I wish I knew to whom to give credit for a such a layout. I’ve printed, book marked and collected various ideas from the internet, girlfriends, various books and other resources…for all I know the idea came from some business course and not a homeschooling venue! The idea is so simple, I’m ashamed that I was doing cartwheels in previous years to accomplish what the Work Scheme tool provides. The Work Scheme Worksheet (WSW) is better than a year at a glance in that it keeps blocks of times and major goals in sight while planning.
The document has been recreated in MSWord 2003. I have an oldie MS version, which means that most can benefit…but I have no idea how to help realign or tweak…you’re on your own.
I will suggest you edit the header to reflect either the name of your homeschool or the name of your student. My form reflects a 48 week plan (four of those are vacation weeks…you can add or alter as your family needs). The 2008-2009 Tookshire school year begins in June – and this is highlighted in the header as well…easily changed for your use. Our personal year is broken into six terms of seven weeks and each includes at least one intensive week of testing and review. Each of these terms are color coded to keep me from being mixed up during the chaotic planning process…if the color bothers you on the forms, go ahead and remove.
OK, how to use…You’ll find that I’ve already blocked the weeks we’ll use for testing and revision purposes. You’ll see I’ve already blocked out weeks we know for certain will be used for holiday time. (BTW, these ideas will also be carried over into my lesson planner.) The Tookshire clan is setting aside our index card methodfor the coming year. Epiphany graduated last week, and Olivia would like to take community college courses almost exclusively next year…and if she passes the placement tests (she has test anxiety) I’ll have little need for index cards. Maxwell needs an in-depth coverage bouncing back from his lengthy periods of non-reading (due to eye surgeries) and index cards are for slower set pacing. For his sake, we are doing in-depth, almost unit-study like, topic focuses at six weeks a pop. If Olivia buckles in her test anxiety, she’ll merely join us in her brother’s studies plus her own special interests.
The form provides four spots to work on: Academic, Enrichment, Individual and Special. Remember, WSW is simply an aerial view of the school year. If a large chunk of time during a given week will be dedicated to one or more of the four spots, I’ll jot a note of the focus in the appropriate cell (not unlike how I’ve blocked out all four categories to show when we’ll be on vacation). Feel free to alter the spots to reflect your verbiage and needs. Academic and Enrichmentare self-explanatory. Individual will reflect things like concerts the kids might perform in and which require extra practice meets. Specialmay highlight field-trips or community services which will preoccupy more than a single day’s class time.
