Monday, July 9, 2012

Another Year, Another Organizational Scheme

"No plan survives contact with the enemy" and no school schedule survives the first few days of school.  Accepting that as true, I am still thrilled that our new scheduling system has survived the first *day* of school.  Every year, and sometimes more than once a year, we have to completely revise our way of tracking schoolwork and managing its implementation.  This year we had students in three separate years plus a challenging (sometimes deliberately challenging) preschooler.  Our previous methods of managing students and work simply wouldn't do.

We are still using the chart format schedules I've described before.  I have a copy of each student's schedule, and the older two also have their own copies.  This year I categorized the work on each schedule so that all of the work that didn't merit its own separate line item in our daily work list was combined with other work to make three or four (or in a few cases five) days of assignments.  Then I created a daily work list for each student.  At the top were grouped items that could be done fairly independently.  In the middle were grouped items we would do all together.  At the bottom were grouped items that needed my active participation.

I printed the work lists on transparency paper I happened to have around, but alternatively I could have laminated them.  I cut them out to make individual lists and hung them on the freezer door.  We found through experimentation that transparency pens did not wipe off cleanly but dry erase markers and grease pencils did, so one of each is hanging next to the lists.  As a child finishes an item, that item is marked off on the chart format schedule that I keep, but also the child marks the category off on the work list.  This allows us all to see at a glance what categories still remain for a particular day.  Oldest also handwrote a daily schedule for herself, entirely on her own initiative.

Late last night I had the bright idea of writing the books for the week for each student on the freezer door with the grease pencil.  This way they can look at the list to see what books can be selected each day--we cross them off as they are finished so the next day only the open items are available.  We can see them on the chart format list too, but it isn't as easily visible to the kids.  The more independence and control over their day the kids have, the better life is for all of us.

We agreed in advance that all independent items must be completed before lunch time.  That worked really well!  We also agreed in advance to have one older child play with the preschooler for 20 minutes right after breakfast, another older child do learning activities with him for 15 minutes after that, and me do a puzzle with him after that.  This didn't work perfectly, but it worked better than expecting him to entertain himself.

We actually mostly had school done by lunchtime today!  Oldest has still her foreign language to do, which she prefers to do in the evening, and she was finishing some odds and ends around lunchtime, but everyone else was done.  So we went out for Blizzards!


UPDATE:  We are taking our Christmas break now (December 2012) and are halfway through Term 2.  The scheduling system works great, but I have actually printed up the lists of books for each week because none of the methods of writing them on the freezer worked well for us.  So I printed them in columns and cut out the lists for each week and hang those on the freezer along with the reusable daily lists.  Keeping little brother busy has been a continual challenge.  We are not so successful with that one, and so I need to work on it.  He does not like to be left out nor does he like to cooperate.

13 comments:

  1. Sounds like a busy day, but a great start! Blizzards are always a nice treat : )

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  2. Can you share more? Like what your categories are?

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  3. I'd love to share all the details, but they are evolving as we put them into practice. lol Here's one set:

     Chores
     Copywork
     Math
     Music

     Spanish
     Extra
     Free Reading

    • Geography
    • Health/History
    • Literature/Science
    • Phonics
    • Poetry
    • Recitation – Bible
    • Recitation – Poem

    But in this case, I lumped Bible with Literature, which won't work, and putting Science in there too is not going to work. I think I may put Science with Geography and call them Hands On instead (so I can label them all together on the written detailed schedule--it's easier for me to keep up with them that way). Bible is done twice a week (as a separate subject for just this child, apart from what we do together)--I may have to break it out since it doesn't fit well anywhere else. Health this year for this child is "Beautiful Girlhood."

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  4. Oh, Extra is for those once-a-week items that tend to fall through the cracks for us. Artist/composer, Handicraft, Nature Notebook, Drawing--that sort of thing.

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  5. That last one was for Year 3. This one is for Year 1:

     Chores
     Copywork
     Math

     Spanish
     Extra
     Free Reading

    • Geography/Science
    • Health/History
    • Literature/Bible
    • Phonics/Music
    • Poetry
    • Recitation – Bible
    • Recitation – Poem

    We don't have Health every year, although for the boys it's going to be nearly every year for awhile at least. This child's list should work with Literature and Bible combined, since he does Bible once a week and doesn't have as much literature. Also, he doesn't need his split up as much--we read Parables from Nature today and ended up reading it in one sitting. By the time he mentioned it was really long, we had only a couple of paragraphs left.

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  6. This is our Year 6 list:

     Bible
     Chores
     Copywork
     Foreign Language
     Heavy
     History
     Light
     Science
     Math
     Music
     Poetry
     Recitation – Bible
     Recitation – Poem
     Recitation – Shakespeare
     Written

     Extra

    I move things into categories as needed to even out the schedule, so they don't necessarily stay in the subject headings AO assigned.

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  7. Thanks Kathy! I am always inspired by your school management, and the level of your children's independence, responsibility and accountability they have over their own school day...I am needing to work on that this year. I love the idea of getting all of their independent work done by lunch time as well, I bet my girls would love that goal, especially my youngest one. what time do you typically start your day and end? We have a basically four day schedule too that began for us last year...in the past we have begun around 8ish, after getting back from our morning exercise. We tend to start fairly early with our devotions and chores so we can head out the door by 7, then back for breakfast and school by 8ish...that is the plan Lord willing! Just curious to see how your four day schedule works for you... my girls will be entering Yr 4 and Yr 7. lovingly,
    Denise

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  8. Hi,
    Will you please post a link to your Blog at The Homeschooling Community? Our members will appreciate it.
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    It's easy to do, just cut and paste the link and it automatically links back to your website. You can also add Articles, Photos, Videos and Classifieds if you like.
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    The Homeschooling Community: http://www.vorts.com/homeschooling/
    I hope you consider sharing with us.
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    James Kaufman, Editor

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  9. I have resisted this, and held very tight to my dear planner, but I am going to have to get serious and do some visual of sorts that my girl can own and start transitioning to more independence, she says she wants me or needs me by her or doing the readings and all, but I know she needs space, and me too... I think she needs to at least decide the order of the books, etc. Something has to change a bit, or it is true misery most weeks at one point or another. There is always a crisis building up by the minute. LOL. I laugh now, but it has been a bit tough this year... and last! Since AO year 1... even before... OK, enough of my pity party, we will get to this with God, and thanks to your invaluable guidance and those who have been there before.

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    1. Oh Silvia, we're all in this together. I'm so blessed to have several moms around me who also have children who need this different approach, so that I can be encouraged in knowing that I am not alone in walking this path. It's so hard to let go of my mental image of our perfect school day, but it's wonderful to see my kids learning so much and gaining the ability to manage their own learning.

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    2. I had never seen this until now because I never subscribed to the follow up comments. Yes. We are in this together, (and to think I had no clue about you being in this impasse in your life).

      You are God sent. It is always hard to have to walk and see others running and moving faster. Then I remember Paul, and he does not say get there first, but prepare for the race, run it well. When we do that, as you say, we see our children learning so much and taking steps towards the only true education, self-education, it is very reassuring, joyful, and such a wonderful learning process for us that only makes me want to shout praises to Him for how He blesses us and blesses us again.

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