Backward Planning to the rescue!

Hey Reader,

Let’s say you want your child to write a paragraph.

So you assign a paragraph.

It doesn’t go well.

The next day, you assign another one.

Still rough.

Pretty soon, everyone is frustrated and you’re wondering how far “behind” you are.

But the problem may not be the paragraph.

It may be one of the skills underneath it.

Maybe your child is still learning to write a strong sentence.

Maybe they have ideas, but struggle to organize them.

Maybe adding details is the part that feels hard.

That’s why, when I’m helping a child learn something difficult, I like to plan backwards.

Instead of looking at the whole gap and thinking, How are we ever going to catch up?, start with:

Where do we want to go?

Then ask:

What skills will help us get there?

For paragraph writing, that might look like:

Sentence formation → adding details → combining ideas → transitions → paragraph

Now you don’t have to “catch up in writing.”

You just need to find the next skill.

Math works the same way.

If long division is falling apart, more long division may not help.

The missing piece might be multiplication facts.

Or place value.

Or understanding what division actually means.

Once you find that piece, the path forward gets much smaller.

And much more useful.

So today, pick one skill you’ve been worried about.

Forget the giant gap for a minute.

Ask yourself:

What would I like my child to be able to do?

Then work backwards until you find the smallest skill that would move them in that direction.

That’s your next step. Not catching up. Not fixing everything.

Just teaching the next useful thing.

If you’d like help breaking a bigger goal into smaller pieces, bring it to Plan & Prep.

Tell me where your child is now and where you’d like them to go, and we can think backwards together🐝.

🐝 Christy’s Corner

What is one skill you’re worried about right now?

What would meaningful progress look like three months from now?

What is the smallest skill underneath that goal that you could work on next?

Just hit reply with the goal + where your child is now. I’ll help you think backwards.

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Reader, you are the most important part of my job. You are not interrupting my day when asking a question, replying to an email, or reaching out for support. I am honored to offer your help as you homeschool.