Purpose of scheduling?

[skueppers]

This may seem like an idiotic question, but please be kind. I'll be doing K next year with my daughter, though I anticipate that the academic materials needed will be first grade level.

Anyway, I'm wondering what the purpose of scheduling is? I see a lot of references to planning out the whole semester or the whole year, and I'm kind of at a loss as to why I would want or need to do that.

My plan, such as it is, is to begin wherever we happen to be, and proceed onward at whatever pace seems reasonable. I expect to have some kind of weekly schedule -- reading, writing, and math every day, other subjects once or twice a week -- but I don't really need to know where we'll be in each aspect of our curriculum three months in advance, do I?

I can see that I would need to know two or three weeks in advance that some resources or materials are going to be needed so I can get them organized, but wouldn't that be adequate?

I'm sure part of this is related to educational philosophy. I feel like I'm not very outcome-oriented. Obviously I think the outcome is important in the long term, but I don't feel a particular need for my kids to learn specific things during each academic year. As long as they're making regular progress in math, it doesn't matter to me exactly how old they are when they master the addition of fractions. Am I just naive?

So anyway, I'd really enjoy learning more about the benefits of scheduling!

[lach]

I think it just comes down to the fact that some people need to be able to see the big picture in order to understand how smaller pieces fit. I know that I'm like that. I'm a planner: I like to have a complete plan in place before I start anything. Even when I wash the dishes I do a brief survey of what's in the sink and plan out my course of action. I'm good at going with the flow once I get started, I just prefer to start out with a big picture plan.

Other people work better planning things as they go along.

Neither way is better than the other: you just have to do what works for you and your family.

[Oriole]

I might not be the right person to answer this, but I'll try anyway.
I teach at the moment, but I plan to homeschool when DP and I have a little bambino of our own.

Planning out the year in advance is simply an organizational tool. It doesn't mean that you need to create an intervention program if you are not keeping up with the schedule, but it might be helpful for you to see the bigger picture.

If you go week by week, you might not realize that decimals might fit in better between fractions and percents, until after the fact. You might read a book in September, but then realize that another one would be a better fit, and the one in September would actually fit it nicely in March, since you are planning that camping trip anyway, or doing something special in science.

When you have your topics for the year in front of you, it's not hard to adjust them and to make changes, but it does help to see the bigger picture. You might realize that certain math topics will fit in nicely with certain social studies topics, and time it accordingly. Also, when you plan and write your ideas down, I find it helps to come up with integrated projects as well.

Anyway... I think there are many ways to homeschool, and ultimately, it is whatever works best for you. I'm a planner, and I think it would make it easier for me personally to know where I am going, kwim?

I don't think your plans to homeschool are doomed unless you write yourself a schedule five months in advance.

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by skueppers

Anyway, I'm wondering what the purpose of scheduling is? I see a lot of references to planning out the whole semester or the whole year, and I'm kind of at a loss as to why I would want or need to do that.

It's really an individual thing.

We didn't have a schedule for Kindy, and I felt it was very haphazard, disorganized, and generally non-productive. So this year I sat down and wrote out a weekly schedule for the first half of the year. I found that having an actual physical schedule, with items to be checked off, led to greater motivation to actually do those things and more getting done.

That's me, though. Some people do just fine with a very generic "15 minutes of math/phonics/writing a day" sort of plan, or even less of a plan than that. Kind of like some people naturally manage to keep a clean house without difficulty, and others need FlyLady (And still others don't care if their house is messy).

Other benefits: It makes it very easy for someone other than me to do some of the schooling (which is good, as DH will help while I'm at school if told what to do), and if you want to read a book over a certain length of time, it's helpful to figure out in advance how much needs to be covered each day/week in order to do so if it isn't already conveniently divided into appropriate length chunks.

Along similar lines, I suspect that a schedule becomes more helpful when you have multiple school-age kids at varying levels, especially as they get to the point where they're working more independently.

I also found it helped with library planning - For example, if I wanted to use a particular book for week 13, I needed to reserve it by week 10 to be sure it would get it transferred from the other library branch in time, so I wrote "Reserve Book X" on the schedule in week 10, and "Check out book X" on week 12.

Some of it is a matter of experience and gaining confidence with yourself and your curriculum, and, as it comes time to write my schedule for the second half of the year, I think we're going to have more of the "15 minutes a day" type of scheduling for many subjects. But written down with checkboxes, so that it's more likely to actually happen, because I need that level of structure!

So... try it without a schedule if that's what feels right. If it works, great! If it doesn't, make a schedule. Or try it with a schedule, and deviate from it if it isn't working. It's all about what works for you, not one correct way of doing things.

[moominmamma]

I think that like others have said, it's a personality thing. We have never had a schedule. Ever. My kids are 15, 13, 11 and 6 and they're all doing just fine. These days they're doing a fair bit of bookwork and they're pretty goal-oriented and self-challenging. Sometimes they move far faster through things than I would ever have imagined. Sometimes much more slowly. Overall they tend to learn in fits and starts, delving deeply in something for a while and then dropping it for a while. Trying to administer a schedule would be like herding cats. I couldn't schedule my kids' interests and motivational spurts, so I don't try. We just let things fall as they may. It works for us.

Miranda

[LauraLoo]

We work from a schedule, but it probably isn't like what many would consider to be a schedule. DS and I agree upon our yearly educational goals and then we map out how it will be covered on a very high level. I break it down into manageable chunks so that we don't get pulled off track.

For example, we are planning a trip this winter and will likely be able to maximize some learned history into sight seeing - for us that means that we want to cover some aspects prior to leaving for our trip. It also means, like a pp mentioned, that I need to make sure that I request library books or videos in advance. Over the holiday, we knew were were going to see a production of "The Christmas Carol," so we took a literary detour into Charles Dickens world.

We know where we are going with science next year based on ds' interests, and that means that there should be some mathematical concepts covered this year. Knowing where we want to end up means that I'm scheduling backwards from that point. We might not end up there if interests change, but we're working towards that goal.

Other aspects of our HS'ing are covered as we see fit and when it strikes the mood.

DS also likes to know where he's going (and still needs a little help formulating what's available) and likes to review what he's done. For him having a schedule keeps his mind on a purpose and allows him to feel a sense of accomplishment when we've completed something. It also helps me keep an eye out for extra curricular events in our community that would be meaningful that I might gloss over and not consider due to added expense. We saw a wonderful Da Vinci exhibit that was around this past fall at a museum, and because we are covering medieval history this year I made sure that we went rather than passing it up.

[Momma Aimee]

Some of it depends on how you have to account to the State, if you have to.

it also depends on if you plan to homeschool all the way or if you think / know your kids may go back to school outside the home at some point. then there is a question of staying on track or makeing sure the child(ren) get where they need to be ...

A lot of it is "how people think" .. i for one, need to see the "long term goal" and "what comes next" -- not that the path won't change ... but just as a general idea. day to day gets to be too much -- i can't see the forest for the trees.

We are doing Prk-K 4/5 now .. and i have a "rough draft" all the way out to 1st of products / books i want to use and the general order and so on ... it jsut helps me think it all though. to see the plan as a whole.

a part of it is also to feel "i have a handle on this" even if it is only a feeling and there is a feeling of success as you check things off

Also schudeling and planning allow for me to find materials and think things though rather than "fly by the seat of my pants". I can find new books, or craft ideas (and actually ahve the stuff and have it ready).

it keeps me on track.

I know we are hardly into real schooling, but i have already found things and thought "gee i would have loved to have had that..." or "gee i forgot about THAT" ... having a general idea of what we are doing next, and next after that allows me to be better preped and not to miss stuff ..

[Geerbabe]

Every year I write a summary of the things we might like to cover in each subject and I also write up a library list for 3 big topics we would like to focus on, but I don't break it down any more than that. Our work on a week to week basis is driven by a desire to cover reading, math, and piano practise every day, and then cycle throught the other topics in a one to two week period. As long as I look ahead enough to have supplies ready for our next art and science projects, it seems to work well for us.

[skueppers]

Originally Posted by LauraLoo

We work from a schedule, but it probably isn't like what many would consider to be a schedule. DS and I agree upon our yearly educational goals and then we map out how it will be covered on a very high level. I break it down into manageable chunks so that we don't get pulled off track.

Thanks for your response -- that's a very interesting way of looking at it. Because my daughter just turned 5, she doesn't yet have actual educational goals, so I hadn't really considered how providing scheduling support would help a kid get where they wanted to go.

[skueppers]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

Some of it depends on how you have to account to the State, if you have to.

Ah, yes -- where I live, we do have to account to the state, but only in that we have to show that we are providing regular instruction in the various required subjects. We don't have to file a curriculum plan or demonstrate that the kids are actually learning anything.

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

it also depends on if you plan to homeschool all the way or if you think / know your kids may go back to school outside the home at some point. then there is a question of staying on track or makeing sure the child(ren) get where they need to be ...

I can see that. I think it's possible my kids might go to school at some point, but I also figure we can cross that bridge if and when we come to it. It seems to me that kids in school have a wide range of educational attainment at any particular grade level anyway, and that kids come and go from different school systems all the time. It's not as though every fifth grader nationwide knows the same things as every other fifth grader!

Thanks for your response, it's helpful to think about these things!

[sha_lyn]

In the lower grades I took a very relaxed approach to science and history and worked toward mastery on math and language arts. I didn't worry about scheduling or completing a a textbook/work book in a yrs time etc.

Around 3rd grade I found that there were gaps I didn't like and that DD and I neither one are suited for unschooling or extremely relaxed homeschooling. Then I started setting quarterly goals which help a lot on my end but DD resisted. After a couple of yrs I realized that that I really needed to stop letting DD blame me if we didn't complete the grade level in certain subjects by the end of the yr.

I've found that having a weekly schedule helps both of us. I still allow flexibility if we really want to dig deeper into a topic or if DD needs more time to master something but we both need a schedule to keep from falling to far behind and to decrease the likely hood that we will butt heads over how much work needs to be covered in a day/week/month etc.

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by sha_lyn

In the lower grades I took a very relaxed approach to science and history and worked toward mastery on math and language arts. I didn't worry about scheduling or completing a a textbook/work book in a yrs time etc.

this is my current approach. we are rather relaxed with science, history, geography, art, etc. i don't plan any of that really. we just read a lot, watch documentaries, go to the library and research, have resources on our bookshelf, etc.

however, i do have specific goals and expectations in regard to math and language arts. once my children are kindergarten age (according to our state - so my kids were/are closer to age 6), then i focus on the 3 r's for grades K-3. my *ideal* is that upon entering 4th grade they will be able to read well, write at grade level, and be up to par in math. upon 4th grade & up, i'll begin to focus more on other subjects - but for right now, we just follow their interests.

[skueppers]

Originally Posted by sha_lyn

I've found that having a weekly schedule helps both of us. I still allow flexibility if we really want to dig deeper into a topic or if DD needs more time to master something but we both need a schedule to keep from falling to far behind and to decrease the likely hood that we will butt heads over how much work needs to be covered in a day/week/month etc.

Thanks for the insight! Since my kids are so young, we haven't yet reached the stage where they might have an opinion about how much of a subject ought to be covered in a year. I will definitely keep this in mind for later on.

[EviesMom]

I think it's a combination of personality style and state requirements. We don't have to file this year, but next year we will. I have to show progress, but I also have to submit a curriculum plan.

Personality-wise, it's nice to have some goals that keep me from taking too many weeks "off." And I'm finding that DD wants more schedule to our days instead of less, so it's also a matter of having enough curriculum materials and planning for their cost.

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

Some of it depends on how you have to account to the State, if you have to.

This is true, too. We don't report (directly) to the state, but have to fill out a weekly report of what we've done for DS's independent study program. I copy and paste what we've done from the schedule into his report form, and it simplifies things, since last year I invariably forgot half of what we did and usually was frantically trying to recall it at the last minute

For this semester, I'm just going to do his schedule directly on the report sheet, then add, modify, or delete as needed.

[nov05mama]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

Some of it depends on how you have to account to the State, if you have to.

it also depends on if you plan to homeschool all the way or if you think / know your kids may go back to school outside the home at some point. then there is a question of staying on track or makeing sure the child(ren) get where they need to be ...

A lot of it is "how people think" .. i for one, need to see the "long term goal" and "what comes next" -- not that the path won't change ... but just as a general idea. day to day gets to be too much -- i can't see the forest for the trees.

We are doing Prk-K 4/5 now .. and i have a "rough draft" all the way out to 1st of products / books i want to use and the general order and so on ... it jsut helps me think it all though. to see the plan as a whole.

a part of it is also to feel "i have a handle on this" even if it is only a feeling and there is a feeling of success as you check things off

Also schudeling and planning allow for me to find materials and think things though rather than "fly by the seat of my pants". I can find new books, or craft ideas (and actually ahve the stuff and have it ready).

it keeps me on track.

I know we are hardly into real schooling, but i have already found things and thought "gee i would have loved to have had that..." or "gee i forgot about THAT" ... having a general idea of what we are doing next, and next after that allows me to be better preped and not to miss stuff ..

Ditto Aimee! For me, I 'schedule', but I schedule for myself and not DS. I sat down and planned out what I knew he liked to do, materials that I knew I wanted to use, and got it all on paper so I could see where we were headed.
I am still very much into child-led learning, so scheduling our whole day would just be crazy for me, but scheduling my 'rough draft' of the week and/or month(s) makes sense to me.
It was also helpful for me to see it in print...I could see that we would be just about finished with HWT around January, and would be either looking for something new, or moving to the next book, etc.
I have a 'plan' for our day and do try to go by it (Handwriting, Math, Language Arts, Art/Music, Science/Social Studies, etc etc) but am completely flexible too...to me, it's just a base to go by...nothing more

[CariOfOz]

I'm kind of a rough draft mama as well Not for me is having a gigantic excel document planning our ENTIRE learning year! It would feel too restrictive and would frustrate me.

We use some 'curriculum' and some things we do in a very eclectic way. For example, Math U see... it's pretty easy to see where we'll be, and roughly when (as the boys tend to do 1-2 lessons per week, using it daily).

I tried a ready made science curriculum and while i liked that I could plan one chapter a week... sometimes it just felt right to zoom through one, or take a little longer in another. This year I'm picking 4 or 5 science topics to really delve into (starting with magic school bus books and adding other books, enchanted learning activities and field trips to the science centre to round it out) I'll work out roughly how long that gives us in each topic, but that's about it

I'd say I'm somewhat outcome oriented, in that our reporting is basically ticking off the expected outcomes for x grade, and that I am not overly rigid in HOW they learn things as long as they 'get' it! I *might* have lessons planned out 3-4weeks in advance... but not always

[sha_lyn]

Originally Posted by skueppers

Thanks for the insight! Since my kids are so young, we haven't yet reached the stage where they might have an opinion about how much of a subject ought to be covered in a year. I will definitely keep this in mind for later on.

You are welcomed.

It also really helped when I start showing the relation between subjects too. IE she really wanted to dig deep into chemistry this year. I showed her how math and reading related to the levels of chemistry. With this she was more willing to work through pre-algebra and to buckle down on reading harder/longer words