How I Use My Homeschool Planner - Eva Varga

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Homeschoolers approach each new week of school in a myriad of ways. For many of us, that approach requires a good plan created with the aid of planning resources.  As a certified teacher, there is a side of me that screams, plan ahead!!  But I have come to discover that I homeschool in a completely different manner than I did when I was in the classroom.

I wish I could say that I sit down every Sunday evening with my Well Planned Day Planner, a pencil, the plethora of curricula and books we use spread before me, and dive into planning for a new week.  But that is just not how I roll.  Not anymore.

How I Use My Homeschool Planner

To my surprise, I have come to discover that I am very much an Unschooler with strong Charlotte Mason and Classical influences.  I thereby have a clear picture of where I want to go and what I want my children to achieve during their school years, but I take a very relaxed and gentle approach to get there.  I allow their interests to lead us and I take advantage of what life brings us – travel, community programs, etc.  I thereby use the planner as an ongoing record of what we have accomplished, the lessons we’ve covered, topics we have explored or learned via documentaries, etc.  as opposed to planning ahead what I want to accomplish each week.

Some weeks, I even forget to record anything at all.  The kids always shake their head in dismay when I ask, “What did we learn in history last week? What was the topic of the Oregon Field Guide episode we watched at Papa and Grandma’s?” Perhaps I should be a little more diligent, but for now, the system works for me.

The pages within the homeschool planner that I use the most are the Weekly Schedule pages where I can organize our week’s activities (by day and by subject), weekly priorities, dinner menu, and notes.   There are five subject area divisions –  Bible, Math, History, Science, and English – as well as two subject areas that are left blank (I use these for Mandarin and Music).  I have two children and thereby divide some of the subject areas (Mandarin, math, and music) into two allowing me to keep an ongoing account of what each child is learning.  The other subject areas I teach both kiddos simultaneously (science, history, language arts) – with different expectations as to the product they produce.  I use the bible subject area for all our extracurricular activities – bible study, swim team, Barnesklubb, Sons of Norway, special community talks, library, and art.

I love that the weekly page has a place for planning dinner – this is a huge help for me and helps alleviate stress in the evening.  With weekly swim practice year round and Sons of Norway meetings – our evenings can sometimes be chaotic.  I also enjoy the Month at a Glance pages whereby I can plan field trips, enrichment activities, and keep a list the books I want to read that accompany our current unit studies.

Follow this link if you are interested in seeing more of the variety of planners available, The Well Planned Day Planners.