Do you need a homeschool lesson plan

Do You Really Need a Homeschool Lesson Plan?

Where are the daily lesson plans or learning schedule? I get that question several times a week from new Blue Manor Academy subscribers. Here is the answer in short: They don’t exist! And they shouldn’t.

Do you need a homeschool lesson plan

Yes, our entire curriculum is broken down into easy, pre-planned lessons with quizzes and reading reflection, but how could we pre-plan lessons for your child? We could sooner design him a perfect-fitting shoe without taking measurements, than we could design a daily learning schedule for a child we have never met.

How old is she? Some kids start preschool at 2, and others 5. And we can’t just go by age. Some kids absolutely love learning time, and others, not so much. The kid who can’t wait to start his lessons is generally going to learn at a higher rate. Then there are natural abilities to consider, not just in learning but in self-control. Some kids can sit for hours and read, while others aren’t ready for more than a few minutes – literally! It also depends on the day and how well your children are feeling. Are they feeling extra motivated, or a little melancholy?

Do You Really Need a Homeschool Lesson Plan?

Now, if you enjoy planning lessons, knock yourself out; but not only is it not necessary, it can be counterproductive. Standardized lessons plans are part of the reason why learning is so painful for kids in schools. No child is standard or average, which means standardized lesson plans are guaranteed to bore the advanced students and torture the slower ones. At Blue Manor Academy, we have come up with this revolutionary idea: A child shouldn’t march to the beat of the curriculum; the curriculum should march to the beat of the child.

So, what do you do? Where do you begin? Our system couldn’t be easier! The curriculum is already broken down into levels and sections as a learning path for children to follow. But as for their speed, the system is entirely self-paced, or perhaps, “parent-paced.” No lesson planning is necessary.

homeschool lesson planning

Try This Instead of Lesson Planning

Instead of detailed content-based lesson plans, parents can set time goals/subject goals. For a 5-year-old, you might start off with 5 to 15 minutes of learning time. As your child develops more confidence, self-control and motivation, you can extend learning time, working your way up to an hour or two. Then just let your children work their way through the books.

All that said, if you still prefer to develop a concrete learning schedule, it is easy to create your own using Blue Manor Academy’s curriculum. The only thing I would recommend is that you plan no more than a week or two ahead.

To say kids fluctuate is an understatement. It took my older son weeks just to learn a few continents. Very frustrating. I would literally point to Asia, say “This is Asia,” and then immediately ask him what continent it was and he would look me doubtfully and answer, “Africa.” Not one or two times, but over and over. If I had to develop a learning schedule based on his current progress, I would have planned his kindergarten graduation for sometime in his 20s. But then one morning he woke up, knew all the continents and a few dozen countries – countries that I had not taught him! A miracle, right?!

As the saying goes, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Therefore, lessons planned for an entire year are generally as effective as New Year’s resolutions. But when it comes to planning individual lessons, it’s better to set short-term, daily or weekly, goals, using your parental intuition as you carefully observe your child’s “leaning flow.”

I hope this helps. Please comment below or contact me if you have any questions!

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