Now that I have four school age children I have had to rethink things. I realized that my "style" was a mess (cramped or not). I needed a more routine schedule and actually had to plan. The kids were needing it too.So I am using more prepared curriculum than I have in the past, more workbooks and independent work and I like it - much better than I would have thought a year or two ago.
This is the first year I actually have a "lesson planner." It is essentially a calendar and journal. I plan only about one or two days ahead. Never more than a week ahead (With the exception of planned read-alouds.). At the end of each day or lesson, I write down what we did and what we will do tomorrow. I make notes about what went well or poorly. I used to be able to remember where they were in their progress. I just can't do that anymore. My planner is my brain/memory for that.
And it is working well. I feel that we are getting much more done than before. The kids do too. I'm sure that we will evolve and refocus in the future. But this is where we are now and I am happy with it.
