Weekly School Goals

A couple of weeks ago I began a new idea that is helping me so much I wanted to share it with you. It may be that I am unique in my lack of planning, but I doubt it. I’m sure there are many out there who are great planners and keepers of their plans, but not me. Not only do I not plan, but when I do have schedules it is too easy for me to rebel against my laid out wisdom. I thought I would try to just list out one week’s worth of goals in each subject. (The word goals makes me feel less rebellious than the word plans.) For each day of the week I listed what I wanted done in each subject. I did not include the kids’ math because they are able to do that without interference and if they get to something that challenges them I may stretch out the time in which they have to get it done. Each day I had only to look at my list and see my goal. I had no decisions to make about how much we would do in history or Latin; I did not wonder how far Henry was getting in his science work or decide what I wanted them to do for writing. The most amazing thing is that it took maybe 30 minutes to make the list. I got out all the books we work on and wrote down page numbers, etc. for each day, then put everything back on the shelf. I love it. One more thing, by only doing one week I can easily adjust for the unexpected. This last week I scheduled a full day every day, but we ended up going to my dad’s on Thursday and running some other errands which kept us out of the house all day. Friday we did Thursday’s work and Friday’s work will get put on Monday of next week. I have also planned too heavily in something or another and slowed our pace during the week in some subject, on Monday I’m right on track. I don’t have to worry about changing long term plans or finding a way to catch up. It has made my school days more calm and manageable. The best part is that I want to meet the goals and have been motivated to progress. I have always liked doing school work with the kids more than cleaning the house. If only I could find a similar solution for housework, but it requires something different that I have not yet discovered. I am always forcing myself and with a cheerless, ungrateful attitude. I will work on that, let me tell you. It is a terrible example to set and I do mean to change it. Sometimes we just have to pretend to have a good attitude and God helps the real thing to follow.

Almost a year later!

It has been almost a year since I have posted anything to this site. There are several reasons. Mostly it is the feeling that I am not doing enough with the kids and don't want to share my failure with anyone. The fact is that I set my goals too high and expect nothing less than perfection (for myself, not my kids, I hope). Another big reason is that this has been an unusual year and filled with more adventure and less "school work" than any other. Because they are not so obviously "schooly" I don't want to put them here. And one more, I have more blogs than I can keep up with. Nevertheless, I will quickly update a little.

If you follow our other blogs (Our Trail especially) then you know about our journey. I thought that we would keep up with more school work than we did on that trail, but I will decide that the things we saw and experienced were just as valuable as book work. I am glad to be following a more typical schedule (typical for me). In fact, I am doing better with consistency and planning that I have ever done. Being as Henry is now in EIGHTH grade (I can't believe it!), it is a good thing. As any parent, I want my children to have every advantage and to be able to pursue any career goal they desire.

We are working on a new history program, The Mystery of History has been a new find and we are enjoying it greatly. It is a good pace for us. I am also doing a lot more writing with Henry and, to a lesser extent, Louis and Otto. Soon I will be expecting more from them as well. There is a curriculum I am waiting to get for Henry called Starting Point by Cornerstone Curriculum. The notebooks that we were starting were not as successful as I had hoped, but we are still adding to them. I've noticed that they do enjoy looking as them and that will keep them going. They are such a great record keeping system.

(Pictures are kids trying cuneiform writing and Olivia doing dishes with me.)

We are going to the library weekly as it is in walking/biking distance. That has been a new experience. We have never been so close to a library, we always preferred to buy our books as we didn't want to return them, but I've been pleasantly surprised. We have been exposed to so many books that I wouldn't necessarily want to own, but am glad to see, read and explore. The picture books for Solomon and Olivia have been an especially sweet treat as I read to them more, and books that are new to me as well as them. Henry and Louis will be required to update their blogs on a regular basis. It is still to be determined how often regular will be. Stay tuned and find out. I still love homeschooling. I hope it never ends.