So I found this really great thread about planning over at Homeschoolshare. I asked Suz if I could copy some of what she had to say over here, and she said yes . . .hope you find her words as helpful as I found them. I spent quite a bit of this evening answering her questions, and I feel better about the direction we are headed this January than I did prior to completing this exercise. . .
1. 1. Where do you NEED to go?
2. Where do you WANT to go? What do you DESIRE to teach/learn?
3. How much TIME do you want to spend?
4. How will it MESH with your other studies? Are you going to do it block style, concentrating on only world geography until it's done, or will it be a unit study incorporating all your subjects (or most, anyway) or will it be a separate subject of its own? Know HOW you are going to carry it out makes planning for it easier, too.
Once I know what we're going to study by answering #1 & 2, and how we're going to do it by answering #4, figuring out #3 becomes easier, if not obvious. Only after I have these four figured out do I start looking at what I'm going to use. There's nothing like finding a great unit study that's just PERFECT, only to find out it takes 8 weeks and you've only got 3 or something equally heartbreaking. Sure, you can adapt and overcome, but I find it makes the searching for materials and lesson plans and idea easier when I know the skills, knowledge and the time frame necessary to fit them all in. After that, it's a simple matter of dividing it up into the weeks and/or days and then doing it!
Just wanted to say that I like structure but flexibility, too. So, when I'm figuring out my lessons for the week, I simply list what I want to do, not WHEN. And I always have a wish list for each unit, too. The wishlist has the stuff I'd LIKE to do, but isn't necessary in the grand scheme of things, as well as extra activities in case something doesn't go as it should (not the right supplies, library doesn't have the book, book is boring or too difficult, etc.)
No comments:
Post a Comment