Online Planning with MySchoolYear.com-REVIEW

Planning has become a bit intentional for me lately. I used to try to remember everything and embrace the go with the flow method, but as the girls have gotten older this method is simply no longer working. I need to see our plans written to help remind me of the path which we are on, but with both of my daughters becoming more and more independent I have come to recognized that they also need to see the plans written plainly, and not me telling them each moment what is next. This is especially true since we are stepping away from using the same materials which we previously used. This upcoming year we will be mixing things up a bit more because this is the type of learning environment which they both will thrive. I know I have talked previously about being a paper and pencil planner and I still am, but writing in three planners for home learning each week isn’t going to fly. I know for certain I would crash and burn because we have tried that for the past two years and we never make it to January even with the girls writing it in for themselves. This upcoming year I am crossing over to digital planning for the girls. We will use MySchoolYear.com to help with planning their weekly lessons.

My School Year (Homeschool Record Keeping) has already proved itself useful since we have been using it for our summer semester. We don’t use as many resources in the summer, but the girls continue to complete lessons primarily online, and we have also been doing art and history. I appreciate that I am able to type in a segment of lessons, and the program evenly distributes it over a course of days. This capability alone makes the transition to digital worth it because I no longer have to write each individual lessons down, and if I make a mistake it is just a swipe of the mouse and a click of a button to fix the mistake.

MySchoolYear.com is not only helping me to be more focused and on track, but it is also allowing me to help my daughters better.  Our oldest daughter is very much a routine person.  She needs/likes to know what is happening and what is about to happen.  She is a schedule oriented person, and if I don’t make it a point to give her a checklist she will lose herself into doing something else, and then I have to figure out a way to reengage her, but with our new planning system I can provide her with all of her assignments at a glance.  She can control her time management to get them completed.   For our youngest daughter, I am able to have all of her online passwords written on her assignment sheet for each day.  She can remember them, but she doesn’t always remember how to spell the passwords.  This helps her to be independent, and because she isn’t the most organized person (we are working on this) giving her a new sheet each week allows her to always have access to her passwords.  She also is less likely to get confused by which resources we will be using.

A Bit More About MySchoolYear.com

Although I am primarily using it for our daily lessons, MySchoolYear.com can be used for more than keeping track of lesson plans.  The online program can be assessed from desktop, smartphone or a tablet which makes it a resource you can use anywhere.  I logged in while my daughter was at gymnastics to take a quick glance at our lessons.  Not only can you plan with the online planner, but you can also keep track of book lists, extra-curricular activities, field trips, grades, and attendance.  It is truly an all in one record keeping resource.

Final Thoughts

Yes, I am excited about implementing this new system into our learning environment.  I appreciate being able to help the girls develop their independence bit by bit each year, and I know that MySchoolYear.com is a good resource to help us in the planning department.  So far the girls have enjoyed using their weekly schedules because they will know exactly what is expected, and they can even look ahead since it is all there for the entire week versus just one day.  Before I go, I want you guys to know that I am a weekly planner.  I don’t schedule the any work too far ahead because life happens.  I appreciate the flexibility of this planning software.  It doesn’t make me feel like I need to allow months of work to generate to fill the pages, but it really allows me to plan for my daughters the best way for me.  I love flexible resources!