Searching for a planner.

So here is another post all about my endless search for a good planner.  Ideally, I would love to have a template where I just enter assignments for each subject with little boxes to check them off when they are done.  Something that I can print out and make into a little assignment book for the kids so that they know exactly what they should be doing.  But I also want to be able to archive these assignments in case I ever use them again in the future for other kids.

Does this exist?  Unfortunately, I haven't found anything like this for someone on a Mac.  I have been using Scholaric since it first came out and I really like it.  It's the most user friendly, online planner I have tried...and I think I've tried them all!!  I have done Homeschool Tracker Online, Homeschool Planet, Mardel's Simple Plan Online, the Homeschool Helper App, and Olly.

Yes.  I am that obsessive.

The problem with Scholaric, my favorite of all these, is that I can't save my plans to be reused for a future time.  Being able to archive lesson plans would be awesome!  Having the ability to download for future use would be so handy.  Not only that, but I would love to have it be mine...once you stop paying the yearly fee for these online providers, you lose all your stuff!

So I'm looking back to what I've done in the past and trying to come up with the ever elusive, homeschool planner.  Let me know if you have had any luck with this.  With five kids doing school work, I know I can't fit them all into one paper planner and I'm totally OK with that.

I'll have to keep everyone updated on what I finally decide to do with this.  In the mean time, we are still plugging away without a planner.  We can't cancel school for that!

Explanations.

Why is it so hard for me to just sit down and do some blogging?  I think I'm trying to make things too complicated and awesome.  So I'm going to just sit down every day and write something...anything.  We'll see how long it lasts!

Today I've had a busy day so far and none of it has included actually homeschooling the kids!  A doctor appointment, some clothes shopping, and then lunch with my 10 year old took up all my morning.  It's always nice to be able to spend some one on one time with the kids.  I don't know if I do it often enough, but I think I do!

Currently, I've been pondering all things having to do with planning.  Lesson planning, scheduling the day, planning activities, etc.  I never really have a free day to just sit down and do nothing but plan.  If we aren't doing school, we have activities to go to.  If we don't have activities, then we need to tackle cleaning and laundry.  If cleaning and laundry are done (yeah, right!), then there is grocery shopping!  It a never ending cycle!!

Of course, one can always suggest that I spend some time doing my planning in the evening.  But let me break it down for you.  Hubby gets home at 6:30pm.  The house is empty and I'm off with the kids until 7:30pm when we get home from Tae Kwon Do.  So hubby hangs with the kids for a bit before the littles are headed for bed.  That leaves me with the baby and while the big kids tackle the kitchen.  Baby has been really bad about sleeping (I know it's my fault!), so he's not officially in dream land until 8:30pm.

Big kids then really want to hang out with their dad until they have to go to bed at 9pm.  So 9pm rolls around and that's when I can really get down and dirty with any planning, scheduling, etc.  Do you think I want to do that at 9pm? Not really.  By then I am exhausted and just want a brain chill.  Not only that, but I really like hanging out with the hubs, too!!  So there goes my entire week.

How about the weekend?  Well, I do have laundry to do.  And because the kids insist on being fed and hubby insists that we hang out as a family, I'm thrown back into the same type of cycle I encounter during the week.

I'm exhausted just writing this.  But I don't want a pity party.  I love my life!  God has blessed me so abundantly that I have nothing but praises to sing about my life!!  It's just that being a mom can be hard...and it's OK to say it sometimes.