There are two different types of planning that are important in homeschooling. They are…
…“Big Picture Planning” and “Detailed Planning”.
The Big Picture Plan is a zoomed-out view of our kids’ entire education. All the subjects. All the years. Everything from ABC and 123 up through high school graduation.
I’m a list person. I love lists. If there’s a problem for me to solve, the solution will probably involve a list. And, if it’s a list in the form of a spreadsheet, all the better!
Now, even if you’re not on the same page as me about lists being the answer to life’s most pressing problems, please hear me out.
There’s one list – and, yes, it’s a spreadsheet *giddy squeals* – that has helped me plan out our homeschool years more than any other resource I’ve made or bought. The best part is, it’s *EASY* and *FREE* to make and highly customizable.
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We love The Story of the World history curriculum.
(And, given that I loathed history when I was a kid, it’s no small potatoes for me to say that I love a history curriculum!)
After using Tapestry of Grace Primer for my oldest son’s first and second grade years, we started Volume 1 of The Story of the World and haven’t looked back.
To the tune of Auld Lang Syne…
Christmas gifts strewn all around,
Party messes still piled high,
Decorations to repack…
I think I’m about to cry.And add to this the pressure felt
– words by Sensible Homeschool
To analyze your life,
And come up with some lofty goals
That will solve all of your strife.
That’s how the song goes, isn’t it?
When my oldest son had some pre-writing work under his belt and was ready to start learning how to write letters and words, I researched the depths of the internet in the hopes of finding the one right, best method for teaching handwriting.
Long story short, there’s no such thing.
Some experts say cursive first, others say manuscript. Some say lower case first, others say upper case. They all seem to have an opinion about which letters to teach first and which font style is the best for beginning writers – D’Nealian, Zaner-Bloser, Palmer, Getty-Dubay, Wingdings (just kidding about that last one).
What size should the primary lines be for which grade level? Will tracing ruin my child forever, or is it a great first step toward handwriting success? And on and on and on…
One of the beauties of homeschooling is that kids can work at their own pace based on skill mastery rather than age or grade level. This is helpful for all subjects but especially ones with physical coordination aspects like handwriting. Kids are all over the map when it comes to physical development.
Is your kindergartener’s printing better than your spouse’s? No need to hold them back with a “kindergarten” book! Does your older student need extra printing practice before tackling cursive? No worries! You can use whatever resources meet him where he’s at based on ability, not necessarily grade.
At the end of the day, the goal is to have kids who can write neatly (or at least legibly) to communicate in written form.
