Journal of a Busy Mom

living one day at a time

Planning My Homeschool Year: Year at a Glance

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I am helping a friend of mine to plan out her homeschool year for next year. So, I have really had to stop and think about how I do it.

Well, I have to give credit where credit it due. For the last 2-3 years I have used The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell Published by Apologia Press. It has been a wonderful tool. Last year, however, as I started my daughter’s high school journey, I moved away from it and kind of  did my own thing.

But I have been using some resources from other moms. For example I used some worksheets from Edsnapshot’s Mini Planning kit. This year I went ahead and purchased the whole kit for under $15.

This particular calendar came from Tina at Dynamic Homeschool Plus:

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2015-16 Calendar

Now, for step 1:

Gather all my schedules together: Husband’s holidays schedule, local school district schedule, our online “school” we like to use and any other schedules that might influence the school year (co-op, Community Bible Study,etc).

I also need a year at a glance calendar. I found a really neat one here. It is by far one of my favorites! I love how I can add up the days, weeks, and see everything on one sheet.

I start with marking off all the holidays that we will take off. Holidays are in blue. These are the days off that we will share with Dad.

Next, I  mark off the weeks we will take off. I do a modified year round schedule. So I don’t give the kids a “Summer” off. We take weeks throughout the year. Most of the year, we do school 5 weeks and take 1 week off. Sometimes, it doesn’t fit perfectly so it might be 6 or 4 weeks. I also have to consider what weeks our online “school” is taking off and sometimes I just do those weeks, even if it doesn’t perfectly line up. So our weeks off are in pink. Some weeks line up perfectly with when daddy is off so that is bonus.

Thanks to Tina at Dynamic Homeschool Plus, I have a handy 5 year Holiday List to use for this task.

So next, I go through and mark our semesters. We belong to a PSP(private satellite program) which is basically a private school. So, in our school we have semester end dates so we can turn in attendance quarter goals, etc. So those are marked in their various spots. For us they are October 31, January 31, March 31 and June 30. If these dates land on a weekend, I will chose the Friday before.

In California, we are required to complete 180 days of school so now I pencil it the numbers of days of school for each month. After adding up all the days, I have 191 days of school. I much rather have more days than not enough, so I am going to leave it alone.

I also have scheduled 3 floater days to take whenever we get overwhelmed. So even with those, I still have 191.

Obviously this calendar is not set in stone. Our 2014-15 calendar changed so much, I had to re-print it several times.

Ligia

 

Homeschooling Freedoms

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Last week we got very little done…..

We had to take two days off to travel and visit a sick family member. I had to let go of my lesson plans, weekly assignments, goals and deadlines….

The freedom of homeschooling.

I probably would have taken my kids out of school anyways. They would have missed two days of school and had to catch up when they got back. The teachers would probably have given them tons of “make-up” work and we’d be working throughout the weekend.

Well, I planned to just pick up where we left off and get as much as we can get done Thursday and Friday and call it a day. Sometimes my sanity is worth it.

Will I feel “behind” ? Yes. I always feel behind. But a trusted mentor told me once “Who are you behind???”

I am going to not worry about it and just be thankful that I could just do that. Leave and pick up right where we left off.

I am sure I will have more of those days to come. Those unexpected days that throw me for a loop.

I guess that is why I choose to homeschool year-round so I don’t freak out when we miss 1-2 days for a much needed drive up the mountains to visit someone we love and care about. In ten years, we won’t remember those two missed school days but we’ll remember sitting next to grandma talking and laughing and giving her joy; maybe for the last time.

 

Homeschooling: CLEP Testing

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This past Monday, I held a Clep Meeting at my house to discuss with other moms the advantages of CLEP testing. If you are not familiar with “Clepping” here is what I shared with the moms.

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I.  What is CLEP?

CLEP is the “College-Level Examination Program” and is also known by terms such as “testing out” or “credit by examination.”  Simply put, you use independent study to prepare for a specific college course and then go to a local college to take the computerized multiple choice exam.  If you pass, you are issued the credits, as if you had taken the class at the college.

II. Why CLEP?

-accumulate dual credit, showing credits that will count toward high school requirements AND, at the same time, count towards a college degree

-shorten the years of study required to attain a college degree, since you are starting in the teen years

-save you money in earning a college degree, as CLEP exams are MUCH cheaper than registering for a college class on campus

-show ANY “brick and mortar” college that your child is capable of performing at a college level, and you’ll have the credits to PROVE it!

-avoid “basic skills” classes when entering college by CLEPing college math and freshman english

-give your child the chance to delve into the subject being studied while moving at a comfortable pace for optimum learning

-sharpen your child’s independent study skills, which are a MUST in the college environment

-continue to share your “world view” with your child when studying controversial topics contained in many social science classes

-tackle tough subjects ONCE and get the credit the FIRST time around.  Why do high school biology and then retake it again for college credit?

IV. SOUNDS GOOD, BUT WHERE DO I START?

A normal college course includes classroom instruction, followed by testing and then the granting of credits earned.  Through our lesson plans you will be able to use your child’s independent study skills, replacing the instructional phase of the college class process with the appropriate books and videos we’ve selected as study tools.  Your child will prepare for the exam and the college board will issue them credits for passing the test.  These credits can be “banked” with the college board and then transfered to the college of your choice in the future.

Free Lesson Plans:

Clep Lesson Plans

Free CLEP Prep

Here are three colleges that will encourage and support you in CLEPing your degree AND they are FULLY ACCREDITED four year colleges… “””

Thomas Edison State College

Charter Oak State College

Excelsior College

List of schools that accept CLEP:

http://www.clepguru.com/Colleges.html

Here is a great book that really got me thinking about CLEPs:

Get a Jump Start on College! A Practical Guide for Teens

At the end of our meeting they were all excited about having our teens do classes together to prepare and study for the clep tests. So I am very glad I put this meeting together.

Ligia

 

Weekly Wrap-Up