Lesson Plan? What Lesson Plan??

Here we are on day two of homeschooling for the 2009-2010 school year. If I had any sort of a stiff lesson plan, it would have been blown out of the water. My youngest son had a fever, cough and runny nose on Tuesday, the night before we began our first day. His fever was gone the next day, but the remnants of the cough and runny nose are still hanging on even today. My oldest son caught the cold this morning.

Thankfully on Wednesday, our first day, my youngest was feeling up to sitting on the sofa while I read the history lesson outloud from two different books. Judging from his narratives, he didn't catch much. Poor fella, I can't be too hard on him. His big brother filled in the blanks. I will most likely have to have his brother give a quick narrative on Monday when every one is feeling well.

My oldest started his Math U See Stewardship program. I'm thrilled with it! He desperately wanted to go on to Algebra 2, but seeing as how they are in the midst of revising the answer book to show you exactly how the problem is worked, I've opted to wait for the revision. Can you blame me? Thankfully, Dad can step in most of the time when I'm scratching my head. It's been 24+ years since I've seen Algebra or Geometry. I remember I liked it, but that's about it. My husband is currently in college for an engineering degree, so he is steeped in math 24/7.

My youngest son started his Spanish class today at PREP. PREP is a local school for homeschoolers. They cover things like math, science and languages that some moms have difficulty with. I'm not sure he enjoyed it because he is still trying to feel well. He went to class with a pocketful of tissue and throat lozenges. I was surprised to find myself choking back a tear or two as I left the classroom. This is the first time he has been with any other teacher in his ten years on this planet.

I'm a very organized person. Ask anyone that knows me. My Palm is my best friend. I love to keep things neat and orderly. I plan parties weeks in advance. You would think I was the sort of person that would have the next school year planned out in June. Not so. I plan each week's lessons on Monday. I write a neat weekly plan for each boy on Monday taking into account everything else going on that week. It has worked well for the last five years I have done it. Granted, my lesson plans are already organized for me on Tapestry of Grace, so there isn't much to do but decide what books to read. I do order my library books 2 weeks out, but that is about the extent of my long-term planning.

I see so many people make these grand lesson plans the summer before. They map out each day of school. Then something unexpected comes along and blows their plans away and they get frustrated and off track. They desperately try to catch up and end up being upset because they can't. I've learned to be flexible and forgiving with my schedule by only planning it at the beginning of the week. It has kept the atmosphere in our house more loving and calm. Learning is better with loving and calm.