September 2013 Plans

Well, it's been tough. And long, and hectic. But I'm done. I have successfully planned through the end of September. So far I kind of like planning in month long blocks of time, rather than week long blocks. It's helping me to look at the big picture, to see how one theme flows into the next, and it's giving me an idea of the materials and resources I'll need in the coming weeks. 

Each week I'll have to fill out a few things (like which stories we'll be reading or what kind of snack Daniel will help make). However, I wanted to go ahead and get these plans posted so that you guys can take a look at what we'll be up to in the coming month. 

Before you get to see those plans, though, I wanted to note a couple of things.

1. I am leaving the mornings WIDE open. I have a couple of ideas planned for each day, but I have in no way scheduled a full morning for us. I really do believe that Daniel's main job this year is to play (especially outside), observe, ask questions (and get some answers), and be gently directed in learning. 

I do want him to recognize his letters and numbers by the end of the year, but I'm coming to believe that those things will come in time. When he's ready. And while we're doing all that playing outside, we are also practicing letter and number recognition, as well as other reading and math concepts. It really is pretty easy to sneak that stuff in if you're paying attention and recognizing opportunities.

2. As I've mentioned before, much of our day will be spent outside. A lot of the activities I've planned can be done out of doors, as well as snacks and lunch. In between the few activities I've planned, Daniel will have lots of free play outside, and when the weather cools, we'll start taking walks regularly again.

3. I want to create an environment where music and art appreciation are just happening throughout the day. My goal is to play music when we're indoors, perhaps focusing on one composer or another at different times. And I'd love to correlate artists with themes, though that will take a little extra planning. 

4. As far as Bible study, my kids are involved in Awana at one of our local churches. I LOVE Awana and can't wait for it to start up again in September. This year Daniel is old enough to get a vest and a book, so we'll be going through that book week by week to learn Bible verses and stories. My plan is to do our Awana homework in the mornings, right after breakfast (or after we drop Natalie off at her school). If you're interested in finding out more about Awana, check out their website.

Okay! I think you guys have been brought up to speed. Let me know if you have any questions, including questions about how to complete the activities. And please feel free to borrow any of my plans for your own day :)

*          *          *

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing by email to receive updates on new posts!

You can also follow my blog through Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Bloglovin, or Google+.

For a list of all the parties that I link up with each week, please visit my Linking Up page!

Getting It Together

Okay, guys, I have been working this week to pull together an outline for the upcoming year. I am no where near finished, but I am feeling a lot more prepared than I did last weekend. 

I now have a plan. A vague plan, but a plan. A direction. 

On Monday I told you that I am leaning heavily toward the Charlotte Mason camp in homeschooling. I love that it's relaxed, but purposeful. I love the nature component. I like that school is guided by the parent but that the student must take some responsibility for learning. 

I like her idea of education in general: "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life." That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? 

So with all that in mind, and with some help from Pinterest (thank you Pinterest), I've come up with a weekly schedule, a themes list through December, and an outline for the fall semester (mostly empty at this stage of the game).

First, our weekly schedule.

I used the weekly schedule found here to help create our own schedule.

I do want to note a couple of things.

1. Although Outside Time is specifically noted just once a day, my plan is to take many of the other activities out of doors as well, including lunch and snacks if the weather is nice. 

2. I am only building a formal reading and math time into the schedule once a week. My reasons for this are twofold. First of all, last year I think I tried to do too much and I burnt myself out by the middle of the year. And secondly, I'd love for learning to be much more natural this year. For example, math concepts can be built into baking day. And we'll be practicing letters and handwriting with our nature journals. I want Daniel's learning this year to be a natural part of his day, not a sterile, separate activity. I do think those separate activities have their place, especially to review concepts that are giving him a hard time... I just don't want that to be the main part of "school" for him. 

3. I do want to explicitly work on a habit each morning as well as throughout the day. At least, that's the plan so far. I still need to come up with some ideas for how to explicitly teach those habits. Definitely still working on that one.

Next up, our themes list.

I'm excited about these. As much as I could, I tried to come up with themes that lent themselves to the Charlotte Mason approach, themes that would naturally take us outside, or, perhaps, let us bring the outside in. I want Daniel to be able to make first hand observations and connect the things he learns with what he already knows. 

Many of the themes were taken directly out of Maureen Spell's ebook, Nature Study Printables for Toddlers and Preschoolers. You can download a copy of this ebook for yourself for $3.99, and it's full of great printables for creating nature journals with preschoolers.

There are a couple themes I threw in there just because I know he'll love it, dinosaurs being one. He's already mentioned that he wants to learn about dinosaurs in school. We can't go outside to observe living dinosaurs, but I've been thinking about setting up a dig. How fun would that be?

Finally, our outline for the fall semester. This is the biggie, the giant, and, sadly, almost completely empty. I've got a lot of work to do.

My goal is to plan out each month a week or two in advance and post the upcoming month's schedule before we begin. That means... I will have all of September planned out by next week. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck. Posting our monthly schedule is as much for me as it is for you. Maybe it'll keep me on track ;)

Well, that's it. 

So far. Organizing my brain around what a Charlotte Mason homeschool day might look like for my preschooler was the hard part. Coming up with the ideas for filling out those themes will be (I hope) the easier part. 

If you take the Charlotte Mason approach with your homeschool, I'd love your feedback. Any tips or suggestions for things you think are noticeably missing are appreciated! Thank you!

*          *          *

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing by email to receive updates on new posts!

You can also follow my blog through Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Bloglovin, or Google+.

For a list of all the parties that I link up with each week, please visit my Linking Up page!