Adding structure

[mom2agang]

I'm reading managers of their school and realized I need more structure and organization to my homeschool.I'm not asking how to organize your supplies. But how did you organize your curriculum and time management? Also what have you used to help organize the kids doing their work? Do you have a school planning day? Do you plan by week or go by the day? How do you get more structure in your day?

[coffeefreak]

OK, I'm back from Christmas break, I'll bite :)

 

First, I've read "Managers of their School," and I didn't care for it. Terri Maxwell really pushes for a certain type of curriculum, and implies if you're using any other type, you're going to fail. This is so not true! I organize several ways.

 

1. I plug everything that is a "text book" into Homeschool Tracker. So, Rod and Staff, A Beka Math, Spelling, etc all are put into HST lesson plans. That way, throughout the year, I am able to go into the lesson plans, submit them to the assignment grid, and be done with them. I generally add as much as I can the month before school starts. For example, this year, in August I sat down and put everyone's math lessons into the lesson plans. Today, I'm looking at next semester and "submitting" those lesson plans into the assignment grid. I do about a month at a time so that If we have to adjust, it's not too much work

 

2. If you buy a packaged curriculum like MFW, HOD, or Sonlight, try to use it as the author intended. At the beginning of the year, I read through all of MFW's scheduling info. I didn't implement all of it, and as the year has gone on, I've realized it saves me a lot of work if I implement it ALL. I don't use their Math recommendations, or their LA recommendations, but they have flexibility in their schedule for that. When I used Sonlight, I didn't follow their TG, and it ended up being so much work for me, I got burned out.

 

*A little note - I add our MFW assignments AFTER they're done. As the week goes on, I check off what we accomplished and go back and type it in on the day we accomplished it.

 

3. I always write out a rough schedule at the beginning of each semester. Just a skeleton that I can follow easily. That way I know how I can fit it all in.

 

4. I follow SWB's suggestion of a different notebook for each subject. There's a place for everything, and everything has it's place.:001_smile:

 

5. Back to HST, for my 5th grader, I do a lot of teaching and assigning. I'll teach Math, and give her a couple of min to work on it, and then we move on. HST allows me to print out the assignments for my dd so she has a checklist of what she needs to finish on her own. VERY HELPFUL!!!

 

I think that answers it all. Hopefully I was helpful! I also think that sometimes we have to "Let Go and Let God." If you're using the curriculum that the Lord has led you to, and you know it's the right curriculum for your family, you can totally make it work. HE'LL make it work.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[8filltheheart]

I write daily plans for each of my kids that are above primary grades. They are written in their own planners. Every assignment that I expect to be completed on a given day is written down and their days are not finished until all the assignments are completed.

 

I normally write 6-7 weeks worth of lessons at a time; however, I just wrote 9 weeks work over our Christmas break. I need some fluidity for myself b/c I am taking my 11th grader on some college tours.

 

My days are structured, but fluid at the same time. I have a general routine that I follow day to day but it isn't set by a clock but the normal rhythm of our family's daily life.

[anneofalamo]

I read the books and wowza, that is waaaaaaaaaaay more organized then I can be, but I did get some good knowledge out of it!

 

I did a blog post (with pictures) of my crazy schedule and how I do it...please pop over and giggle with us!

[mom2boys030507]

We start our day right after breakfast. The boys get their books out of thier school drawers. It has really helped that they each have a drawer with all the supplies that they will need and with thier main books. I am slowly teaching them where to find books that are not used everyday so I don't have to do all the pulling the night before. Each day I write out at least which subjects need to be done each day. My boys are both reading and that helps lots. They love to have the list and be able to see what will happen each day. It also helps to add things like art, science experiment or project of some type at the end. I have taught them that these things are done after everything else is done and that helps their focus level for thier other work. I do try to list their things in the order that I think they will happen. This way I can work with one while the other is typing or working independantly.

 

As far as organinzing curriculum. I have it organized on book shelves. TM and upcoming workbooks. Then a Science section, geography ect. As far as scheduling for the most part I do the next thing for R&S and Singapore. For histroy and science I pull my own together. I usually spend a few months writing up broad to narrow strokes of what I want to cover. Then I will refer to these plans to figure out what I need for each week. History and Science are almost all library books so I look at it weekly or so and reserve/request what I need from the library.

 

I am finding that my organizing is changing as my boys get older and I have more to teach and not just keep busy. I do more planning for my oldest then my 3 year old.

[Outdoorsy Type]

Hijack here, but...

 

I read Managers Of Their Homes, but haven't read Managers Of Their School. What curriculum does she use? Are the books different enough to read both?

 

Thanks

[coffeefreak]

Hijack here, but...

 

I read Managers Of Their Homes, but haven't read Managers Of Their School. What curriculum does she use? Are the books different enough to read both?

 

Thanks

 

I recommend MOTH all the time. MOTS is very much about the Maxwell's personal religious beliefs and how their curriculum choices fit in with that. They use A Beka and Rod and Staff. They don't believe doing Unit Studies or any "Charlotte Mason" type curriculum are in line with God's goals for their family. I think the two books are different enough that you won't be repeating MOTH, however, I would never recommend MOTS to anyone.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[MerryAtHope]

I'm reading managers of their school and realized I need more structure and organization to my homeschool.

 

I've not read that one, but I've read Managers of Their Homes. I gleaned some good ideas from MOTH about how to structure our schedule. I don't schedule my whole day, and I don't strictly follow a schedule for school, but I use the tools I learned from MOTH to roughly sketch out our day, to learn how things will flow etc... Then after I make a MOTH schedule, we instead follow the order of our day instead of the clock.

 

I heard Teri Maxwell in person once, and two things she said stuck out to me:

 

One, she said moms tend to forget about transition time from one subject to another, and then when their schedule doesn't work, they just want to give up the whole idea. So, remember about transition time :). And be willing to revise your schedule several times to get it to work.

 

Two, she said to implement a new schedule gradually--even just one or two hours of it or subjects etc... at a time. That tip has helped us ease into our homeschool year for years now!

 

But how did you organize your curriculum and time management?

 

Sometimes I just look at the curriculum--An easy example is Math--look at the number of lessons & the number of days you want to do school, and divide it out to make it work.

 

But sometimes it's more complicated than that--what does the child need? What's enough and what's too much? Back to math--we used Horizons for years, which worked well here, but it has tons of problems. I could have let my 3rd grader do math for more than an hour sometimes in order to complete it all, or I could adjust the assignments. So sometimes I decided based on time--how long was reasonable to me? Or, how long can this child maintain focus and concentrate on this subject?

 

Other times I look at the curriculum and think, less is more. I'm doing that with Easy Grammar Plus this year. We won't finish this book in a year. We could, maybe, if I had the kids do 2 or so pages per day instead of 1. But would they retain it as well? My kids wouldn't. I'm teaching children, not curriculum...so I look at my goal and make a decision based on that. I've done the same kind of thinking with writing curriculum, spelling, history, science etc... Finishing a book in a year isn't necessarily my goal--unless that lines up with the child's needs.

 

Also what have you used to help organize the kids doing their work?

 

Workboxes. It's like a 3-D schedule that includes all of the books/materials needed for that subject. Using these has been one of the most beneficial homeschool decisions I've ever made.

 

Do you have a school planning day?

 

Generally I do my planning in the summer, and only need to refresh my mind on a weekly basis about what's coming up. So, not much during the school year.

 

Do you plan by week or go by the day?

 

Depends on the subject. Math, just do the next lesson. Grammar--next page, etc... Once I know my plan for the year, the daily plan takes care of itself.

 

For History--I do something like a schedule by weeks, but it's more like an options list. I have a spine (MOH) and a secondary spine (Usborne History of the Ancient World). I did plan out when the secondary spine lines up with MOH, and we generally do all of those readings. But I also planned out optional resources (Diana Waring CD's, supplemental books) and activities that we could do as time allows. If I find that our regular readings are going fast that week, I draw from my supplemental plans. If we run out of time, sometimes I leave a book out & the kids might look at it during their spare time, or might not.

 

For historical fiction and other literature read-alouds, and for readers, I make a list of books and I schedule which week I'd like to get to that book. Sonlight does this as a one-page schedule in front of their guides, and I always used that more than the daily schedule, so now I make my own! At the bottom I listed a few optional books. We tend to get ahead with read-alouds, so I listed ones I could add in as time allows.

 

How do you get more structure in your day?

 

Workboxes!

 

For me, I find having a list of goals helps me to not fritter away too much time online or doing other things, while not making me feel closed in the way a schedule does. I do have a start-time for school, and an order to our day, but once the kids are working independently for the day (with questions here & there of course), then I go to my lists.

 

HTH, Merry :-)

[Closeacademy]

But how did you organize your curriculum and time management?

 

I use several "tools" to organize my curriculum and other materials.

 

1. bookshelves with not in use curriculum sorted by subject and then level.

2. file folder system in which I keep all of our worksheets, and such in weekly files so I can just pull out a file and put together the next week's work

3. workboxes arranged by subject with the textbooks, and materials for the week inside.

 

Also what have you used to help organize the kids doing their work?

 

I bought the weekly planners at Target this year but have used the ones at Donnayoung.org in the past. By making a list of what we are doing each day it is easier for me to keep on track.

 

Do you have a school planning day? Do you plan by week or go by the day?

 

I plan at different times of the year. When I get my new curriculum in, I usually plan it out for the year but things are kept flexible so if we don't do something or move it to the next week it is OK.

 

I have a organization/planning tab at my blog. If you click on the link in my signature you can check it out. I also do organization/time management posts on Tuesdays.:001_smile:

[coffeegal]

I'm reading managers of their school and realized I need more structure and organization to my homeschool.I'm not asking how to organize your supplies. But how did you organize your curriculum and time management? Also what have you used to help organize the kids doing their work? Do you have a school planning day? Do you plan by week or go by the day? How do you get more structure in your day?

 

What's working here, right now. Each child (ala MOTS) is working at their own level in all subjects. Each summer I go through and print up needed e-books, complete all copying necessary, and ensure that everything is ready for the school year. Each child has their own crate, and I drop all curriculum related to that child into it. I also ensure all needed supplies are in the crate. Everything is planned and ready for use before the first day of school. I'm too absentminded to remember to print or copy material every week so it had better be done before we start, or it won't be done at all. I use HST+ to plan, and print up the schedule on a montly basis. 1 copy for the children, and 1 copy (booklet size) to go in my organizer. When the kids lose their schedule... I still have mine! ;)

 

We school 9-12 or longer if needed. Each child grabs their crate and sit down at either the kitchen or dining room table to work. Since they know what's expected they're able to sit down and start working immediately. I sit down with each child separately (once a day) to check work, review & discuss material, and ensure quality control and understanding. My 2nd grader needs more hands-on, so we work through his schoolwork together. :001_smile:

[Amy Jo]

But how did you organize your curriculum and time management?

I follow an LCC/CM approach. I have things like MEP and SWR, which are working. I just follow these as written. Our readings I pulled from various sources. And I'm really trying to streamline these next year. Not sure how just yet.

 

Also what have you used to help organize the kids doing their work?

Workboxes. We are going back to MOTH on the 17th, when DH starts school.

 

Do you have a school planning day?

Did most of it this summer. Next week I'm going to tweak a bit - my almost 7yo needs more challenge.

 

Do you plan by week or go by the day?

File Crate System (lovingly called my FCS). I love it. I've combined mine with a tickler (as in GTD, among others). So I empty each school weeks file (usually 3 weeks at a time) into the 1-31 daily files. Then we do whatevers in that day's file. Simple.

 

How do you get more structure in your day?

We are going back to our MOTH schedule when DH starts college (it's hard to have him underfooot LOL!). And the workboxes help because it makes me more accountable to the kids. I have DS8 start with his independent work, and DS6 does the opposite, so I'm (hopefully) only working with one.

 

I've never read MOTS, from the reviews I've seen I doubt I'd like it. But I recommend MOTH, even though I've simplified it since I'm keeping my little kids with me all the time right now, and my eldest has the most work by far.

 

Amy