High School Work Plan

Legoboy and I have had a few life experiences in the last 3 years. These experiences have ranged from absolutely amazingly wonderful to the most terrifyingly horrific.

Needless to say, schooling had to work around and through life, as it always has for us: fully integrated and meeting our family's unique needs.

Legoboy and I worked together to develop his high school work plan. Way back when, we started with a daily work plans, moved to a weekly and a monthly (click on the "work plan" tag at the bottom of this post to see our other work plans through the years). Now, we can start looking at mapping out a multi-year education plan.

Legoboy was looking at college studies in architecture and started his high school plan with what those kinds of colleges were looking for in a potential's student's history. Together, we then compared those to the local high school requirements and developed a personal transcript form.

We then went through it and filled in names of courses and resources used for each. He organized which items he wanted to do in each year, if there was a preference or an order, so he could get a feel for where the non-preferences would naturally fit in.

A notebook contains our notes for each course, which flesh out the names of the resources on the transcripts, describe the required areas of study in each subject, desired areas of interest in each subject, final project for each subject and any other pertinent information.


Legoboy finished up all but one of the final 9th grade requirements in October of 2019, having already begun some of his 10th and even 11th grade plans. The plan was to take the month of November off, with the exception of finalizing his research paper which was more for fun than for academics.

He took the resources he was going to use for 10th grade and organized them out by the months of the school year. This wasn't a perfect document because some of the bolded main headings didn't make it onto the printed page from the Excel made he had created.

He really wanted to organize things into something akin to a block schedule. Fewer areas of focused study, more intensely, then swap it up. Just a few things were every month, including literature and apologetics.

Each month we were to read together at least one book of extra-cultural origin, with the goal of reaching around the world, with representative samples from each continent.

He was also continuing with his taekwondo (working towards second degree black belt) having started discussing 28 hours earlier about opening a school with his first instructor. Service projects and involvement in our church community as well as the community at large through various venues.

He had started applying for jobs and would have started driver's education in December.


The specific resources don't matter at this age as much as the planning, the organization - the personal responsibility and integrity.


But for those interested, here are some highlighted resources that suit Montessori educated students:

• Cover Story and One Year Adventure Novel
• Mike Waski's Algebra and Geometry resources
• Life of Fred
• Ramsey Solutions - Foundations in Financial Peace
• Generation J Camp

One thing he was REALLY looking forward to and we were starting to case out a few options: 

Speech. Read: DEBATE. He wanted to master the fine points of debate. ;) 

I wish he had lost the final debate of his life. 

Elementary Work Plan - Age 8 - over three summer weeks

Want to download this one?
See this link: Description of this Montessori work plan

I found these work plans in my son's papers.

June 18 work plan, finished the following week.

Then July 4 week.

He was 8 years old that summer.


These elementary Montessori work plans were developed based on the conversations we had together about next steps in each area, personal goals and plans, items already on our schedule (outings, etc.). The work plan conversation takes into consideration local education requirements (my parental and our family values, checking the local school requirements from time to time to see what kind of terminology is used and topics are covered), his personal interests and our family culture.

Joshua assisted me with our family business from the very beginning, so there are references to office management in there.

He was also helping to make some videos as well as needed/wanted review on some concepts, so you'll see some typically earlier items on this list. Some things we just didn't start until later, because he is a typical child in the regard of there never being just one right path!

We worked together as a team his entire life. That doesn't mean we did everything together, joined at the hip; it means we coordinated together and supported each other's personal time/interests. In that spirit, even at him being 8 years old, I still did some of the work plan writing for him.

Some more details

The first work plan pictured here was two weeks worth of work. Inititally it had one week on it; most of which he finished, but enough was undone that we just carried it over to the following week and added to it.

Astronomy: The boxes indicate he had activities to do on separate days (they could not be grouped together). He was working through the book Signs and Seasons and there were daily observations and record-keeping. This chart was work over 2 weeks. He had finished the first week (June 18) in chapter 6, so we added chapter 7 activities for the last week of June. Hence the additional boxes.

Homemaking: "Office assistant" refers to a set of particular skills/experiences he wanted to learn at that time - I don't even remember what they were those particular weeks but it could have been organizing paperwork, typing some things on the Montessori Trails blog (he created the infant-toddler page with the list of links at one point, for example). "Organize" was probably referring specifically to our home. We had some minor life adjustments at the time and needed to get our physical space more up to date with our needs.

Latin: He used Lingua Angelica at the time and he created the flashcards. We still have them. I just found one the week before last that he had been using as a bookmark recently. Crown was the English word. Crown in Latin? Corona. His godfather was going through the items on Joshua's side table when he found this card and was completely floored. The timing.

TKD: Taekwondo - he had 1-4 classes a week (open class, he could attend any number of them) and he practiced at home. He liked to have that on his work plan so he had a better idea as he looked at it each day how much time he could allocate for each thing.

Chores: standard chores - morning, mid-day and evening times.

Attitude: there was something he wanted to work on at the time to improve himself.

First LA simple: Logical Analysis, simple sentences - from the Elementary Montessori Language album.

Adj = Adjectives: he was working through the grammar boxes again as he wanted some review on them.

Exercise 4 Verb: Language album again. I don't recall the timing, if this was a presentation or a work. But he didn't get to it, even after two weeks. It looks like we got to it the following week.

Runes: His chosen language study at the time. He chose what he studies, how long, goals, when the goals were met, if the goals needed to be changed, if it was just for fun exploration, if there was an intended outcome. But he had time for these personal studies every day.

Speech: he was in speech therapy and chose to write it on his work plan to ensure he remembered it when planning for each day.

Ec-Geo stories: Economic Geography stories. He was helping me research to write these for publication. We never did finish! But we had fun looking stuff up!

4 River Civilizations: Egyptian, then Sumerian - these were our chosen presentations for those two weeks.

History Question Charts: If I recall correctly this was his first presentation on those so he used them to answer questions about the above two civilizations. Once he knew they were available he used them several times on other cultures.

Millions: I have no idea what this was!

Bead Frame: The golden bead frame (flat bead frame). To finetune some skills that we hadn't covered earlier.

Fractions: Underneath he noted that the lesson was on notation. He needed some review because I know we had done those earlier.

Geometry Story: to hear it again

CSE: Congruency, Similarity, Equivalence --- Geometry work

Water: the river = The Work of Water, the River Model. Yeah he loved this. But we didn't get to it then. It came later.

Leafs: Clearly we were still working on spelling ;) We did all of the leaf explorations in the Biology album over the course of this week, the next and later that summer.

Ecosystems: Biology album again. We read books, watched videos and went outside to find some micro-ecosystems.



The second chart: 

Sometimes he or I would note on the work plan the intended day to focus on an activity, such as "Th" for Thursday.

Create "cold" foods - this was an herbal study we had going where we were learning about herbal remedies. So we prepared foods that were suitable for assisting someone with a cold.

Office assistant and declutter continued from the week before, but he also sewed a pouch on the sewing machine. He sewed other things at other times.

Latin - continue the lessons in our own way.

TKD, speech, piano, music cards and Latin cards we decided he needed to practice daily. This is when he started piano - and LOVED it.

For fun, he also built paper pyramids and a paper castle. I still have them somehwere.

Logical Analysis: we added the extensions

Book of Kells: we read it together and he copied some of the art
Illumination - artwork inspired by the Book of Kells

Verb box and commands - Grammar Boxes

History: Calendar from Signs and Seasons

History in 3 Phases from the Montessori History Album

BC/AD timeline

New World Civilizations: Montessori History Album

Practice long multiplication, adding/subtracting fractions of different families (denominators)

Game 3a and 3b from the squares and cubes chapter in the Montessori Elementary Mathematics Album

CSE of the Constructive Triangles from the Geometry Album

Continue long division

He wanted to work on the memorization of math facts. Finally, at age 8, he finally cared!

Leaves: finish and classify

Explore How animals live and move via videos and books




That feels like so much even for 21 days of schooling, but it was just so natural and flowed for us.  Some activities were 5 minutes, some took a few hours.

Final Upper Elementary Work Plan

Legoboy is coming to an end of his elementary years and is already showing signs of the Adolescent mind... sleeping a lot more; moody-moody-moody; more expression through hand-work; and needing more guidance with his work plans, where he was really independent for quite a while there.

This last bit threw me for a loop, but also entirely makes perfect sense. For all of us who have spent a few years avoiding the checklist mentality with the work plans???? Guess what the adolescent actually NEEDS! A checklist!

A checklist developed together - not something pre-determined - and the child still has control over his day and week and month and year and interests and studies, but the child right now *craves* more connection with the adults around him, seeks that guidance so much more when the previous second plane of development was worked through properly with a strong relationship built and all internal needs met ---- so this new child just wants to know what the expectations are so he can get on with things. He IS working toward a goal now - whether that be to finish middle school or high school, earn specific credits, learn a specific skill in order to do a particular activity, etc. There really needs to be more of an "end in sight" mentality.


We are still in the transitioning phase. And I have already noticed something as I type this up - unbeknownst to me and just following our natural Montessori paths, we are totally moving into a classical direction. Bess at Grace & Green Pastures has already identified this connection and has some plans in mind - I always saw the connections, and know that others have combined the two, but I never really made a plan - I had a few specific goals for our household as a family, otherwise the plan is to meet the needs of each individual and the family as a whole. And here we are - classical! ;)


So here goes - final semester of upper elementary Montessori homeschooling for my precious baby, Legoboy!



Finishing up the elementary albums

Legoboy has slowed down *quite* a bit on the final presentations - partly his own readiness and interest, partly to help me create videos. He figures he will get those presentations with the videos and he mostly enjoys helping me (he earns Dairy Queen blizzards as well as a percentage of each KotU sale that includes video access).

Also, the albums are not the be-all-end-all of your homeschool curriculum. They are a foundation and a structure on which the individual child and the individual family has time to explore areas of personal interest and family importance. So many resources can be plugged in as the child reaches out into the world and deeply explore their areas of interest at the time of their interest. For example, I could sit here and complain about not finding just the right match of a study resource for my son to care about American History, but really? He has been exploring the Highlights series on the states, reads lots of books (ahem, historical fiction) of various time periods and locations, we watch a lot of movies, we discuss all of those movies and books and references that he isn't clear on - and it all ends up interconnecting. Oh yes - and games. Board games, card games, dice games, you name it, we play it; and the more educational or strategic, the more we play it. And there are geography games too!

• Mathematics - I have been eyeing some of the adolescent algebra presentations - the early ones - for Legoboy. He seems ready and the author (Mike Waski) says that some of the work can be done in upper elementary. I recently attended a workshop and tried to engage in a conversation about which could be where, but time was so limited, we didn't get back to it. Follow the child!
• Art - at this point, art works into everything. I do want to do a history of art timeline this year yet. And he has plans to work through Art-Pac 6 for basic simple fun. 
• Music - we still need to work on the tone bars, but will do those as we get to them in the videos. Otherwise, he has history of many composers and styles down pat, piano lessons (see below) and a wide variety of musical interests under his belt. 
• Biology - we have thoroughly covered this album, but he will help with the videos for some built-in review. 
• Geometry - A few spots left to fill in, but he wants to just do them with the videos - it will be good to show audiences a genuine "first lesson" ;) 
• History - we have this covered ;) 
• Language Arts - also covered; he will do review with the related videos and he is doing literature studies as noted below. 

1/23/2016 --- OOPS! I posted this before Legoboy looked it over. He said I made some mistakes - I added in some things he wants to work towards doing in the autumn, when he is fully in adolescent mode. So I have struck some things out! Sorry!


Literature Studies - stemming from the elementary Language Arts album
Legoboy chose some pre-written literature studies from Memoria Press to go through of his own accord. This year the focus is on Adam of the Road, Door in the Wall, King Arthur, and Robin Hood. He likes these guides himself; as for my preference, I would like to see related art and science suggestions, etc - you know, more of the cosmic education components. When I let up my own expectations though, and let Legoboy lead - he always pulls in these outside studies himself. When I start to do something he backs off. You'd think I'd've learned my lesson by now! Someday. ;)

Poetry: He is also working through the Poetry selections in Poetry for the Grammar Stage.


Geography Studies - stemming from the elementary Geography album
The Keys of the Universe albums do not at this particular moment have a "functional geography" chapter. The geography album almost had this in it ---- then the jumpdrive was lost right before a back-up was going to be made. Yeah. Not a good day (now a month...).

Legoboy's chosen paths have been the inspiration for what *will* be in that geography album in regards to functional geography. He chose these resources based on a wide variety of options (including not using any particular resource at all). And as the soon-to-be-adolescent he is becoming, he is really eating up the idea of following the lessons point by point, stopping to add in his own; discussing with me when he hits a point he already knows (verify his knowledge so he can move on) or is bored with (verify he knows enough to move on, or how much to work through anyway to move on to the next lesson).

• Trail Guide to World Geography - Includes a study of 80 Days Around the World - Legoboy is just now starting to get into Jules Verne's books. 
• Geography Through Art (these two items will be later in the year - not this semester
• Children's Atlas of God's World
• Passport to the World
• Lesson Planner for the last two items on this list

All of these really get into specific cultures, music, art, as well as the physical geography of the local area.
Why so much? Because he wants to!


Ancient Greek - stemming from love of all things ancient History as well as Biblical
Online course through Homeschool Connections.


Cover Story
He took a long break from this as he shifted focus to other areas. Next month he plans to pick it up again, probably from the beginning. Here is the post where he first started Cover Story.
Although he HAS started going through it again, he asks me to note that he probably won't delve into it until we have the Keys of the Universe Montessori homeschooling videos finished. Why this connection? Beats me, other than the amount of time involved.


Christian Studies
Legoboy has been working through Memoria Press's Christian Studies 1, 2 and 3 at a rather fast clip. He has studied so much of this within the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium already as well as his own studies and other homeschool studies, so this is just putting it into another framework. He uses this as a review and it is going FAST.


US History - finally finishing !? 

• America: The Story of Us movies on Netflix
• US History study book

The post where he started US History studies - way back! We still have those resources; but they are not meeting our particular needs anymore. The book mentioned there is good; I think it will be more meaningful now we have gone through the videos. With that video overview, Legoboy is moving along more smoothly through his study book; then we will get back to the book in the other post, with its even greater detail on the eras it covers.

Key Montessori principle for the elementary age: whole to the parts. Overview, then delve into the details of interest. As we delve into these various details (of which he is creating a notebook of questions and ideas to explore that he does not want to research until he has had the entire overview (videos) and finished the study book), we will explore various viewpoints and use a variety of sources.


Atrium
Legoboy continues to participate in the local parish's level 3 atrium. This has been a mixed bag experience. The current catechist is brand-new to being in level 3 full-time, only recently finished her training, and has a great deal of other responsibilities on her shoulders. It is a lot for her. An adult male friend of the family and his daughter have recently returned to the atrium, so Legoboy is much more amenable to attending as long as they are present. Previously, he would ask ME to give him a presentation at home and suggest some work options - now he knows there will at least be some good exploration of some aspect of the faith. So - he goes. And texts me during class to ask what he should work on... Not because he isn't capable but because the structure of the class is no longer amenable to children identifying their personal interests and following through on it - that and he can't find half the materials. Pray for this catechist! Her heart is normally one of gold and there have been some difficult situations of late!



Piano Lessons
Last week, Legoboy started on his first official piano lessons. To date, I have taught him, he has self-taught using The Music Tree books, and he has had random music lessons from various individuals. It has been a while and he needs something more consistent. So there goes any extra money I thought we would have from being debt-free! He really does enjoy playing the piano, though - so the cost is totally worth it.


Strengthening and Conditioning
The local YMCA has a class that we've not seen listed in the program before, but apparently has been offered for a while. This class meets twice a week for an hour (plus 5 laps around the building before or after) for children about 4th through 8th grade. The idea seems to be a "something to do in between other sports". Since Legoboy doesn't play any seasonal sports, this has been a great ongoing class for him - they do a lot of what looks like military drills, use a variety of workout equipment - and his favorite part: use some of the workout machines and big equipment (the stuff that the Y says you have to be older than he is AND receive a demo on how to use!).


Taekwondo
Legoboy continues with taekwondo - the instructors are teasing he is making career of the school black belt! Normally you test for the school black belt, than take (and pass) the association test about a month later. The association only has tests every 6 months. We are coming up on the 3rd one since Legoboy got the school black belt, and we're still not sure if he is going to test or not! He just needs SNAP in his forms; instead he looks bored (he IS bored - so he does them sloppy - this is an internal attitude that needs work).

In the meantime, he LOVES tournaments!

My handsome :)
Last Saturday's tournament:
1st in breaking
3rd in weapons forms
no place in regular forms (bored look on his face)

Swim lessons
He is also on his umpteenth session of the swim lessons for the lowest level. He IS making improvement in every area, but just hasn't moved out of the lowest level class since he started lessons in summer 2014. He started with a 3 week summer session, twice a week; then did one session on then one session off (a session is typically 7 weeks) for a while, but he just started his 3rd session in a row to just get past the basic skills. Then he can re-evaluate to continue on or take a break.


Other - more informal:

We still have other studies going, but not on any official basis:

• Life of Fred - we'll pick up more next year. Legoboy has read all of the stories already ;) 
• Key To workbooks - again, we'll pick up the rest next year. 
• Khan Academy - totally informal. He works on it when he likes, on whatever topics he likes. Most recently he has been focusing on some coding classes they have. 
• Minecraft Mod Coding class online 

As you can see, we are really kind of coming together, consolidating. The coming adolescent (middle school) years will continue academic growth, but at a slower pace. More in another post! 

What about the 6th grade local educational standards? With all the flux with common core, not common core, but still have to revamp our standards (which were already *better* than common core) to be in line with common core, without being common core..... 

I'll be blunt: 

I. Don't. Care. 

Our local schools don't finish a textbook anyway; when we do a course of study, we meet all goals. 

Our local schools have children all over the place regarding mastery; when we do a course of study, we master the material. 

Our local schools are good schools and meet the needs of most of the local children; my son's homeschool meets the needs of 100% of its students.

I am all for checking in with local standards, ensuring we have the same terminology, that all concepts are covered. 

But when local school districts can't get it together, it is time to move on with my child's education. 

Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ----- the Montessorian in me can't just set it aside and not LOOK. 

Everything I see in our current state standards for math, social studies, science, language arts, health & wellness ---- is covered by the Montessori experiences as I have them in the KotU or in a child's natural follow-up studies - OR will be succinctly covered in the upcoming adolescent math album. 

Work Plans - CONFUSION

Primary children should NOT use a written work plan.
But they can have the conversation!
And they can ask for a particular presentation
(as this boy is doing - because he has plans!)

There is a plethora of confusion about work plans.

I recently posted this in the comments of an online friend's blog and decided to make it its own post. I try so hard to "agree to disagree" on many interpretations of Montessori, while presenting information from a new viewpoint --- so each individual can make an individual choice for their own situation. This is one area where I am TIRED of being attacked, name-called, my intelligence and adherence to Montessori called into question because I don't "let" the elementary children "have complete freedom." Montessori never said "complete freedom". She said "freedom with responsibility" for the elementary age. And the misinterpretation of work plans and what they are SUPPOSED to be, I am drained of maintaining the quiet stance of "well, consider this aspect....".

Time for the truth to be told. Boldly.

Work plans are the child's segue into responsibility. 

They are the child's written down thoughts/plans for the day or the week or the month, following a conversation with the adult who does not dictate but listens, offers suggestions, answers questions, poses some questions and sometimes reminds a child of an area of exploration that the child doesn't know about (or remember) that would actually HELP the child's current explorations, interests, projects. 

Work plans are not checklists or pre-assigned/designed by the adult. 

Here is what I recently posted in the comments on another blog:

I think a good deal of the confusion comes from inaccurate information given to us first; it saturates us so that we come to the accurate information if it is not MORE forceful and MORE clear and MORE everything than the inaccurate information (and sometimes even then!) it gets pushed aside, not read/understood as intensely because an opinion has already been formed.

I REALLY wish certain other places would stop with the checklists - "download, print and use this as work plan". Those are not work plans, they are checklists. And they are adult led.

We ALL have work plans - whether written down or in a planner or in our heads - we all have a plan for the day, the week, the month, the year, life-plans - and we are all working towards those. To help the children we discuss, we check-in, we guide them, we make sure they are aware of scheduled activities that are upcoming so THEY can plan to get into deep or not so deep work depending on how much time they have, we let them make some mistakes but we also offer words of wisdom at the right moments --- and the children can write that down.

I don't see "checklist" in there anywhere. I am SO happy that the truth is finally being understood and being spread (I have felt like a lone voice for FAR too long) - but I am so sad at the depth of the misunderstanding.... 

A work plan is simply a written form of the plans in your child's mind. 

A homeschooler's version might look different from a classroom version - why? Because in the classroom, you have 35-60 children working in various areas to inspire the other children, reminding them of other areas of study.

Children in classrooms can observe others' work as a review and reminder of their own past work, inspiring them to further work or a way to apply that knowledge in their current work. Homeschool children don't have this inspiration, so it is OK to have a list of all the areas that could be studied in - as that way of reminding the children. They also won't be visually reviewing (observing) as much so it is ok to remind them to review areas they have not touched on in a while.

There are many other differences between classroom and homeschool, found in other posts - and some are still in-development.


Ultimately, we the adults have the map, yes the child still has his own personal journey - but how does the child know his options if we, the adult, don't present them.

Thus we continue to give new presentations (the children have a right to know when these presentations will happen, so they can learn to plan their own day); the children have a right to know there ARE more presentations and to request them. The children have a right to know how to plan their time wisely and receive GUIDANCE in their project and study planning.

If we do not have a conversation with the children and provide this opportunity for them to talk out their previous work (work journals) and their upcoming plans, then we are doing a SERIOUS dis-service to the children.

A GREAT article and video on the "Three Essential Tools of the Elementary Environment".
Montessori Guide: The Three Essential Tools

Homeschool Skedtrack - REVIEW POST

Legoboy has recently begun using Homeschool Skedtrack for his work plan and journaling. This is an online schedule tracking system that we have used at various times over the last several years; this is the first time Legoboy is using it himself. I foresee using this into adolescence for his planning and journaling.

What he did was plot out his work plan goals, divide up by activities, and record it all. He plotted everything out so that each area shows up each day, but he doesn't necessarily DO each subject every day (in fact, he does NOT). He likes it because 1) it is on the computer 2) he can see what he has up next in each area 3) he can edit what he actually DOES compared to what is actually written there.

He records the length of time spent along with any pertinent details. He still keeps a written record of some of his work as well as noting details of his goals and plans (still monthly), but Homeschool Skedtrack IS his Montessori work journal now.


http://www.homeschoolskedtrack.com/



We make the plans together, but more and more it is on him. I must emphasize that: he creates these plans and he modifies them as we go.

I am happy to re-organize some of the work and add in the pieces we've not typed in yet - to illustrate each of the threads in the elementary Montessori experiences; in a way these are already available via the elementary Montessori task cards (Montessori guide cards) available at Garden of Francis.


Legoboy's current "Courses":

Life of Fred and Cover Story are ready to go when some items above are to certain stages or are completed. Some of the items are more or less ongoing, but again not every day - some things might be once a week or even less with significant time spent when he does do them.

I originally set the activities either blank or with suggestions. As he works with this program more and more, he has started editing future activities.

What we love about it is that you can map out all the steps, or insert generic activities --- then edit as you complete (length of time spent, what actual activity done). If he does more than listed for the day, he can go into the activities tab and delete the future to-be-posted that he has already done. If he doesn't do something, it just shows up the next time that it is scheduled. He plans out his day, but we do have this set for every subject to show up every day (you can have certain things show up just on particular days - such as "Boy Scouts" or "choir practice" or "TKD" or "Grandma and Grandpa visiting".

We list everything as 10 minutes as a generic start; then he tracks the time spent. It has been an interesting exercise for him to see things in this manner - automatically calculated. AND to see the same thing that HE planned, staring him in the face day after day. Hm. Better planning there, son ;)

Upper Elementary Montessori - New work journal and work plan

Work Journal - really it's nothing new, a bit more detail in some areas, a bit less in others. We are simply looking for a record of general time spent. Questions and thoughts now go into their own notebooks rather than in here, though sometimes things pop up in here too.

Just to have a cute photo
for the upper elementary montessori
work plan post ;) 

So we use a spiral notebook; note the date, then list general times spent on general studies/activities. We might have 2 days on a page; or it might be a full page for 1 day.


Work Plan - we are going full-monthly now. Legoboy has his plans and we still have the remainder of the albums.
Truly, as we moved into upper elementary (click that link for a related post), I thought the remainder of the albums would be done rather quickly. Nope! What has happened is that I am presenting FAR less. He receives a new presentation and has two courses of action:

1. Runs with it. Uses it. Practices it. Builds a small (or large) study around it.
   
2. "Gets it." Then returns to his other small or large studies he is doing, integrating the new presentation wherever is appropriate.
   

I am even MORE grateful that we didn't go with more detailed upper elementary albums. As schools start up in my area, I am continually asked "so when do you start school again?" When I say, "We never stop learning," most people are appalled (thinking of textbooks for 4-8 hours every.single.day all.year.round). Nope! We have keys-based Montessori albums that require us to live life to its fullest ;) 

So we are still meeting each week to go over the schedule for the week (I don't mean school schedule - I mean our family schedule: tae-kwon-do, church events, Mass times, events at the Legostore, anything scheduled with friends or family (lots of pool parties lately!)). We then go over the non-scheduled things that need to be done this week.


By "go over" - this means we discuss it. I don't dictate "here are the things that need to be done" (unless there IS something that needs to be done, but honestly he tells ME those things even when I already know). We have our routine of what we discuss and he runs with it. He'll come up with things that should/could be done, or share an insight on how something could be done, etc.

For example, 2 weeks ago, he suggested we attend the early morning Mass at St. Martin so that we can work on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd sacristy items at St. Paul on the way back, followed by St. John's which is also on the way back, saving a short trip of gas. His actual motive however, was to assure some time in the schedule to play a new game: Settlers of Catan. Well, ok, I can handle that ;)


So we now have a list of monthly goals or "themes" with our weekly conversation of what will be accomplished in each given week. If he feels he needs more time to accomplish a goal, we can discuss and I will support or nix an extension. I want him to learn to meet deadlines, but at 10, Legoboy should not be up until midnight or 3am finishing projects just to meet a deadline either.




As the mother and head of the household, I do have final say on all decisions, but I cherish these moments of discussing age-appropriate experiences with my son, allowing (encouraging!) him to be part of the thought-process behind life's little and large decisions; thereby knowing that when he is an adult and fully responsible for himself, I know that I have equipped him with all that I can including my prayers and my entrusting him to God.


There are a good number of anti-Montessori adults who want to emphasize adult control and adult direction to the point of denying that God has given our children any capabilities of their own. Thus, they hold on too tight until it is time to release the child to the world, then they are devastated by the results when the now-adult child looks to find another authority to "listen to" because he or she is incapable of making one's own decisions. These children spend their 20s (sometimes longer) getting their lives straightened out, when they could spend that time living a wonderful life by having learned all those adult life skills in tiny increments as growing children.
(end soapbox ;) )


August themes/plans:

• My Temple of the Holy Spirit health study (Catholic-based, but could be done by any Christian denomination)
• Study each topic in this book, adding desired activities from Blood and Guts; coloring pictures in two anatomy coloring books (the two we have are high school level, really)
• Dissections where appropriate
  
• Finish up My Pet Store Math (a Charlotte Mason offering) - we had to take a break from this a while back. He would like to finish it up.
  
• Work of Water: create the river model by himself
• Catch up on astronomy newsletters and spend at least 1 night a week outside under the stars
• Come close to finishing Mystery of History (because of his love for ancient history, volume 1 has taken FOREVER to do! This is fine because
  
1. he has the Great Lessons, thus the overview of Cosmic Education;
   
2. he has taken each (or almost every) short lesson and done some further follow-up work beyond selecting at least one of the included activities (usually more), creating the timeline cards and creating a Wall of Fame in a notebook of his own);
   
3. this is the only volume we plan to do. As Catholics, there are 2 specific locations that brought up some interesting discussion for us. Volumes 2 and 3 veer from how we understand the revelation of God. We'll have those discussions, just not with any particular history textbook. 
• Review work with decimal fractions. He has had some minor trouble with decimal places with the Pet Store Math - mostly in understanding when/why we don't need extra zeroes after a final decimal, unless we have something like 90 cents. And he wants to finish reviewing that material/section for me for the math album.
  
• Further music presentations. We have stalled on these, not because we don't LOVE them but because of time and space. He has been playing the piano but no real lessons. We'll look into picking up lessons next month, but our goal this month is to get the tone bars set up again and proceed forward with those album pages.
  

That's it! Think block scheduling, with lots of real life connecting it all.

We are not covering other subjects this month either because we naturally do them and don't have any particular plans/goals (growing and using herbs; prayer/faith studies (we are prepping the atriums for classes to start this September); or because he has goals for those areas in September or October. These later months aren't fully planned, but he set up a page for each to move things over that won't fit for the month of August. Organizational planning skills ;)  

So how did we spend our time today? Discussing the brain, the eye and the heart (topics of his own interest) - then doing a dissection on a cow's eye (post to come later this week!) - all of his own accord, on a deeper level than if I'd required it, but still with my requirement that he learn it thoroughly and all related ethics. I shared that information with a woman who thought I was crazy to not have starting/ending dates for school - she is a retired nurse and she insists he is doing high school level work (with the terminology he used to explain to her what he did today, yep, maybe it IS high school level work. He's 10. What does that say about high school offerings? Of course, I did the same work in college...).

Biology Studies

So here we are in the spring time again - and the skies are finally blue! We typically re-start our botany studies in the winter because we have so much sunlight in our south-facing balcony doors - but this winter just dragged on... So we got started on herbs, but didn't get just too far - not far enough.

And it is admission time - we do not follow an academic work plan every single week. We DO meet each week and talk about the upcoming week, what needs to be done, what is scheduled, what we would like to do. About half the weeks of the year we are quite heavy on the academics, about 1/4 of the weeks in a year we have some academics and the rest - we blow off.

Or do we? We're still meeting, we're still planning, we're still working - we just might not be doing specific math skills or specific album pages in ANY subject. But we are still learning, exploring, discovering, and experiencing REAL life. THIS is the reality of Montessori - not how many album pages we worked on in a week, but how deep are we studying? Album pages can be flown through if the right foundation is there, enthusiasm for learning and the right timing.

Thus our last few weeks (since our return from out of state in fact) have been focused on practical life (spring cleaning), closing up school year events (my busiest week of this semester, I had 8 atrium sessions - he assisted in teaching 3 of them; and joined me for 3 others; but we also have other school-year related events), preparation for the next TKD belt test, preparing materials for the atrium, co-op, and homeschool, and getting ready for a new niece and nephew. Oh - and lots and lots of Legos ;)

Legoboy has been busy. I'll have a few blog posts about what he has been doing.


Starting with his herb studies, it has branched out from there. (click that link for the first post about herbs)


A few weeks ago, I posted this message to a couple of yahoo groups - I thought I'd posted it here, but the scheduled time didn't get it up - sorry! It's available next year (sign up now to get the message when it re-opens):

"A few months back, through a rabbit trail style of Montessori elementary, my son fell in love with herbs. I've shared a bit about it before and I have a few blog posts to get up about it... in my free time (haha!).

My son and I discovered this site - http://learningherbs.com - they have a great herb learning game (Wildcraft), which is a bit cheaper in other places, but the BONUSES this site provides are far more than worth the extra cost! All sorts of downloads - my son just loves them (think: a boy who is excited to learn about herbs!).

Only until Saturday, they have opened up their Herb Fairy learning system - they open up once a year, provide monthly stories and activities about specific herbs that correspond with that month (probably most matches northern hemisphere, but you could start it and save them for later if you are in the southern hemisphere).... I'm short on time to list all the benefits, but I wanted to share that if you have children interested in botany and/or herbs, or that might be - and you have $97 for an entire year's curriculum (that comes with a LOT), now is the time.
http://herbfairies.com

(note: this is NOT an affiliate link - I'm just sharing this opportunity because of my son's enthusiasm and how *thoroughly* pleased we've been with their materials thus far) "

(note - after the fact - we're on month 3 of this herb learning system and all I can say is "it is WORTH every penny!!!!")

Here are some of Legoboy's botany studies this winter/spring: 

Herbal Remedies
left: garlic chopped and soaking in olive oil (massage into feet to clear up coughs overnight)
right: onions chopped and simmered in honey - take small amount every 15 minutes
during a sore throat and/or cough
More information at LearningHerbs.com

growing 1-1/2 year old tomato plant in the house; mixed itself with the flowers...
We need to move these out to the balcony, but we're both nervous to separate out the branches. 

Legoboy just had to try to replicate Mama's success in growing mint from seed
(usually not an easy task for anyone; and I have a black thumb)
Results: SUCCESS!
(tip - just cut back your mint stalks and they'll re-sprout from the roots on the stump)

The jungle mess of a 2 1/2 year old tomato plant - still growing (tiny but edible) tomatoes!
This one is housed in Legboy's bedroom - south-facing window.

What was left of the dandelions after making cookies and teas
(see learningherbs.com for more information!)

All photos courtesy Legoboy. 

Research - in everyday words

I hear so many times comments such as these during conversations about work-plans, work journals, research, exploring personal interests and the like:

• my child would only do the bare minimum - I want to encourage him to do more, so a work plan wouldn't work for us. 
• if left to his own devices, my child would play with Legos. all. day. long. That's too much freedom. We need responsibility too, so I have to tell my child what to do. 
• there is too much freedom in work plans; the adult doesn't control enough. 
• work plans are too strict; the child does not have enough free time; it is just making him an adult too soon. 
• work journals are suffocating - having to record everything they do. I want my child to be free. 
• my child doesn't know how to research. there are so many steps to researching; this is overwhelming; how is it possible for my barely 6 year old to understand these concepts? 

Here is what is missing: 

• my child would only do the bare minimum - I want to encourage him to do more, so a work plan wouldn't work for us. the issue isn't the work plan itself - the issue is in the conversation you have throughout the day, the week, the child's life. What are the expectations; how are you wording expectations; how are exuding a love of learning and of appropriate achievements? 
• if left to his own devices, my child would play with Legos. all. day. long. That's too much freedom. We need responsibility too, so I have to tell my child what to do. Yes, Montessori balances freedom and responsibility; the "bare minimum" via the work-plan, with the oral and experiential learning of responsibility and going beyond; yet with appropriate amounts of free time... and of learning what happens when free time is taken inappropriately - the work doesn't go away, it gets moved to the next week's work-plan and is now "required" to be done on the first day of the week. 
• there is too much freedom in work plans; the adult doesn't control enough. actually the adult needs to be involved in planning the work plan; reviewing the work journal; helping the child to plan the next steps needed. The child is still a child and needs adult guidance. 
• work plans are too strict; the child does not have enough free time; it is just making him an adult too soon. because the adult is working WITH the child, the child is given just enough responsibility and freedom for his skill level at that moment; it can change at any time the child shows the capacity for more, or is dealing with other issues and for a time can only handle less responsibility and corresponding freedom. If a child has no free time at all but is working diligently, then the work plan was not developed properly and that is the fault of the adult for a child new at the concept. However, it can be easily fixed, child learns a lesson, adult learns a lesson, adjustments are made and growth occurs. 
• work journals are suffocating - having to record everything they do. I want my child to be free. the child is still free; the work plan is based on what the child should be doing to fulfill his internal NEEDS (not necessarily desires) at any given moment; as well as exploring his interests (this is actually related to internal needs). the work journal is simply a record of what the child has accomplished as well as perhaps some extra notes to indicate the next step in a particular area. Also, a work journal only needs to include what you decide is needed - a general chronicle of the day; a checklist of the work-plan with a note as to results and the next step; and it certainly doesn't cover a child's entire day - free time can be noted as one big block without notation of what happened minute by minute ;)  
• my child doesn't know how to research. there are so many steps to researching; this is overwhelming; how is it possible for my barely 6 year old to understand these concepts? research, plain and simple, is having a question, seeking the answer, and reporting the answer. Infants in the womb  do it. 6 year olds can too ;) 

SUMMARY: It is the everyday words and actions that are the real meat of teaching and learning - all of the above is just the outer layers that others see - the peripherals; not the true heart of the matter. 

A recent example of "wording" in our home - this one in regards to research - and a prime example of why research skills have not been an obvious feature on our Montessori homeschool journey, but my son is a researcher of the best kind - most days: 

Legoboy: there are two rings in my new Lego set. I wonder if it is supposed to be an extra, or if they just gave an extra piece like I usually get some extra pieces. 

Mama (assuming the box shows the contents like some of the Lego boxes do): what does the box show?

Legoboy: I don't know. I've not looked. I think they just gave an extra ring because of the duplicates they sometimes give of the tiny pieces. 

Mama: that is a great hypothesis. Let's check the box. 

Legoboy: no. It is just a duplicate. 

Mama (with raised eyebrow, to say 'seriously, kid!?'): (real name), stop hypothesizing and check the box for the contents picture. If it's not there, research the instruction booklet to see which parts were supposed to come with it. You have a question, now find the answer. 

Did you catch it? hypothesize and research. Keywords.

These words are an ordinary part of our conversation. Along with the expectation that if you have a question, you should find the answer. Don't settle for "guessing"; don't settle for "someone said that" or "I think that" - look it up - find more information! 30 seconds of one's time. Yep; seriously, kid! ;) 

We weren't schooling; it was 9:00 at night. I was cleaning the kitchen; he was playing with a new Lego set. (hey - if he had a choice, he'd play with Legos. all. day. long. And all night too. Yes, I have a child like that. So yes, I understand!). 

For the record - end of the booklet.
next to last column
3rd row down.
photo of ring "x1"
How ironic to have "two" of the "One Ring" !? ;) 

In the end, his hypothesis was correct, but as a MOTHER (not as a teacher, not as a homeschool parent), I wasn't going to settle for "I guess" or worse what it was becoming: "I guess it, therefore it is accurate, and I have no evidence to back it up". Nope, thinking is a requirement, kiddo - and considering all the evidence at hand. 

Funny what a little playing with Legos can teach... maybe he needs more time with Legos.... 

;) 

Work Journals - Starters

(I re-posted this because it wasn't showing up in blog readers and I know some people were waiting for it it show up! So I've copied everything here to a new post and deleted the original (there were no comments yet) ;) ).


A work plan goes hand in hand with a work journal, but the ideas can be mixed and matched to suit any individual child's purposes.

Some people just use a checklist, which has benefits and drawbacks, more or less so depending on the style used.

Other use movable cards - in or out of baskets or plastic pockets.

Others only concern themselves with keeping any generated physical work, such as math papers and the like, stored in binders or folders or notebooks.

Others might add photographs.

These are what I would personally call starter journals - and they are great! They get the child thinking about his day, what he has accomplished, reviewing his work, collecting it into a notebook or binder - being able to go back and see his progress. These are fantastic!

Ultimately a lot of that can become something a portfolio for the child's work, and the above processes, in one form or another definitely continue throughout their school years and perhaps into life (family photo albums and scrapbooks, for example ;) ).

When I can wrest them from my son's bedroom, where he likes to horde his favorite stuff, I'll post a photo of a couple of his own portfolios.




Here are two articles from elementary Montessori schools that use work journals:
http://www.countrysidemontessori.org/Content8bdb.html/
http://www.chicagomontessori.org/elementary/


The work journals described in the above links are what I personally typically see in an elementary classroom - or some form of it.
The child writes the starting and ending time of his work, along with the name of the material and sometimes what it is he is doing with that material.

This is where I suggest (based on my son's recommendation!) to parents of children who are just not wanting to write - to draw something related to their work. I did this with my co-op children this past year - they did not have to write the times, but anytime they did geography/science experiments, they had to illustrate or write out the results of what happened or something interesting related to it.

Work Journal: Noting how time is spent

Those of you with a clock stamp could offer it to the child to put in his work journal to record the times.

Honestly, I didn't have my son start recording times of his work until 2nd year in elementary and then only sporadically. Now that he's 3rd year and a half, I am requiring it. He really needs the habit formation of consistency, tracking how his time is spent and more appropriate planning of his time - we can only DO so much in one day ;)

Since the stamp we have is rather large, it also means that he has more space to write - the start time on the left; the end time on the right; with the words in-between - so I have him write what he practiced or learned during that time --- basically, what value did that spent time just have for you. And hey, that could be "relaxation" or "reviewing past math skills." I'm good with that. But I want HIM to be cognizant of it, hence he selects the words and writes them down.

He can then also note what he would like to do next with that area if/when he comes back to it. Just a quick note for himself - then when we plan the next work plan, or when he is looking for something to do, he can check his work journal and see where he's been and where, at the time, he wanted to go from there. I don't always hold him to those ideas, because they are just that: ideas. But many times, the "idea" is an upcoming presentation anyway.

As he completes any of those past "ideas", he placed a check-mark with the date that he did do it. Then he can flip ahead to that date and see the progress of his work. And sometimes he discovers he has already done the next steps, or that he is no longer in need of what he previously indicated. So we mark those accordingly (either indicating date done, or NLN (no longer necessary)).

This part is still a work-in-progress for our own household, but it really seems to be working quite well - even though it does need several reminders until the habit is formed.

I wish I would have required the time-marking sooner. My own regret for our personal situation. It is REALLY good for him. He says, "Especially when you tell me that I've not done any math this week and I can show you that I have worked on math a total of 5 hours and 40 minutes all week!"


As with any of the work plan (work contract) or work journal posts here - everyone will get different mileage with each idea - consider the options, consider making up your own, and see what works with YOUR elementary child right now. Next year, it might be something different. So PLEASE share all of your ideas :)

Work Plan - Balancing Freedom and Responsibility

One more work plan post - then I promise to start posting about our journals :)


MBT over at What DID We Do All Day? has put up some posts that have generated quite a hubbub of conversation. (what would we all do if MBT shut down her computer??? ;) )

Part of the conversation in the comments on the posts, as well as private e-mails with individuals, have revealed a few more questions....

The main one being - how controlling are these work plans?

The answer is... Follow the Child.

I'm not very creative on that one, huh? ;)


What follows are totally random thoughts as I sort through e-mails, past blog posts on work plans, the current ones with their ensuing conversations, and questions raised in elementary training.

I will try to organize these thoughts, but in case I run out of time, I wanted them out of my head at least! ;)



Here's the thing - I personally homeschool and I personally chose Montessori (whether school or homeschool) because I want to live in a structured environment that can handle spontaneity. Thus, I have chosen to Montessori homeschool so that we can live out moments like this:

LEGOS!!!!! Yes, we really LIKE our UPS man here! 

His goofy smile - when he's the MOST excited!
Um. The work plan is out the window for the *rest* of the day!
Although he'll still do his daily stuff at some point. 

Structure: For a child just starting out, you'll provide as much structure as they need to assure that all subject areas are being covered in some manner at some point - the details are up to YOU, your environment, your child.

Individualized: Every subject every day is unrealistic and does not provide near enough depth. But however you rotate through a week or a month, or work in blocks - no-one can plan that out ahead of time for a child unknown to them; hence work-plans that are already set up for "February cover these things" - are most likely not going to work because your child might be ahead or behind in varying subjects.


Freedom and Responsibility: We want the child to still continue to choose their own work and not be locked into this work plan/contract dictating their every move and interest. HOWEVER, it should also be built according to their needs as well as their interests, which in elementary don't just always correspond.
3rd year elementary example: Legoboy needs more work in decimal fractions; but is much more interested in history (it's always history around here!) - thus our work plan balances "this specific presentation in decimal fractions on Tuesday or Wednesday"; "enough follow-up to truly master the concept" (this can't be checked off until it is mastered); "possible new presentation if ready"; and what he tells me are the next things he plans to do in history for the week - "I'd like to look for books on the Vikings at the library" - "I would like to look up more information about the evidence for monasteries in North America before Columbus arrived". These are specific, but also child-led.)

Responsibility with freedom. Freedom with responsibility. 


THE BASIC DEFINITION: Essentially, we are at first taking their primary level "morning planning in my head" that they did, and putting it on paper or some other visual format. We are not DICTATING at this point as much as getting them visually organized.

Work Plan as External Order: Remember at the second plane of development, they have internalized the order they've had around them during the primary years, for good or bad, and an elementary child is outwardly "messier" than the primary child. THUS, the work plan is one place to have that outward order in place. Something to show the order that is in their minds.

Plus there are simply expectations of elementary children we just didn't have for primary children (local educational requirements and the like).


Meetings and Nuances: Most of the nuances of the work plan/contract - no matter the format you choose - is going to be in your meeting/discussion. The children should know they have these requirements but they should also be verbalizing their mental plans with you so those things can be noted. They should also have enough freedom to learn the consequences for their work choices - the good, the bad, and the ugly!
(I worked hard Monday through Wednesday - I have Thursday and Friday as light days; vs. I slacked off Monday and Tuesday, and now Wed/Thurs/Fri are going to be harder ---- these sorts of things should be worked out in a loving manner with the adults involved, so that lesson is learned but spirits aren't quelled - best done in homeschools ;) ).



Type of Requirements: The requirements can be vague (something in "math - squaring") or very specific (Math - squaring/cubing - Game 3A) - and usually a combination of both. I might have 2 presentations to give to my son in history this week, but he is expected to do something more with it of his own choosing; or he is expected to follow-up with a previous presentation.

Verbally discuss the plan for the day/week: We can ask the child to plan his day - not everything needs a particular time, but to say, "When do you plan to work on Game 3A? Let's plan a time so I can make sure I am available to show you." Now, this could be "after I am done with XYZ" or it could be "Tuesday at 1 pm or so, when the baby is down for nap".

Working beyond the plan/contract: Then the child is expected to find additional work to do - again, this needs to be emphasized within the environmental set-up, which includes the conversations and nuances with the adult. That just because they have done one bead chain, doesn't stop them from doing much more.


Work plans should match the child: My problem with reading and seeing such examples as a child NOT doing another bead chain because they've already "checked it off" - is that those are the children who have the wrong kind of work plan for their needs. They need something that will set them off to do MORE work, while assuring they have a base minimum of variety. There is a clear mis-match AND the adult has not set up the proper environment.

MBT has a neat system where if her boys work heavily with something, they could see it disappear off their plan for the rest of the week. In terms of a written work plan, such as the one I posted yesterday, if there are 5 boxes to checkmark, they could mark off all 5 in one day! (in which case, I might ask for something to be followed up later in the week or to move on to the next presentation in that sequence, just to keep things going).

Routine check-ins: Hence, in the beginning we want to check in throughout the day; then at least daily. As homeschooling parents, unless we have very large families or lots of other commitments, we will probably touch base every day; in schools or those with very large families/commitments, it might be touching base with each child 2-3 times a week. At least through lower elementary and possibly into upper elementary; older children might do a longer-span work plan and officially check in with it once a week. Throughout all of that, you are still going to be involved, so it's not like you don't know what they are doing  and can offer guidance along the way.



Areas of Interest are included or not - usually both: A child should also be working in his areas of interests - perhaps those are planned in (once your daily stuff is done, you work on your own items; or you work on your own project for the morning and the afternoon is the required stuff; or you don't have to say anything; OR if there is something your child needs, such as a trip to the library, you write that on the work plan - "Thursday morning: library").


Daily requirements???
Depending on your work plan style, yes a child could foreseeably do nothing but math on Monday, nothing but language on Tuesday, etc. And if that works for the child - GREAT!

But typically we do have a very tiny number of items that are daily (but are also generic - just something that meets my definition of real work (see yesterday's post) must done in these areas each and every day) - in our home, it is daily math skills, piano, tae-kwon-do practice, drawing, and Latin practice.


Our Montessori, spontaneous, work-plan organized crazy thing we call life: 
Back to those Legos above? It was mid-morning when they'd arrived; he had already done some of his daily stuff, and started on a project in history. I let him spend 20 minutes or so exploring the box and its contents, long enough to decide he really wanted to set everything else aside for at least a few hours. He then spent some time cleaning things up he'd gotten out; then finishing up a few chores so he wouldn't have to stop to do them later. He made himself some lunch to have on hand so he could keep building. Then he DELVED right in!

He had time to spend with it; then made some proper plans so he could spend longer with it; executed those plans; and had one HAPPY day!

I attribute almost all of that to Montessori and a good deal of it to the process of working with an adaptable work plan and journal system that taught him those skills of organization, planning, follow-through, consequences (he could work for 4 hours on those legos, but then be hungry and grumpy, having "missed" lunch - so he prepared ahead of time (I would have made him something at the proper time, but HE thought to make his own food for himself and not "burden" someone else with the task of waiting on him - thoughtfulness! Now, I did have to bring him water later - he'd forgotten to get that ;) )) - and again:

Freedom and Responsibility in action. 

One more time because I LOVE this smile! 

A Work Plan - Planner

Here is yet another work plan that we have used. This one has lasted the longest, but I am seeing the need to move away from it for a bit; try something different according to my son's current needs (described in previous posts, such as this one)

This was inspired by my long-term subbing work in an upper elementary classroom, but for us it worked well for two years of lower elementary. 

I used the first page to fill in our current resources - the sample here is a generic one I set up with not too much on it. At various times we have used various resources to pursue particular interests such as astronomy books, math books, science kits and more. Sometimes I would do this on the computer and print it out for myself; other times I would fill in a blank one for myself with our resources and goals. This chart might last ME anywhere from a month to a semester-ish. 

Then the blank page, I printed 2-3 on one side, then one less than that on the backside. They could then be folded together to make a booklet for the 'month'. Legoboy got lots of practice writing in the dates for the week up above. He also could decorate the cover and the back; or leave space for additional notes. 

We would fill in the information needed for the week; he used the small boxes on the right to check off when he was done. If something needed daily practice or more than once a week, we'd draw that number of squares next to the activity so that he could check each one off as he did it, filling the main box when all was done. 

What do we write in there? It might be the page numbers of something we are reading together or the name of a book he wants to read on a subject; it might be "new presentation from mom"; 

The blank space at the bottom left was used for recording his commitments, such as choir, speech, atrium.

Yes, for us, in our situation (work at home), I felt the need to include even our family stuff - so for *us* this work plan was really more of a "family planner" for the week. Most families just need a work plan for the school hours; but this kept us organized in all areas ;)

He didn't do every subject every day, and over the course of a month, various weeks might be very light in some areas and heavier in others. The goal was proper pacing and planning. 

At the time we put this in place, I intended to start having by-the-clock work periods. It never actually happened. We have our routines, and work periods fit in there, but they are NOT by the clock by ANY means ;) Thus, rather than say "the work period is over, you may choose to continue working or you may have free time" we had to work things out by day so that he knew when he was "done" regardless of how long it took. Many times he still would do more, but sometimes he was ready to be done for the day. 

Each morning (or the evening before), we would mark the upcoming days' items with the letter for the day; we would discuss his current work and what he wants to do next and I guided him in learning how to assure he gets both his interests and his responsibilities in. These two items are NOT exclusive of one another - my requirement might be to do something with history this week (could be specific, could be vague), his interest in ancient history means that almost everything he does is history - he just has to record it as such. 

And no, I didn't make a huge deal of him not finishing a particular day's works if he was working deeply. If I didn't see him truly working, then I would comment that he chose not to work well that day, it would mean more work the next day.
(note: if you've not quite noticed yet, I'm a single mom; while what I just said above might sound a bit "harsh" to some, the fact is, I have to provide a lot of that "boundary" stuff in a way that doesn't come natural to me; by having just such conversations as I just now mentioned, my son is aware of his boundaries, aware of the consequences both good and bad, and it is really starting to show through his work on the tae-kwon-do STORM team - a bragging post for another day ;) ). 

Definition of true work: diligence, depth, interest (even if the interest is a "requirement"), appropriate breaks as needed. 

If you are interested in a Word (.docx) file of the above shown items - entirely adaptable to your own use, here it is: 

Montessori Homeschool Planner