When I originally posted my thoughts about the conversion from a traditional school planner into a homeschool bullet journal, my confession was that I didn’t know how I would actually go about that conversion. So, with about 2-3 weeks left before we begin school again, I now have a bit more of a plan. Since bullet journaling is almost as much of a craze in the homeschooling community as it is outside our community, I figured that at least one more person might benefit from this post.
One of my dilemmas was (and is) a function of our studies for next year. Because of our travel schedule, we very intentionally took off in May and June. The impact of this decision is that our youngest will be between grades once we begin again, wrapping up 8th grade in a couple of classes and entering high school with others. I am still trying to honor our discovery day, but I also recognize that high school is not middle school, and everything that worked before this year won’t translate seamlessly into the high school years. So…my happy compromise is to write out a schedule, in pencil, for four days, with a commitment (to myself, primarily) to wake up a bit earlier. When she returns home, I will allow her to make the decision as to whether we go with four longer days or five relatively shorter days.
As I tweak the reading list for the last time, I am increasingly excited about completing the reading journal; from an artistic perspective, I consider it my piece de resistance (yeah, I need to get out more, and no, this is not my original idea). As a humorous side note, I once taught classes to homeschooled students at a local private school. During the Open House introductions to parents, the Honors English teacher said, “If your student hasn’t read the Iliad three times, he’s already behind.” The first time I opened Homer, I thought, “Well, I’d just have to stay behind.” Fast forward about a decade. This year I will open Homer’s Iliad for the third time. I laugh every time I think, “Belinda, you finally caught up.” As I envision reading Homer’s verbosity one more time, I look forward to listing this book on that piece de resistance the most.
In my previous post, I spoke of using the bullet journal to do more than plan; I wanted to use it to cultivate habits and a level of deeper thinking and communication. So the weekly layout–at least for right now–has four blocks for detailed lesson plans (with post-it notes ready), and then three questions to consider as the week transpires:
- My reading this week makes me think/ feel…
- What excited me most this week was…
- What I wish had gone differently is…
There are other questions from my first post that might serve as monthly review discussion points.
So, we begin school in about three weeks, but with a couple more trips to take during the month. Oy. I will get those noted soon. And of course, it wouldn’t be me without a hint of color. 😉
