Since I started listing our curriculum picks in August I have been asked a LOT about how we are actually going to implement ALL of the choices that we have made this year and here is a pic from Homeschool Tracker Plus which outlines our weekly plan. [Image]~~~ If you click on it - it will open bigger in another window.

Now pay no regard to most of the timeline on the side as it is very rare that KM EVER gets her work started at 8am! However it just gives a breakdown of how things fit together. Sometimes ELA may take twice as long and Science might take half the time, but this is a good outline so that KM and I can see what it is that should get completed each day. I also am not 100% strict on which day something gets done, if a field trip, outing, playdate or something comes up OR we just don't feel like doing it that day, then we can very easily switch it to another day or move it to the weekend or whatever. I am rather rigid that all of the work gets completed within the week though, otherwise I would feel like we weren't progressing and things would get too piled up!

We upgraded to the PLUS version of the tracker in the fall so that we could save time and paper, by setting up KM's account where she can go in and check her assignments for the week or the day instead of me having to copy them to the whiteboard or write them all out in the planner. It has worked WONDERFULLY during the summer and there have been many times when KM has gone ahead on her own and completed something early so that she could setup a playdate or sleepover or just to get brownie points when asking to do something extra special! This has also helped create a lot more independence when the Littles are here. KM can go into her room and get her things done without having to tempt SC because she has to check with me on what is next.

A mom who is new to homeschooling mentioned recently that she was really concerned about being able to fit everything in and I think this is a big fear for a lot of parents especially those who have taken their kids out of PS. One thing that you have to remember is that you work at your child's pace, you don't have to rush through things to get to the next thing , to get to the next thing. You can work on it for as long or as short an amount of time as your child(ren) need or want you to. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are families who homeschool. Not one family does it EXACTLY the same as the next because no two children are EXACTLY the same! This is the BEAUTY of homeschooling!