Next year will be our first year, but I think I have to plan out the whole year!
(Sorry if this is a repeat. I accidentally posted in the wrong place the first time.)
Over the years, I’ve changed the way I do my lesson planning. My purpose was two-fold. First, I used to feel stressed out when my lesson plans were all messed up after something unexpected happened that wasn’t originally incorporated into my planning, i.e. cool field trip opportunity, unplanned company, etc. Over time, we were doing the math lesson from three days ago, the English lesson from yesterday, science from five days ago, etc. Now, using an Excel spreadsheet, I make a list of each subject area on the left side of my horizontal paper. The days of the week are across the top. In the column next to each subject area, I list how much needs to be done each day. For example, I list “Math,” then in the next column (same row) “1 lesson.” So that my child knows what days of the week to work on a subject (for instance, if we only do science 3 days a week), I put a star symbol in the box that corresponds to the appropriate days (moving horizontal across that row). Ok, if you followed me thus far, my child then writes in specifically what he worked on each day. For example, using math as the subject, he would find the row marked “Math,” follow that row to the right, see that he needs to do one lesson, continue following the row to the right, and assuming we do math 5 times a week, he would write his current lesson number that he just completed in the appropriate spot (Monday - “lesson 52,” Tuesday - “lesson 53,” etc. My son is writing this in AFTER he completes that day’s lesson) I spend time at the beginning of the school year figuring out how much work needs to be completed each week to finish the book (or complete as much of the book as desired), I then break it down into how much needs done each day - similar to traditional lesson planning except I don’t write out all the details.
My second reason for doing my planning this way is because I homeschool multiple kids. I find this planning system saves me time, offers more flexibility, and helps my kids work more independently since they aren’t waiting on me to give them the next assignment. Hope all that makes sense and is helpful to someone 
Homeschool conferences can be a good place to purchase curriculum because you can see before you buy, and you can save shipping charges. I would just caution that it can be overwhelming walking into the vendor hall and seeing so many choices. I usually go with a list of what I know I want to buy. On my list, I include online buying prices, so I will know a good price when I see it. I typically also have some extra money set aside for “impulse” purchases or for those things I would like to have but it isn’t my core curriculum. I would recommend bringing something to carry your purchases in, such as a rolling suitcase or wheeled cart. Best wishes on your homeschooling journey!
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I just started the homeschool path for me and my children. So as of right now there is very little planning. Or should I say, a lot of planning, but nothing really static. I am open to suggestions though.
I need to plan more. But, I use the excuse they are so little. It would help us all be have more planned!
I wish I were a more planned out person, and knew exactly which lessons we were doing each week. Instead, the majority of my planning goes into choosing curriculum…from there, we do a lesson a day or a chapter a week…whichever is applicable.
We use an online planner and set up what we plan to go over for the year then make a monthly plan. Then each weekend I make the weeks plan. Sometimes it gets done daily instead but I like haveing the information to see exactly what we accomplished each year.
I do some planning for the whole year before we start school and then on a weekly basis I plug in what needs to be done each week. Having everything copied laminated and sorted for the year really helps my weekly planning go very fast.
With “tot school” I plan week to week. I have long term goals but plan detailed activities each weekend for the coming week.
We have been learning as we go with regard to preparation and planning. This year has been easier as I have set curriculum for each subject, so I’m not scrambling to find something to do on a daily basis. I have set days for each subject and plan assignments weekly. I hope next year to be even more organized. Maybe I will have this down by the time my children are in high school! 
I have tried many different things. I tried Homeschool Planet this year and really loved how I could put in assignments way ahead of time and then move them around easily. I thought I would like being able to print out daily checklists for my kids as well. I have found though that when I plan too thoroughly it makes me less flexible to change things up - which is part of the benefit of homeschooling in the first place. So, I have gone back to making my own weekly plan sheet where I can see a week at a time and jot things down as we go to make our lives a little less structured and more flexible to follow interests.
We begin by deciding what curriculum worked and didn’t work the year before. Then I make weekly and daily goals. Our goals are always in flux as my son happens to become interested in a particular topic along the way.
I’m about to start homeschooling this year, so I don’t have any experience or knowledge about what definitely works better for us. But I am HOPING to plan out my whole year (or at least the majority) before we begin.
I’m planning on schooling year-round with more, week-long breaks throughout the year. I’d like to review my plans for the next term during those breaks so I can have a good review of whats coming up and any other preparation that needs to be done. But to have the whole year planned seems much more comforting to me.
During the last month of summer break I start planning our entire year out. I found we work better when already planned out. I tried to only plan a few weeks out at a time, but we found ourselves not staying focused and on track. So, we went back to planning the year out. We get all of our curriculum for the next year during summer break and I print any extras out we may need in advance as well during this time.
i def plan the whole year, but really need to do it better…would love your planner for that. we end up rolling week by week!
Currently I use a calender week by week system. I will plan a month at a time. It seems to be working. This is our first year homeschooling, so things are a fluid model. I’m already starting to plan 1st grade!
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I organize by units for the year and then fill in the math and English curriculum into that. I need to start being better about lining up everything day to day for my list-oriented son.
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I plan a semester at time, but it is a very flexible schedule.
I typically plan a week at a time. Usually on Sunday night I will plan the whole week and put all worksheets or any papers that we will need in a folder marked for each day of the week. Helps to keep me more organized.
I have been using Ollie. I take a long week and review all my choices and work out our dates and then back fill. Since we are elementary school and I only have one child, and don’t have many ‘requirements’ I am using this time to understand the process of planning and work out my kinks before it really becomes stressful.