?????I need to plan?!?!??!?!

I try to micro-manage every little minute of everyday.  It's one of my many OCDs.  But there is always so much to keep track of around here.  I feel like I am drowning on a daily basis.  I wonder how families with more children handle it.  I can barely keep up with our 4 and all of their needs. 

I have bought so many different homeschool planners, thinking that will help us get through the curriculum that I would love for us to get done.  I was actually working on my education degree before we started getting diagnosis with the boys.  Trying to take care of them and do schoolwork was getting near impossible for me.  So I never have gotten to finish my degree.

But unfortunately I got the whole public school structure in my head.  After homeschooling 3 years now, I am finally realizing that trying to micro-manage every single minute and plan every single detail is just not the way to get things done.  Life is a full educational experience. 

So I have come up with a new way to plan.  I still want to use workboxes with the kids.  Afterall, I don't want to get rid of all structure.  Workboxes are a great checkoff list for kids to know what they need to finish and a nice reminder of what they have accomplished.  But I will now be making a basic structure plan for the rest of the year. 

I will make a list of science topics that we should go through by the end of the year.  I know of a couple that we would like to do, and I will leave it up to the kids on a few of the topics.  Each topic I will do planning to make sure to have plenty of library books, posters, games, puzzles, and educational movies to encourage interest in that topic.

We will continue to work on phonics with Lydia the way we are now.  Which is no set method.  Some weeks she works better using online programs, and others she just wants to do worksheets and games.  Sometimes we use several different methods in the same week. 

Math we will continue to use bought curriculum of Math U See and Teaching Textbooks.  But I will supplement wherever I see need for extra practice in a subject area. 

History and Geography will continue alternating with each other.  We are going to work on State Geography and Story of the World.  One week a month we will be working on World Travelers Club projects which take us back to World Geography.

I think for our family this method of just making a pencil outline of what we should finish is going to be the best planning tool for us.  It allows for a bit of an unschooling style, yet still allows the kids to feel a structure of sorts.  With 3 kids who are ADHD....well you do what you can.  Gone are the days of breaking down pages numbers that will be covered daily.  I will still plan out our study units, so that I make sure appropriate topics are covered.  But my daily planning will not be as extensive.

If they are learning, this must be doing something that is helping them.  And although it is very difficult for me to let go of that control of our time, I have to remember....they are learning.  Our kids are definite proof that traditional classrooms are not the answer.  The Eclectic Homeschool style is definitely what is working right now.

What do you do for planning?