Day 2: Homeschooling Middle School With Well Planned Day Student Planner (& GIVEAWAY!)
Welcome to Day 2 of Homeschooling Middle School. (There is a giveaway of the Well-Planned Day Student Planner–so read on!) One thing that I’ve done that has been extremely successful is to begin transitioning my kids around 4th or 5th grade to be taking more responsibility in their own schooling. I want them to begin making decisions about what they are learning (which foreign language?) and even to choose their own curriculum if we have a choice between 2 or 3 good ones. I have found they are often more motivated when they feel they have had a “buy-in” to what they have to do for school.
Another great thing that we’ve done to build their independence in homeschooling is to use some type of student planner. Sometimes I use a simple Word document chart that lists each subject they are to do each day. Or we have also used these wonderful Student Planners from Well-Planned Day! On Monday of each week my 3 oldest kids write down the page numbers, chapters, books to read, etc. that they are planning to do for the subject on each day of that week. Then they check off each box when they complete it.
This method serves 3 purposes:
1. They know what they are supposed to do
2. I know what they are supposed to do and what I need to check
3. It’s a record of all they have learned for the year
I know that my kids are learning some valuable skills by not having Mom make all the decisions about lesson planning for them. They can choose to go faster through a subject if they want. They can drop a subject for a while (with my approval) to pursue another subject. For example, my oldest has been studying Philosophy for the past month and it includes a Bible Study that he has been doing instead of the one he was doing before. Also, my second son is about to start studying a Home Business course. This might take the place of some of his math for a while.
So, in conclusion, I recommend transitioning your Middle Schoolers to more independence. Help them make their own decisions and use a planner so they can be responsible for their work!
The Well-Planned Day Student Planner comes in two styles: Floral and Tech.
Here are some of the features:
- Help your children learn to work independently!
- Designed specifically for students in elementary and middle school years.
- Two design options and features full color pages
- Spiral bound pages with perforated corner tabs for easy reference.
- Over 175 pages
- 9″x6″ size planner
- July – June monthly and daily layouts
- Monthly special projects and notes
- Weekly Bible verse with corresponding catechism (Westminster Shorter)
The student planners also have an extensive reference section on English, Writing, Mathematics, US Geography, World Geography, States and Capitols, US Wars, US Presidents, Solar System, and Space . Perfect for any student attending school or homeschooling!
Click here to “Peek Inside” the Planner!
Please enter on the Rafflecopter below to win a 2014-15 Student Planner from Well-Planned Day! Your choice of style. U.S. only, please. The winner will be chosen on April 16, 2014 and will have 24 hours to respond to my email.
As a busy homeschool mom, you might want to check out the other planner from Well-Planned Day as well!
Other wonderful bloggers from the Schoolhouse Review Crew are participating in the Blog Hop this week, so be sure to head over to their blogs, too!
Anne Marie @ Future.Flying.Saucers ~ Christian Worldview 101
Marya @ Suncoast Momma ~ Homeschooling Special Needs
Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break ~ Ordinary Homeschooling
Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Our Favorite Family Recipes
Dawn @ Double O Farms ~ Helping Your Struggling Learner
Gena @ I Choose Joy! ~ Homeschooling Middle School
Christine @ Our Homeschool Reviews ~ Free and Frugal Homeschooling
Monique @ Living Life and Learning ~ Homeschooling with Lapbooks
DaLynn @ For the Display of His Splendor ~ Diagramming the Proverbs
(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.)
I’ve been using the student planners for my kiddos for a couple years now…love them! I also like the “On the Go” planner and the “Family Homeschool Planner”.
I’ve used the Mom’s planner from Well-Planned Day before, and I think my younger daughter would like the student planner.
Thanks for sharing how you use the Well Planned Day Student Planner in your homeschool with your readers, Gena!
I have had the Well Planned Day planner this year and would love to get a new one!
I started having my kids use some sort of Student Planner over the last couple of years and it’s been so helpful in training them to manage their own time. Great prep for the high school years!
The planner looks awesome!
Thank you for hosting!
Loving this series and love this planner!
I’d love the On the Go Planner!
[email protected]
I would love the 2014-2015 Family Homeschool Planner!
I used the Mom planner this year and I love it! I feel much more organized on the weeks I fill it out 🙂
Why don’t I live in the US so I can enter this giveaway, I’m still on the search for an awesome student planner.
I like the On the Go Planner and The Family Household Planner.
This would be perfect for next year. It will be our last year of Middle School and it will help him get organized for High School. 🙂
Well….I’ve bought every other planner other than the student one. LOL I just got my family one which I’ve been using for years and I got the wall calendar which we started using last year and this year I also got the mom on the go one and I just ordered the blog planner one which gets here Thursday. 😛 I might be a bit addicted.
I would love to try out the Blog Planner!
I love for my kids to use student planners and this look like a very nice one. Would love to win one! Thanks for the blog post.