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Yikes!;That;would;be;disastrous!;No,;no
.;.;.;you;must;first;prepare;to;plan;and
then;actually;plan.
Preparing to Plan
Most;women;dread;planning,;but;even;if
you;are;one;of;the;few;who;enjoys;plan-ning,;this;still;applies;to;you.;Setting;is
everything. First, remove distractions, so
that;you;can;focus.;Put;the;phone;where
you cannot hear it, with the answering
machine on. Farm your children out for
a day, overnight, and into the next day,
to a very good friend or family member
who is indebted to you.
Next, make your surroundings lovely
as;a;pre-treat;to;yourself.;What;inspires
you?;I;surround;myself;with;flowers;or;cut
greenery;from;the;yard;in;a;vase;;plenty;of
fruit,;as;well;as;coffee;or;tea;;classical;mu-
sic;playing;;and;lots;of;chocolate!;I;have;a
Christmas lights headband that I cannot
plan;without.;Simply putting;my;head-
band on my head signals my brain that I
am;in;planning;mode.
Charting Is the Key
For years I have taught high school
students;that;in;order;to;grasp;all;that
tangled;up;information;they;are;trying
to;wrap;their;brains;around,;they;must
create a chart to untangle the informa-tion,;thus;putting;it;in;learnable;order.
The same holds true for moms who are
trying to untangle their thoughts and
ponder;them;in;an;orderly;format;as;they
plan;a;year.
To create a chart for the year, create
little;boxes;on;a;page.;Now;you;are;not
looking;at;many;blank;pages;but;rather
are;looking;at;little;boxes;to;fill;in.;Little
boxes are less intimidating than many
blank;sheets;of;paper,;just;as;a;fork-sized
bite of beef is more easily digested than
an;attempt;to;digest;the;whole;cow—in
a;single;forkful.;The;chart’s;small;boxes
force minimization of words and help
you;place;thoughts;in;an;orderly;format.
Headings Give Order to the Chart
The headings of rows and columns, as in
Excel;spreadsheets,;give;meaning to the
boxes;and;help;you;organize;each;unit.
Moms are actually creating a yearly sylla-
bus;on;four;8;x;11;sheets;of;paper;turned
horizontally.
There;are;thirty-six;weeks;in;a;school
year,;so;down;the;left;side;of;the;four
horizontal pages, number the rows
1–36.;With;four;sheets;of;paper,;place
nine weeks’ worth of plans on each
page; therefore, weeks 1–9 form the
headings;for;the;rows;on;the;first;page,
weeks;10–18;form;the;headings;for;the
second;page,;and;so;on.;The;rows;iden-tify which week of the school year is being referred to.
The headings for the columns go
across;the;top;of;the;horizontal;sheets.
Obviously,;the;heading;for;the;first;col-umn;is;Week/Date.;I;like;to;look;at;the
The
Unit Study
Homeschooler
Jessica Hulcy
Charting Out
a Year of Units
.;.;.;You;must;first;prepare;to;plan;and;then;actually;plan.
Plan for
Unit Studies
