Homeschool Planning with Chalk
As a child, I remember being asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, and something I always came back to was “teacher.” You know what is so great about my life? I get to teach my children in homeschool. It is such a beautiful experience to shape and mold them, to individualize the way they learn, maximizing potential.
My husband and I have decided that there was no need to subject our children to public school and the way things are devolving as far as values and work ethic. Not to mention, the state of Idaho is very far behind on educational standards within the United States. So, I have taken on another role, TEACHER. I wanted to share some of what I am learning along the way. I wrote this blog post originally in 2019, now its time to update this for 2020. Many parents are turning to homeschool in the wake of COVID-19. So, I figured this was a good time to refresh this.
Remember folks, my opinions are my own. No one is paying me to say this! I found a website/app that I absolutely adore and is free for to use. The website is called Chalk. Update 2020: There is now a “gold” option that allows a few extra features. However, I do not intend to upgrade.
The homepage that I look at each time I open Chalk, my dashboard pops up. It shows shortcuts to Planboard, Markboard, Resources, Attendance, Semesters, Subjects, Standards. It gives me a place for a virtual post it note. Usually, I use the post it note to remind me of certain prep for crafts.
Lesson Planning in Planboard
I schedule these semesters and lessons easily on the app or website. (By the way, love how I can go from the app to the website and back again and not feel like I am missing anything!!!) The lesson planning section has nice editing features in order to promote you creating an organized, easy to read plan! You can even separate your lesson plans by unit. I love the fact that you can attach your worksheets so as to find them easier when the time comes to print them!
As you can see, you can look at the schedule from a daily, weekly, or monthly perspective.
I really love the way I can move a lesson forward or backward based. This comes in handy if your child is ahead or behind of where you expected them to be. Let’s be honest, sometimes lessons go slower or faster than we planned.
Markboard
Markboard is within the chalk website and app. It is the perfect place to keep their grades recorded with ease. I will be honest with you, I am still learning to use this.
Attendance
Idaho has absolutely no record keeping, no testing, no anything required to homeschool my children. Some states have much stricter laws concerning your educational process. Personally, I do not see a need for this feature at this time, but if your state requires a well kept record, THIS IS THE PLACE TO DO IT!
Many homeschooling parents follow a particular curriculum (i.e. Charlotte Mason or others) . I follow Charlotte Mason ideology, but do not purchase lesson plans. I find it to be a strength of mine to plan my own homeschool lessons for the kids. You can do grab and go lesson planning on here, or create your own. Its all very flexible.
Full Swing
Our family is in the full swing of things for schooling! But, don’t forget to have fun with them, play and laugh. Make special memories. Don’t be so stuck on planning that you forget to live in the moments that make their childhood so special. This is a great treat to make while having a snack break from school! My yummy, yummy pumpkin roll!!!!
