Planning for Home Educating: Methods, Benefits, and Drawbacks

 

Planning for Home Educating: Methods, Benefits, and Drawbacks

Over the years I have used many different ways to plan, each have their benefits and drawbacks working for different seasons of our life.

Homeschooling offers a unique and customizable education experience, allowing parents to tailor learning to their child's needs and interests. However, effective planning is crucial to ensure a balanced and comprehensive education. Various planning strategies cater to different homeschooling styles and family dynamics. This article explores several planning methods, their benefits, and drawbacks, helping you choose the best approach you’re homeschool journey.

1. Yearly Planning Overview

Description: Yearly planning involves outlining the educational goals, curriculum, and major projects for the entire academic year. This plan serves as a broad roadmap, detailing what subjects and key topics will be covered each month. I like to make a yearly plan in July/ August time with the children. I like to ask them what they hope to achieve, what they would like to learn, any topics that they would like to explore and trips/visit they want to do.

Benefits:

• Big Picture Focus: Provides a clear vision of long-term goals and ensures comprehensive coverage of subjects.
• Resource Allocation: Allows for efficient budgeting and purchasing of materials in advance.
• Milestones: Establishes key milestones and deadlines for major projects and assessments.

Drawbacks:

• Rigidity: May be less adaptable to changes in interest or unexpected life events.
• Overwhelming: Can be daunting for new home schoolers to plan an entire year at once.

2. Monthly Planning

Description: Monthly planning breaks down the yearly overview into more manageable chunks. Each month, specific topics, projects, and activities are planned in detail, providing a balance between structure and flexibility.

Benefits:

• Flexibility: Easier to adjust plans month-to-month based on progress and interests.
• Focus: Keeps attention on immediate goals without losing sight of the big picture.
• Adaptability: Allows for adjustments based on the child's pace and unforeseen events.

Drawbacks:

• Medium-Term Commitment: Requires regular reassessment and potential adjustment of plans.
• Possible Overlaps: Risk of having gaps or redundancies if not carefully coordinated with yearly goals.

3. Weekly Planning

Description: Weekly planning involves creating detailed schedules for each week, specifying daily activities, lessons, and assignments. Planning ahead for the week allows you to work around life! I do like weekly planning and often use this with in collaboration with a yearly overview. It allows me to be more flexible and keep on track at the same time. I always like to make it realistic.

Benefits:

• Detailed Structure: Provides clear expectations and daily goals, fostering consistency.
• Immediate Feedback: Allows for quick assessment and adjustment based on weekly performance.
• Routine: Establishes a stable routine that can be beneficial for younger children or older children near exams.

Drawbacks:

• Time-Consuming: Requires regular, detailed planning sessions. I like to weekly plan on a weekend, this allows me to prepare any worksheets or resources needed.
• Potential Stress: Can create pressure to adhere strictly to the plan, reducing spontaneity.

4. Daily Planning

Description: Daily planning focuses on outlining specific activities and lessons for each day. This method is highly detailed and often adjusted on a day-to-day basis.

Benefits:

• High Flexibility: Easily adaptable to daily needs and interests.
• Immediate Adjustments: Quick response to the child’s mood, energy levels, and unexpected events.
• Detailed Tracking: Provides a detailed account of daily achievements and areas needing improvement.

Drawbacks:

• Time Intensive: Requires consistent daily effort to plan and assess.
• Less Long-Term Focus: Risk of losing sight of broader educational goals.

5. Reverse Planning

Description: Reverse planning involves documenting what was accomplished each day after it happens, rather than planning in advance. This method emphasizes reflecting on and recording progress. I like to use this method on a daily basis alongside my weekly overview as it lets me see what is actually achieved. I also record any spontaneous learning that happens as I love to look back on this when having some challenging times.

Benefits:

• Stress Reduction: Eliminates the pressure of sticking to a predefined plan.
• Realistic: Provides an accurate record of learning, highlighting genuine progress.
• Child-Led Learning: Supports a more organic, interest-driven approach to education.

Drawbacks:

• Lack of Structure: Can lead to gaps in education if not monitored closely.
• Retrospective: Makes it harder to set and achieve long-term goals without a forward plan.

Combining Monthly and Flexible Planning

A hybrid approach, combining yearly or monthly planning with a flexible weekly or daily schedule, can offer the best of both worlds. Here’s how:

• Monthly Goals: Set broad monthly goals and topics to cover, ensuring alignment with yearly objectives.
• Flexible Weeks: Allow flexibility within each week to adapt to changes, such as unexpected events or spontaneous interests.
• Child Involvement: Engage children in the planning process, allowing them to explore topics that interest them and making learning more engaging.

Conclusion

Effective homeschooling planning balances structure and flexibility, catering to the unique dynamics of each family. Yearly and monthly planning provides a broad framework, while weekly and daily plans offer detailed guidance. Reverse planning complements these methods by documenting achievements and maintaining a realistic record of progress. Combining these strategies can create a dynamic and adaptive homeschool environment, fostering a love of learning and accommodating life's unpredictability.

I will include some of my planning sheets that I find useful:

The Stereotypical Idea of Teenagers and Its Impact on Parent-Child Relationships

 The Stereotypical Idea of Teenagers and Its Impact on Parent-Child Relationships

 In contemporary Western culture, teenagers are often portrayed as rebellious, moody, and difficult to manage. This stereotype is so pervasive that it shapes the way parents, educators, and society at large interact with adolescents. The image of the defiant teen is reinforced through media, literature, and even casual conversations, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy where parents anticipate and thus inadvertently provoke challenging behaviours. This expectation of rebellion and disobedience can strain relationships between parents and their children, creating a divide that becomes harder to bridge as time goes on.

This stereotypical view can lead parents to approach their children with a sense of trepidation and control rather than understanding and support. The expectation of conflict can result in overbearing or excessively lenient parenting styles, both of which can harm the parent-child relationship. 

It is important to remember the prefrontal cortex in the brain, is one of the last parts to mature. This starts to mature and fine tune in the teenage years up to the early 20s. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions. Teenage years can be challenging and confusing as they naviage making their own decision in life.

I believe a different approach to parenting teens is needed, one that emphasizes nurturing, understanding, and friendship. While the teens years can lead to new behaviours as they deal with hormones and growing up, parent-child relationship should be built on mutual respect, compassion, and open communication. By the time the child is hitting the teenage years, a parent- child relationship that has been nurtured over the years should have set a strong foundation with good values that will then allow the relationship to start to blossom into friendship. If you start to start to try and set boundaries and limits in the teenage years with no previous foundations, you will be met with resistance and trials.

While no doubt there will be challenging times parenting teens, I would argue that each age has its own challenges and each stage of development needs new strategies and approaches. Forget the stereotypical western portrayal of teens, and grow with your child and be there when they need you.

The Leper, the bald and the blind man. - Story and questions -(Downloadable PDF)

The Leper, the bald and the blind man.

The story is originally from Saheeh al- Bukharee: Kitab Ahadeeth al-Anbiyaa’ (3464) andSaheeh Muslim: Kitab az-Zuhd (no. 2964)

In the name of Allah.

All benefit is from Allah, any mistakes are from me

      

Equality vs Equity in Education

 

Equality in education refers to providing every student with the same resources, opportunities, and support regardless of their background or circumstances.

Equity, on the other hand, recognizes that different students have different needs and seeks to ensure that each student receives what they need to succeed.

However, the reality in education often falls short of both equality and equity. Educational systems around the world often struggle to provide equal access to quality education, with disparities based on socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, and other factors. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds may lack access to resources such as well-equipped schools, experienced teachers, and supportive learning environments, putting them at a disadvantage compared to their more privileged peers.


Socio-economic status plays a significant role in exacerbating educational inequalities. Privileged families often have the means to provide additional resources such as extracurricular activities, private tutors, and educational materials, giving their children an advantage in academic achievement and future opportunities.

Even within families who homeschool their children, issues of equality and equity can arise. Siblings may have different learning styles, interests, and needs, requiring individualized attention and resources.

To address these challenges, education systems must strive for both equality and equity by implementing policies and practices that ensure every student has access to high-quality education and the support they need to thrive. This may involve providing targeted interventions for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, investing in schools and communities with high levels of need, and promoting inclusive teaching practices that recognize and celebrate diversity. Additionally, efforts to address systemic inequalities outside of the education system, such as poverty and discrimination, are crucial for creating truly equitable educational opportunities for all students.

Prophet Esa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary) Peace be upon him - Story and worksheets

Asalam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

Being December there is a lot of talk about Jesus and many children are hearing the christian story of Jesus in Schools. 

I created worksheets to share the story of Prophet Esa (peace be upon him) as it is mentiond in the Qu'ran so that children can understand from the islamic perspective and not be confused.  

As a guide I would say it is suitable for age 10+

How to structure a essay - Downloadable poster

How to structure a essay

Often KS3 (age 12 years+) students struggle when they are introduced to essay writing and don't know where to start or how structure them. Essay writing is an important skill and will be used in GCSEs and further academic studies.

 

I made this simple  poster (downloadable) as a guide to help them get started. This is a good struture to follow whether you are writing at GCSE level or for a degree. 

The PEEL method is a technique used in essay writing to help structure paragraphs in a way that presents a clear point with evidence and a focused argument,which links back to the essay topic. 

Here’s an example of what you might include in a PEEL structured paragraph: 

Topic: Should whales be kept in captivity? 
Thesis/argument: Animals should not be kept in captivity.

Point: Whales should not be kept in captivity as it can affect their mental and physical health not being in their natural environment with their families. 

Evidence/Example: Many studies and statistics show that whales that are in captivity have a shorter lifespan compared to those who are in the wild. 

Explanation: The are many reasons for this including that fact that whales need space; on average a whale can swim 40 miles a day. They also live in social group with some whales staying with mothers their whole lives.  

Link: The evidence suggests that whales in captivity are being denied many important habits and needs that whales in the wild have. A pool made for a whale will never compare to the ocean and whales are being harmed and denied thier physical and mental rights being kept in captivity. 

2 poems: AL-HAA-IYYAH and AL-LAAMIYYAH