Describe your dc's school checklists

[2squared]

What works for you and your dc? I have made checklists in the past, but while effective, they have been too much work to prepare. So, please tell me what works for you.

[Paige]

I take a sheet of notebook paper and write it out each day for him. It is very simple and not time consuming. I'll write the subject and under each one I put what he has to do for the day. If he has to do it with me, I still put it down on the list so it doesn't get forgotten. He puts a check mark next to it after he does it and I will cross it out completely once I have gone over it with him and approved it. My 6yr olds don't get a check list. They aren't ready for it yet and almost all of their work is done directly with me for now.

[twogirlsmommy]

I use a composition notebook and write out the assignments, by day, one week at a time. Works great for us and the notebooks are dirt cheap at the beginning of the school year.

[abrightmom]

I've been writing it on a white board. :D

[abbeyej]

Here's a sample page from ds' planner last year. Subjects change, etc, but it's still the same basic format for both kids this year. It gives me the chance to assign certain daily subjects and some things that are simply to be completed over the course of the week. While when the kids were littler, I told them exactly what to do day-to-day, this gives them a little flexibility in some areas, without giving them the chance to get too far off.

 

The gray sections refer to the fact that we had group classes with another family during those times.

 

After a number of years of home schooling, this is the best planner set-up we've found. Daily work. Weekly work. Space for additional assignments. (So, for instance, Latin and Greek gets assigned at class, so ds would write in that work for the week himself.) We would also note field trips or other extras on those lines below.

 

[NanceXToo]

I spend a good bit of time, gradually, over the summer, here and there as I feel up to it, looking through the weekly lessons in my Oak Meadow syllabus and breaking them down into daily lessons in a Wordpad document on my computer.

 

Then, throughout the school year, I can open that document each week, highlight that week's lesson, and print "selected text" and I have a document of what must be done each day that week.

 

I then use that for the week as our checklist, crossing off things as we go.

 

Yes it's a bit time consuming when I'm setting it up but it makes the school year a breeze.

 

Of course, now that I've done that for two years running and I've become really familiar with OM and how long I can expect things to take and so on, I probably don't HAVE to do that next year- I could probably just use the syllabus and look at the weekly lesson plan they provide and pick and choose from there what we want to get done each day- but then again, I might find myself unable to resist doing it anyway. Time shall tell lol.

 

ETA: Here's what this week's looks like:

 

LESSON 11, Pages 87-94

EXTRA THINGS NEEDED THIS WEEK: N/A

 

 

MONDAY

 

Vocab: Vocab words alphabetical order, definitions.

 

Grammar: Continue reading Johnny Tremain. Look up unfamiliar words. Take notes on index cards regarding events that led to Revolutionary War. Will be writing report next week, backing it up with specific examples and details from book.

 

Read about diff types sentences Pg A1. Identify sentences on Pg 88.

 

Math: TT5 Quiz 4

 

Spelling words 5X each.

 

Finish Reading Tituba of Salem Village.

 

 

TUESDAY

 

Johnny Tremain, look up unfamiliar words, take notes on events that led to the Revolutionary War.

 

Do No. 5 on Page 88 (writing two statements for each type of sentence using assigned words).

 

Begin reading "Toliver's Secret"

 

Review spelling w/bubble letters.

 

Begin making an outline for your "Johnny Tremain" report.

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 

Math: TT5 Lesson 29.

 

Johnny Tremain, look up unfamiliar words, take notes on events that led to the Revolutionary War.

 

Social Studies: Read info about “Spanish Explorers” on Pages 88-90. Do Activity 1 (researching one of the southwest missions and writing a bit about it. Also draw a picture of it).

 

Review spelling w/construction cutouts.

 

 

THURSDAY

 

Continue reading Johnny Tremain and looking up words you don’t understand and taking notes on index cards about events that led to the Revolutionary War, adding to outline.

 

Social Studies: Read about French Explorers on Pages 91-92, stopping to do map activity. Do extra credit activity if we have time. Finish reading through Pg 94. Do activity 3 (imagine what might have happened if the French had won the French and Indian War. How might your life be different today?)

 

Environmental Science, Lesson 11, Protecting Animals: Read Pages 44-46 and do Activities 1 and 2 on Page 46 (writing paragraphs on how you feel about spiders and mosquitoes).

 

Math: TT5 Lesson 30.

 

Orally review spelling while tossing ball back and forth.

 

Use this week’s vocabulary words in sentences.

 

 

FRIDAY

 

Continue reading Johnny Tremain and looking up words you don’t understand and taking notes on index cards about events that led to the Revolutionary War, keeping up with outline.

 

Math: TT5 Lesson 31.

 

Science: On Pg 46 & 47 in science book, read Activity 3. Write a paragraph about it? Try to do no. 4, seeing if we can find a spider to watch and doing as many of the steps in Activity 4 as we can. If we can’t find one today; add this to next week’s Monday activities and spend some time on it next week.

 

Music: Read about Cello (on http://www.makingmusicfun.net) and listen to one on Youtube.

 

Work on Cursive workbook.

 

Review geography.

 

Spelling quiz.

Edited November 19, 2010 by NanceXToo

[Mallory]

Here is a thread with our old schedule attatched. Really it is a spreadsheet, but it is attached as a pdf.

 

Post #10 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203105&highlight=schedule

 

Every two weeks I sit down and fill out the first column putting a start point and what needs done every day. So math might say p. 58 4p/day. Then each day as they have finished, the write in the box what was done. So under Day 1 it might say p. 61 (meaning that they completed to page 61).

 

At the bottom I can write in extra things, often I add a list of books he needs to read for sci or hist or whatever. I also like it better when the independant subjects are listed in a row, then a thicker divider, then the group/dependant subjects are listed.

 

I also sometimes cross out a day or three if I don't want the subject done all 4 days. Sometimes this is when I plan every two weeks, sometimes the blank schedules have black "x's" in the boxes.

 

Everyone has thier own sheet and can work through it how ever they want. Especially my 15yo usually goes across instead of down, but there sure isn't any order to the time we complete things.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Mallory

[2cents]

I have a spreadsheet that I update every weekend with the new assignments for the week. The days of the week run along the top and the courses are listed along the left side. I keep the same format and just change the date and assignments weekly. I post the assignment schedule on our corkboard and we check off as we go. Easy to make and maintain. :)

[Tonia]

Here's our checklist.

[Karen in CO]

Here is my dd's checklist. We had a hard time finding something that made sense to her, so I let her design it herself. It doesn't include everything I would have put on it, but it does include the basics. She knows she has to read everyday, and she likes it so she doesn't think it belongs on her checklist. Control over little things like that seem to make the list easier for her to follow.

[Mommyfaithe]

I use a composition notebook and write out the assignments, by day, one week at a time. Works great for us and the notebooks are dirt cheap at the beginning of the school year.

 

This is what I do...I buy 50 notebooks @ .50 a piece in August. We use them for everything.

Faithe

 

And I write their assignments in the notebook daily...then they put a check when they are done and I initial it after I check...if something needs to be redone or corrected, I write it on the next day. I also write grades and notes on lessons to my older kids...HTH,

Faithe

Edited November 19, 2010 by Mommyfaithe

[susankenny]

Wow! You ladies are organized! I just put it all on the island in the kitchen, and my daughter works through the pile. When she gets to the bottom, she's done :001_smile:

[mcconnellboys]

I don't really make a checklist for the day unless I'm going to be gone and my husband is left to oversee school work. I have a planner that already has every assignment in it for every day of the year. If he needs to look at it, he can certainly do that.

 

I generally refer to the planner and open up all his books to the page or pages he is supposed to do. I write the date at the top of those pages (or have him do it) and he can refer to that later to double check what he's supposed to be doing if he needs to do that.

 

As I'm stacking them up off to one side of the desk for him, I'm saying what is to be done in each for that day. For any lessons that I need to go over in more detail with him orally, before he begins written work, I set those aside and generally do all of them at once, then he completes the written portion of the work.

 

As he completes his work, he stacks those books off to one side, on the floor, so I know those items are completed. He knows that he's not to set aside work without completing it. If there's a problem, then he's supposed to talk to me about it so that I can help him.

 

You're children seem awfully young, however, to be using checklists and doing their work on their own.... I didn't really begin leaving my child to complete work alone until he was in fourth or fifth grade, and I've gradually increased that each year since then....

[2squared]

You're children seem awfully young, however, to be using checklists and doing their work on their own.... I didn't really begin leaving my child to complete work alone until he was in fourth or fifth grade, and I've gradually increased that each year since then....

 

They do most of their work with me. My 3rd grader, however, has a couple small things that she does on her own, and she likes to have a checklist for the whole shebang. I like the idea of both of us getting used to a checklist, and I was wondering what others do.

 

Right now I have a checklist of sorts on the whiteboard. I wrote each subject on index cards and taped them to the board. We loop through them, and each color has its own loop. Green cards = 3rd grade independent work, purple cards = 3rd grade together daily work, and yellow cards = 1st & 3rd together work. My 1st grader has a similar list, but he doesn't have anything independent yet. His list is blue cards = 1st grade together work and yellow cards = 1st & 3rd together work.

[AudreyTN]

I'm trying something a little different right now. I bought a homework book for each child and this one for me.

 

Their books contain everything that they can do without me. (Or I may just need to explain directions.) My ds7 is doing AO Y1 so all of that is in there.

 

My book has whatever *I* need to do. I do History with the oldest two so those plans are in my book. I have a box that says, "Do AO with ds7." One box is preK plans for ds3 (almost 4). Oh, and another box says, "Check assignments." Just so I won't forget. :)

 

The last few boxes are for "Mama School." (I started reading the WEM a few weeks ago.)

[mom31257]

I bought these planners this year. I LOVE them. The pages are so nice to use. There are small boxes that are great for recording grades. The sides have a vocabulary/spelling list section. It is coil bound and has stayed together nicely. It is Christian and you couldn't hide it. If you don't want that, you could design pages with a similar format and bind it yourself. I use the elementary style.