planning

By the time winter break is over, in the Waldorf world, the words "planning for next year" start buzzing around. I tune out the buzz for a bit longer. I find that I cannot give my attention and all to right now, if I am planning for next year. By April, I open my mind to thinking about what I might need to start considering, resources, and what our calendar might look like.

My planning has changed a lot since I began homeschooling. One of the best pieces of advice that someone gave me when I began homeschooling was, if I did nothing else, just write down, at the end of each day, everything we did that day. That has been so helpful for my confidence! Even on the days that we never get to what I want to accomplish, we have usually done something worthwhile. Beyond that advice, though, when I began homeschooling, there was advice everywhere (that I could not seem to tune out) to plan, plan, plan. I got completely overwhelmed. I spent hours on planning that was wasted when life didn't actually unfold the way I planned!

So now, here is how I plan...

We homeschool through a charter school, which we love. Not all charters are the same. Ours offers a small amount of money per student per year, to be spent with specific vendors. The money is the reason a lot of homeschoolers use charters. We do appreciate the money (we used it for soccer and dance this year), but we use a charter because ours has an amazing community, with fabulous staff, a wonderful resource center, and weekly classes or activities. The kids have both said if they can only do one thing, they would drop everything except the charter. I share this, because I am certain that our being part of a charter affects how I plan.

While I am generally a pen and paper girl, I now plan using Evernote. (I use the free version.) I like that I can organize everything in one place, in separate notes/pages, that I can re-use appropriate portions the following year without re-writing, that it is portable (all on my smart phone, which is key for me), and then I can print out what I need and want in hand. I also use my Outlook calendar for our planning. I can color code that if desired, and again, I print it out.

I compile all my materials in a binder, although I admit, I am actually not that great at checking my binder daily. I have a section for our rhythm (calendar, plans, and materials specific to me the teacher) and a section for each child, which may have hard copies of whatever materials I want to use for/with each child in a particular block or school year.

My homeschool approach has shifted and may likely shift again, as I have begun reading and exploring other educational philosophies. We are a Waldorf -inspired family, which doesn't mean we follow every aspect of Waldorf. We live a certain lifestyle and interpret what resonates, using Steiner's view of child development as our base. I have begun using some Brave Writer ideas and, without realizing it I have also been using some Charlotte Mason concepts, because, you know what? There is so much overlap! I am always learning, so I am certain it will affect my planning this year. (We are secular and just adapt what resonates.)

Up to this point, I have always planned by thinking about each of my children and starting with some notes about what each of them needs and is interested in. Something like a 6-month inventory. I then use a Waldorf outline of subjects that are covered in each of the grades I am teaching. I start my planning by making a list of blocks for each grade. Sometimes I have to cut down the list to be realistic for us. I also have, at hand, a list of what each of my kids would cover in their respective grades if they were in traditional school. We school through a charter, and while there is flexibility, I want to be aware of what is typically expected.

Once I have those things available, I create an overview calendar for the year, all 12 months on one page, which shows me each month and any relevant dates within each month. I add any dates important to that particular school year, such festivals we might want to celebrate.

I then start to drop my blocks into each month, putting similar blocks (for each child) together. So, for example, in 2nd and 5th grades, Indian Fables (2nd) and Ancient India (5th) were studied at the same time, to line up with Diwali in November. I do not need to hold hard and fast to this during the school year, but it helps guide me.

The next thing I did during the past 2 years was to have a 12 month calendar (again, just simple and on one page) for each child. Within each month, I listed the 5 core subjects my kids have to complete work samples for (math, language arts, writing, social studies, and science). Next to each of those subjects, I put down what I think I might cover for that month, drawing from my Waldorf and Common Core checklists. Again, I don't have to stick to this, but it gives me ideas.
Honestly, this is probably the part of my planning I look at the most through the year.

Lastly, I start exploring resources. For each child and subject, I list the resources I want to use and if possible, the page numbers on which I found materials I want to cover. Resources are another change I made this year. Less is more and I don't always go straight for the Waldorf "approved" resources anymore. I realized part way through this year, that I was feeling stuck, stifled, and uninspired because of my resources. When I let go a little bit, things improved for all of us. I no longer use a curriculum, and instead, use parts, pieces, and ideas from a variety of curriculum providers and other sources. The library has been wonderful and I do still keep my kids' developmental stages (from a Waldorf perspective) and temperaments in mind.

When it comes to daily planning, I sit down, often at the end of the week, to plan the week ahead. I make a small chart for each kid, with the days of the week in one column, a column which says "planned" and another "completed." I fill in our activities, then flesh out with my thoughts on what I would like us to cover. At the end of the day, I make a note of what was completed.

As my kids get older, I can't combine everything like I used to, but I certainly have overlapped, and in some cases, I do combine because we cover something I never intended to. (This year, we studied Africa because we unexpectedly had family travel there.) It is working well, though, because my kids have less of a need to be working on the same thing at the same time as they once did.

I hope I explained clearly how I plan, because it really is quite simple (or, at least, much simpler than how I thought I should plan when I began homeschooling)! This gives me some structure, guidance, flexibility, and allows me to be thoughtful about what we are doing, but it no longer leaves me feeling as though I have failed my plan.

Here's the cheat sheet for my yearly planning:

1. I use Evernote and Outlook for ease and portability, and print so I can have my hands on paper.
2. I consider my kids and their needs and I refer to a Waldorf guide and traditional guide for what is typically covered in the grades I am teaching.
3. On a 12 month calendar, I mark relevant celebrations, festivals, holidays, and other events. I also note which blocks I think might fit in each month, for each child.
4.  For each child, on a 12 month calendar, I note possible lessons in each of 5 subject areas (math, language arts, writing, social studies, and science) for each month.
5. Explore and note down possible resources for each block.

I usually re-evaluate at winter break and spring break. Weekly, I look over my plan and consider what we have covered and what I would like to cover next and create a very simple plan for the week.

How do you plan?

Other posts I have written about our homeschooling that tie in with this are here:
Homeschool Changes
A Day in the Life of Our Homeschool
Saving a Day Gone Wonky
Our Educational Journey