample of one of our weekly plans:

[I truly hope you can see that.  It took me about 30 minutes to even figure out how to add that onto the blog!]

Let's see if any explanation is required on this:

*This is week 8 of our 36-week schedule.  Basically, I just took a thorough look at each of the kids' books ahead of time, and divvied up the lessons I wanted to cover over the 36 weeks we'll be doing school.

*The symbols represent each of the school-aged kids- it was just easier and took less space this way.  [Ella is the flower; Isaac, the star; and Isaias, the diamond-thing.] Anything that does not have a symbol is something we all do together.

*The reason I chose this format is simply because my goal was to get each week onto one page.  (Success!)

*This is a really full week of school for us.  Most weeks Mark has a day off, and on those days the only school subjects we tackle are Nature Study and English (he wanted to continue the kids' one-on-one English time and have the opportunity to do it with them.)  So, usually we truly only have a 4-day school week with Saturdays being the "catch-up" day.

I don't think having everything planned out so completely is necessary for every homeschooling family.  But it helps ME; and it has benefitted our family.  I have found that the more organized I am upfront, there's less of the frenzied decision-making I have to do throughout our days-- (Ella sitting at the table waiting for me to tell her what she's supposed to do next, but I'm changing a diaper and then I have to deal with a correction issue and aack!... there Ella (or Isaac or Isaias) sits, waiting on me.)  This solves that connundrum for us.  Our weekly schedule will be available for the kids to see and they will know what needs to be accomplished that day and will be able to roll with our school schedule if I'm not available at any given moment because I'm tending to the little girls.

It's also helpful in that I know that planning it all out this way means that we will get through all that I want to get through in our school year.  Instead of the other alternative- one I'm all too familiar with- of... getting to the end of the year but only being 1/3 of the way through a book!  ;)

If you have any questions about anything you see on the schedule, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll respond.  :)

In addition to this schedule, I have a chore chart posted up on the fridge for the kids, a "master binder" for the year, and an "order/flow of our school day" listed for my own brain that I'll consult for the first couple of weeks until we get into a good routine and it's second-nature to me and I won't need the list anymore.  :)  If anyone is interested in seeing any of those things, let me know and I'll post pictures or the list.