Every year we start off with good intentions. Sometimes we even start off with goals. Really that’s all goals are—good intentions with specific ideas attached. This last year I really didn’t set any goals. We just went with the flow. This year, I do see the need to keep some goals in mind as I plan.
Having kids with some special needs, we were accustomed to focusing on goals… small ones mostly… but goals nonetheless. D1 lived on an IEP while he was in public school, which is loaded with goals and evaluation scores. Both boys attend therapies weekly, where meeting goals are the whole point of things. Goals are good. They help give our journey a destination.
Some of mine for this school year are:
Work on reading comprehension with both boys. They both need sharpening in this area. Have them read out loud every single day.
Focus on phonics with D2. He’s still struggling with word attack skills. He’s the only one of 5 who has had trouble with reading. He can read, he just isn’t very bold when it comes to trying new words (or even words he’s read before sometimes) and reads slowly.
Create a planner for myself that has everything I need in it.
Get back to Scripture memorization with the boys. Choose and tackle a challenging piece.
Pay attention to the opportunities for learning that pop up and disappear again quickly. Take advantage of those whenever possible.
Get—and stay—organized. Separate out and put away the curriculum and books we aren’t using, and keep what we ARE using on the shelves. Hopefully this will keep me from misplacing things!
Do science. It may sound basic, but we didn’t do a whole lot of science this past year. Lots of garden science but we didn’t follow a curriculum. We need to put it back in the planner and DO IT.
Feed their hearts and minds, pray for and with them, and seek opportunities to teach them to serve others.
I love your goals! You’re so right that we really need to set them, have them. They give us a specific direction to go in, instead of just…GOING.. somewhere… ;0)
I don’t know if it’s the kind of thing you’re looking for but I’m really happy with the Well Planned Day homeschool planner. It suits up to four students at a time. You can plan your school year & breaks, there are monthly calendars and places to mark field trips and other events, to do’s for the month, bills for the month, etc. There are weekly lesson planning pages with places for notes & weekly menu, there are daily schedules pages to create schedules for teacher and all students, there are pages to fill in some housework routines and chores, there are places to set semester goals… and that’s just half of it. It’s really thorough and it look SO HELPFUL. I’ve got great expectations for it. =)
Thanks so much for joining in my carnival, and for tweeting it out for me. I appreciate it so much!
Amber @ Classic Housewife recently posted..Back to Home School 2010 – New Goals
Thanks for inviting me Amber! I really like the look of the WPD Planner, and have been eyeing it for some time. I think I would need to get the one that is already printed out though. But then again, I could use it along with other forms and things for a total notebook. Hmm… Which did you get?
I DEFINITELY got the one that was already printed and bound! Do you know how many pages are in this thing??? I knew that if I ordered the pdf I may not ever get around to printing out the pages I need, & it would take a LOT of paper and ink. I pre-ordered mine before it was available so it was a little bit on sale, but even at full price I think it’s totally worth it. I also ordered the little planner for middle schoolers for Princess, so I can try to teach her to be a bit more organized – maybe then she won’t struggle with it as much as I do when she’s an adult.
Amber @ Classic Housewife recently posted..Back to Home School 2010 – New Goals
That’s what I was thinking too… there are SO MANY pages. I have a black laser printer that does a fantastic job and CHEAPLY, but the planner is pretty and in color, and I know I couldn’t afford the ink to print it out at home on my inkjet. OK you’ve convinced me, printed & bound it is!
Hello! I found your blog through the Homeschool Village fb discussion page~loving my visit here! I am definitely in planning/goal setting mode here, too. I also am using the WPD planner and am having a great time getting it all filled-in and ready to go for our year!
Lora @ my blessed life recently posted..Menu Plan Monday- July 26th