Putting together a homeschool notebook

[AppleGreen]

So, I am in the final planning stages for the upcoming year and am re-vamping my notebook. Can anyone share how they organize their homeschool notebook? What do you include? How do you use yours?

 

TIA!

[hillfarm]

Mine is pretty basic. In the front I have a copy of the educational rationale and purpose statement I wrote out when we first started homeschooling, to keep reminding me why we do this. Then I have a list of books I want to read and a section for notes about good ideas, reminders, etc. Then I have dd's subjects broken down by topic so I can review how much I intended to cover by a certain date or the details of how often, how long, or what days for experiments, reports due, etc. In the back I have a general section for notes for the next school year, curriculum I'm considering, etc.

[RainbowSprinkles]

:lurk5:

[Mad Jenny Flint]

I think I might be able to help here.

 

I have a 2" binder which I used last year and will continue to use, with the following categories:

 

1) I have a recent post in the front from the K-8 board which reminds me of why I am doing this:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1865242#poststop

 

Then I have a schedule which shows an overview of all subjects for each child for the year, and what the basic requirements are, so that I can plug in assignments as I see fit, week by week. So it looks something like this for high school:

 

history: read 5 pages of text per day, one context page per week, one essay every other week; science: follow syllabus from GPB disc and complete assignments, 12 school days per unit; grammar/vocabulary: do 1/2 lesson per week in each; math: complete 3 book "sections" per week (sections include quizzes, tests, and test reviews); literature: read 12 pages per day, assign one section from Norton literary terms per week, write ~one response paper per book, etc.

 

This looks much more detailed for history, literature, and science, because those are the subjects for which I have more detailed plans, and do less of "the next thing."

 

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Then I have a goals planner sheet which lists each subject and the goals I would like to achieve for the student, based on his/her evaluations from the end of the previous year:

 

Johnny's history course last year focused on key people and events from the ancient world with an emphasis on western civilization. This year we will continue to learn about western civilization by focusing on key people and events from medieval times. Emphasis will continue to be placed on writing skills, and assimilation of material to produce interesting and integrated opinion papers on historical topics.

 

Behind that, I have brief course descriptions, including texts used, and a curriculum key which lists all the texts we use and abbreviations for each, so that when I write them down in the planner and then forget what HMW meant, I can look it up. :glare:

 

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Next, I have all of our PE logs which show the amount of time we engage in physical activity. It keeps me accountable.

 

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Behind that, there is a list for Extracurricular Activities for each child. Everything they do that is not counted for course credit, and some things (like music lessons) that are counted, I put down here. My son is into music; I list every concert he attends here. My daughter does theatre; every rehearsal is listed.

 

In the same section, I have a school calendar which lists "school-wide" activities, mostly field trips and gatherings with other kids. It's called "Notable Events" and it's in a calendar format which lists every day of every month of the year, with small boxes.

 

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Next I have a lot of blank assignment sheets. For each child, at the end of the week, I plan the next week using these. I look at my weekly schedules at the beginning of the binder for guidance. If I haven't assigned an essay and it has been two weeks, I know I need to assign one. If we haven't kept up in one area as I would like, but we are ahead in another, I can adjust accordingly. I did this only for my high schooler last year, but this year I can see the wisdom of doing it for both children (grades 10 and 6). By Sunday, these are posted on the fridge for the upcoming week.

 

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Next I have an emergency checklist. I record monthly fire and storm drills here. You will likely not have need of this.

 

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After that I keep a grading sheet for each child which is blocked off in 3 week/6week/36 week blocks by section and color. There is room for every subject for one child on two pages of these. I record all their grades in this archaic document and hand-tally them at the end of the year. I prefer it to an automated system, which I also have but use only for transcript generation.

 

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Following, I have a section for correspondence (my declaration of intent, etc.) and then I keep our county's public school calendar in the back.

 

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The binder has a transparent plastic coating in which I can slide documents, front and back: in the front I have a copy of my daily schedule. I have my day broken down into times because I am very hands-on with each of my kids and so I need to know what I am doing and when. It is helpful to them, as well, to know when their study of one subject should begin and end. In the back I have slid a copy of our yearly calendar, with the days off that are set in stone: this year, I will add more as needed.

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The binder also has pockets inside both covers to put materials that I might need as they come up. Schedules for rehearsals, things which require a response or need to be filed, etc.

 

Most of the blank forms I use come from DonnaYoung.org. Her site is so helpful!

 

HTH,

[AngelBee]

Bumping and planning. :)