tips for organizing future lesson ideas/tie-ins?

[MovingMomma]

Anyone have a tried and true method for keeping track of all your brilliant ideas for the future? You know, the book that would be perfect to read when you are studying colonial America 2 years from now, or the field trip to take when covering wolves in biology... How do you keep track of these so you can actually pull them out when the time is right?

[caitlinsmom]

:lurk5: I have been wondering the same thing! All my attempts at lists get lost!

[danybug]

I just have a spiral notebook and then I have a page for each subject or theme. I skip a couple of pages in between each to leave room. Then when ever I have something I jot it in there in pencil. And then if I use something or change my mind I can just erase it.

 

It is not really the most brilliant or fancy system, but I know I can always find the idea when I need it because they are all in one place.

[ConnieB]

I started using 5x8 index cards in a box, but have since changed to a computerized system, just because it's so much easier to cut/paste book lists that people on this board recommend, or something I find on Amazon, or even my library while I search for something else, etc. And the links for websites stay clickable and no chance of writing down .com instead of .edu or .org or .net, lol.

 

I have a folder marked "ideas" (yeah, real original). Inside that is a separate word document for every subject, person, country, etc. For instance.....here's just a handful of the .doc files:

 

sinbad.doc

sinn fein.doc

sino-Japanese war.doc

sir william wallace and robert bruce bravehearts

six day war.doc

slaves at St Domingue rebel

song dynasty of china, general zhao kunangyin.doc

 

ok, you get the idea. I went through all 4 years of of SOTW to create my original set....and added in whatever topics/people/places weren't mentioned in SOTW from MOH, TOG and the other programs I've owned over the years. I also have SOTW1.doc; SOTW2.doc; SOTW3.doc and SOTW4.doc for anything that fits in too many subjects (or when ya'll give a big long list of books I don't have time to sort, lol).

 

Now....when someone here suggests a book on Sinn Fein, I just cut and paste the whole thing (title, author, description, ISBN, whatever they provide, including their notes if any) onto that word document. If I hadn't already had a Sinn Fein document I would have created one. Any website, any project/craft/movie/book or anything else about Sinn Fein is always going to be found right on that document.

 

Now I also have a chronological document where I list all these people/places/events by date. When it comes times to plan lessons I use this timeline to figure out which of the .doc files to open and use for planning. Some .doc files have just a few ideas, but some have more than I'll ever be able to use, so I skim through. I typically put a note after the books to tell me if it's something I already own, or what library around me has it (I try to keep up on this by checking the library catalog at the same time I cut/paste to the .doc, it just is less boring than having to check a hundred titles all at once. If no library around me has it, I state no library so I know I've already checked. If it looks like it's available at enough libraries across the country that I might get it with an Interlibrary Loan I note to try that.

 

It takes a few minutes whenever a great resource is discussed, but it is sooooo much better to take a minute here or there than to take hours and hours to hunt through all the threads that I saved and all the emails and all my favorites etc. After doing that for a whole year I knew I had to do something!

 

The index card idea was originally from Katherine Bell (I think that was her name) on the old WTM board....I've obviously tweaked it to fit my needs, but I want to give her credit for starting me on this path!

 

Oh...and while the list of my .doc files that I posted above are all history, I also have a folder for science, math, writing, foreign language, etc etc etc. Keeping .doc files in each one proved easier to locate things than when I originally dumped them all in a single folder. I even have one for literature I want us to read...and each book I want to read has it's own .doc file so that as someone dicusses or recommends something pertaining to that book, or I find websites, etc. I can keep all those 'go withs' together as well.

 

Good luck finding the method that works for you.....the biggest advice I would give is to not copy someone else's idea but to tweak it to fit you....that and be consistent. It does no good to start a system and then dump everything in the "I'll get to this later" file, lol. Been there, cleaning that.

[MovingMomma]

Wow, Connie! Your method sounds promising. Thanks for sharing!

[BridgeTea]

I do 2 things:

 

I save website pages to Favorites, dropping them into folders I have labeled generically "Science", "Math", "Language Arts", etc. I rename everything so that I can find what I am looking for at a glance in that folder, using key words like Physics, Earth Science, or Chemistry in the title upfront because it's alphabetized.

 

In addition, I keep a Rubbermaid box that holds file folders. These have generic labels for subjects as well. Each file includes a running book list that I update by hand. Besides subject, author and book title, I note if it's a library book or on my shelves. The file folders also hold any printouts I have made, my ideas on paper, or magazine articles saved. I use a highlighter to mark a key word or title it myself so the subject stands out, then paperclip same-subject stuff together. I use post-it notes on them also, like "Use for 7th grade?" Or "Use when I buy McHenry's Elements".

 

Keep in mind I have one kid to keep track of.

Edited September 30, 2009 by BridgeTea

[MovingMomma]

Thanks, Bridget! These are great ideas!

[elegantlion]

I have two binders I use. One is divided by grade levels, another by subjects. In the grade level one I put information on curriculum I'm pretty sure I will use. the subjects is more general information or non-curriculum items.

 

I tend to lose information or forget about it, so printing some reference to it keeps it in the forefront of my thoughts. I have a lot of bookmarks on my computer but I like to at least print something. I'm more a paper planner person, plus I'm sure I'll upgrade my computer before ds is done with schooling and I always lose or misplace information in a computer upgrade.

[H.S. Burrow]

I use an Excel spreadsheet. I copied the format used in LCC 2nd edition for the Scope & Sequence. I have entered what curricula and Great Books we will use and it what order for each year.

 

One thing that I really like about Excel is the ability to use the "comments" feature. I can enter a "comment" about any additional texts to reference, field trips to take, websites to explore, a note to check my bookmarks for that subject, etc and just move the mouse over it to see the comment.

[MovingMomma]

I use an Excel spreadsheet. I copied the format used in LCC 2nd edition for the Scope & Sequence. I have entered what curricula and Great Books we will use and it what order for each year.

 

Are you saying you have what exactly you'll cover each year for all future years entered in a spreadsheet & then you just add comments to that for extra sources?

[SilverMoon]

I keep a master binder, on that shelf that's overflowing with the kids' school binders. In my binder I have a subject divider for each kid, science, and history. The history section is further divided off by SOTW history rotation. Each history section starts with these pages ~ http://barefootmeandering.com/homeschool/planning/ ~ They're perfect for scratching in book ideas, websites, activities, fieldtrips and such in the proper area. Behind each section of those pages is yet another divider for "ThisHistoryPeriod Resources" to go. This is where the booklists, printed internet stuff, and other random stuff too big to jot in the planner get placed.