My own blend of organizing my homeschool

[mommy4ever]

We are still a novice homeschooling family. I am approaching 1 full year soon. So we are still learning as we go.

 

I have struggled hard this year keeping on track. Getting sick for over 2 months didn't help. Then having difficult children on occasion also didn't help.

 

I started last year with the workbox idea. Great idea, not practical for me. This fall I found the filesystem thread and LOVED it! I went hard organizing our files. But in the end it didn't work for me either.

 

So taking what was great from the workbox, the file system and various other things I've read, we have a special blend of organization happening. And for us... it works. I hope that it can spark an idea to help some one who isn't quite comfortable with what they are doing.

 

 

What we are doing. This may be a little unsettled in terms of fluency, as I am just kinda blurting it out, putting it out there.

 

First of all, the workbox system. It has so many awesome qualities, but it was time consuming in the evenings for me. We are a really busy family, there are 4 kids, and each of them has 2 activities, as do dh and myself. We are busy, so trying to get all the corrections done, putting them away, then sorting for the next day was overwhelming. Perhaps I simply wasn't doing it right.... but regardless, it wasn't working.

 

 

The Filing system didn't work for us either.... the reason being is I'm a paper magnet. It over runs me! With everything initially filed it was BEAUTIFUL! Everything was ready to go. Then life happened, I ended up quite sick for 2 months. The pages where there, it was great! But getting things put away wasn't happening. Following the plan when i wasn't able to read to dd7 for some of her work was very hard and it fell apart. So I did tweak it, I really, really wanted this to work. But it didn't.

 

 

Now at this point dd11 was falling behind. I was so shocked at her. So out of necessity to get her on track, I pulled her agenda out, and layed out everything for her. I became a hard-@ss about it. I know bad mom. But she had been telling me she was doing it, when in actuality she stared at it then put it away. SO, we were behind. We are nearly on track after 6 weeks of mom being mean. I laid it out clearly. She can work ahead, but not fall behind. It was my fault, I wasn't holding her accountable, so she was able to fall behind. Lesson learned. Now I check several times a week to see exactly where she is.

 

The agenda was working SO well, that dd13 asked me to do the same for her. She isn't behind at all. She will finish in plenty of time, but she doesn't want to fall behind either. So I started going through her things....We have a ton of things that get printed, the girls are with an online academy, so the older girls lessons are all digitally delivered..ugh more paper. DD13's had yet to be completely printed from the website and I was faced with the nightmare of paper again. We haven't liked binders much, they are bulky; getting workbooks bound was great, but it adds up in a hurry. So what to do?

 

I decided to get a comb binder. This has been a Godsend for us. I use it for EVERYTHING.

 

So from the agendas, and binding a few things for dd13, a new system has slowly been evolving.

 

DD7's curriculum is my own blend of resources, with only a couple things from the school. It would be cheaper to just use the school stuff, but she is doing so well with what I am doing, why mess with it.

 

Here is what I have been doing for dd7.

 

I use a cart to store her current curriculum in, something I really did like from the Workboxes. I have a 10 drawer cart, and have labels put on that indicate what SUBJECT is in there. Everything is also easy to put away! Everything is ready for her to use. It's organized simply with the tags, which are pictures of Littlest Pet Shops..lol. So appealing to her.

 

I created my "lesson plan" much like had done for the filing system. How many lessons or pages divided by amount of days/weeks we have left to get it completed. I have created a book:

 

Here is the inside - it's pretty basic, it was a made quickly, and simply. Next year I'll make it a little prettier. you'll notice I check things off as we complete them. And everything is written in pencil in case I need to adjust things.

 

 

This is MY book of lesson plans, not something for dd.

 

She has an Agenda:

 

 

This I had done in the fall by Staples. I will likely make my own over summer instead. I like many things about it, but it is lacking in other areas. Dd loves that each week has her photo on it..lol. It was really cheap to have done though, it was $10. She likes being able to check things off as she completes them. Each day when she is done I go through her agenda, make sure everything was done, and check it off in my lesson plan. I tweak where needed, and write in the next days' work. Next year I'm thinking a grid, no times. Somethings are unexpectedly fast, and other things that should take 10 minutes can take an hour. So no times, just blocks, just a grid.

 

The comb binder is fantastic. I group everything by chapter for most subjects. It takes little space in her cart, and is easy for her to use.

 

Here are the remaining 5 chapters of her social studies:

The 6th book is a glossary for me, some Metis pronunciates etc. Something to refer too. I did her math mammoth the same way. Every chapter is a new booklet. It takes minimal place in her boxes, and when done I put it away the file box we had been using. But there is no mess, no loose papers.

 

Here is what I did with Writing with Ease:

 

 

 

Any worksheets that we need, I print ahead and create a booklet for her. She isn't overwhelmed by paper. It is tidy, and organized. I find her very motivated with math again, as each work book is 10-25 pages long. So she isn't feeling there is no end.

 

You can see most of my covers are bright colored cardstock, I didn't print on them, I just marked them in pencil what subject and chapter. I plan to reuse the card stock and combs as much as I can. Any subjects that have sticker charts, those became the cover page. Inside I hope to put adhesive envelopes to hold the stickers so I don't need to search everywhere for them.

 

 

Her spelling is with AAS, I have been creating sheets for her spelling like the one above for WWE. I divide it in 2 parts, we do 1/2 the words and 1/2 the phrases and sentences on one day, and the rest the next day. I NUMBER the page for her, so she KNOWS how much she is doing. I have found her reluctant to do her spelling tests if she doesn't know how much.

 

This works, it's just a little pre-planning for mom, but it does go a long long way.

 

So, now, I'm finding it takes me like 5 minutes to get dd7 set up for the next day. I have time to help her and her sisters, rather than be trying to put things together for them. Or sorting through files that are no longer working because they are ahead in one thing but not done elsewhere.

 

I haven't kept a lesson plan for the older girls, as it is in their agenda. I just check things. They let me know when things get sent it, I make note of it being sent. It's been working great!

 

I did make a couple of fun books for them. They are tracking their phys. ed hours and what they have been reading. So they all have a 10 page booklet with the month on each for them to write what they are reading, what activities they are doing. DD7 has a book report one as well. Just a spot for the title and a place to draw something she liked from the book. The last month we'll do a narration of what the book was about. Nothing deep.

 

I don't know how clear my description was, but I do hope for those having difficulty, it may trigger something to help you create your own system.

[woolybear]

Wow. Thanks for explaining all of that. Can you clarify what the difference between an agenda and a checklist or a schedule (weekly or daily, but not by the hours)?

[mommy4ever]

Her agenda is laid out as a daytimer. I just use it in terms of writing what she is to accomplish. I'd like to have her agenda be a weekly grid, and I can just put in what she is doing that day. I don't specify what order she has to work it. Somedays she is into LA first thing and gets it done, other days she'd rather have her art first. So I just want a space to create a checklist for her, but dated for every school day.

 

My lesson planner is simply laid out. One column for subject/workbook names and 5 columns for each day of the week, I'd want something similar for her. She likes to check off what she's completed. So I want to recreate that for her but as an agenda.

 

Clear as mud, huh?

[wapiti]

Are the days of the week on the top with the subjects on the left side, or vice versa? I have a spreadsheet but I keep going back and forth as to which way is best. I think I'm about to put the days back on top :tongue_smilie:.

 

I'm really struggling here - not with keeping organized exactly (only one of my dc is homeschooling) - but getting dd to do her work. She doesn't seem to see the urgency, and I see precious time going to waste while we argue, the blood pressure rises as the day goes on with little being accomplished, etc. I think a checklist would be great for both of us, but she freaked out when I mentioned making a list. I want her both to see how much we need to get done and to have a sense of accomplishment as she checks things off.

[mommy4ever]

I keep the days across the top. For both her and I. Then it forms a list as you fill it out.

 

I was having a lot of issues with tears, so i set up a reward system for her. The first one was 5 school days with no tears, she got to pick a Littlest Pet Shop($3 item). Now it's 8 days of no tears, then it'll be 12....16....20. I can't afford to do it forever...lol. But in the past after 4 or 5 rewards, it becomes habit.

 

If you would like I can send my planner page. I'd have to send it in pdf format, but you'd have it to recreate in word or software of choice.

[QuirkyKapers]

That looks fantastic! It must be nice to find a system that really works.

[mommy4ever]

Thank you! So far so good:thumbup1:

[wapiti]

I keep the days across the top. For both her and I. Then it forms a list as you fill it out.

 

I was having a lot of issues with tears, so i set up a reward system for her. The first one was 5 school days with no tears, she got to pick a Littlest Pet Shop($3 item). Now it's 8 days of no tears, then it'll be 12....16....20. I can't afford to do it forever...lol. But in the past after 4 or 5 rewards, it becomes habit.

 

Thanks for these suggestions - I really appreciate it. I'm tired of the tears and I'm tired of walking on eggshells to avoid a tantrum (of the pre-teen variety) that leads to yet more time-wasting. I'm not exactly cracking the whip over here, but if this keeps up our hs-ing experiment will not work out.

 

I hadn't thought of having a separate schedule for her from what I have (I plan roughly a week out, but we've only been at this for a month, and I keep waiting to feel the ground underneath our feet). It makes sense to fill in her assignment list one day at a time. I'm still working out how much work I can assign at a time, and not having a list has lead to some uncertainty for dd.

[mommy4ever]

How old is she? I have an older one that likes to do that preteen tantrum.

 

That is a whole new bag of worms. With her, it is a very rigid approach when her days are full of bad behavior. Her tears and crocodile tears and her way to bully me to getting away with things. When you're at home schooling, there is no time for that. I have taken a pretty rigid, stern approach with that child. I also have looked at self esteem. We have started her in karate and she stands taller, more confident and less and less tantrums. They do occur. And they do get ignored, and if it carries on, she loses privileges. She lost computer privilege other than school work. She lost her gaming. It didn't take long and attitude changed.

[wapiti]

How old is she? I have an older one that likes to do that preteen tantrum.

 

That is a whole new bag of worms. With her, it is a very rigid approach when her days are full of bad behavior. Her tears and crocodile tears and her way to bully me to getting away with things. When you're at home schooling, there is no time for that. I have taken a pretty rigid, stern approach with that child. I also have looked at self esteem. We have started her in karate and she stands taller, more confident and less and less tantrums. They do occur. And they do get ignored, and if it carries on, she loses privileges. She lost computer privilege other than school work. She lost her gaming. It didn't take long and attitude changed.

 

She's almost 10. And yes, I feel bullied, though I don't think she feels like she's bullying me at all. She's super-sensitive and very strong-willed. So far, the only trick that seems to work is letting her have conversation hearts (nothing like a little sugar, one for every 5 translation sentences in Latin, for example) though it doesn't work for everything. She hates to admit when she needs help, but she also hates to have to actually turn her brain on and think for a moment by herself. So nothing happens. Oh, she gets a bit of daydreaming in. When she's tired or not feeling well, everything is 10x worse, so I'm trying to be very strict about bedtime. She already lost computer privileges, and interestingly, she even asked me to hide the computer so that she wouldn't try to wake up early in the morning to use it before I'm up. She knows she has a tendency to be addicted (she's new to the penguin game).

 

Thanks for letting me get this out. I make all these hs-ing plans, I'm still buying tons of books, and it's all for naught if she won't do the work. Her behavior has really been hurting me. I'm hoping that ultimately we'll build a better relationship than we were having before hs-ing, but this is hard...

 

Thanks for the tip about karate. I'd like to do something like that for dd, though then her brothers will want to do it too, and then we'll have another activity (they don't do that much, but they're always complaining about having to go somewhere in the afternoon). I'll have to look into karate and/or riding horses, which we started last summer and then fizzled due to logistics. She also attends a one day per week school for homeschoolers through a school district - all fluff but I do it so she can spend time with other kids - and it really eats into our instruction time.

[rootsnwings]

We use the elementary character agenda from http://www.premier.us

 

 

I do all my "lesson planning" in it and ds10 and I share it throughout the week.

 

 

He keeps it right with him to see what pages he's working on in which subjects that day and checks things off as he completes them.

 

 

When I'm ready to check papers I sit down with the planner and go through to see what he has checked off. I grab those assignments and grade them. After grading I cross the assignment out in red pen.

 

 

All of his readers/workbooks/worktexts/notebooks/student texts are contained in 2 magazine organizers, 1 for History & LA, and 1 for Science/Math/Latin.

 

 

So basically there isn't any "papertrail" all completed work and all work to be completed stay in the same place and are replaced as soon as the work is done, or has been graded, so we always know where to find stuff. I keep all my teachers manuals right at my desk so anytime I need to teach or grade from them they are right there & handy!! :) The student planner/agenda has been a HUGE success for us this year & I highly recommend it for those late grammar years. It definatey has helped foster independence (and confidence, knowing what is expected of him each day/week) in my student!

 

HTH! :D

 

ETA: I took some pics with my phone! (sorry they are ginormous!!!)

Edited January 30, 2011 by rootsnwings

[snipsnsnailsx5]

You're my hero. LOL Can you come here and make something for me? :)

 

I am new to homeschooling also. This is our first year.

 

I was really sold on workboxing. I didn't have a laminator, so I spent a couple weeks printing out all these circles (for tags on the boxes and in their schedule strip), cutting them out, and then using clear plastic packing tape as my "laminator". I have three kids I was doing it for and each kid had 8 boxes. Yikes!

 

I just found that it worked the first week, but after that it got too time consuming! It was a lot easier to just set their stack of books in front of them and say "have at it". lol

 

I'm trying new things now too, but I really like your idea.

I can see how the agenda would really work. I have been just recently writing a week's lesson plan in a spiral notebook. Then my DH got me a clear vinyl homework chart that is about 2ft by 1ft for the wall. I use a dry erase marker to write down the lesson plan for the week for each boy on this chart. My oldest is able to look on the chart and do what's needed. But my younger two (8 and 6) aren't quite there.

 

Also I recently bought some cheap plastic magazine/file holder thing. I put their books for the day in it and they can take it and set it in front of them.

 

Can you tell me advantages of the drawer cart?

 

Thanks!

[wapiti]

Alayna/Rootsnwings - do you write out the assignments for the whole week at once or do you write out one day at a time? Thanks for posting the pics!!

[rootsnwings]

At the beginning of the year, I wrote out the lessons at the beginning of each week. As we got further into the year I started doing two weeks at a time then by the end of October I'd planned out the rest of the semester, through Christmas break (I may or may not have a problem! :tongue_smilie:) Most subjects are laid out weekly (a chapter of SOTW/wk, one Unit in Spelling, One stage for Latin takes two weeks, etc...the hard things to plan, like Math & Lit, I just don't plan as advanced into the future...but the full schedule is always completes at least 2-4 weeks in advance. Sometimes we don't get to something but I do try to plan a "make-up day" every fee Fridays where we'll go back & finish up anything we've skipped (mapwork gets done as a few of the most recent chapters in SOTW, usually--because that's one thing I almost always plan for but we end up skipping)...

 

I've found that with us both sharing the planner we can each see how much work is realistic to plan for, and actually be able to get done.

[....]

Good for you! Organization is awesome!! :001_smile:

 

As far as working independently...like you were saying...independent work doesn't work well in our household, either. I've noticed that they learn a lot more when I teach them together (which makes homeschooling take a lot longer). We tend to do the 'one-room schoolhouse' thingie. Otherwise, Sk8er Dude will not know what's going on and Kid #1 will finish all schoolwork for the day in 4.2 minutes. Kid #3 and #4 will go off somewhere and build an interdimensional portal from Legos so their Barbies can pass through to the other side (in full princess costume, of course).

 

BTW, cool planning pics!

[mommy4ever]

 

Also I recently bought some cheap plastic magazine/file holder thing. I put their books for the day in it and they can take it and set it in front of them.

 

Can you tell me advantages of the drawer cart?

 

Thanks!

 

I like the cart as it can be moved to where she is working. At her little desk or the table, or by the couch. Everything she needs is there. It is also very easy for her to put things away. We do have a book shelf, but I always have issues pinpointing the item I need. Because it migrates if some one else uses it.

 

This way, she looks for the tag and puts it in that drawer. The downside to this particular cart is that it doesn't fit a binder. But as I said originally, we don't really like the binders anyway at this point. My older kids have a different cart that does fit binders and low enough to tuck under the computer desk for storage, but each drawer holds several items. They do have heavier text books, so it works better in those ones.

[min]

Thanks for sharing!

Min

[MyLittleWonders]

You have inspired me! As I wrote in the "How's Filing Going" thread, I am loving my filing, but I am not liking my lesson plans for the week all being on the same page. Right now I have just enough time in our day for our core (Latin, math, language arts). History, science, etc. are all bonuses! ;) But, with everything on the same page, it was getting very cumbersome shuffling around lessons. So, like you mentioned, I also started putting each subject on it's own page. I've decided to do 6 weeks on one page; in theory we go 6 weeks on and 1 week off (though it's not perfect as we also plan around regular holidays plus dh's teaching schedule).

 

But, I wasn't sure how to keep all my new lesson planning pages together and your comb binder idea really stuck with me. My mom has one, so I'm going to bind our lessons for the rest of the school year (weeks 20-38) with a cute cover and brightly colored pages between subjects. For the subjects I don't plan, I think I'll insert blank planning pages so I can write down what we do as we go (spelling, literature/WWE, Michael Clay Thompson, etc.). Next year when I do this, I'll type all the assignments onto my planning pages before I print them to save my hand (I'm taking a writing break right now because my arm and hand is killing me!).

 

As the boys get older, I think I'll print out two copies - one for my lesson plan book and one to serve as an organizer for each kiddo.

 

For now I'm using the 6-week planner page from Donna Young, but I'm going to make my own next year (I like her's but there is a lot of unused space at the top for notes that I don't think I need).

[KristinaBreece]

....Kid #3 and #4 will go off somewhere and build an interdimensional portal from Legos so their Barbies can pass through to the other side (in full princess costume, of course).

 

This sounds like my 2. DS (4) would supervise the building & DD (2) would make sure Barbie was decked out for traveling. (Around here, Barbie is always in Ballerina mode these days, though!)

[deeinfl]

Wow! If you lived nearby I'd pay you to come set that up for me. LOL! This is amazing and has given me so many ideas!

 

Thank you for posting!

 

Dee :) :) :)

[wapiti]

A little update here - I filled out a spreadsheet with lesson plans for the whole week. DD9 did everything on the list for today with only a couple of little tantrums. I tried really hard to just ignore it and let her cool down on her own, and that seems to work best (as long as she's not arguing with me!). Today, her reward was getting to watch Little House on the Prairie on Hallmark channel (does anyone know if it's regularly on every day? we checked and it's on tomorrow). That is a new show for her and she's been very into the books. It was a great incentive, but only allowed for about four hours to get her work done, including a trip to pick up ds4 from preschool. She still had plenty of little breaks and interruptions by ds2 and dd1, so it wasn't 4 hours straight by any means.

 

Actually one aspect of today was hilarious to me. She was keenly aware of the clock because she wanted to finish in time for the tv show. She kept telling me things like "my goal is to finish math by 10:00. I have 15 minutes left." And so on. She allowed herself different amounts of time for different things. I wish she gave history a tad more time, because she was rushing, but all in all I was pretty proud of her. She came up with all of that on her own. :) (actually inside I was laughing because I had been trying to explain this to her for weeks, that there's only so much time to get so much done!) I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow goes as well as today!

[mommy4ever]

That is fantastic! Hopefully it's a trend ;)

[Beth in SW WA]

Mommy4ever, Loving this thread and the mega-thread. I am inspired to get down and dirty with my organizing.

 

Rootsnwings, I think that Premier elementary planner will be a great tool for dd8. She likes to know what is required of her.

 

Thanks for sharing!!

[parias1126]

I keep the days across the top. For both her and I. Then it forms a list as you fill it out.

 

I was having a lot of issues with tears, so i set up a reward system for her. The first one was 5 school days with no tears, she got to pick a Littlest Pet Shop($3 item). Now it's 8 days of no tears, then it'll be 12....16....20. I can't afford to do it forever...lol. But in the past after 4 or 5 rewards, it becomes habit.

 

If you would like I can send my planner page. I'd have to send it in pdf format, but you'd have it to recreate in word or software of choice.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea! I think I'm going to implement it this Fall for my DD. My only concern is that my DD really does struggle with a lot of things which causes the tears and frustration so I really need to decide if this will work in her situation. Although, I'm sure this will be an amazing idea for my DS who loves to play around and not get his work done. It will definitely keep him on track if he gets to take a trip to the store for a Transformer toy or something at the end of the week.

[mommy4ever]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea! I think I'm going to implement it this Fall for my DD. My only concern is that my DD really does struggle with a lot of things which causes the tears and frustration so I really need to decide if this will work in her situation. Although, I'm sure this will be an amazing idea for my DS who loves to play around and not get his work done. It will definitely keep him on track if he gets to take a trip to the store for a Transformer toy or something at the end of the week.

 

My dd is one totally prone to tears over every frustration, be it school, chores, games.... this has made the school day very easy :) Since we're starting school again in a few weeks, I'll re-implement the system, and by October, it should be second nature to get the behaviors I want from her.

[Angie in VA]

Former workboxer here too. That system served its purpose and we still use the actual boxes for other things now, so all is not lost.

 

I knew better than to try the filing system. ;)

 

I have tried several types of planners and happened upon one that clicked for ds. Dd made her own this year. It didn't cost much to bind at Staples. ITA about comb-bound books. They rock!

 

[Guest Murphyhighland]

Thank you so much for the many ideas! I know what I am doing for the rest of the day!

 

I have a DD 11 almost 12 that it dealing with many of the same issues. Now I have some wonderful ideas to help us stay on track better. Thank you so much for sharing.

[TeaCookiesBears]

Great topic!! You have given me some great ideas to try out:)

 

Question Has anyone tried a revolving schedule because I have found that this is what works in my house hold. First I started I had one schedule then 2 and now 3 three.

I know it sounds crazy this has allowed me to cover all her subject without cramming all into one week and it has allowed dd12 to still enjoy learning without the stress.:auto:

Edited August 7, 2011 by dyana17
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