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Why Flexibility Is So Important In Homeschool Lesson Plans (week 7 recap)

This is Week Seven in a year long series, all about lesson planning in an interest-led homeschool. Each week, I share a recap of last week’s plan vs. reality and then our new easy homeschool lesson plans for the upcoming week.

Flexibility Is So Important In Homeschool Lesson Plans

Why Flexibility Is So Important In Homeschool Planning

When I made our homeschool plans for last week, I completely forgot to take into account my son’s follow-up appointment for his recent surgery and the fact that we were going to be traveling for almost the entire day on Friday. A simple glance at my calendar would’ve fixed this, but I was so excited at the prospect of having a “normal” week after the tough one, I just missed it.

I realized my mistake the day after I published the lesson plans, and adjusted them as we went through the week. Flexibility is critical in any homeschool lesson planning, but especially in this type of approach.

Here is my recap of last week’s learning, including the adjustments I made to the plan as we progressed through the week.

Flexibility Is So Important In Homeschool Lesson Plans
Please know, my son is 16 years old. The resources I share may or may not be appropriate for your family. I encourage you to preview any links provided.

Last Week’s Homeschool Lesson Plans vs. Reality

Sunday

The Plan

  • No plans for the weekend

What Actually Happened

A year or so ago, I never would’ve felt the need to add learning to a planned day off, just because I messed up our schedule. I know that we always adjust and get back on track eventually.

The difference now is that my son is much more invested in his learning. He prides himself on “being in high school” and when I mentioned that we would be missing a couple of days worth of work, he is the one who opted to do “something educational” on Sunday.

He NEVER would’ve done this in the past. I hope it encourages those of you that have younger kids. Eventually, they do want more ownership and take more pride in their learning.

Monday

The Plan

  • Math: Real Life Word Problems
  • YouTube Video – His choice
  • Infusion – 4 hours

What Actually Happened

  • Infusion – 4 hours
  • Social story creation for removal of stitches on Tuesday
  • Dr. Robin’s Heart Dissection Video (in honor of Valentines Day)
  • Math: Real Life Word Problems (see below)

Everyday Math Word Problems

I use my son’s life experiences to create word problems that allow him to practice math the way he will need it as an adult. We use this as a supplemental exercise once every two to three weeks. I find it to be essential in helping him make the connections between math concepts and real life.

Here are some examples from our practice this week:

  • You and your 3 friends are at a climbing gym. You each need 15 carabiners to climb to the very top of the lead wall. How many total carabiners will you need to bring?
  • You want to buy a car now that you are 18 and driving. Your mom is willing to pay for half and you currently have $2,400.00 saved. You find a car you like for $10,700. How much more will you need to save to buy the car?
  • A group of 14 rock climbers are planning a trip to South Africa to climb Rhino. They have a sponsor who is willing to provide a budget of $75,000.00 for the trip. How much is this per person?

He is allowed to use a calculator for these problems as my goal is not to practice multiplication and division. It’s to ensure that he knows how to find the right answers when he is faced with everyday problems that require math to solve.

Tuesday

The Plan

  • Driver’s Ed – Finish Module 9 and Quiz
  • CTCMath
  • Spelling Practice using Spelling Plus
  • YouTube Video – His choice, something educational
  • Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour

What actually happened

Flexibility Is So Important In Homeschool Lesson Plans

Wednesday

The Plan

  • Physical Therapy – 2 hours
  • Driver’s Ed Module
  • Audiobook and Discussion
  • Science: Human Body Study
  • Figurative Language Activity

What actually happened

Thursday

The Plan

  • Audiobook and Discussion
  • Social Time with friends – 1 hour
  • Art class – 1 hour
  • Rock Climbing with friends – 3 hours

What Actually Happened

  • Audiobook and Discussion
  • Social Time with friends – 1 hour
  • Art class – 1 hour
  • Rock Climbing with friends – 3 hours
  • Star Gazing – locate Mars and Venus (it was a clear night so we added this for fun before bed)

Friday

The Plan

What Actually Happened

  • Audiobook and discussion as we traveled to see his older brother at college
Flexibility Is So Important In Homeschool Lesson Plans

Our Homeschool Lesson Plans For This Week

Monday

  • Mapwork
  • YouTube Video – His choice
  • Infusion – 4 hours

Reference Notes: Every Monday, my son has subcutaneous immunoglobin infusions. Because of this, our Monday routine is very light. We do the minimum and prepare for his medical treatment in the afternoon.

Tuesday

  • Driver’s Ed Online
  • CTCMath
  • Spelling Practice using Spelling Plus
  • YouTube Video – His choice, something educational
  • Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour

Reference Notes: Tuesdays are our first full school day of the week. Because my son always feels better post-Monday’s infusion, we typically do a large percentage of our more traditional homeschool work on this day.

Wednesday

  • Physical Therapy – 2 hours
  • Driver’s Ed Module
  • Audiobook and Discussion
  • Science: Human Body Study
  • Figurative Language Activity

Thursday

  • Audiobook and Discussion
  • Social Time with friends – 1 hour
  • Art class – 1 hour
  • Rock Climbing with friends – 3 hours

Reference Notes: We spend Thursdays in lessons mostly outside our home.  My son attends a program on Thursday afternoons through a local private school.

Friday

  • CTCMath
  • Driver’s Ed Module and Quiz
  • History – read aloud, Major Events in American History
  • YouTube Video – his choice and educational
  • Science: Human Body Study
  • Online Song Writing Class
  • Creative Writing?
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    Shawna Wingert is a former training and development professional turned education specialist, and has homeschooled her two children for the last ten years.Shawna has written four books about homeschooling unique learners and has been featured in homeschooling discussions on Today.com, The Mighty, Simple Homeschool, My Little Poppies and Raising Lifelong Leaners. 


    You can find her online here at DifferentByDesignLearning.com.

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    3 Comments

    1. I am enjoying this series of posts so much. I appreciate how short your list is – you leave plenty of space in the day for life to happen. 🙂 As you are following your child’s interest, I wonder how you navigate these discrepancies between the plan and what happens throughout the day? Do you start with sharing the plan with your child, then make choices together and do them? Or do you all start with one thing from your list, then get sidetracked and just go with it? Is there ever a power struggle when these choices are unfolding? I guess I am just looking for an example of how to be child-led without it turning into a constant negotiation or power struggle. Thank you again for these posts!

      1. I love this question and the answer will take more than a reply here. I will include more info about this in next week’s recap!

    2. Thank you, I look forward to it 🙂

    Comments are closed.