At the beginning of this school year I took time to insert each child's name (and, in L1, their birthdate) into the Excel document I have set up. Below you will find a L1 checklist which holds two sessions of three- and four-year-old children with ten children in each session. Early in the year I had a mainly blank checklist. Last year I was not the catechist for these children but their catechist kept beautiful records so I was able to start the year knowing what each child had previously seen. I marked those presentations with a "/" which indicated to me that I should watch how they work with that material and, if they remember its use, change that mark to an "X" or, if they need a re-presentation I can do so and then add the "X". I then highlighted the presentations I hoped to show before the Advent season.
At the end of each session I make a smaller list, on a post-it note that fits on the small match box I keep in my pocket, of what I would like to present to the children the next time I see them. This post-it note is placed on the edge of the checklist which is on a clipboard, ready for my next session with those children. During the session I use a pencil to lightly cross off the presentations I give or write in any modifications to my plan. These changes come, of course, if a child is absent or if a child is engaged in a work and I choose not to interrupt him, or when a child requests another presentation which is fitting to him. The post-it contains a very flexible plan, but it gives me something to begin the session with, while the clipboard checklist highlights shows me the broader range of what I could present during that session. After the children leave or at the end of their work time I sit down and note on the checklist what has actually been presented with an "X" and then begin to plan, on a new post-it note, for the next session.
At the end of a particular season I enter all of my notes into the computer and reprint the checklist, highlighting my hopes for the new season of the year.
Below you can see two examples of a checklist and a post-it note.
As a bonus, I recently was given a glimpse into another catechist's planning style that shows a bit of the variety which exists in this work that we share! The photo below and to the right shows (instead of a post-it note) a plan for the session. Each child is listed, a checkmark indicates their attendance, the green indicates some options for presentations for that session while the checks indicate what was presented. Several observations of the day are also recorded.