Homeschool chronicles - Planned vs. Spontaneous Homeschool week
Homeschooling is quite the adventure, and just like anything else in life, it's a smooth adventure when planned. I'm a planner (sort of...), but most times I tend to go by air and simply move with the flow.
Although unplanned, we have a general guide for what we do in a week. We cook or bake on Tuesdays, go to the library on Fridays for storytime, and one other day to do puzzles and other activities at the library.
That week was actually loads of fun! I tuned into what my little guy wanted to do. If he wanted to play outside, we did just that, but found someway to make it fun and educational; like hunting for sticks around the backyard, lining them up and counting them. We even painted the sticks and added leaves into the mix!
For our first week of official homeschool, we played it by air, while the second week was all planned out. They both had pros and cons, but here are some things I observed.
Our Spontaneous/ unplanned Homeschool week
PROs of our spontaneous week of Homeschooling
Since it was heavily child-lead, my toddler was fully engaged in the activities or games we were doing. I didn't have to make an extra effort to keep them focused.
Since I let him lead, and we played it by air, it was easy to observe what he likes, and how he likes to play and learn, which I was able to use when engaging him otherwise.
I didn't feel pressed to complete a plan, because sometimes that kills the fun. I don't know about you, but when I plan something, I've already envisioned how it "should" go. So once a schedule or agenda is created, I tend to get trapped into the mentality that it should be completed the way I envisioned and in the same order too. That's clearly a "me problem", but not having to think of a list made things not as stressful.
CONs of our spontaneous week of Homeschooling
I didn't always feel like we did "enough" so instead of just homeschooling in the morning and free playing in the afternoon as planned, schooling carried on into the afternoon until I felt "satisfied". That resulted in a much longer school day.
As expected, there was a constant "what should we do next" kind of feel.
Our Planned Homeschool week
Going into the week planned felt quite relaxing and a bit less stressful; not like the spontaneous week was super stressful or anything. I just didn't have the "did we do enough" or "what should we do next" questions on my mind.
We still had fun, but since there was more structure, things were a bit more connected and coordinated. Even did a few fun workbook activities together.
PROs of our Planned week of Homeschooling
I planned the week using the IXL website and guides from workbooks, so this helped to ensure he's actually learning things he should. We did educational and literacy-related content during the spontaneous week, but it wasn't based on the standards set for his level; just what we felt like in the moment.
It's easy to track what we've covered and provides basic documentation of our lessons and progress since we're not following any set curriculum.
I love marking things off a to-do list! There was definitely a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day and a feel of "we did enough today"!
CONs of our Planned week of Homeschooling
I felt pressed to complete the agenda! Some days we didn't, and initially it bugged me, but ultimately we covered them on other days.
It takes TIME to plan all the lessons (unless you're following a given curriculum). But the time pays off since you don't stress about what you should do next...so it's not that terrible.
Ultimately, I think a balance of planning and spontaneity would be ideal. For us at least... I'm a sucker for flexibility, so there will always be wiggle room in any plan made.
However, if you're new to teaching your kids, being spontaneous first might really help to understand how they learn, so you're better equipped with ways to teach them. After this, you can plan accordingly.
Now... on to more homeschool planning! Thanks for being a part of our journey. Catch you in the next article!
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