“Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
God has really been working on me lately in the area of diligence…again. I have fantastic intentions, but rather poor follow through. However, my lack of follow through these days isn’t due to being lazy, but rather to lack of planning.
I was somewhat surprised by the responses when the question of lesson plans came up in a crowd of homeschool moms recently. Most of the mothers there balked at the idea of planning and many of the moms readily admitted they just sort of fly by the seat of their pants most of the time.
A few months ago, I probably would have joined in the scoffing of planning, but not today.
All of you know how I feel about the unrealistic expectations homeschool moms put on themselves; however, I do believe planning is a crucial part of bringing a solid heart, mind and soul education to your children.
So, this past weekend, I put together a plan. I wrote out one for each child including the toddlers since I had been wanting to give them more “face time” with mama and planning it made it more likely I would actually do it.
I realized two things as I wrote out these plans:
1. I have many ideas swirling in my head, but when it comes to actually pulling them from my brain and implementing them, I fall flat on my face.
2. I have way more ideas than I have time for, and seeing them on paper forced me to rein them in.
Once the lesson plans were complete, I tucked them into my School Binder and slept like a baby.
Monday morning dawned, we pulled out the lesson plans and got moving. By Tuesday, we were behind. Why?
Because plans are useless.
However, remember the second part of that quote?
Planning is indispensable.
I had done the act of planning. I had created guidelines. The lesson plans did not own me, so when my sons were presented the opportunity to visit a space museum on Tuesday that would require their school work be put off for the day, I didn’t fuss and fret. I made a mental note and moved on.
Lesson planning doesn’t need to be a complicated process. It can be as simple as jotting down a few ideas for the week on a piece of notebook paper or putting sticky notes with assignments in everyone’s books. Whatever method you choose will create more accountability and more focus. Because simply put…
If you plan nothing, you might want to expect just that…nothing.
Kim S says
This is exactly how I view planning and it has helped tremendously. No, we don’t always get it all done, BUT without a plan we get exactly nothing done. I have learned that there is beauty in the plan. It really does work.
Cindy says
Yep. I plan every week, and every week, my plan gets mangled or thwarted in some way, but we basically get where we need to go. The trouble is that I rarely know where that is before we get there.
There have been times when I didn’t get time to make a plan for the week, and we played it pretty much by ear every day. Those weeks, I’ve had quite a bit of anxiety about what was going to happen, but plenty did happen! For a brand new homeschooler, or maybe one in a different season of life, or with different needs, a plan might be the only way, but I’ve found either way to end well, so long as I didn’t stress about it.
I think the real reason I’ve had no difficulty is because I’ve had enough plans in the past that I can keep going for a little while as if I’d had one. I wouldn’t want to go too long that way. We’d lose direction, for sure.
Stephanie says
I think this is so true with many areas of life, not just lesson planning. I need to work on planning my time more and doing my best to follow the plan. Many times the plans do get changed because of needs of the kids, but I also find that I end up wasting alot of time, because I don’t have anything planned.
Charlotte Moore says
I worked in the school system for 24 years as a paraprofessional(teacher’s aide). Believe you me a teacher without plans never accomplished as much as a teacher with plans. Sure there were times you had to go a different direction than you had planned. However, there was a BIG difference in what the teacher with plans could with their students than those with no plans. I loved working with the planning teacher. So much more organized and chaos free.
My grandchildren were home schooled most of their life and I loved it.
Tanya - Lilyofthevalley says
I needed to read this today… 😉
Kasondra says
Thank you for this. My son will be 3 in April and he loves to SIT AND LEARN for short periods of time. I have so many ideas in my head that I just haven’t planned out or tried to implement. I need to sit down and put it all together. I’ve tried using “preschool” lesson plans online but so many of those things he knows so it throws the “plan” off!
Salina says
Thank you for posting this I have trouble planning out what we will be doing for the day/week so this helps. Not only that I need to get back on track. 🙂
Kathy Sykes says
Planning is crucial and working your plan is even more important. We can talk all day about what we are going to do, but if we don’t put some action behind it, they are nothing but empty words. And if we continue to speak this way, people will not believe that we are capable of a means to an end. It’s so easy to just be lazy, but we can’t afford it in this life.
Been MIA for a minute but still following!
Kristie says
I plan… but I think my plans own me. It’s hard for me to go on field trips with the kids, or even plan a simple play date without worrying that we are going to fall behind. I really do not want to spend a whole year to get a grade done. How do I overcome this??
Amy says
You write your plans in pencil and you give yourself permission to erase. 😉 At the end of each week, I make notes of all the things that need to be carried over to the next week’s plan. Fear of failure is a terrible thing, but God knows your needs, Kristie. {hugs}
Julie Nitz says
I’m having a hard time with my homeschooling lately, well maybe the last couple years :/ I have six children that I homeschool and three three years old and under 0o. It’s so hard to find the time to give each one a good education. It seems I’m always dropping the ball on someone. Then when I do plan and they do get all that work done it’s time for me to “grade” or check their work and THAT is absolutely overwhelming, because with the checking comes more “work” to add to the work they already have. Of course with only two or three kiddos that would be fine, but I do find myself completely overwhelmed most days and just wanting to run into a room and hide from it all. Anyways, I know the Father is trying to mold me and shape me through these times and I trust that I’ll make it through the refining process at least a little brighter. Thanks for the recent posts. They have been an encouragement to me.
Shalom,
Julie
Kim says
Julie, I know how overwhelming it can be. I was a classroom teacher before I had children. Paperwork was always one of my hardest things. Could you have the children grade some of their own work or have some of the losers grade some of the youngers? It is just an idea. I will pray for you today. I am sure that your children are learning much more than you think.
Julie Nitz says
Thanks for taking the time to respond : ) Great tip!
Amy says
Julie,
I understand! My oldest son (age 13) is almost entirely on his own with school work. The only thing I grade is the occasional science test. We use Teaching Textbooks which grades itself and his history doesn’t require tests. Any writing he does I try to grade/edit immediately and hand back to him. His Latin is self-directed and his spelling (yes, he’s doing spelling 😉 is Phonetic Zoo and totally self-directed as well (LOVE that program!) If you can, look for ways to take that burden off yourself. Give them more responsibility and ownership of their own work. They can grade their own lessons and write down what they got so you can see how they are doing. Find other ways to show mastery in subjects…have them narrate or create a notebook (love the suggestions in Notebooking Success by Jimmie from Notebooking Fairy).
And yes, God knows exactly what is going on in your life and exactly what you need…run to Him. {hugs}
Many blessings,
Amy
Rebecca says
I am finding that making lists of what I want each child to do each day is helpful. I combine their schoolwork and their chores into a to-do list for us to check off each day.
Suanna says
I know what you mean about planning. When I have it written out, the kids can easily see what they can work on by themselves and I can easily see what I need to teach to whom that day. Yes our plan changes, but I can quickly see what we can leave off and what we still need to catch up on, before we move on. I also have a “drop box” where everyone puts their completed lessons. I take several minutes a day to correct work and return it to the student for corrections or call the student to me if I feel they need more instruction. This box is also the “filing box”. If something is completed and needs to be put in their binder it goes in the box. Sometimes a child “files” their own papers, but I usually do it one afternoon a week while I’m waiting on someone to finish something they are almost do with.
Meni says
Thank you. I have been going stir crazy in regards to expectations and planning for next years schooling. I’m sure being 30 weeks pregnant doesn’t help. In fact my poor husband feels I’ve become paranoid and I can’t deny it. It can be stressful to be a homeschooling, baby baking, love giving mommy that only wants to do the best for their family. Thank you for reminding me there’s only so much I can do and that it’s ok when life deviates our plans. Especially that He is in control and as long as I go back to Him in all things, I will do the best for my family.
Your words were a breath of fresh air for this hyperventilating at the momment mommy.
Amy says
Yes, breathe, my dear…you are doing great!
Christine says
Amen to the value of planning! It gets us where we want and need to go. We van and do make adjustments as we go. My kids also appreciate knowing what the plan is. It helps them develop responsibility and time management skills, and they like knowing when their work will end, rather than having to keep asking me, “What next?”
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama says
I, too, have way more ideas than time…lol. I still have 3 – 4 projects sitting and waiting for a day when we have time to do them. It’s been nice so we’ve been outside doing stuff instead! We’re pretty informal still — oldest is only 4 — but soon enough I’ll find myself needing more formal plans. All I have done so far is write down a brief sketch of what they know, what their interests are, and what I would like them to learn. That was last summer, though…probably time to update.
Teresa says
I have a plan for everyday of the school week. The kids work for the most part independently and I check the work. Some days we do not get it all done, but we make a effort to make up anything not done on Friday, which I normally make a lighter day to help. We are home all day Friday, so it is a big catchup day not only for school, but also the house.
We tried for a while without a list and it was a big mistake. I normally sit down Sat or Sunday and it takes me about 10 minutes per student to figure out what they should be doing each day. This way they know what is expected and I know that we are staying on track. At the beginning of the year I make monthly goals.
If we stay on track we will be done by April, when we take our family vacation. They hate the thought of having to come home to school work after vacation and want to get done with everything before we go.
With it turning spring in April, the kids would rather be outside working in the yard, garden, riding bikes, or playing baseball. The gladly give up days off in the winter at the holidays to be done early. This year we started having the oldest two switch every other week with dishes and laundry. They all have to clean there rooms before they eat breakfast and the third child has to sweep the kitchen and dining room daily. That and our oldest doing the trash and cat boxes and it really helps me to have the time to correct the work. I try to correct all school that is done by 1pm everyday and then all they have to do is finish the corrections and any other jobs they have after that. Then they all have there instruments to practice before they are off for the day.
I would say most days we are off by 2. And that is with the oldest two playing three instruments that each require 30 minutes of study each and all the chores. My kids would never want to go to public school, have to come home and do all there school work and chores. They would loose so much free time.
And just to state, they are not running wild during free time. They do a lot of reading and play there instruments together and make forts and ride bikes. Not aimless tv or such.
I make a flexable monthly schedule, so if we need a day off for the dentist, funeral, or sickness we still can complete on time. This year we have had a number of these days, so we have used a few of our Sat to do work that needed to get done. Who says we have to only school when the regular schools school. Nights and weekends are sometimes needed. We had three funerals in one week last month. We had to work most of that weekend to make up, but the kids understood it is all part of life.
Michelle says
Oh the truthful dichotomy of that quote! I am with you on trying to plan more, Amy!
Rebecca says
I am a big-time planner so this was just preaching to the choir. I have homeschooled over 12 years and have always had a plan, whether it be a step-by-step scheme or just notes jotted down in a notebook. My 2 oldest are self propelled at this point but my little one I have definite goals for and they are written in a spiral notebook. I do monitor the older ones but they are on their own schedule with their own goals which mainly entail getting done for the day so they can go outside or do something they want to do. I have goals for myself, I think ahead at the beginning of the week to which days would be easiest to exercise on, what things I need to bake, if I need to iron, what I need to make for supper–what nights it needs to be quick and easy and what nights it doesn’t matter, etc. I have found it’s true….on the days I plan nothing, that’s pretty much what I get.
Jacque says
This was a fun read, Amy, because this is just where I am, too, trying to get back into planning and being more diligent with schedules and plans.
It can be difficult. We learn everyday, but there are some thing that I am wanting them to learn, and hopefully I can get back into being better at the follow-through again!
Mrs.B says
Great thinking! I don’t homeschool(yet), but I would never attempt it without lesson plans…even if minimal..I would want some kind of guidelines and layout for how things should progress.
Tesha says
Great post Since Jonathan died last month I have failed to plan anything, and everyone can tell. My older boys are independent workers, but my first graded is so behind.
Thanks for the engorgement.
Christi says
Hi Amy,
nak, sorry…
Thanks for this post. I needed it today.
I also wanted to let you know I changed my blog address. Stop by if you have time if you want.
Hugs…
Christina says
This is great! The LORD HAS PUT IN MY HEART TO TRY TO HOMESCHOOL BUT IM SO SCARED CAUSE 1: IM AWAFUL IN MATH AND 2: my 2 boys who are 10&8 are in public school and I’m worried that if I take them out and homeschool I will fail and ruin them
Amy says
Christina,
Math is not my forte either. However, please consider that public school math teachers rarely have a degree in math. They have a degree in education. There are fantastic homeschool math programs that are taught on DVD. And frankly, very few people need much more than consumer math in the course of their career. If your child needs more, then you will find ways to get him or her more because you are mom and you are looking out for their welfare because you love them. You will not fail them or ruin them! {HUGS}
Christina says
Amen!! How do you homeschool a 5 th and 3rd grader at the same time plus I have 2 year old and a 9 mth month old
Debbie says
This post describes me! I am great at planning, but then something happens on the 2nd or 3rd day of my elaborately planned week, and it just messes up everything! I also have trouble following my own schedule!
Katy Waldrop says
Well, that is a brilliant quote and makes me feel better anyhow! Just last night and yesterday afternoon I filled about 4 or five pages with everything that had been bothering me that I want to do but can’t, or things I was doing that I shouldn’t be doing so that I could be doing what I should be doing. Whew. Thanks for making me feel better about all my failed plans- and here’s to starting over on them. Again. 🙂
Leah says
Wow, that is exactly what I needed to read today. I keep wondering what kind of planning will work without putting me in this place where I’m stuck planning for hours every night. At the last Homeschooling convention I went to in Modesto, CA, one speaker (a homeschooling mother) shared that she plans for 5 hours every Sunday night! I just don’t have the time to do that. I have 6 children, and my husband gets home late from work every night, so that’s the only time we have to spend together. And, Sunday nights, we’re at church. It’s been crazy, but I also believe that planning is essential. I really appreciate this post. Oh yes, I’ve been meaning to tell you that your new baby girl is beautiful, and looks a lot like her sister Emily (I loved your beautiful post recently). Thanks for the great advice!
Leah <3
Amy says
Hi Leah! You know, someday you might get 5 hours on Sunday night, but we all have to do with what we have. Right now, you and I don’t have that time. And thank you for your kind words. 🙂
Lornel Curey says
Hi
I was given a link to your site by a good friend and older woman in my life and I am so THANKFUL.
Thank you Amy! I believe I read an e book years ago you wrote about creating the perfect schedule. I would pull it out but I don’t know where I put it.
The link to the scheduling template is not available. Is there something you have put together that is comparable?
Thanks!
Amy says
Welcome! I’m sorry those templates are no longer available. I have an entire class on homeschool scheduling now that you can find here – https://raising-arrows.teachable.com/p/creating-a-homeschool-schedule-you-love/. It has a lot of printables that go with it to help make scheduling easier, plus ideas for fitting in everything you want to fit in without being overwhelming!