Goals for 2013

2012 was quite a year of surprises for us.  Our year started out very differently than it ended.  (Considering homeschooling wasn't in our plans...)  I've quickly learned no matter what plans you make, life has a way of changing them.  Still, having goals set out in black and white helps keep me from forgetting what I eventually need to accomplish, even if it doesn't happen in the time I have hoped it would.

Now, for the planning!

2013 Goals for Jude:

-Reading by fall.
This is most definitely a long-term goal, and timing just depends on how well he absorbs what he learns. Fall is specific in a vague sort of way, right? He's slowly getting there with knowing his letters.  It's been almost a full year that we've been homeschooling, and he's knows most of the alphabet, but not all.  I think it's possible that he will be able to read by the end of 2013 - even if it's just high-frequency words.  My goal isn't fluent reading, just "being able to pick words off the page." 

-Better social skills.
This means finding a way to provide opportunities for interacting with others.  Once the weather warms up, we will be able to hang out at playgrounds a bit, and I hope to maybe get him involved in some activity (be it an art class, or a low-key sport, or I don't know what).  Jude is still very much a lone wolf, so I don't expect him to find a friend and be inseparable, but I'll settle for "well-mannered and doesn't throw a tantrum" in social situations.

-Better language skills.
Things to work on:
-articulation and being able to understand him.  Some is actual letter sounds, some is just slowing down.
-"basic" skills like - learning full name (and agreeing that it is his name!), address, phone number, parent's names, etc.
-pragmatic skills (ie, behave in "You need to behave" is one word, and the promise answer isn't "I will have." (long A). 


2013 Schooling Goals

-Sort through the curriculum items we have, decide what is working and keep it, and pass on what isn't.
 The stuff is taking over the house!!  I have a couple of shelves in the basement that I can rearrange and then put "out of season" stuff (like the Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas books that we don't need at Easter) so we're not tripping over it.  I also need a better way to store art supplies.  What I thought would work did work -- until we had one more box of google eyes and everything started exploding!

-Start looking at "First Grade."
Since it looks like we are in this for a long haul, I need to start with making sure I don't run afoul of homeschooling laws.  (That's kind of a biggie!)  Then I need to look at what "equivalent education" means  and figure how we are going to get to it.  I'm not worried about if we *meet* it in all areas (since we have the evaluations from the docs to prove he's not on par), but just that we are moving in the right direction.  Finally, I want to start figuring out curriculum (once I figure out what is working and what isn't),  so I have plenty of time to get books and supplies.  If we can make it happen, I'm considering going "year round" with Jude.  Since it seems like we wind up taking off unexpectedly with mid-week appointments, etc., this would be a good way to not feel like we're chronically playing catch up.

-Not be putting things together at the last minute
I know we are going to need some flexibility with reviewing items for the Homeschool Crew, but I want to try to always have a week or two of lessons planned ahead.  Because when we are at the end of our "current" plans is when everyone needs help and I fall behind.

-Start teaching Damien a little bit.
I don't expect him to do a whole lot (I don't expect him to know his letters and be reading by next winter!), but I want to try to involve him more when possible. I also think this would help Jude become more independent.  (He's constantly looking to me for input - while he does need help reading directions, etc. he is anxious to have the right answer.  He needs room to fail a little.)  Damien's getting into the "monkey see, monkey do" phase, so might as well capitalize on it.  He also needs some occupational/fine motor skills worked on, so this would be a good time for them.

-Get a better grip on co-schooling 
Things like big kids' homework and projects -- while they need to do the work (obviously), we need to better manage time so it isn't all one crisis after another.  (And I don't wind up needing to help them with their science project when I need to be gathering materials for Jude's.)

2013 Blog goals

-Blog here at least 3-4 times per week, not counting Crew Reviews.

-Blog at least once/week on our family blog (The Falciani Kids) with updates on the entire gang.

-Organize the memes I enjoy posting to, so that I don't miss the link windows.

-Often, I am taking pictures with my phone, which is fine, but I really enjoy photography as a hobby, so I want to learn more about how my camera works and do some creative things with it.  I also need to gain more confidence toting my camera around, given it's a bit more "obvious" what I'm doing than having my phone.  I don't feel a need to capture every moment on film (or SD card!) but I sometimes miss some great opportunities for playing with my camera because I don't want to stand out.




What are YOUR goals? Join in the discussion! Here's to a year where most things go as planned!!