I began doing this in response to a blog post I read from a homeschooling mama who took a couple of hours every Sunday evening at a local coffee shop to plan her week. This concept sounded like something that would be ever so helpful, but alas, where would I find the time to sit at a coffee shop and organize my life?
That’s when I decided I could have my planning period at home. On Sunday nights, my wonderful husband herds all the children downstairs to watch a Western and I gather up a mountain of books, some notebook paper, and a cup of coffee (so I can pretend I really am at a coffee shop!)
During this planning period I am planning much more than just my school week. Because of this, I have 5 separate divisions for my plans: Meals, School, Homekeeping, Activities, and Miscellaneous.
I take a piece of scratch paper and I write down every single thing I want to accomplish in the coming week. I write down people I need to email, I write down websites I need to visit, I write down all I want to accomplish school-wise, I write down places we have to be and people who are coming to visit. Both the fronts and backs of my notebook pages end up covered in frantic scribbles. It is wonderful to see my week pouring out in front of me!
Next, I transfer everything into their correct sections. Lest you think I have some fancy scheduling template, let me reassure you, my pages are simple notebook paper–nothing fancy there!
On the Meals page I write out only a couple of days worth of meals since life is rather unpredictable here. I fill in the rest as I go.
For School, I write down all the things I want to accomplish each day. In this section I also list books I’d like to buy, books I’d like to sell, and projects I’ve been meaning to have the children work on.
On the Homekeeping page, I write down our daily cleaning routine and add things to be decluttered and reorganized.
On the Activities page I write a day-by-day listing of any places we have to be or things we will be doing.
The Miscellaneous page I leave for those to-do’s that don’t ‘t fit anywhere else. This includes things to blog about, thank yous to write, people to call, etc.
In the mornings, I open my planning notebook on the counter with these pages laid out where I can readily reference them throughout the day. Everything is right there and I can add or subtract from them as I please. It makes for a much smoother flowing day!
So, grab a pen and paper and a cup of coffee and join me for a planning period!
New Every Morning says
Sunday evenings are my planning period too!
If I miss it, our week suffers. I love being prepared!
Thersa F says
I love this website. I have been on a lot websites, but I can certainly use your advice, because it is simple and to the point. I am currently homeschooling for the time. My son is in the 9th grade. I got a really late start though, because I ordered a curriculum and it is on back order so I decided to start creating my own. Long story short I am a at home wife and mom and I love it, now I can plan my day and not feel guilty when all the housework is not done in one day. My son does his work 4 hours a day broken up into two parts. I now feel confident that I am doing the right thing. Thank you so much. I am also keeping records. I am a little afraid of the transcript and the information that has to be in it. I make sure I am very descriptive in my assignments though. Thank you, you are God sent!! May He continue to bless you and your family!!
Amy says
You are so welcome! 🙂
Amanda says
This helped me A lot!!! Thank you
Sarah @ Frugal Fun for Boys says
I totally agree – homeschooling moms need time to plan! Our weeks go so much better when I take the time to plan. I like how you plan for school, meals, etc. all at the same time. That’s a great tip for making sure that everything fits together during the week.
Sabel says
Hello! I was wondering about what your pages end up looking like for the entire week? Do you write Sunday, Monday, Tues…etc. all the way down the page and then write under each day what your schedule looks like? Or do you have a specific method you use week to week when writing out your daily schedules? I’m just trying to find out if you have each day on their own separate page or if you have it all on one page? Thank you!
Amy says
Anything that is a workbook, I just ignore – those have a logical order. For anything else, I write it all on one page and then work through it. I have a pattern I follow, but there are weeks when my days get re-ordered, and I don’t want to be beholden to doing a certain thing on a certain day. I’ll be writing more about my planning in upcoming months.
Janell says
What! Not many comments about this post, but something I was kind of looking for. You’re right, it’s not just the school planning, but the meal planning, the errands, and other to-dos that need to be planned for the week. I know that I need some sort of planning period myself. If I don’t have things planned out Monday morning, we fly by the seat of our pants Translated, very little schoolwork actually gets done throughout the week! We have 8 children, 2 of those are done with school. I am wondering why you choose Sunday evenings, rather than, say, Saturday mornings, and how you got your husband on board to take the children during that time.
Thanks!
Elishia says
I always plan too much :/
Immary says
Thank you for sharing this. Great idea.