How organized are you in your school?

[Luanne]

Do you follow a schedule for which class is when?

 

How do you have your books and materials organized?

[Jean in Newcastle]

We have a routine for our day. That gives us an order for our classes and activities but leaves the timing flexible. When I used to follow the clock more it was extremely stressful for all of us.

 

I put our weekly schedule on Microsoft Outlook. I have two columns - one for each child. I have the subject name and then the assignment listed for each. My 6th grader follows his schedule mostly on his own. He is allowed to switch around the order of the subjects as long as they are done. My 2nd grader follows her schedule with my help. Since many of her subjects are done with me, my own schedule is dependent on what she is doing.

 

Each child has a folder for their finished work. I am supposed to grade it and then if it needs corrects I put it in another folder for them to work out of. I am woefully behind on my correcting but I'm working at it!

 

Our school books are on a bookshelf in our living room. Each child has a shelf. I try to look ahead and order any library books that we might need for assignments ahead of time and put them on their shelf. They each have their own clipboard on their shelf. My children tend to be roving scholars who do their work in various places as it suits them.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We were as organized as our situation needed. I have no reason to decide when my kids will do what classwork or whatever. I probably, when they were little, asked them to do a subject earlier or consider the time in relation to whatever else was coming up. But generally, do what you want, when you want, within reason for me to work with each person. I think it became a life skill really.

 

Right NOW, next year's school books and such are in a pile. But I'm gonna get some work done around here this week and that will change. The materials will be neatly put away and kiddo can simply exchange one course's materials for another as he moves along through each day. We just use a shelf for materials--nothing fancy :)

[mom4him]

We have a lax schedule. We start between 9 and 9:30. My dd starts with what ever she wants as long as she can do it independently. If she gets hung up she goes to the next sub. I normally start with ds and his math and then go to reading/phonics and then on to writing. When he is finished with these, he is free to read or do math comp. game and I work with dd. We finish math, reading, Eng., phonics and cursive before we are done for the morning. What ever time it takes is what time we spend. I have our week laid our in my planner on a daily schedule and that is what we try to finish in the week.

My dh has converted an old table into a school table for us. He build a shelf on one side of each end to carry a sterilite bin for the kids pencils, crayons,water colors etc. He has also bult for me two small shelving units on castors that I have for each child I use them to carry the books/workbooks/reference books each child uses at that time. They role out of the way easily but are able to have everything at finger tips without being piled on our school table.

As a divider between the two kids I have a big basket that we used for library books and extra reading in general. Well, that was the original plan for it. I have to admit since we have the roling book shelves it isn't used as much but still serves as a divider between them.

I also have a floor to ceiling book shelf unit that dh built that I keep all our extras on.

I forgot to share that when we are finished with the basics in the morning we break, eat lunch, rest for a time and then come back for science and/or history/soc.st.

[Garga]

We don't start at a set time, but once we begin, we go in the same order every day. (bible, then math, then history, etc.)

[Closeacademy]

How organized am I?

 

I schedule out my year when I get my new materials in. I update things on a monthly and weekly basis because we do get ahead or behind.

 

Do you follow a schedule for which class is when?

 

I have a schedule that I draw up three times a year (fall semester, spring semester and summer sumester). But we just follow the flow of the class lineup rather than worry about exact times. So there are times when we get through school in an hour and sometimes it takes 3. I have 3 hours scheduled.

 

How do you have your books and materials organized?

 

I have a bookshelf. Each child has their own shelf for their books and I have 2 shelves for my teaching and reference materials. Also, on the cork board, each child has their own file system where I have their schoolwork plan attatched to the front and inside the pockets are the work that they have for the 2-week or monthly period. We do units that take from 2-4 weeks. So I prep things on a 2-4 week basis.

 

Hope this helps.:001_smile:

[Melissa in Australia]

we have a set amount of school work per day. some subjects are scheduled for the morning , some for the afternoon. the kids know what is expected of them. they can choose their own time to start in the morning. and their own order for doing their morning subjects. as long as they don't all do grammar at the same time, as I teach the grammar to them individually each day . the younger ones start somewhere between 8 - 9.30 the older ones a little later. we don't have a break. once they have finished their morning work, they have free time until 1 in the afternoon. when afternoon school starts. the afternoon school subjects are all subjects that I teach them, history, science, Latin and Logic . we work straight from 1- 3.30. then we rush off to basketball.

[laurad1125]

We follow a fairly detailed schedule - a la Managers of Their Homes. It's not something I ever thought I would do but it's what we've had to do to in order to get everything done each day. I think that if I didn't work from home 3-4 hours each day, we might follow a looser routine as mentioned earlier. I just know that when we don't stick pretty closely to the schedule, things don't get done! One thing I've done to keep it from being to stressful is build in extra time in each activity. I need to work at least 3 hours a day at my paid job. So I schedule 4. That way if I'm interrupted, it's no big deal. I do the same with the boys. Ds10 is scheduled for 5.5 hours of school. It really only takes 4. That leaves time for dawdling, interruptions and on a good day, breaks.

 

If you're interested, here it is

 

8:00 am - mom up

9:00 am - mom paid work, boys wake, eat, am chores

10:00 am - school for all

11:00 am - mom am chores, boys - break

11:30 am - mom paid work, ds10 school, ds6 art/outside/free

1:00 pm - all lunch

1:30 pm - mom paid work, boys swim (the pool's in the back yard, I sit at the table and watch while I work)

2:30 pm - school for all

3:30 pm - mom pm chores, boys school

4:00 pm - snack for all

4:30 pm - school for all

5:00 pm - mom housework & school planning, boys school work

6:00 pm - mom cook dinner, boys pm chores

6:30 pm - dinner

7:00 pm - mom and boys bike ride, dh studies

7:30 pm - boys baths

8:00 pm - free time

9:30 pm - snack, teeth story

10:00 pm - bed for ds6, room time for ds 10

11:00 pm - bed for ds10

12:00 am - bed for mom

[elegantlion]

We are very organized and detailed for school. Before and after not so much. We're done for the year and I'll be tweaking a bit over the summer but this is what we did this year.

 

10am start time (not morning people)

We would do subjects in a specific order taking periodic breaks

School was usually done before 3:15

 

My ds operates best from a schedule. Knowing what subject is next truly helps him focus.

 

As far as organizing materials we use our dining room for a classroom. We are blessed that we also have an eat-in kitchen so we rarely eat in the dining room. I have 3 bookcases, dining table, 2 computer desks and a large comfy chair in the room, it's pretty big for dining room.

 

The bookcases hold only school books, mine in one section, ds' on another bookcase. He also has a basket for his workbooks and I have a place for books we are currently reading and my daily planner.

 

Here's some pictures on my blog.

[ChrisN in NY]

Do you follow a schedule for which class is when?

 

Yes, because it's the only way everything gets done. For the last two years, I have planned the entire year out in advance and they've been the best school years we've had.

 

How do you have your books and materials organized?

 

The kids each have a shelf for their books, folders, etc and a small plastic tub for writing utensils, etc.

 

I have a shelf in the dining room (where we school -- and eat) with the TM's without answer keys. The answer keys & TM's with answers are locked in a cabinet in the same room the shelves for the kids are. It's a headache, but we've learned that it's better for our family if the temptation is removed...

[Pretty in Pink]

We do not have a set order that we tackle subjects in. We do start at roughly 9 a.m. each day. I make an assignment chart for each child; my oldest ds chooses which order to do his work in. He works independently in the morning and saves the lessons he needs assistance with for after lunch. I work with my middle two from 9 to 11 a.m., taking breaks as needed since they are so young still.

 

This year I am planning out our whole year in advance; never done that before but I've always just had one student. It is becoming more challenging now that I have two official students and one toddler begging to be included!

[Jill- OK]

Do you follow a schedule for which class is when?

 

How do you have your books and materials organized?

 

Books and materials are in our pantry. (I have a walk-in pantry that houses our physical food and brain food. :D)

 

High schoolers have their books in a laundry basket, on the pantry floor, younger kids (two early elementary kids and one Kindergartener) have Rubbermaid dishpans that they keep their books/stuff in. All other materials line the shelves/hang on the walls in the pantry.

 

As far as a schedule...we have a routine. Early a.m. is when I work with younger kids, at the table, and high schoolers do independent stuff in their rooms or on the computer (in the living room). Little kids don't have more than a couple hours worth of sit down work.

 

Bigs come to me for help, to go over problem areas, and for discussion, later.

 

I work out loose plans for the subjects I shape (World History, Literature, English), so that I know how much we'll finish in a "year", but most other things are just open and go. Since starting high school, I've taken to writing down actual page numbers that need to be done in a week, and things like that, but it's not written in stone. The only scheduling about specific subjects happens when the older kids are sharing a book or I want to discuss something before they move on, etc.

 

HTH.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Jill, OK

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Before the year starts I decide how much of each subject needs to be done each day of the week, allowing for vacations and sickness. Then I make a one page master list for each child.

 

It might look something like this:

 

Tuesdays: Math- 1 lesson, Reading- 1 to 2 chapters of assigned book, Maps Charts and Graphs- 1 lesson, Big Book of Presidents and States- 1 President and 1 State (Tuesdays are our "light days" because we do bowling and CAP also)

 

Wednesdays: Math- 1 lesson, Reading- 1 to 2 chapters of assigned book, Science- 1 lesson, History - 1 lesson, Grammar - 1 lesson, Handwriting- 1 lesson, Spelling- pretest, Vocabulary- 1 section.

 

Etc.

 

I keep a list of books I want each child to read for the year with how many chapters I want them to read each day. When they are older I make up more detailed sheets that break down some of their text books in daily manageable sections and they do one section each day that they are assigned that subject.

 

My two younger boys keep their books in their own drawer in a bookcase in the dining room, ds15yo keeps his in his room. He works there to keep from getting distracted by the younger ones. They are allowed to their work in any order they want. I do tell the 10yo I want him to finish 4 things before lunch and the 15yo that he has to do his math before 3 p.m. so that I can help him before clean-up and dinner. I expect the day's work to be done by dinner.

 

After 17 years I have streamlined the process of planning and often use the same plans for the next child when it is their turn to got through certain work.

[myfunnybunch]

Scheduling subjects

We do not follow a set "class" schedule. We start school at 9 a.m. with a warm-up activity, usually a math warm-up, a drawing exercise, or reading together on the couch. We do have a loose daily/weekly routine. Individual work (math, language arts, etc.) in the morning, subjects they study together (history, science, art, music) in the afternoon after lunch. I do have a daily subject schedule: Science Tu/Th, History M/W/F, for example. But we do not watch the clock and switch subjects at certain times. Some days we're all the way done by noon; others, we're not done until 4:00.

 

Books and Materials

Each child has a school box, a Rubbermaid tote with a handle in the lid, with school supplies (think pencils, paper, scissors), a folder for ongoing work, and small books used daily (math and handwriting, for example). Each child has his own shelf in our school bookcase with school books too large to fit in the school box, or which are not used daily. There's also a shelf for general school books: Dictionary, thesarus, nature guides, science encyclopedia, etc. And we've got a shelf just for library books and materials. (Woe to the fine young gent who leaves a library book on any other shelf! :D )

 

On my kitchen work counter I keep a basket with my school things in it, like curriculum catalogs, books we'll be reading in the next week, school-related books and articles I'd like to read, to-do lists and miscellany. In the basket, I keep a folder for each child with that child's subject schedule, any printouts we might use for time fillers or for upcoming projects, and any work of theirs that I'd like to keep for later filing.

 

I've got a closet for art supplies and extra school supplies (scissors, glue, pencils).

 

Cat

[TammyinTN]

I'm an organizing crazy women....I organize everything.:D

 

It's in my homeschooling blog in my signature.

[joannqn]

Prior to the beginning of each year, I figure out how much needs to be done each week in each subject for us to finish. I pull apart consumables and file the appropriate amount into weekly file folders. Non-consumables will have assignment sheets filed into the same weekly file folders. Then all textbooks are placed in one spot (was the back of the file folder box but won't fit next year) so we can find them.

 

Each week, I pull that week's file folder and place it into their weekly binders. Each subject has a pocket divider. To do items go in the front pocket. Completed items go in the back pocket. We generally try to work a little bit in each subject each day but I'm really only worried that it all gets done by Friday. Anything not done, gets done on Saturday. I pull all completed work on Friday; anything not done becomes Saturday work. Everything gets graded and we go over missed problems either over the weekend or first thing Monday.

 

This works really well for us. We get everything done but have the flexibility to take a day, or part of a day, off for other things whenever we want.

[mcconnellboys]

Yes, I make out a schedule for the year. I keep my books for the year together in one bookcase and my supplies on or around our big work table we use for written work.

 

That said, we don't always do all our lessons in the order in which they're listed on the schedule. And we move around the house for our schooling at the mood strikes us, too.

[rafiki]

.

[Luanne]

We follow a fairly detailed schedule - a la Managers of Their Homes. It's not something I ever thought I would do but it's what we've had to do to in order to get everything done each day. I think that if I didn't work from home 3-4 hours each day, we might follow a looser routine as mentioned earlier. I just know that when we don't stick pretty closely to the schedule, things don't get done! One thing I've done to keep it from being to stressful is build in extra time in each activity. I need to work at least 3 hours a day at my paid job. So I schedule 4. That way if I'm interrupted, it's no big deal. I do the same with the boys. Ds10 is scheduled for 5.5 hours of school. It really only takes 4. That leaves time for dawdling, interruptions and on a good day, breaks.

 

If you're interested, here it is

 

8:00 am - mom up

9:00 am - mom paid work, boys wake, eat, am chores

10:00 am - school for all

11:00 am - mom am chores, boys - break

11:30 am - mom paid work, ds10 school, ds6 art/outside/free

1:00 pm - all lunch

1:30 pm - mom paid work, boys swim (the pool's in the back yard, I sit at the table and watch while I work)

2:30 pm - school for all

3:30 pm - mom pm chores, boys school

4:00 pm - snack for all

4:30 pm - school for all

5:00 pm - mom housework & school planning, boys school work

6:00 pm - mom cook dinner, boys pm chores

6:30 pm - dinner

7:00 pm - mom and boys bike ride, dh studies

7:30 pm - boys baths

8:00 pm - free time

9:30 pm - snack, teeth story

10:00 pm - bed for ds6, room time for ds 10

11:00 pm - bed for ds10

12:00 am - bed for mom

 

 

Thank you for sharing this with me. I also work from home and my daughter is one who really needs the organization or nothing gets done.

 

Thanks again!

[AmyP]

I hate to be tied to a schedule, so we don't have certain times to do things. That being said, I know that if we don't start school by 9 am it will be hard to finish what needs to be done.

 

My older children print a list of what they need to have done by the end of the day and come to me for help or if something needs explaining/clarifying. I work more closely with my younger kids, so I just ask them what they want to do next.

 

As far as organization of our schoolroom, I have a shelf organized by subject for books that are not specific to one person (like history encyclopedias, science books, etc.). There is another set of shelves that are organized by person for things that only that person uses (notebooks, math books, etc.). A third set of shelves holds art supplies, math manupulatives, teacher manuals, CDs, DVDs, etc. Science lab supplies are kept in cabinets and are separated by student. There are a couple of shoebox sized tubs on the table that hold markers, pens/pencils, and colored pencils.

 

Now that I've typed that out it sounds very organized, but at the moment lots of stuff is pulled out on the tables because I've been planning. :D

[Peela]

We have a schedule and general routine- we start school at a certain time. They have a list of work to do for the day on a weekly schedule sheet that I tweak and print out each week. I have tried times- doesn't work for us. We generally do our "together work" at a set time though. Its a flexible and steady routine we have been doing for all 6 years we have homeschooled.

 

I plan very generally for the whole year, and more specifically just ahead of each of our four 10 week terms. Even then, I change my plans as I go, in adaptation to our circumstances, to how the kids are doing, to thinking of something better....

 

The kids each have a desk with all their school books on it. We have a schoolroom, and couches in it as well as desks. (My desk is in there too, and I pay my bills, check my email etc while in the room- if I leave the room, the level of work by thm goes way down :) ) .