Homeschool Planning - Procrastination

Planning Using Homeschool Tracker...

I read something in a book this week that I have been mulling over in my head ever since. (Yes, a real book with pages and not read from a screen....felt really good.) The concept is simple but has become quite powerful in my thinking and has effected the way I have been spending my time since reading it.

• Make a list of all the important things in your life. (family, faith, relationships, activities)
• Make a list of how you actually spend your time and compare it to your first list.
• Make adjustments so that the second list will reflect the first list.

We can say that our family and faith are top priority and then fill our days with activities that show otherwise. We can put homeschooling high up on the first list but then by our actions show something very different. This sort of rocked my thinking...I have been procrastinating doing some homeschooling tasks because I have been busy with my own stuff.

Here is a quote that sums up how I have been procrastinating.

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."
Mark Twain

I seriously did not have a single plan input into Homeschool Tracker for the second term. Not one. I decided that instead of waiting one more week until I might "feel" like doing the schedule that I was going to just DO IT. It has taken me two very long afternoons to get it into the computer but it is done. In the meantime I found some holes in our plans that need to be filled and that meant some time on the computer digging around the internet for resources. As always, I got distracted when I started....fun and interesting but really not getting the job done. Never did find just the right literature study for The Merchant of Venice so I guess we will just read and listen to the audio.

Big Tim is actually quite a great tool...his jaw is hinged so you can make him talk too.

I ordered a few fresh resources for Mr. B's anatomy study and thanks to Amazon Prime shipping we are now the proud owners of Big Tim. Big Tim has been the center of many discussions since he was unveiled. Big Tim is going to be a great tool for Mr. B and all those bone names he wants to memorize.

Big Tim says CHEESE.

Funniest thing this week? When I took the first photo of Big Tim my camera put a box around his head and told me with an icon that he was smiling (I have a smile mode on my camera.). It just made me laugh out loud and even now thinking about it, I am laughing again. Too funny. Thanks Big Tim for smiling for the camera.

Now I can take the next two weeks off and not have school planning hanging over my head. I am the kind of homeschool mama who likes to have a vision and a plan.

"Plan your work and work your plan."

I have listed below the resources we just added to our anatomy study. You may need to click over to the blog to see the images from Amazon.com.



You might like to pop over to Angie's blog (Petra School) and read her entry:  
Do the Next Thing.
"Make a list.  Add fun. Add a board game each day. Prioritize, then Do the Next Thing.  Are you forecasting into the list of 40 items and feel defeated before you start? Write them down. Set them aside. Can you do the first item on the list. Good. Now do the next thing."

And Tricia (HodgePodge Mom) posted on planning today as well.
When Do You Plan For School? How Long Does It Take?
"Not only do I consider academics but life skills, character training. I also take a morning to set goals for myself and my marriage."