I'm a planner.

Now that we have started networking with the homeschoolers at our church and also online through this site, I see that everyone has a different style of and attitude toward homeschooling. Some parents are more committed to a child-led style and seem pretty relaxed about following a schedule or set curricula. Others are very committed to a schedule and curricula, and others seem kind of in-between.

I have spent the last 12 years doing coursework, either through the University of Iowa or through the midwifery school in which I was enrolled. I have also spent the last year doing classes through the University of Alaska. Some of this coursework involved rigid schedules, and others were very relaxed in terms of deadlines. From this standpoint, I see the benefits of both. I have found goal-setting to be vital to my own progress, and I always write lists of steps to get from one place to another. So, while most parents are encouraging me to be rather relaxed about our homeschooling approach, I myself feel enthusiastic and motivated to develop a gameplan.

[caption id="attachment_29" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Wolfgang studying a classic camera"][/caption]

My approach thus far has involved compiling material and resources (those we own and those we can borrow from the library) and creating a loose plan involving those materials. Between January and August, Wolf would be completing 18 weeks of public school. The language book I plan to use has three units, so I am planning to spend six weeks on each unit and develop material around this book. The book itself is an anthology with lessons pertaining to social studies, math, music, and other subject areas as well. It is Houghton Mifflin's Reading 'Delights,' which is a second grade book.) I have also invested in a program called "Five in a Row" which involves reading an excellent book each day for five days and studying it from a different perspective each day (math, art, language, social studies, etc.). Also, Wolf's Tiger Cub book provides social studies lessons galore.

This approach will certainly cover oral and written language, reading, art, social studies, handwriting, and geography. Beyond that, I have math workbooks we will be using (at this point, our goals include counting money, telling time, doing addition and subtraction problems, memorizing math facts, and doing word problems. (I feel comfortable teaching math concepts, for instance, using the different books and subject areas listed above, but I also want the kids comfortable with doing worksheets, taking tests, etc. See note below on that.) I plan to stick with "Handwriting Without Tears" for practice in that area (of which Wolf, ahem, needs a LOT) and would like to add a religious curriculum and have a stronger idea of where we are going with world history. According to Hirsch's What Your 1st Grader Needs to Know, a very broad swath of history is covered in his ideal "good, fundamental 1st grade education," but I would like to consider other options that go into greater depth and I'm just not sure where to go with that yet. I will fall back on Hirsch's ideas if necessary but would prefer to look at some pre-existing curricula or ideas in that area.

In re: to the issue of doing worksheets, etc., some parents seem philosophically opposed to learning "being all about" worksheets, test-taking, etc. I myself feel that 1) Wolf is already doing it and seems to enjoy it; 2) college work involves testing and evaluation; and 3) it ensures that our personalized teaching and learning process is, in fact, resulting in knowledge he can call upon at will. However, looking back, I would have appreciated far more "hands on" math activities, for example, with a focus on application, rather than simply "knowing how." To this day, I truly have no idea what my training in trigonometry or calculus helped me to be able to do. Which is sad.

Finally, at the start of all of this planning, I wrote down the goals of the Anchorage School District for 1st graders to have them in mind as we go forward. I feel the more I can get a system down now, the easier it may be in the future when the twins get started, and then Bethany. One thing across the board that all homeschooling parents have told me is to be flexible, open-minded, and unattached to the one way that I think will work fine. One of the gifts of homeschooling is being able to be just that and to make adjustments when necessary.

What are your thoughts on this subject of planning? Do you plan to do it/do it now, or do you embrace more of an "unschooling" approach? You feedback is always appreciated!