A Peek Inside Our Unplanned Homeschool Year

Not too long ago I shared with you why I quit planning my homeschool year. There was just too much stress and pressure to keep up with the plans, to make sure we were spending the “right” number of days on a particular topic. I felt smothered by the plans and wanted to include more freedom in our homeschooling.

So I did. I ditched the planner and the nicely laid out suggestions from the curriculum companies and instead set out to let learning happen naturally and it was wonderful. We had the freedom to chase our interests, to ask all the questions, and to see where our curiosity took us. All the while, we still had the textbooks and curriculums we needed to ensure we were also working on the core subjects.

This year, we are totally taking the same approach. Another unplanned school year that is ripe with possibilities.

What Is An Unplanned School Year?

Let me first tell you that we are not unschoolers. It’s not because I think there is anything wrong with unschooling but because I am too much of a control freak. I need to have books and lessons to teach from. One year I attempted to build our own lessons and it was horribly disastrous. So, for me, I need the support of boxed curriculums.

However, I also need the freedom to check out something different. A big part of this is due to being a member of the Homeschool Review Crew. This was a new addition for us last year and it has been amazing. We get access to a whole plethora of curriculum options throughout the year, many of which we would never have heard of otherwise. A lot of these end up being really good fits for us but it also means we need to be ready to make changes to our plans. When reviews come in, we need to clear space in our schedule to actually use the curriculums we are reviewing.

All this means really, is that I can’t sit down and break up my curriculums like I used to. I can’t plan for a history test every week like the book recommends. And I cannot be sure we are going to get to math every single day. Life happens, and if there is one thing that homeschooling has taught me it is that I need to be more flexible. Science experiments don’t always work out the first time. And lessons that are only supposed to take 15 minutes might take an hour.

Unplanning our year allows us to purchase the curriculums and supplies we need to be successful while at the same time leaving room for the unexpected.

How I Unplan Our School Year

First, let me just say unplanning our school year doesn’t mean we don’t have goals. And it doesn’t mean we are home, sleeping in, and spending our days playing. Unplanning our school year means we surround ourselves with the curriculum, supplies, and resources that will help us succeed.

We just don’t let the curriculum or resources dictate our days and schedules. Monday through Thursday are school days. These are the days that the majority of our learning takes place. And over the years I have learned that some of our best learning happens when we venture outside of the scope and sequence. When we chase the ideas and curiosity that my children are filled with. Fridays are set aside for independent learning or reviewing material we need to spend a little more time on. These are also excellent days for field trips or other excursions.

Unplanning our school year is super easy – one of the main reasons I adore it. I start by thinking about the core subjects – Math, Science, Language Arts, and History. These are the four main items I want to make sure we are covering and progressing in. From there, we add in items such as health, physical ed, art, music, and other personal interest items.

Unplanning means I select curriculums to cover these items and we simply open the books. We don’t worry about how much time something is supposed to take. We simply start.

[bctt tweet=”Unplanning doesn’t mean we don’t have goals. It means we don’t let the curriculum rule our days. ” username=”hopeinthechaos”]

What We Are Unplanning With This Year

My youngest will be starting pre-k this year, so we don’t have a formal curriculum of any kind for her at all. Instead, we will simply use a book like this one to cover any sit-down type of schooling we may do. The rest of her days will be all about reading and exploring the world around her!

Math

Last year we made the switch to Teaching Textbooks for the older two kids. It was a great transition and we were all really happy with it! My youngest school-aged child wasn’t old enough for them so he stayed with Lifepac. This year though, all three of them are old enough for Teaching Textbooks, and they will all be using their newest version, Teaching Textbooks 3.0.

The thing I love about Teaching Textbooks is that there are not 170-180 lessons, so the pressure is off to make sure we are working on math every single day. I know the kids can easily complete the majority of the program as long as they work through four lessons most weeks. This gives us some of the wiggle room that we need.

Science

For science, we are an Apologia family! Our first year homeschooling I happened upon an Apologia textbook at a yard sale and scoffed it up (best $4 I’ve ever spent). One of the things we love most about Apologia is that it is written to the student and for the most part the older kids are indepent in their science studies.

For my 3rd grader, we are going to mix two books. First, we are going to finish up his Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day that we started last year. Then, if there is time, we will finish up the Human Anatomy and Physiology book we started in the spring for a review. He also really wants to keep going with the WriteBonnieRose Level 2 short units that we started over the summer.

My daughter (8th grade) will also be working in the Human Anatomy and Physiology book. Technically this is “below” her grade level, but she adores this material. She also has dreams of becoming an OBGYN, so there’s that. I also have an Exploring Creation Through Physical Science book that is waiting with her name on it for the second half of the year.

My oldest is entering high school this year and has big plans of completing all of the seven science courses that Apologia offers. While this does line up with his future goals, we are only starting our year out with one. I told him we could consider adding a second at a later date.

As much as we love Apologia, I will admit this is one of the subjects I have the hardest time unplanning for. In the beginning of the Notebooking Journals is a well laid out year-long plan… however, this does require science for 180 days and no room for anything else. So for my younger student, we aim for half a book. For the older ones, I am looking for 3/4 of the book. Either way, we are building in breathing room.

Math and Science are two subjects that the kids mostly work on independently. With a wide age range, a variety of abilities and interests, it’s just easier this way. However, Language Arts and History are a whole different ball game!

Unplanning Group Courses

When we first started homeschooling, I dutifully broke up all my kids into their nice, neat grade levels and had them all working on their own stuff. Meaning, I was covering three students in each subject. With three different sets of goals, curriculum, and questions in each subject.

It was exhausting!

Over the years though, I have learned this wonderful concept of teaching my kids together. It’s been a huge game changer in that we can all sit down at one time to work on a subject and learn together. Have discussions together. Build off what each other knows together… are you seeing the theme here? From there, we branch off based on age, ability, and time.

History

History was one of the first subjects we started homeschooling together as a group and it was a little nervewracking. I mean, how was my then 2nd grader going to learn alongside my 7th and 8th graders?? I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it, but I knew I really wanted to try it. Armed with my Mystery of History Vol 1 we set out to cover a large section of history (Creation through AD 33) together. All of the kids participated in daily lessons, most of them worked on questions and projects, and only the older two worked on memory cards and the weekly reviews.

And you know what, it worked! We made history the first subject of our day and chugged along learning and asking questions, exploring and researching together.

This year though, we are technically using two history programs together. Why? Because I love them both!

The first one is Drive Thru History. This was one of those amazing review products we tried out and everyone loved. Most of the time, we watch the videos at the end of the day when hubby is home because he also enjoys them. We are still working on The Gospels then after that we are moving right into their brand new program, Acts to Revelation.

Once that is complete, we still have a whole 2nd semester of Mystery of History Vol 2 to finish up.

Language Arts

Which leaves us with Language Arts. Now I know you are thinking, how could we possibly work on Language Arts together? Two words – Brave Writer! I was first introduced to Brave Writer through another blogger and I was immediately intrigued. It took no time at all to know this was the method we were searching for.

This year we are continuing to use the main product they offer, The Writer’s Jungle, with all three kids. Last year we added some Rory’s Story Cubes to help their creativity and add a bit of fun to their weekly freewrites. We also love the literature studies. And while poetry tea time is not a universal favorite, it is one aspect that we make sure to include simply because it’s different and fun.

This year, for my oldest, I will also be having him do some writing based on a story-game he has recently learned to play. While writing was challenging for him last year, we learned over the summer that he is an amazing story teller. Vivid scenes and amazing character back-stories came pouring out from him one late night at our kitchen table and this Momma’s heart leapt at the idea that he could tell a story. I cannot wait to add story-telling to his free writes and see how it improves his experience.

My daughter loves the freedom freewrites gives her and as my only artistically creative student, we are going to work on having her add some imagery to her stories.

Even my third grader participates in the writing portion of the program. Armed with his own freewrite journal he is free to create the stories his imagination comes up with. For him, his journal also includes plenty of space for pictures as well.

Now, if you are thinking that Langage Arts contain more then just writing – you would be correct. However, we have learned that through the writing process a multitude of Language Arts skills can be both taught and learned. Spelling, penmanship, grammar, and more are all addressed through the writings the kids create along with a few additional resources.

Looping Schedules and Morning Baskets

Long abandoned, we are bringing both of these homeschooling methods back this year.

In previous years our morning basket worked better as an idea than in reality. Older kids with no interest, younger kids getting board, and a Mommy on a distinct mission were a recipe for disaster. In fact, our last experience was so awful that last year we skipped out on this all together. This year, the plan is to tailor the morning basket to the younger two kids. Mainly filled with read-alouds, this is going to be the calm, relaxing start to our homeschool day (in theory).

How are we going to find the books for each and every morning? Simple. Last year we reviewed Home School Navigator and loved it! One of the best things about it – the plethora of books. Title after title, all organized by theme with projects and assignments that support it. And while we are not using Home School Navigator as our primary resource for Language Arts, I do want them front and center in our morning basket.

The other item I know I want to include in our morning time is US geography. For the last three years, my now 8-year-old has been asking to work through the states. The first year we focused on states near us. The second year we started going through them alphabetically and stopped somewhere around Georgia. Last year we started going through in order of statehood and only got through a few.

The biggest thing with this year’s morning basket, is I want it to be fun, fresh, and quick. No more than 30 minutes. In year’s past, I tried cramming all the things into our morning basket thinking we needed to have it all.

Also returning to our unplanned year is the loop. The key to a homeschool loop schedule is in it’s name. Rather then create a schedule of health on Monday, phys ed on Tuesday, we simply loop the items in a consistent rotation. We abandoned this simply because my too-rigid schedule never allowed for it. Options we are looking at including in our loop this year include health, phys ed, technology, and cooking, as well as self-interest items. My goal is to cap our loop to three items at a time. Not only will this prevent us from having to many items in the rotation, it will also allow us to change it up.

Where will we gather the information for these items? Many of them will come from SchoolhouseTeachers.com, Pinterest, and of course, books. Lots and lots of books.

[bctt tweet=”For us, unplanning does not mean we are unprepared. It means we are thinking about the resources we need most to have a successful year.” username=”hopeinthechaos”]

Unplanned but NOT Unprepared

As you can see, our unplanned year is shaping up well. For us, unplanning does not mean we are unprepared. It means we are thinking about the resources we need most to have a successful year and how to best support our homeschool goals.

Over the years, our definition of a successful year has changed – a lot.

At first I thought it meant completing all the lessons, using up every page of materials we had. This led to disaster. Through time, trial and error, and lots of learning we have learned that our success is marked not by the number of lessons we complete, but rather by the amount of material we learned. Whether that material is a formal textbook, a workbook, an online course, or just our own curiosity leading us to explore the world around us, I have no preference either way.

I have learned that we need to be open to possibilities. Open to new curriculum, new ideas, and new learning methods. That change is a good thing when it’s made for the right reasons. I realize now, with some homeschool years behind us, that homeschool is not school at home. That mindset chance took me some time. Yet once I made the shift, I began to see homeschooling for what it is – a wonderful possibility. The change to learn for 16 hours out of each and every day. We have learned that over-planned days and rigid schedules are more harmful to our learning then having the wrong resources in hand.

While it may seem like this year there are not a lot of changes, I can see them. New attitudes, new ideas, and new hope are what fill our homeschool this year. The desire to fill my children with something more then just repetitious facts, facts that are almost always viewed as pointless by the student unless they can be learned in context.

And the willingness to keep moving forward, keep tweaking and changing where needed, to make sure I am giving my kids the best homeschool I can.