Goal Planning Monday - August 12

This past week was crazy.  Between my Arts & Crafts Series for the Crew Blog Hop, and moving into our new schoolroom,  I have mostly been kept out of trouble! 

Time to catch up on my old plans....

I got Luke's transcript and the school supplies.  (Huzzah for Amazon!)

The schoolroom is fairly well organized.  All our books and supplies are on the shelves, and the only shelf that needs to be tidied is...mine.  The thing that is totally awesome is I can now find the craft supplies I want, because they're all in the same room!

Does anybody else feel like they're constantly writing lesson plans?  I got Luke's started - he has three weeks' worth of work planned.  I'm making Jude and Damien's up as I go along, especially since they have started with different therapies.  Luke can easily do his work while the others are in their sessions, but we will have physical, occupational, and speech therapies three days each week for the little boys.  Right now, my goal is to keep up with reading and math and then we will see what we can fit in.

If I can cram it in, this week's goal is to get Matthew and Celia finished their summer reading, and get their uniform shoes.  I got the rest of their uniforms last week.  Only three more weeks until they go back!

I have a bunch of blog ideas, so I'd like to start drafts that are more than the title and two or three idea words.  I also have a chapter of a new book I'm contributing to.  It's going to be about homeschooling around the holidays.  It's due September 1st, so I better get cracking!

Have a great week!



©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Moving into our new schoolroom!!

I'm so excited that our new schoolroom is finally finished!!  Woohoo!  Last year, with Jude our only "official" homeschooler, the supplies sort of took over.  We had arts & crafts supplies all over the house.  Jude's books took over, and so did Damien's toys.  Keeping the dining room useable as a dining room was difficult.

I think the last straw was the comb binder that took up one of the sideboards. Neal asked if we could move things into the basement.  We do have a finished playroom that had a table and chairs, but I was hesitant to move things there for fear that Jude would be easily distracted.  We compromised and moved a few things around to accommodate a table and chairs in a separate, unfinished area for our workspace.  I boxed everything up, moved it down, and we started doing our lessons.

The clutter was no longer in the dining room.  Everything we needed was now in one space.  All good things, yes? Yes.  Except we were used to crafting.  There was no way to do painting or other crafts downstairs - we had no water for watercolors, and no way to clean up hands full of glitter glue.  It also meant running up and down the stairs mid-project to retrieve forgotten supplies.

I asked Neal if we could consider putting in a cabinet, sink, and countertop, so I'd have a place to wash messy hands and set paintbrushes to dry (without having to move them so I could make dinner).  The project just kept growing - we added a washer & dryer so I can do laundry between lessons.  A small bathroom showed up on the to-do list.  In came the studs and the piping and the drywall.

 Guess where the books went?  Uh huh, back in the dining room!

I am so excited that our new schoolroom is finally finished.  To be honest, I have to admit that even I would like the dining room back. I'm tired of tripping over five students' worth of work (with three official homeschoolers and two with summer assignments, there's a lot of stuff out), and am looking forward to having room to spread out.

And I thought it was was a mess before!  Thankfully, the weather has been mostly nice so we have worked outside - our deck has a large table plus a counter with chairs so everyone could spread out, and is next to the kitchen (so handy for clean up), but the clutter and piles are too much!

One fantastic thing is Neal and I got several date nights out of this.  Luke babysat for us for few times so we could go get supplies (and dinner) without having to drag everyone out.  Here are a few shots of my hubby loading up one of the carts and the truck.

This is one of my favorite in-progress pictures.  The contractor and electrician were working one day, and then Jude drove up and parked so he could "help."

My beloved sink and counter installed!   I was so excited once we had running water! Anything else (including staining the cabinetry) is bonus!

Finished!

Look in the corner -- I even have a "teacher's lounge" with a new Keurig.  It's a bit of a splurge, but I know that I get very easily distracted, so this will keep me from wandering upstairs and getting "lost" when I need a refill.

The only downside I can see right now -- we need to move back in.  We had the floor sealed and painted, but that meant moving everything out of the area.  The big stuff got shifted from one side of the room to the other, but the shelves...well...

So now all of this (and the stuff on the table upstairs!) needs to find a new home.  I'm wondering if we can count "organizing the schoolroom" as "Life Skills/Home Ec" for the week.  We started our school year a month ago, but I am so ready to get things set up!  Moving in -- that's my goal for this week!

PS. Add "Enter Meg's current giveaway!" to your to-do list!  

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Slowly Getting Organized

 I haven't checked in at Goal Planning Monday for a little over a month.  It's been such a slow progress, that there hasn't been much to share.  I'm getting there bit by bit, though.

My last goals were to:

 1. Find some way to be organized on paper.  Well, I'm not totally there yet.  At the least, I've figured out what is NOT working for me! 

 2.  Figure out what courses Luke wants/needs beyond the cores, and get curriculum chosen for Luke.  Pretty much done.

 - Literature/US History - we've started with Notgrass' America The Beautiful as our base, and added on the Time Travelers Series from Homeschool in the Woods and the brand-new 12-14  Literature & Social Studies from Moving Beyond the Page.  I also found out that US History is a 2-year course in public school, so that's a relief (I was wondering how on earth we were going to cram it all in!).

-Faith Formation - We're using the Didichae Online Series from My Catholic Faith Delivered.

-Chemistry - Science for High School. He started it for a Crew Review and we're just going to keep on trucking!

3.  Figure out a timetable for courses.  As organized as can be.  Those courses above are for "this" semester, and then when he's done chemistry he'll start Geometry.  He has some other courses to fill in - foreign language, etc. - that we'll just fill in.  He wants to get his feet under him with some classes and then add more in September or October, rather than trying to juggle everything at once. We sort of have Junior and Senior years organized - or at least slotted so we don't miss anything.

4.  Reorganize my blog notes.  Work in progress. Not as done as I'd like to be, but I don't feel like I'm playing catch-up all the time.

5.  Sort Jude's work from the past year and assemble a portfolio to take with us to show his developmental specialist next week. That appointment went well.  She was very happy with his progress this year.  Definitely a good thing!

6.  Plan out Jude's studies for next year, at least to where if I need to order something for Luke, I can see if I need something that can come on the same shipping charge.  Yeah, well, that was the plan, but that darned Murphy! I ordered some Moving Beyond the Page stuff to share between him and Damien (Jude will do the workbooks, but the books are on a good trajectory for Damien) but I had to order it separately from Luke's in order to get the discount. I did combine phone calls for the Faith Formation classes, and discussed the grade school program when I talked to the company rep about Luke's.   I signed up all four big kids, and Celia and Matthew started today. 

7.  Get Luke's transcript from his current school, and get it scanned into the computer.  Also write letters of intent to send to our local district for Jude and Luke.  Not done.  I keep forgetting to call...I need to write myself a note.

8.  Plan out some day/field trips for the summer for all the kids.  I haven't  gotten beyond "planning." It's been either to wet, too hot, or too busy.

9.  Clean out my laptop of any downloaded samples I no longer need, copies of pictures that are on the external hard drive, etc. and free up some memory so I can download curriculum.   Well, it was done.  Then I bough more stuff!!  I did get files organized, so I can find things I need.

10.  Reflect on this school year, and enjoy the last few days before starting over.   I did get to do this - I made a Yearbook for a Crew Review, and it was fun to go through all the pictures and posts from last year.

I don't have anything major planned for the next couple weeks.  The smaller stuff:

1.  GET LUKE'S TRANSCRIPT.  I need to do this before the end of July so I don't have to hunt it down through the Diocese. I just need my brain to remember that I need to call when it's 10 in the morning, not at 10 at night!

2. Get school supplies.  Both the school kids and the homeschool kids need crayons, notebooks, etc. I should do that sooner than later - last year I waited too long and it was hard to find things.

3. Get curriculum sorted, and things put away.  This may or may not happen in the next week - our basement-into-schoolroom renovation is nearly done, but the floor needs to be resealed.  Hopefully it will be done by next weekend, but if not, we'll just live out of boxes for another week.

4. Get some lesson plans set up, at least for Luke, so he can work more independently and not be waiting on me to print things and give him direction.  Also then I can better schedule his blog posts (instead of writing lots of papers, he's exploring different styles of writing with his own feature, Luke's American Adventures) so they get better exposure.






Sharing our plans with:










©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Goal Planning Monday - June 10

I got away from writing out my goals each week. It seemed just as easy to keep a running tally in my head. Not anymore. I think my head is about to explode, especially as I get closer to needing to get Jude and Damien and now Luke organized for the next year to start. Luke would like to take a few days to chill and then start right in on next year, so that he can either work part time (he'd ideally like to have 4 day weekends each week) and/or be finished his sophomore year by Christmas.  Guess mom better hop-to!

This week's goals:

1. Find some way to be organized on paper.  I need to find (or create) some type of spreadsheet for lesson planning, assignments, and resources.  I want to have something I can print and put in a binder so Luke can work fairly independently.

 2.  Figure out what courses Luke wants/needs beyond the cores, and get curriculum chosen for Luke.   He wants to do US history this year, and we have plans to tie it in with literature and writing.  Now to just get it organized.  He'd also like to do a lapbooking type of program, so I'm currently scouting those out to see what I can find.  I have a feeling we will be doing a bunch of DIYing since most lapbooks are meant for younger students.  Either we will use them as a springboard (I have my eye on the Time Travelers Series from Homeschool in the Woods) or as targeted studies (these from Homeschool Helper Online look like they may have potential).  I do have some ideas for his other courses as well, but one class at a time.

3.  Figure out a timetable for courses.  I don't think we need to start *all* of them immediately, but waiting to start math until October means he will be hard-pressed to finish by the holidays.  The other option is to look at sophomore and junior years as more of a single unit, and rather than trying to have "all" of a year done by a specific time, consider setting goals for individual subjects.  (I'm in no rush for him to race through, but he'd like to get as much done as he can this year so he can start in with dual credit courses at the local college next year when he turns 16.)

4.  Reorganize my blog notes.  I had a decent system going, but then I got away from it, and I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up.  I also need to plan out topics to write so I'm not feeling so "last minute" - like having the review I need to write that's due in a couple of days gnawing at me. 

5.  Sort of Jude's work from the past year and assemble a portfolio to take with us to show his developmental specialist next week.

6.  Plan out Jude's studies for next year, at least to where if I need to order something for Luke, I can see if I need something that can come on the same shipping charge.

7.  Get Luke's transcript from his current school, and get it scanned into the computer.  Also write letters of intent to send to our local district for Jude and Luke.

8.  Plan out some day/field trips for the summer for all the kids.

9.  Clean out my laptop of any downloaded samples I no longer need, copies of pictures that are on the external hard drive, etc. and free up some memory so I can download curriculum.   Discuss pros and cons of getting my own backup drive just for curriculum with Neal and determine if it's worth a separate drive or just using our main household one.

10.  Reflect on this school year, and enjoy the last few days before starting over.  We've come pretty far on this road, and not without bumps.  As much as I need to get in gear for the future, I need to remember to live in the moment too. 

That seems ambitious enough for one week, right?  What are you planning to do this week? Join us in holding yourself accountable over at Debbie's Digest.









 ©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Goal Planning Monday - February 11

Why is it so hard to get my act together? There is something about February that makes me want to just burrow.  Maybe the weather?  I'm slowly getting there.

Updates and tweaks:

-Organize blogging.  Getting there.

So far, the binder idea is working.  I need to get better at planning out activities, but I do have better plans now than a few weeks ago, so that's something. 

I've also learned how to link my blog to Pinterest, and how to make individual images Pinnable.  Which is pretty impressive - I have almost no web-building skills.  Yay for Pinterest and links to step-by-step instructions. 

I've been accepted as a guest blogger at a newly relaunching site, so I'm really excited about the opportunity.  It will start in April and I will be writing about allergy friendly recipes and treats.  My first article is due on March 1st, which sound like a long way away, but it's really two weeks.  I'd like to try to get that written, and my second article written by mid-March.  My goal is to try to stay two weeks ahead of deadline, so then I have time if I run into problems.  I need to figure how to work this into my blog binder...I think I need a folder or something.

My first Schoolhouse Crew Review went live last week, and my second one is due in a few days.  I think it needs one more read-through and then it's ready. 

-The never ending lesson plans.  Like I said, never ending.

Jude -  I've mapped out what we're doing for the next couple weeks.  I decided not to change too much at the moment as we have several reviews going on, and I think my head will just explode if I try to test one more thing.  (His just might, too! LOL)

The only project I really need to come up with (and quickly!!) is a Lenten craft. Last year we took craft foam hearts, wrote numbers on them for which day of Lent it was (1 through 40) and glued them to a black foam cross.  The idea was that we started with something black and boring and ugly and by the end of Lent, it was covered in love.  I'm thinking of doing a butterfly -- we'll make the caterpillar/"body" on Ash Wednesday and then I'll figure some way to build the wings over the course of Lent.   I have some shiny foil heart stickers, so maybe we will do the outline of the wings and then add a heart a day.  I'm not quite certain yet, but that seems simple enough that Damien can do the same project too.
 
Damien - For the moment, I'm just dividing the columns in my current planner.  I don't love it, but I need to figure out something else.  Probably it's just a matter of being able to spend time with Word or Excel or something similar to get not only a layout that I want but something that works once it's printed out.  I NEED paper, so it's going to have to work that way. 

The main issue I had was I can't fit everyone neatly on one page, and I need to figure out how to do the layout so I can print two-sided.  Seems like it should be easy, but my printer has nearly sailed through the window.  Not it's fault, of course, but it can't seem to understand what I want it to do.  It's wi-fi enabled, so why can't my brain just work over wi-fi?


-Send a few emails to other local homeschooling Moms.   Well, I got as far as finding out a few email addresses, and joining a Facebook page for local homeschool moms.  That's something, right? 

I have been making bunch of other calls, and these got pushed down the list. Soon. 

I think instead of trying to start planning too far ahead, I'm going to wait.  We're about to start our new Phonics book, and we've been trying several Math programs. We were chosen to do two different math programs - neither is Jude's level, but I'm taking the time to see if I like the programs overall enough to consider switching to it for next year.  I think since we're also doing a really eclectic mix of curricula and I'm not worried about getting a whole program, we may just wing it a little longer and try to see what's out there.   I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open for ideas, but I'm not going to stress over it just yet. 



Set your own goals and join the party over at Mama Manuscripts.

Goal Planning Monday (January 28)

I took a break from setting actual goals for the start of the new year.  We spent a lot of time getting our feet back under us after the break.  Slowly getting back to "normal" -- whatever that is!  Time to start planning things again, and writing them down.  Otherwise, I just spend my time thinking "I know there was something else..."  Lists are good.

 Things to do:

-Organize blogging.

I've set  up a new binder that is seems to be working -- so far.  I have a monthly calendar that I have organized by color:  red for my SCW reviews that have an absolute deadline, holidays/blog themes written in black, and meme/personal "I want to do this" in blue. Behind each month is a weekly "To do" with lists & prompts.  Now that I have some basics mapped out, I need to fill in the prompt/idea part -- ie, I know Valentine's Day is coming up in a couple weeks, so I need to figure out if we are doing a cooking project, or arts & crafts, or both, and plan accordingly.

-The never ending lesson plans.  

Jude -  needs his lesson plans for February updated, and I need to figure out what changes we are making.  I want to change his Bible study program, and I think we need to do something about Math.  Bible study is too much reading and I lose his attention; when you get straight 100s in Math, it's time to try something more challenging.
 
Damien - we have been testing out a curriculum, but I'm not convinced it is "right" for us.  I want to try to do some tweaking.  I also want to figure out a way to do side-by-side lesson plans - I think it will mean creating a template.  I have been using a monthly/weekly planner book for Jude, and I like the layout, but there isn't enough space for two kids' worth of plans. I'd also like to look at them side-by-side so I can see where things will overlap, and where we can do things "together" (like adaptable-task crafts, Bible/book reading, etc.)

Big kids - I also need to do a big kid Crew plan, because they are doing some of the reviews as well.  I need to plan things out on paper so they are in front of me, rather than being a nebulous idea in my head.  Probably ought to be a third or fourth column on that multi-kid planner, huh?  It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to also pencil in their big projects that they need my help on, so I can time things accordingly. (Matthew has the county college science fair coming up soon.  We're doing a chromatology study - "Which Skittle has the most colors in the candy shell?"  I'm not sure I want to know!! He will need help with the experiment - or at least an adult to provide a third hand - and then help prepping the accompanying paper.  Since he wants it turned in THIS year, yours truly will be playing the role of typist and proofreader.) 

-Send a few emails to other local homeschooling Moms.   Since it is time for general school admissions/registration, I need to start thinking about what I need to do for fall for Jude, as age 6 starts "mandatory education" here.  The original plan was for Jude to go back to school this fall, but I no longer think that's a viable option.  Even if we held him back a year, I don't think he would do well in kindergarten, and there's no way he could manage first grade. (I think Kindergarten would be a general struggle; for first grade - Math, yes. Everything else? Nope.)    I think I'm OK with that, too.   I keep putting it off, thinking there is plenty of time, but I know fall will be here quicker than a blink. I don't think there is a whole lot to do, but now is the time to find out, and then organize everything so that if there ever were any questions, I am not scrambling to pull records together.   I also want to try to figure out what "grade" he will be in, so that if his grade-level peers ever are the benchmark, we aren't doomed from the start because of what he is capable of.

I probably should also start contemplating our curriculum choices, too.   Regardless of what grade we call him, we're just going to work to his ability, so now it's a matter of figuring out what will fit.

I think that sounds ambitious enough for one week. 

Set your own goals and join the party over at Real Life: Unscripted.

Goals for 2013

2012 was quite a year of surprises for us.  Our year started out very differently than it ended.  (Considering homeschooling wasn't in our plans...)  I've quickly learned no matter what plans you make, life has a way of changing them.  Still, having goals set out in black and white helps keep me from forgetting what I eventually need to accomplish, even if it doesn't happen in the time I have hoped it would.

Now, for the planning!

2013 Goals for Jude:

-Reading by fall.
This is most definitely a long-term goal, and timing just depends on how well he absorbs what he learns. Fall is specific in a vague sort of way, right? He's slowly getting there with knowing his letters.  It's been almost a full year that we've been homeschooling, and he's knows most of the alphabet, but not all.  I think it's possible that he will be able to read by the end of 2013 - even if it's just high-frequency words.  My goal isn't fluent reading, just "being able to pick words off the page." 

-Better social skills.
This means finding a way to provide opportunities for interacting with others.  Once the weather warms up, we will be able to hang out at playgrounds a bit, and I hope to maybe get him involved in some activity (be it an art class, or a low-key sport, or I don't know what).  Jude is still very much a lone wolf, so I don't expect him to find a friend and be inseparable, but I'll settle for "well-mannered and doesn't throw a tantrum" in social situations.

-Better language skills.
Things to work on:
-articulation and being able to understand him.  Some is actual letter sounds, some is just slowing down.
-"basic" skills like - learning full name (and agreeing that it is his name!), address, phone number, parent's names, etc.
-pragmatic skills (ie, behave in "You need to behave" is one word, and the promise answer isn't "I will have." (long A). 


2013 Schooling Goals

-Sort through the curriculum items we have, decide what is working and keep it, and pass on what isn't.
 The stuff is taking over the house!!  I have a couple of shelves in the basement that I can rearrange and then put "out of season" stuff (like the Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas books that we don't need at Easter) so we're not tripping over it.  I also need a better way to store art supplies.  What I thought would work did work -- until we had one more box of google eyes and everything started exploding!

-Start looking at "First Grade."
Since it looks like we are in this for a long haul, I need to start with making sure I don't run afoul of homeschooling laws.  (That's kind of a biggie!)  Then I need to look at what "equivalent education" means  and figure how we are going to get to it.  I'm not worried about if we *meet* it in all areas (since we have the evaluations from the docs to prove he's not on par), but just that we are moving in the right direction.  Finally, I want to start figuring out curriculum (once I figure out what is working and what isn't),  so I have plenty of time to get books and supplies.  If we can make it happen, I'm considering going "year round" with Jude.  Since it seems like we wind up taking off unexpectedly with mid-week appointments, etc., this would be a good way to not feel like we're chronically playing catch up.

-Not be putting things together at the last minute
I know we are going to need some flexibility with reviewing items for the Homeschool Crew, but I want to try to always have a week or two of lessons planned ahead.  Because when we are at the end of our "current" plans is when everyone needs help and I fall behind.

-Start teaching Damien a little bit.
I don't expect him to do a whole lot (I don't expect him to know his letters and be reading by next winter!), but I want to try to involve him more when possible. I also think this would help Jude become more independent.  (He's constantly looking to me for input - while he does need help reading directions, etc. he is anxious to have the right answer.  He needs room to fail a little.)  Damien's getting into the "monkey see, monkey do" phase, so might as well capitalize on it.  He also needs some occupational/fine motor skills worked on, so this would be a good time for them.

-Get a better grip on co-schooling 
Things like big kids' homework and projects -- while they need to do the work (obviously), we need to better manage time so it isn't all one crisis after another.  (And I don't wind up needing to help them with their science project when I need to be gathering materials for Jude's.)

2013 Blog goals

-Blog here at least 3-4 times per week, not counting Crew Reviews.

-Blog at least once/week on our family blog (The Falciani Kids) with updates on the entire gang.

-Organize the memes I enjoy posting to, so that I don't miss the link windows.

-Often, I am taking pictures with my phone, which is fine, but I really enjoy photography as a hobby, so I want to learn more about how my camera works and do some creative things with it.  I also need to gain more confidence toting my camera around, given it's a bit more "obvious" what I'm doing than having my phone.  I don't feel a need to capture every moment on film (or SD card!) but I sometimes miss some great opportunities for playing with my camera because I don't want to stand out.




What are YOUR goals? Join in the discussion! Here's to a year where most things go as planned!!

Goal Planning Monday - December 3

I can't believe it's December already!   Where did the year go?

It was lovely to have the week off!  This week's Blogging through the Alphabet letter is M - perfect to talk about what we did on our trip to where Mickey Mouse lives.  I'll post about that in the next few days.  The end of vacation means back to reality, and a slingshot into Christmas and the New Year.

This week's plans:

-Blog, blog, blog. 

I recently was accepted into the Homeschool Review Crew team, and my first "official" review is due this week.  I have a couple more items to follow up on, and then one (or two...ok, probably three) more reviews & rewrites and it will be ready to publish.

Other blog posts I'd like to do include the M for Mickey Mouse post, but also a "report card" type update,  and a "just for fun" post about something we've done.

-The ever popular lesson plans.

Someday they'll write themselves, right?  I wish. I want to change things up - rather than just being a plan of "this today, that tomorrow," I want to set more "goals" (short and long term) and the activities that go into the goals. I'm finding that our "scheduled" plans are getting tossed out the window often because of other stuff going on, and it's stressing me out.  We're not "behind" but I feel like we are, because the days are slipping by and I can't check off the day's activities.  I need to find a better middle ground.

-Finish this Math chapter.

Jude is blowing through the current unit, on positions - left/right, over/under/on, in/out, etc.  He did the first four sections in one day while we were on vacation. I forced him to wait a couple days to take the test -- and yes, he zoomed through that with a perfect score.  I'd like to get this unit finished quickly because I think the next one (number words -- "one" means "1", etc.) is going to be a struggle for him.  I know it's going to get crazy with Christmas in there, so I want to have the time to really focus on it and not feel like we're going to miss a week in the middle.

-Decide what kind of Christmas Break Jude is going to have. 

The big kids are off from the 21st until January 2nd.  I'm not certain that I want to plan a whole lot for during that time (I don't want to be beholden to the lesson plan!) but I will have to see how scheduling time off fits into things.  I'd rather take a few days off further into January when kids are back in school and we can do some fun things.

-Call some of the local kid-friendly places and find out when their 'quiet' times are.

Matthew and Celia's school was selling Kidstuff books -- similar to Entertainment books. There are some good coupons for field-trip friendly places, like the Academy of Natural Sciences, an Open Bounce place, and a few hands-on kids' museums.  Since Jude really struggles with huge groups, I want to give a few a call and try to find out if there are days that the places tend to be less attended.  Obviously, we're never going to have the whole place to ourselves, BUT if we're less likely to be run over by buses full of 3rd graders, maybe we will take a chance.

Have a great week everyone! 

Hope everybody has a good week!  Set your own goals and join the party over at Real Life: Unscripted.

Goal Planning Monday - Nov. 12

The difference between writing down goals and making a mental to do list is it seems like stuff actually gets done!

Last week's goals:

1. Keep working on adding a little more to each day. Getting there. We attempted "gym" three days last week.  Day 2 was easier than Day 1, once we figured out some adjustments to help him with technique.  We also have done a few art projects - they definitely are motivating for him. Today we added back in a "literature" component with a cute little Turkey printable - hopefully our new reading books will be here soon.  He wasn't totally enthusiastic about sitting for so long, but we stopped midway through for an "exercise break" and we actually did two crafts today: one that tied in with our Religion lesson and a paper turkey.  The promise of the turkey project kept him motivated.  

2. Contacting the Therapy Department at duPont and find out where he is on the waiting lists, and if it's going to be a while, start looking into other providers.  Phone tag.  Ugh. 

3. The Jesse Tree -- time to start printing out the pictures for the Tree.  Change of plans.  Instead of a Jude-only project, I am going to make this a family project.  I didn't get anything printed, but I found a new resource that has not only the symbols but also accompanying Bible passages.  I haven't decided how we are going to do the symbols themselves, but we are going to put the ornaments on the tree as a family, and the big kids will be taking turns reading the passages.  I am thinking Jude may take them on as an "arts and crafts" project so that they are ready for each evening when we gather as a family.  

4. Try to not be doing blog posts late at night!  Well...it's not so late right now!  LOL I've been doing "A Month of Thanksgiving" over on our family blog, and I admit, it's keeping me up.  But for these posts, I've been trying to start them via the iPhone App so that after everyone is in bed all I need to really do is pretty them up -- rearrange pictures, adjust color/type, etc.

This week's goals:

1.  Finish this Math Unit.  Jude only has about 6 textbook pages to his next section review, and then that's the end of the Unit.  We are going on vacation over Thanksgiving, and we will have a break from most of our studies. The big kids will have schoolwork to do, so we will take a few things with us.  I'm thinking maybe we will just do some review pages, or even more "game" type things, rather than trying to start a new unit.  I'd rather not have a 10 day break and be starting down the barrel of a Unit Test first thing Monday.

2.  Lesson Plans.

I don't want to have a whole lot to do, but I'd like to have a few easily-packed things for him to do while the other kids do their work while we're away.  One thing I definitely plan to do is our next Bible unit (Deborah).  I was originally planning to combine Deborah and Ruth, because there isn't a lot of activities for Deborah.  But after reading the "script" for the unit on Ruth, I decided not to and instead we will do a unit study on "Family" to tie-in with Ruth.  Jude is just starting to grasp relationships (ie grandmother is a parent's mother, Uncle Scott is Mommy's brother, etc.) so I want to capitalize on that.

I also want to try to organize December's lessons (including Ruth).  When we get home, we will be diving headlong into the holidays, so I'd like to have the month fairly organized so we're not either scrambling for either things to do or readjusting because we didn't leave any flexibility for skipping a day or two.  I also want to try to plan one "field trip."

3. Inventory our art supplies.  Some things we need to replace right now (we are out of blue paint...quelle horror!), but I think some arts & crafts things would be good to ask Santa for.


Hope everybody has a good week!  Set your own goals and join the party over at Real Life: Unscripted.

Goal Planning Monday - Nov. 5

So much for having goals for the week...along came Sandy and they all went swirling in the wind!

After some chaos the week before and then two "Hurricane Days" last Monday and Tuesday, we were finally back on track Wednesday.  We started adding one new activity for each day, and it didn't go so well.   He liked the added art project, but he wasn't quite so excited about having to do "gym" class.  I had pulled out the little activity mats I had mentioned last time, but he just didn't want to get started.  I set up several mats in a circle, varying the type of activity being asked of him,  but he wasn't going for it.  We settled on 5 of each exercise, and after a lot of coaxing, five circuits.  It was really hard for him -- his coordination was really poor -- so I think we will stick to it (he may or may not like it, but that's life!) and see where we go.  He does much better with hands-on input and cueing (repositioning his body, reminding him to reach up, etc.), but this is what he looks like when left to his own devices.




Moving forward to new goals.

1. Keep working on adding a little more to each day.

2. Contacting the Therapy Department at duPont and find out where he is on the waiting lists, and if it's going to be a while, start looking into other providers.  If he doesn't come up soon, we are going to have to start the evaluation process all over again.  He isn't any better, so honestly, I will admit I just don't want to see that (or that he's comparatively worse since he's now 6 months older) on paper.  I'd rather just look at it as "We know he needs extra help, so can we just get it already." 

3. The Jesse Tree -- time to start printing out the pictures for the Tree.

4. Try to not be doing blog posts late at night!  

Looking to set goals for yourself?  Come blog about them over at Life Unscripted!

Goal Planning Monday - October 8

 It's Monday again....

First, time to check in on last week.  Being held accountable was a good thing -- it definitely motivated me to finish projects rather than just say, "Ah, I'll do it later..." Usually "later" never quite comes around, but I definitely felt a little bit of pressure (in a good way) to get things accomplished.

1. Finish lesson plans for October. Details completed for some subjects (like Bible study that has a defined lesson), goals targeted for others (like phonics that depend on grasp of material). It's definitely at the "ready but tweakable" stage.  

2. Catalog my "Homeschooling" Board on Pinterest.  D-O-N-E!!  Woohoo!!  I knew it was not going to be done *quickly* but I didn't realize just how "not quickly" it was going to go.  I had figured it would take me about 3 hours, but in the end it took me close to 10. 

3. Plan 1-2 field trips for the month.  Sort of. We organized a family outing to Hershey Park for our 11-year-old's birthday.  I want to try to fit in one more something, but I think it's going to need to be a "weather's good, schedule is good, let's go!" sort of thing.


4.  Gather journal and blog prompts. Ongoing. Yes, I have a few to keep us occupied, but I'm keeping an open heart. I've got a page in my planner for ideas for Jude's journal, and installed the Blogger app on my phone so that I can start a post title and jot ideas, and then come back and flesh it out when I am ready to post.


5. Organize Jude's math curriculum to be more efficient across the textbook and workbooks of the program.  Started. I realized we are going to finish Unit 1 by the end of this week, so I started aligning Unit 2.  I haven't even looked at Unit 3, but since I figure Unit 2 is going to take us 2-3 weeks, I will put that on my "Ongoing Tasks" list and next week revisit Unit 3.


6. Set up Book C of the phonics series. Done. And as I suspected, the hard part was getting to CVS to pick up the sticky tabs.  And remembering to purchase them once I was in the store.


7. CCD. Well, I carried the big kids' books into and out of the hospital at least four times, but did get Jude's stuff figured out for the month of October.  That has to count for something, right? Guess we'll carry that one over to this week, and double up on lessons one week. 


8. Activities for Damien. Ongoing.  I have a bunch of worksheets pinned to a board, so I will print out a few at a time for him. Or, I found he liked doing the same Bible coloring sheet that Jude had, so I will try to print duplicates of those.  I also am looking for some activities that will require my attention so that Jude will be forced to do activities independently rather than constantly looking to me for input.


This week's goals:

1.  Play more games.  Neal ordered a few board games for everyone to play while Mimie (his mom) babysits this weekend.  Jude and I have played Chutes and Ladders once this past week, and really enjoyed it.  It took him a while to understand the rules, and I do think it helped that he got lucky and found a ladder that rocketed him to the top of the board.  He definitely could use a little more practice with taking  turns.  We also have a Candy Land game that is waiting for its turn, as well as a Super Why! board game.

2.  Arts and Crafts.  When we first started Homeschooling, Jude really enjoyed doing crafts, and we haven't had much opportunity of late to do them.  I picked up a few fall/Halloween themed crafts, so I'd like to work on them this week and next and then we can use them to decorate the house.

3.  Physical Therapy. I am trying to find a way to get Jude into a program sooner than later.  I'm currently looking into a Phys Ed program for him to help overall, and going to talk to the therapist that treats his brothers about some things that they can all do together to help each of them (a bit of a "Three Musketeers" philosophy).  The long-range weather forecast is predicting some gorgeous fall days, so hopefully we can get some good playground time it -- it's something Jude loves and he doesn't realize how hard he is working. 

4. Prep a Jesse Tree.  For Lent this past spring, we had a daily project where we covered a black foam cross with foam hearts.  Each day, Jude wrote which day of Lent we were up to, and then we glued it to the cross, transforming the bleak, black foam into a cross filled with love.  For Advent, we are going to get back to our daily project idea with a Jesse Tree.  I have a few ideas saved on Pinterest, so I want to sift through them and decide if we are going to do an actual tree and ornaments, or more of a posterboard-and-cutouts tree, or what, and then lay in the supplies and prep them.  This is definitely not going to be something completed this week, but no time like the present to start, right?

Do you have any plans for the week? Write them down and set some goals - I'm linking this post up at Real Life: Unscripted for this week's edition of the Goal Planning Monday series.  Come join us!

Goal Planning Monday (a link up)

Today I want to try something a little different.  I often have pages of to-do lists, but it seems like I never make any progress -- it's always one thing crossed off, two more written on.  The point of Goal Planning Monday with Real Life: Unscripted is to not just make a list, but to hold yourself accountable. I want to make a list (that doesn't get added to!) and see how much I can accomplish.  (Nothing like having lots of eyes watching to see if you do what you plan, or if you fall short.)




My goals (in random order):

 

1. Finish lesson plans for October.
I have about half the days planned out halfway, and keep telling myself "Make them as you go so you don't plan too much or not enough."  But then I find us going back to the same activities.  After planning the first two weeks of September and making up the rest as we went along, I preferred having to re-adjust rather than think.






2. Catalog my "Homeschooling" Board on Pinterest.
It's sort of become a catch-all spot for parking pictures of "ooh, like that concept," and then it all piles up. I would like to re-organize/divide that board into topics/similar ideas (ie language vs. math vs. science etc.) so that it is easier to to access the pins and actually use them, rather than continuing to amass a cluttered cork board.  

3. Plan 1-2 field trips for the month.
This is going to be a tall order. Part of the issue is we have 2-3 days/week with doctors' appointments scheduled. I'm also not sure what I would like to do, especially since we have little brother tagging along, AND Jude does not do well with crowds, AND we are limited to what we can do between drop off and pick up times. The last one we can solve by having the big kids go to aftercare for a little while, but the solutions to the other criteria may take a little thought. 

 


4.  Gather journal and blog prompts.
We just started working in an "About Me" journal, but it is fairly short.  I would like to do a write-and-draw journal when we are done. Sometimes the journal entry will be tied into what we are doing that day, but I'd like to create a list of fun prompts for alternatives.

I also want to get a semblance of a schedule for blogging. My current plan is to post at least 3 days/week. I also am working on a list of topic ideas so this doesn't turn into just a "what we did today" show-and-share.




5. Organize Jude's math curriculum to be more efficient across the textbook and workbooks of the program.
The plan was to use Progress in Mathematics for his math course, and I do like the program. The problem is that his books don't seem to match up. I did not realize this until we had written in them (of course), so I need to either align the pages in my own, or contact the publisher and find out what book is a common denominator for which series and purchase the correct ones. I thought I had done this when I ordered online but I am thinking I need a live human to help with this one. (And if we continue to use this series, I will order by phone instead of online from the beginning!)

6. Set up Book C of the phonics series.
When we first started the Explore the Code, I found putting tabs on each new letter created sections that made it easy to find where we left off and to review letters. Jude has one page left to do in his current workbook, and my plan is to have it completed by the end of the week (I plan to intersperse other activities this week). I ran out of tabs after setting up Book B, so this goal means getting someplace to get the tabs (probably the more challenging task) and then actually getting them into the book. 

7. CCD.
Partly Jude, partly big kids. Now that two of my older ones are no longer in Catholic school, it means we need to do CCD. We opted for the homeschool program, but that means I better get their lesson plans done. We got our books last week and it just has been crazy. I need to read the Family Support binders and start their lessons. Jude is not doing a formal CCD text this year, so I need to find a way to weave in what we do have with the Bible study program from (Discipleland) that we are using.

8. Damien
He is not ready for any formal lessons, but when I say "It's time to work," he climbs up to the table and wants something to do.  Usually I give him a sheet of scrap paper and some crayons, but I'd like to be able to plan a little better for him.  I'm not trying to be ambitious here -- this goal is more along the lines of "Print out a bunch of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse coloring sheets."

Jude when he's thinking.  Maybe my first goal should be to get a new pencil.