Homeschool Planner

Click here to see samples or purchase

Creative thinking at work or what I do in my "spare" time. A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a planner book to use for our homeschool lessons. I searched high and low but couldn't find anything that really offered what I need to plan our weekly lessons. And I am getting tired of loose pages of notes all over the place. I really wanted something that would keep everything together in one place. Now I sometimes get free-lance work doing book design so I figured I could just make my own. I wanted it printed on a little heavier paper than regular copier paper, and with a sturdier cover, so I called our local office store to see what they would charge for printing and to make it coil bound so it would lay flat when opened. That was pretty pricey so I started looking online at the print-on-demand services. I found that Lulu could do exactly what I wanted at a much more resonable cost. I have received my copy and it is perfect. I am impressed with the quality of printing, it looks great.

Sometimes people question our decision to homeschool, or even the whole idea of homeschooling as an educational choice. Our common experience of having attended school makes it very difficult to imagine any other way of learning. Initially our decision was based on Kiddo's severe peanut allergy. Our local school system had no experience with kids that have food allergies and they still have only one nurse for an entire system of eight elementary schools and one high school covering an area of over 30 rural mountain miles. But now, our decision means so much more to us. It has become a way of life, a part of our day-to-day that has a natural rhythm and flow. As I sit here typing this Kiddo is working on another computer doing her math lesson, on her own for the most part, a big step towards self-directed learning. A skill that will take her far.

“I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.”
- Agatha Christie

For a while now I have been enjoying reading Zen Habits, and was delighted with this article on the topic of education.

Education Needs to Be Turned on Its Head

“Our culture lies. They say they want to encourage and reward individuality and creativity, but in practice they try to hammer down the pointy parts, and shame off the different parts.”
– Sandra Dodd