Scheduling

I love that I can sync to my iCal so I always have the latest calendar, complete with alarm reminders (which I use a LOT). I also can plan chores (especially easy if you like FlyLady), menu planning and other things too. There’s also a planner app that looks like a real planner and syncs with your Google calendar, if you prefer. I can schedule reminders for all sorts of home maintenance tasks so don’t forget to change the air filter. All this helps me focus less on tasks and more on learning.

Recording

I can take notes and pictures, edit and post them to a ton of places. I can write & publish a blog post with my WordPress app. I can save things to remember in Evernote and remind myself of the great time we had in my gratitude journal.

Learning

YouTube has tons of videos that are terrific for school. I love to pull up video of things like beavers making dens or a working printing press. I can read books from my Kindle app and from other literature apps. I have things like math flash cards, games and other tools to reinforce skills. (I’ll get into these in another post.) Anything I need to make note of is just a click away. When we are learning on the go, I can look up anything we are curious about, like identifying birds or wildflowers.

Enriching

Drawing apps, cooking apps, just about anything to plan a field trip (with maps, phone numbers & forecasts) is right at my fingertips. Pandora and other sites have all the music we need. We can learn a foreign language or listen to an audio book or podcast, plan a garden or visit the Louvre.

Planning

When I need to, I can use PocketFlicks to add movies to my Netflix instant queue (or for delivery) for school, like documentaries and period movies. I can search for books at my library with a web browser and even print documents I need for lessons. I wish I could say I have found a great teacher planner app, but no such good fortune. That I still have to do on paper or in Homeschool Tracker Plus. But it does help me plan just about anything I need to do. And I can set goals with a little help from master planner Franklin Covey.

I know technology isn’t the answer to everything, even for home education. But technology, when it makes things easier, is a good thing. Thankfully, there’s no a app to replace me–yet.

What do you use your iPhone/iPad/iTouch for in your homeschool? What are your favorite apps?

Why do I say a schedule is a tool? Because it gives you control of your time. Because it helps you. It helps you keep on task and lessens frustration. That’s one handy tool.

Why do I say it is powerful? Because it controls time. Well, your time anyway. It’s an amazing little tool with slots for all your tasks, big and small. A schedule seems to magically create time out of thin air, giving you time to create guilt free–time to think and explore and experiment.  And it can transform your day from chaos to calm and that is powerful.

Why do I say it is the most powerful? Because everything else rests on this. You don’t get enough rest without it. You don’t have all your supplies ready without it. You don’t have a clean workspace without it. You don’t have school without it.

A schedule is the single most important gift you can give your family. Maybe you call it a routine. Maybe yours is written or maybe it’s just in your head. However you do it, if you will commit to using a schedule you will see that your creative time is used more wisely, that you are more productive and less distracted when doing a creative project. Your materials and supplies will be ready. Your workspace will be ready. Your mind will be ready.

There are a thousand ways to do a schedule. Find one that worls for your family and try it out for 6 weeks and see if I’m not right. See if you aren’t more creative and less stressed.