A Negative Review of the My Well Planned Day Software

I have searched and searched for a negative blog review on the My Well Planned Day software that was released this past summer. While there are plenty of complaints to be found in forums and social media pages, there has not been one official negative review written....until now.

Back in May when I first heard about My Well Planned Day's software, I was excited. I could not wait to try it out. One of my favorite planners was coming out in digital form!

I purchased the Beta-version at a reduced price (the full version was going to be about $25 more beginning in August). Knowing it was in Beta, I was able to deal with a lot of the glitches as I assumed they would continue to get better. The potential of this program was fantastic and I waited for each of the promised updates to come to pass.

Sadly, the honeymoon is over. Not only for me, but for many users, as evidenced by Facebook and various forums.

At the beginning, communication was fantastic. E-mails, webinars, updates on the MWPD site about recent and upcoming updates were plentiful. However, since August, those things have dwindled to almost nothing.

While I first looked forward to each update, I began to dread them. Each new update seemed to bring about five new glitches. Every time a spokesperson would reveal what would be included in the next update, I would set myself up for disappointment as many of those things would not (nor have they, yet) come to pass. It now seems that most of the updates have been reduced to fixing each new glitch that pops up.

Where do I begin with the list of annoyances? There are several.

1. While the notorious IT is making updates, they may want to consider updating their main website. Back in August, it was announced that the program was no longer in Beta. Nor were the "updated" versions being dubbed "1.0, 2.0", etc., but, rather, that is was fully launched and would be continually updated throughout the year as so many computer programs and apps are. So, the software went from Beta to full-release with little change. To this day, almost 2 months later, the website has the software labeled as Beta. It announces the full-release to take place in August. Not only is the version outdated, but so are the "recent" updates. The last one listed is dated July though several have occurred since then.

2. At first, if I had a problem, it would be fixed almost immediately. However, I've had an issue with not being able to delete certain things for almost 6 weeks. I mentioned to them twice. While they've definitely tried fixing it, they have obviously given up on it. Clue #1,578 that they have way too many problems to fix.

3. This was a small issue to me earlier, but, small things are magnified when added to with other things. It takes a tremendous amount of time to set the program up. Curriculum and books are required to be added in before you can lesson plan. With seven children and the fact that the program has to "think" about each item added, it is extremely time-consuming. I have seen many people mention this, but, like me, they were patient as we hoped it would pay off in the end. I am guessing that this may be one of the reasons people are so very frustrated at the lack of progress in this software. So much time invested with little return, at this point.

4. I have kept up with updates, news, and problems with the software on the. MWPD Facebook page. If I had a problem, that was the first place I would go to see if anyone else was having the same issue. When the problems seemed to mount, so did some of the negativity on the site. The solution the MWPD staff had for that was to announce that any technical problems brought up on the site would be deleted as they felt all of those things needed to be e-mailed directly to their IT department. While I understand that the FB moderator is not able to answer all the tech questions, this didn't seem an appropriate way to handle such things. I've seen this method of handling things on FB before, and it's usually a major defensive move on the part of a business who is embarrassed by their failure in an area.

I must say, I liked how it was coming along. Many of the problems others were dealing with never affected me. My biggest disappointment is the fact that it is so very time consuming and many of the nicer features seem to be forgotten. Understandably so, with the amount of time they require to fix what should already be working. However, it just seems to be becoming more bother than I have time for.

In general, however, I am more disappointed with how the whole project seems to have gotten out of control and I have begun to pity those in charge. If one has paid attention to the various things said throughout the past few months, one would realize that the head of MWPD has simply bitten off way more than she can chew. Mrs. K publishes a major homeschool magazine, does interviews for an on-line homeschool convention, home schools her own children, moved to another house in August, and is now trying to develop what could be the most complete homeschool planning software ever. There are just too many balls being juggled and this one keeps being dropped. Either someone else is going to have to take over this project completely or, I fear, it will be given up.

I hope, for many of us, this planner will meet all the hopes and dreams of its developers and users. With time, it may very well do that. However, I think any one trying to rely on it this year may be severely discouraged. Maybe if we all backed off with our expectations, MWPD could really concentrate on making this thing great without having to put out so many fires. Then, when it's right, they'll forego the 2nd year subscription fee to all those who bought it this summer.

In the meantime, I'll post tomorrow about the new planner I've begun using.

Pack Lunches for Home

I haven't posted here in a while and now that I am, I'm going to send you on over to another blog.  I don't normally do this, but I just have to pass this helpful hint along.

Jenna is new to teaching her children, but not new to homeschooling.  She was home-schooled from K-12 grades and is very aware of how much time it takes out of the homeschool day to prepare, eat, and clean-up from lunch.  With a need and desire to make things simple in her growing family, she has found it easier to pack the lunches for her children (& for herself).  This post on her blog gives some great ideas for lunches that are healthy and kid-friendly.

Take a look.  Try it out.  Happy homeschooling!

Taking Time

I wish I had already known some things several years ago when I began to teach my oldest child.  Being the first child, he was the one with whom I compared the "normal" home-schooler.  If "most" kids were understanding something at a certain age, then he should be as well.  If it wasn't a difficult concept for me to understand in my childhood, then why was he struggling?  If he didn't get the day's concept, we worked on it until he got it - some nights we worked until 9:00 p.m.  It was my immaturity as a homeschool mom that many of our "bad" days were formed. 

Now that I've been homeschooling for 7 years, I'm either wiser or just plain tired. 

My six year old son is a first-grader this year.  He has been doing quite well, though he would much rather be outside running around than writing spelling words.  At the beginning of the year, he really struggled with expanded form in Math (i.e - 50 + 2 = 52).  This concept was so easy to me as a  youngster.  My previous 4 children never struggled with this and I had no idea why he just didn't "get" it.  Just recently, I realized it had been quite a while since we had done expanded form - months, in fact.  I wondered if he would get it now that so much time had elapsed and he was doing quite well in other areas of Math. 

Wouldn't you know it?  Just the other day, his review section on his math page was....expanded form.  And, again, wouldn't you know it?  He got EVERY SINGLE ONE.....RIGHT!!!!!!!!!  No problem.  Piece of cake.

All it took was time.  Not time in beating the lesson into his head over and over.  Not time in making him write different numbers in expanded form for hours on end.  Not time in me worrying and pulling out my hair.  Just time off without even thinking about it.  Through time, stress was removed.  Through time, precept was built upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little.  And, he GOT it.

What I wouldn't give to have known that seven years ago.

My Career

This week, I realized that I spend a total of 5 hours a day teaching my children. That's FIVE hours of SITTING with them, talking with them, directing & guiding them, and helping them learn.

That's FIVE hours of nothing else getting accomplished.

To some homeschool moms, this seems like a lot. This seems a bit daunting. I mean, there's dinner to cook, laundry to do, house to clean, gardens to harvest, canning to be done, dresses to be sewn, etc., etc. Trust me, I thought this was a lot of time, as well.

However, this year I have a bit of a different mindset. Something more important than a home-made quilt is being accomplished. I am spending time with my kids. I am not rushing school so that I can get the things I NEED to get done finished. What I NEED to accomplish is this: raise children who know that I love them and have an education they (& their parents) won't be ashamed of.

I look at it this way. Many of America's moms are working 40 hour weeks. That's 8 hours, five days a week. With drive-time, most of those moms are away from home 9 hours a day. That's 9 hours of no cleaning, no laundry, no baking, no gardening, etc., etc. So, if I spend 5 hours a day doing none of those things because I am TEACHING MY KIDS, why should I feel guilty? Why shouldn't I enjoy myself? After all...everyone is taught that they should strive to have a job they love.

I went to college to be a teacher. I love to teach. If I rush the teaching part of my day just so I can clean my house (a job I, well, DON'T love), I am only succeeding in creating a stressful environment and no one is having any fun.

I realize that some moms just do not have 5 hours to sit and teach. There are some exceptions (those with newborns being at the top of the list). However, the time you do HAVE to sit and teach, I challenge you to ENJOY. Don't look at it as time when chores are suffering. Look at it as time your child will treasure and benefit from for the rest of his life.

It's my career and I am loving it.

First Week - Done!

Ok - so it's been a couple of months since I've posted. But, after all, it's summer and this is a homeschool blog.

I had every intention of schooling through the summer to prevent boredom and to finish up what we didn't finish during the school year. However, by mid-July I surrendered. It was a losing battle. The kids are older which means we are a lot busier and going more places. This provides less opportunity for boredom (and less opportunity for me to get any real projects completed).

However, we just completed our first week of school today!! Most importantly, it was incredibly successful! I was able to accomplish most everything I had planned. We began last Friday so we all could get a taste of our new schedule without feeling overwhelmed. After a nice weekend, we did school on Monday, took Tuesday off to go to a friend's (planned months ahead of time) and then did school yesterday and today. As my niece and nephew are coming tomorrow, we doubled up on our work today.

The older kids are studying the Age of Exploration. We are reading through an antique textbook - Explorers and Founders of America (written 1907 - our copy was printed in 1929) - which has made Columbus, De Leon, De Soto, and Vespuci come alive. I love old history books as they tend to stay closer to the truth than modern-day books. Even some of the Christian books tend to slant history a bit more conservative than it actually was. We are also enjoying a mini-study on oceans for our science.

The younger ones are doing Five in a Row this year - Volume 1. Madeline was the book of the week. We also did a little fish project to kind of tie in with the older kids oceanography. Lots of fun. And, even though the craft was simple, it made me look like a fun mom - always a bonus! We are reading The Light and the Glory for children in history this year. I like the style of writing, but I've never been to keen on the slant. It may sound odd, but, as I mentioned earlier, it has a very Christian slant to the degree of changing facts, I believe. I am not sure if Christopher Columbus really came here to spread the gospel - any thoughts on that? Everyone in the book tends to either fight with pride and/or want to spread the gospel to the natives. The next chapter deals with the Jesuit priests who come to bring salvation to the Indians. Not to offend any of my readers, but this book uses this in a positive light and equates them with born again Christians. This makes my job a little more interesting. However, I'd rather have a book add more Christianity to history than to scorn it or take it completely out. Anyone know of an interesting book for kids that has the balanced truth?

Our schedule seems to be working wonderfully. I teach the younger children in the morning while the older kids do their independent work. Then, after lunch, I sit with the older kids doing our read-aloud, history, science, and English. This has only taken an hour, so far, each day, but there will be many days that it will take 2 hours. Our schedule looks like this:

8:30 - individual Bible reading time (I read w/ the younger children)
9:00 - 11:00 - I teach the younger ones - Five in a Row, history/science, spelling, math, penmanship, reading. The older children do their math, any english and spelling assignments, and practice their instruments. If they finish with extra time, they keep Zane occupied.

11:00 - 12:00 - finish up morning assignments, Bible memorization (yet to start), getting ready to make lunch

12:00 - 1:00 - lunch/free time

1:00 - 3:00 - younger children finish any independent work; little ones go down for naps; I do the "together-schoo" with the older children.

3:00 - 4:00 - my favorite addition to this schedule - QUIET TIME FOR MOMMY!!!!! The children go outside or play QUIETLY in the house while mommy goes upstairs to read or nap. This is a great refresher for the evening!

4:00 - 5:00 - dinner prep with dinner @ 5:00

Notice my schedule has become more flexible - it is no longer minute by minute. We often finish school for the younger ones after 11:00 and the older ones, like I mentioned, are done before 3:00. I love the flexibility our school is allowing us - so much less stress for us all!

Have any of you begun school, yet? I would love to hear how it's going or when you plan to begin. Comment away!:)

An Idea

How do you convey the idea of large numbers to young children?

At our homeschool co-op this past week, I was teaching the 2 & 3 year old class about the reason for Thanksgiving. I was telling them that the first Thanksgiving was almost 400 years ago. (Ok, so it was easier than explaning 380 years!) To a 3 year old, 400 years and 1 year are equivalent - they don't comprehend such things. In order to convey the idea more clearly to them, I had 403 pieces of dried corn (my children counted them out for me). I held 3 pieces of corn in my hand. "Most of you are 3 years old. This is 3 pieces of corn." Then I showed them the rest of the corn in a bowl. "In here are 400 pieces of corn. That's a lot more than 3. Just like 400 years is a lot more than 3 years!"

Their faces showed understanding. I'm sure they still don't have an overall concept of time, but they understood it for that lesson.

Do you have any other ideas for conveying the concept of time? I'd love to hear them!