Record Keeping 2020-2021

Learning happens constantly around here, especially when we are playing or exploring the natural world. Since we aren't going to use a curriculum this year I would like to have an organized method of tracking activities and interests that spark our curiosity and inspire learning. 

Even though we are not following the public school model in most ways I have still decided to start and end our school year around the same time as other students, primarily so my kids can play with and relate to their friends who are not home schooled more easily and will have an easier time transitioning if we do decide to send them to school later on.

Here is my plan for keeping records this school year, August 2020 - May 2021.

Blogging

I will blog at least once a week. It will primarily be my personal reflections about what my kids are interested in and how I can support exploration of those interests. 

Photo Books

I will take lots of pictures that illustrate the ways in which we engage in learning about topics we are interested in. I will print several small photo books with notes and dates throughout the year.

Monthly Log

In my planner each day will jot down the highlights of the day (e.g. a book, movie, conversation topic, place we visted, etc.). It will help me see trends and help me plan outings and activities for future months. I can also use the side bar in the monthly section of my planner to keep track of importation family notes like doctor appointments and family gatherings. 

Daily Log 

This is where I will keep track of my daily schedule including homeschool activities and trips and my freelance work projects. This is where I will map out everything that needs to get done each day in a particular week. On Saturday or Sunday I will write down all the things I intend to do with the kids the following week. I will highlight things that we get done. Anything that does not get highlighted will be migrated to a different date or eliminated if it does not seem worthy of migration. This will be where I doodle and scribble my observations of what's happening in our lives. I hope to catch many milestones for both kiddos this way! 

There you have it! My complete planning system for the 2020 school year. I'm so excited to be able to look back on this year and see everything we've accomplished, learned, and explored! 

Resources:

https://unschoolingmom2mom.com/record-keeping/

https://unschoolrules.com/unschooling-planner-system/

Reflection: Freedom at Grandma's

Grandma is a source of inspiration and support when it comes to our education journey. I look to her experience from raising three kids and also teaching special education for twenty years. She is very supportive of the unschooled/free learning approach for our family. Twice a week since he was two years old he has been going to her house for some one-on-one time with her. They get into all kinds of things and it's great to see their bond grow. I am so thankful he has this opportunity to have so much quality time with his grandmother. 

She allows a lot. I won't say she let's him do whatever he wants, but it's pretty damn close. She also gives him gifts constantly. Not for being a "good boy" but just because she loves giving him things. It's how she shows her love, so I try not to step in too often. I have had to ask that she keep some of the toys at her house from time-to-time when I feel I am running out of storage space! He's definitely a lucky kid on the Grandma front (my mom dotes on him, too!).

The freedom he has when he is with Grandma is important.  I am generally a pretty Type A kind of person, so I appreciate a day to myself and so does he! If I don't get enough alone time I can get pretty uptight which leads to being too controlling and knit picking. 

Plus, they do cool stuff. They catch frogs, go swimming, play with toys, watch their shows, make snacks, take walks and read books. She does a lovely job of keeping him busy with things she likes to do, but also allowing him to make decisions about how they spend time together. 

I'm not sure what I would do without my mother-in-law. I'm just thankful we have her!