Let the slicing and filing begin!

[krisandpaula]

Anyone else about ready to start slicing spines and filing for the next school year? I couldn't resist the huge filing thread last year. We had our ups and downs with it, but I think over this past year, I have figured out how to best make use of this system for us. I am chomping at the bit to organize my files the second time around. I certainly found that anything that was filed in "the box" was much more likely to be completed on time. Needless to say, more subjects will be going in this year! (I'm giving myself a bit more time to get organized this time too!)

 

If you used this system last year, will you do it again? How have you modified it to fit your family? Any tricks or tips that you would like to share for making the most of the file box?

 

I have accumulated most of our curriculum for the upcoming year. My books are stacked. My exacto knife is standing at the ready. Let the slicing begin!

:001_smile:

[lcelmer]

:lurk5:

 

Ohh... I am looking forward to this thread! I started the file box last fall for my household stuff. ( meal plans etc) but still need to tweak it a bit.

 

So, how do you do this with multiple kids in the same file? I was doing a week per file, now how to keep each kiddos work separate from the others?

[kwickimom]

I am using it again, but will not be filing by week, but rather paperclipped by lesson. This way it will go perfectly with my sheduling by lesson and no "shuffling" will be required. I am going to make up all supply and booklists on index cards. I am also going to make sure that I have extra worksheets and review sheets printed up and filed so they are easy to grab when I need fillers or busywork.

 

I keep a weekly folder for my DD with 6 pockets in it labeled by day and each Sunday I just grab the lessons we will need according to our schedule and stick them in. This way if I have to do any last minute shuffling its only within the folder. I cant wait to get started either! I am adding in my DS on a full K schedule and my DD will be doing 4th grade. I have just a few more things to order and I will be ready to sit down and actually plan it out and file away!

[kwickimom]

:lurk5:

 

Ohh... I am looking forward to this thread! I started the file box last fall for my household stuff. ( meal plans etc) but still need to tweak it a bit.

 

So, how do you do this with multiple kids in the same file? I was doing a week per file, now how to keep each kiddos work separate from the others?

 

 

Within a hanging folder I used colored labels to color code my 2 kids. One was orange and one was pink and I just stuck those on regular file folders and put two in each hanging folder. I scheduled by week last year and it worked great. This year I am just going to have a seperate file drawer for each kid (I just have 2) and file by subject and lesson. :)

[MorganClassicalPrep]

1. My heart is breaking at the books around the world being sliced open... :D I just... can't...handle it!

 

2. The filing thread!!! I read the beginning last year, but managed to stay mostly away from it. I currently have it open in a second tab.... considering diving in, since I really need some help. The current method (also known as flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants :tongue_smilie:) isn't exactly the most efficient way of getting things done.

 

See you all in.... a few weeks!! :lol:

[mommy4ever]

Not filing this time around. Didn't work out.

 

I have moved to a planner and binding things. Less paper to shuffle around over all.

 

I have a method..lol. Just not sure what it is.

[prairiegirl]

Filing worked well for us this year. We will be doing it again for next year but this time around I will not be doing it for the content subjects--it caused my stress level to rise at scary heights.

[krisandpaula]

Filing worked well for us this year. We will be doing it again for next year but this time around I will not be doing it for the content subjects--it caused my stress level to rise at scary heights.

 

I had the exact same experience. Content subjects in file folders make me pull my eyebrows out. :001_huh:

[lotsofpumpkins]

The current method (also known as flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants :tongue_smilie:) isn't exactly the most efficient way of getting things done.

 

 

 

That's our current method too. But new baby is getting less demanding and I'm looking forward to being more organized next school year! I love reading about the filing but I think something a bit less drastic will be ideal for us. (I'm not wanting to cut apart their CLE math Light Units, for example!)

 

I'm looking forward to reading about all of the great ideas everyone comes up with!

[Year Round Mom]

I started out filing for 9 weeks at a time and found it to be too much stress! I tried filing for 6 weeks, and that works better. I have only six hanging folders (one for each week), each with three manila folders (one for each child). It's easier to photocopy and refile every 6 weeks than to do it every 9, for some reason...:)

[Year Round Mom]

I am using it again, but will not be filing by week, but rather paperclipped by lesson. This way it will go perfectly with my sheduling by lesson and no "shuffling" will be required. I am going to make up all supply and booklists on index cards. I am also going to make sure that I have extra worksheets and review sheets printed up and filed so they are easy to grab when I need fillers or busywork.

 

I keep a weekly folder for my DD with 6 pockets in it labeled by day and each Sunday I just grab the lessons we will need according to our schedule and stick them in. This way if I have to do any last minute shuffling its only within the folder. I cant wait to get started either! I am adding in my DS on a full K schedule and my DD will be doing 4th grade. I have just a few more things to order and I will be ready to sit down and actually plan it out and file away!

 

Oh! I get it (had to read it a few times; must be tired). I like it! This sounds much easier than photocopying and refiling every 6 weeks! Hmmm, I just might do it this way next year! It's a lot of photocopying and paperclipping up front, but easy-peasy for the rest of the year, huh?

 

:D

[MorganClassicalPrep]

That's our current method too. But new baby is getting less demanding and I'm looking forward to being more organized next school year! I love reading about the filing but I think something a bit less drastic will be ideal for us. (I'm not wanting to cut apart their CLE math Light Units, for example!)

 

I'm looking forward to reading about all of the great ideas everyone comes up with!

 

WELL. I just made it to page 50-something of the HUGE filing thread....

I won't be cutting up our books either. I really like having them bound in one place so I can look back and see how far she's come.

 

I'm thinking of doing a modified filing system. Instead of cutting up the books, I'm going to include lists of what is needed each week, (a list of which curriculum pages, a list of library books, a list of science and art supplies...) plus any extra print-outs, craft ideas, etc. I find. I'll probably just get a large binder to keep it in. I keep all of our school books in one area of the bookshelf, so it isn't any trouble to just pull the book out.

 

This is what I'm considering for now at least... :D I need something to keep us more organized, since we will be reporting next year (and our county is known for being tough on the portfolio reviews), but still want some flexibility (and bound workbooks!)

[mommy4ever]

I ended up going through my filing box and creating workbooks :lol: I use mostly ebooks this year, so I batched them in logical manner, math by chapter, science by 'units' and used the comb binder and put them together. I do file, but I file more my lesson plans then anything else, but yet, even those are being bound :tongue_smilie:

 

Looking at how nice CLE is as units, it made sense to create units for other things.

 

Things are now set up for about the same length of time. I have 3 weeks in a lightunit, so I take out what is estimated as 3 weeks, that might mean 1 chapter of math, 6 lessons in science, 9 lessons in history. That will be in her workboxes. I'll have a lesson plan for those 3 weeks ready to go, science experiment supplies in ziplocks ready to go. The next work books are always ready to go, so if we move faster, np.

 

I learned a lot from filing last year, but since i have paper issues :lol: I'm a piler not a filer. Creating the workbooks for both the student pages and the instructor guides made a world of difference for us.

 

So we modified. I didn't take apart any books last year as I did ebooks, but I'm putting them together. Plus if I drop 5 work books of 40 pages each, it's way easier to sort that a pile of 200 pages.(btdt)

[thowell]

Don't think we will be filing this year. I did all 36 weeks last year. We were so off schedule that it drove me crazy. I felt like we were always playing catch up. Some things I had filed for the year, ended up not working out. Life seems to interrupt alot around here and I don't need the extra stress. As much as I hate to spend the money, if I can swing it, my main purchase for this year will be the SCM organizer. That way if we don't get to an assignment it will automatically move it up and rearrange the schedule. All books will be left intact.

[mommy4ever]

As much as I hate to spend the money, if I can swing it, my main purchase for this year will be the SCM organizer. That way if we don't get to an assignment it will automatically move it up and rearrange the schedule. All books will be left intact.

 

What is the SCM?

[thowell]

Simply Charlotte Mason organizer. You can see it here if you like.

 

http://simplycharlottemason.com/

[zookeeperof3]

I'm filing this year! I'm working on my final plan now, so I can finish my purchases. :D

[lcelmer]

I'm not cutting everything, just what is suited to that. ( not saxon 5/6 for example) I am planning on filing Horizons, Shurley, WWE, lapbook items, maps etc.

 

We use TOG too, so that will just be a list what needs to be read.

 

I want to also do MEAL PLANS!!! This is so nice... :-) grab, quick check of what I have & go. I want to also filea weekly list of books to get from the library, science supplies to gather, Art prints to post, music to listen to, etc.

 

Now I'm all excited for school again! :lol::lol::lol:

[Irishmommy]

I'm not slicing this year, in fact, I'm going to bind everything. All the loose papers has made me bonkers this year.

[GnomeyNewt]

I filed last year for language arts and history, and I loved it. It was great to have each item needed already printed and sorted out. If I have to do any busy work during the school year, it just doesn't happen or stresses me out because I do it at the last minute from forgetting.

 

This year, I will try to do as many subjects as I can in one folder, instead of different folders for each subject. So I plan to have 1 folder a week for both of my kids, total 2 folders per week. In the weekly folders, I will include a schedule for the week for each subject, so using workbooks and such will be okay as it will be listed. This is more so for my DH, because he has to take over the school day sometimes -- and I don't always have a moment to write down or tell him what we are moving onto that day. The folders we did this year helped him for those 2 subjects.

 

We have gotten off the "week" a few times here and there, for instance right now we are on week 26, day 3... but it is Friday. Eventually it all evens out and it doesn't bother me -- as I don't see "week" as being Mon-Fri, but more of a 4 days of school. So we get to it when we get to it. It does bother my DH though!

 

I would rather buy the pdf of a book, than cut up a book. So we won't be doing any book cutting. I do own a lot of pdf's for this reason!

[MyLittleWonders]

We filed this year (though I don't file math, AAS, MCT, or Kilgallon materials - I don't like cutting up books). I am very glad I did because even though we've been struggling to get to history and science, I know everything is there for me when I can get to those subjects. Here is what I found works best for us:

 

1. I use a six-week planner to plan math and Latin.

2. I also made a page that allows me to write out six lesson plans (six weeks) at a time for history and science.

3. I photocopy/print all worksheets, maps, lab sheets, etc. for Latin, IEW, science, history, and nature study. This year I put them in separate manilla files one week at a time, and hung them together in weekly "packs". It was pretty good - it was easy to shuffle one subject around as needed. But, this next year I think I'm going to file them six weeks at a time (to match the six-weeks at a time lesson plans I write up), and then hang them in separate hanging files, so it's a bit less shuffling around if some subjects start to lag behind others.

 

I pick six week increments because we tend to do six weeks on, one week off (though that gets a bit messed up around the holidays because we take off dh's school breaks, but it all works out in the end). Plus, that gives us 6, 6-week sessions, but I actually plan for 38-40 weeks of school. That way, we have a couple weeks of buffer in June for subjects that just get pushed around a bit in the middle. It also gives us a couple weeks of some other studies if want at the end of the year if we finish one or two subjects "on time" (this, though, has never happened! :lol: ).

 

I love the flexible structure of filing only some subjects, and filing them by subject instead of strictly by week. I also like having the structure of having my non-filed subjects still planned. It has kept me much more accountable this year, even through the third trimester of a pregnancy, maternity leave, and juggling a newborn/infant with three energetic boys!

[hsmom23]

""We have gotten off the "week" a few times here and there, for instance right now we are on week 26, day 3... but it is Friday. Eventually it all evens out and it doesn't bother me -- as I don't see "week" as being Mon-Fri, but more of a 4 days of school. So we get to it when we get to it. It does bother my DH though!""

:iagree:

 

I love the filing system and think its a great visual. It also has helped in the transition of teaching between my hubby and I. I keep each of the kids' materials seperate. My 5yo in one file folder and my 4yo in another. Their folders are numbered 1 to 20 or so and each folder is a week worth of work in all subjects. It works for now but I dont know about as they get older.

 

Edited to add: I do cut apart my CLE workbooks and it works great for us. There ends up being a couple lessons that are back to back and end up in the wrong folder. I just take a copy of one side and put it in the next folder as I don't like shuffling the papers from one folder to the next.

Edited March 26, 2011 by hsmom23

[ELaurie]

I keep a weekly folder for my DD with 6 pockets in it labeled by day and each Sunday I just grab the lessons we will need according to our schedule and stick them in.

This is a great idea.

[sewpeaceful]

We don't file. We HST+ and I print off weekly assignment calendars (think SL or WP weekly calendars). MOST of our subjects I can create very quickly. History is another story... but worth every minute I spend entering in HST+. Rescheduling is a BREEZE in HST+ (life happens). HST+ allows me to easily create the school calendar with a powerful little tool. Planning happens once and I don't blow a brain cell doing it. :lol: Okay, so SOTW is the exception - it starts in excel and migrates over to HST+ once it is laid out but that is the only "double" planning I do.

 

I print off assignment sheets every Monday morning for the entire week. I don't print more than this because... did I mention, life happens? :D

 

This is SO much faster for me because I only plan once rather than plan, rip, file, etc and it keeps the paper clutter down because the workbooks remain contained. Assignment calendar is our favorite form of assignment sheets for the kids and it has worked great for my 1st and 3rd grader for 3 years. In fact, they love coloring in the box for an assignment when it is complete.

 

I hope this gives ideas to others who haven't had success with folders or aren't ready to venture down the road of slicing workbooks.

 

Above all - find a system that works for your family and celebrate!

:party:

[mom31257]

I filed and LOVED it! It is the absolute best thing I've ever done in these 6 years of homeschooling, and I can't wait to do it again. We won't finish our year until the end of May and will start back at the beginning of August.

 

I have a hanging file box for each child, and they stack together. I filed for the whole year, and as the work was completed each week, it went back into that week's folder. This summer I will go through the 36 files and decide what to keep and what to throw out. I will then file for next year.

 

I still use a planner, though. On Sundays, I pull out the next week's folders and plan out the week, keeping the folder in the back of the planner. This is the planner I will use for my ds. He will use the elementary student edition. My dd is entering high school, and we purchased this planner at the convention in Greenville. Yes...I was there.

[kitten18]

:lurk5:

 

I'm thinking about trying 'baby steps' and filing for 3 weeks at a time.

[AudreyTN]

I'm seriously considering Quarter notebooks.

[cjgrubbs]

This was our first year to homeschool and I read a bunch of that filing post but didn't do it. Afriad to cut up things b/c i need to be able to sell them. I also discovered Homeschool tracker and in January I purchased the Plus edition. $50 and it's downloaded on my computer and when i change computers I can download it again for FREE! I love it. I take each subject or resource and create a lesson plan for them. Then on the weekend, I assign the lessons for each resource that we are going to do for that week and print out a nice weekly calendar/checklist for my kids. Love, love, love it!

 

I am going to use the filing system this year but my files are going to include my copies of things that we need to complete the lessons. I'm hoping to get ALL copies for the whole year made during the summer, but it push comes to shove i would be happy to get the first semester done and work on the second semester over our planned 3 week Christmas break!

[LoveBaby]

I'm not slicing this year, in fact, I'm going to bind everything. All the loose papers has made me bonkers this year.

 

Me, too! Good grief...papers everywhere, needing to be put away after being done, it makes grading a nightmare, IMO.

 

I am scouring ebay for a good binding machine to have here at home. We are using McRuffy for math and I *love* having a workbook. Spiral bound, easy to clip with a binder clip to keep us exactly where we need to be for our next lesson and sits so nicely in his box. I'm going to bind just about everything else this year, too. WWE pages, PR student pages and Math Mammoth books.

[skissugar]

well I joined the filing bandwagon way late.. but it sure has saved us.. this week I was able to go in and grab 2 months out of the file crates (each kid has their own) and toss into a binder and walla.. school packed for our visit to korea :) Made life sooo much easier! I dont stress if we dont get something done in one day.. i just make sure that the 4 folders (one per week) are done before the start of the next month.. sometimes we work ahead in the month.. sometimes a little slower :) .... I should mention we were also very behind due to a move when I started filing things.. the files made it very clear to see how much more we have to finish this year which was less time than I thought!! :)

[Mrs Twain]

WELL. I just made it to page 50-something of the HUGE filing thread....

 

I can't find that thread. Could you give me a link?

 

I don't understand the filing system anyway. I am a huge planner and very organized, but I don't make lesson plans. I just count the number of chapters in each of my books and see how many I need to do per week to get done in 33-34 weeks. That gives me an extra two weeks in case I get behind a little bit. I plan a schedule for the year to make sure we are going to have school for 36 weeks. At the end of each quarter, I evaluate to see if we are on track.

 

Most of my books are organized to fit into about a 36-week school year anyway. Of my core subjects (math, English, etc), I just do one chapter per day. Of my more peripheral subjects, I just do them once per week and figure out how many pages I need to do per lesson to get the subject done in one year. So I just have bookmarks in every book, and each day I go on with the next lesson. If my husband teaches something, he just picks up where the bookmark is.

 

The only monthly organizing I do is going to the library to check out books for reading and supplemental history and science.

 

Any thoughts on this?

[FO4UR]

WELL. I just made it to page 50-something of the HUGE filing thread....

 

I can't find that thread. Could you give me a link?

 

I don't understand the filing system anyway. I am a huge planner and very organized, but I don't make lesson plans. I just count the number of chapters in each of my books and see how many I need to do per week to get done in 33-34 weeks. That gives me an extra two weeks in case I get behind a little bit. I plan a schedule for the year to make sure we are going to have school for 36 weeks. At the end of each quarter, I evaluate to see if we are on track.

 

Most of my books are organized to fit into about a 36-week school year anyway. Of my core subjects (math, English, etc), I just do one chapter per day. Of my more peripheral subjects, I just do them once per week and figure out how many pages I need to do per lesson to get the subject done in one year. So I just have bookmarks in every book, and each day I go on with the next lesson. If my husband teaches something, he just picks up where the bookmark is.

 

The only monthly organizing I do is going to the library to check out books for reading and supplemental history and science.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

 

This makes a lot of sense. If it works, I wouldn't change it.:001_smile:

[Mothering7]

 

I want to also do MEAL PLANS!!! This is so nice... :-) grab, quick check of what I have & go. I want to also filea weekly list of books to get from the library, science supplies to gather, Art prints to post, music to listen to, etc.

 

 

Intriguing - would you expand on the method you have in mind? Meal planning at our house still overwhelms me.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

WELL. I just made it to page 50-something of the HUGE filing thread....

 

I can't find that thread. Could you give me a link?

 

I don't understand the filing system anyway. I am a huge planner and very organized, but I don't make lesson plans. I just count the number of chapters in each of my books and see how many I need to do per week to get done in 33-34 weeks. That gives me an extra two weeks in case I get behind a little bit. I plan a schedule for the year to make sure we are going to have school for 36 weeks. At the end of each quarter, I evaluate to see if we are on track.

 

Most of my books are organized to fit into about a 36-week school year anyway. Of my core subjects (math, English, etc), I just do one chapter per day. Of my more peripheral subjects, I just do them once per week and figure out how many pages I need to do per lesson to get the subject done in one year. So I just have bookmarks in every book, and each day I go on with the next lesson. If my husband teaches something, he just picks up where the bookmark is.

 

The only monthly organizing I do is going to the library to check out books for reading and supplemental history and science.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

Here is the filing thread.

 

My thought is... if it ain't broke, don't fix it! :D It seems like you've worked out a system that works well for your family, and I think that is the main point of the filing thread. If you use curriculums that are fairly open and go, I think this can work perfectly.

 

Personally, I put together a lot of our work. For example, next year I am pulling together our American history, geography, art and music appreciation, art, and memory work. I will use a combination of products for math, phonics, French and Spanish. I'll only have a couple subjects that are completely open and go. Plus, we have a number of outside commitments which limits our time. Having a list of what I need all in one place, along with the lesson plans and such is the only way I'll stay on track.

[krisandpaula]

This is what I have found that works for us. Some of our workbooks, I just haven't been able to cut apart. Those are kept in a basket with red and green repositionable tabs in them to mark where to start and stop the next lesson. Right now, I don't cut up our HWT workbooks, Maps, Charts, and Graphs, or ETC. I think having some workbooks whole and some cut helps the kids feel like they have more variety in what they do too, but that might just be my imagination.

 

I do cut apart both of our math program workbooks (MUS and Singapore Primary +IP), WWE, GWG and logic books. With these, I divided them evenly over our 36 week year, or close to it. MUS has 30 lessons, so we do one per week. If we happen to get behind because we are doing two programs, we carry the chapter forward to the next folder until we get caught up. This year, we have managed to finish it early. YAY!

 

I also file extra handwriting practice paper in the folder. We only use the HWT workbook 2 or 3 days a week, the other 2 or 3 days, we practice what we have just learned in the book on HWT lined paper.

 

I found this past year that I do not do well having science and history filed in the weekly folders. About midway through, I pulled those subjects out into separate folders. This year, I'm just going to copy everything that I can for those two subjects early and file them into folders specifically for science and history. That way, if we decide to go off chasing rabbit trails, we will have everything ready when we get back on track, just not filed for a specific week. I need that flexibility with those two subjects. Then, every Sunday, I just pull out the science and history we need for the week and add it into that weeks folder.

 

What I haven't figured out yet, is what I am going to do with Spanish. I am thinking of trying GSWS. Has anyone used this with the filing system? I'm not sure if I should copy and file each lesson (knowing it will get done more regularly if I do) or just add it to our basket with tabs. Last year, I did not file Spanish and it didn't get done nearly as much as it should have. I have a couple of other new programs that I'm not sure how to handle as well. Hopefully, it will come together as I get everything else filed.

 

Aside from feeling more organized, I think the greatest benefit that we experienced from the weekly file folders was how easy it made it to pick up school and take it to Daddy's office or to the park or just outside. We only had to grab the one file folder, and a couple of extra books and we had a full day of lessons with us. It made for quick and easy (and light!) packing.

[mommy4ever]

Me, too! Good grief...papers everywhere, needing to be put away after being done, it makes grading a nightmare, IMO.

 

I am scouring ebay for a good binding machine to have here at home. We are using McRuffy for math and I *love* having a workbook. Spiral bound, easy to clip with a binder clip to keep us exactly where we need to be for our next lesson and sits so nicely in his box. I'm going to bind just about everything else this year, too. WWE pages, PR student pages and Math Mammoth books.

 

I found my comb binder at Staples for $60. I love it. I can reuse when I'm done too.

 

I have my MM bound by chapter, WWE I had my instructor pages in a binder already, but next year it'll be in comb binding. I chose to recreate all the worksheets for WWE using WriteStart, so she has consistency in line spacing. I also created her AAS sheets, just numbered for spelling tests.

 

I can't say enough about using a binder! It worked so much better for us than all the loose papers. Even my older ones I started binding for them and they like it way better.

 

Here's how i did mine: http://nmjmek.blogspot.com/2011/01/getting-with-program.html

[lcelmer]

We don't file. We HST+ and I print off weekly assignment calendars (think SL or WP weekly calendars).

I print off assignment sheets every Monday morning for the entire week. I don't print more than this because... did I mention, life happens?

 

I hope this gives ideas to others who haven't had success with folders or aren't ready to venture down the road of slicing workbooks.

 

I admit... I use HST+ too.... :-D

I will use the planner as well as the files this year.

 

The main reason for the files for me at this point, is to give me a place to prepare all this stuff.. hopefully easing MY weekly prep workload.

I also need to get my things, papers, notes, tickets for field trips etc into a home that isn't my desktop.:D

[lcelmer]

Intriguing - would you expand on the method you have in mind? Meal planning at our house still overwhelms me.

 

Here's a blog post I did comparing a few different meal plan systems that are out there. I am currently using the Menus 4 Moms plans that I filed in folders last June.

 

I like our own recipes better, but I haven't finished organizing my own weekly plans yet, it's just too busy around here. When I get aroudn to it, it will be an excel file with 2 pages, 1 with recipes, and 1 a shopping list for those recipes.

 

I've also tried 30 day menu planning, but that was a lot of work to keep up with... however, I am considering having 30 dinners in the freezer for our first month back homeschooling. :001_smile:

 

My favorite ever cooking experiment, was hiring my 17 year old sister to come over & do the Once a month cooking for me in a day. That was great... :-)

Edited March 30, 2011 by lcelmer

[peacefully]

So late to this thread, but I'm excited to I had to share. It's not as if dh is going to understand if I tell him all about my homeschool plans. He'll just smile politely and try to change the subject as soon as possible. :001_huh:

 

I just finished slicing off the spine of my humungous CK Teacher's Handbook. Instead of doing the file-by-week method, I divided up all the subjects into two large notebooks, each containing 6 months worth of tabs (we hs year-round). Since the CK sequence is easily broken into monthly themes, I can just start filing materials, resource lists and schedules behind the appropriate monthly tab. I can already see how this is going to make planning a breeze for me next year. I couldn't possibly schedule out each week for a whole year, but I can see how I could easily schedule out each day, a couple of months at a time. I am a very happy camper right now.

[Mommee & Baba]

I will begin some of the filing soon!

 

I have grabbed some of what I did last year and will continue with it this year but there are def. somethings I'll be tossing.

 

I still have a love-hate relationship with the workboxes...because filling them each night even only 15min of doing it stinks!! But I WANT to stick it out because it helped my children stay focused. HOWEVER we were always out of place because many of the subjects my kids are doing need me and so if one finishes their independ. work quicker than I had planned for the teacher intensive subject my other dc is working on they are left to take a break OR go out of order and do something else they can do on their own...and I got really frustrated with it. So I really would like to get RID of the numbers on the workboxes and get SUBJECT tabs so they can easily jump from one subject on the top row and when done go to the next subject on the last row..and not feel like they are "out of place"...

 

As for filing for the entire year. This SAVED our school year! So I'll be doing it again. However I ended up DITCHING MOST of what I filed last year and pushed it up until next year so it wasn't wasted because we'll be using it this fall...and some of it we won't be using for another couple years but it's still not wasted.

 

The one thing I found to be a HUGE headache that we fell behind on VERY fast was Galloping the Globe. The prep for that subject was TERRIBLE and I won't be using it again!! I need something open and go and something that has ALL the work done for me...and this DOES NOT! I'll do USA with the kids next year and the year after that we'll do a world one but it'll be something I purchase from Confessions of a Homeschooler because she has it all planned out for you and all I do is hit the "PRINT" button and file! With GTG I had to go hunt for the things and still we ended up giving up on some of it because it was just not fun.....I tried to make it fun but the prep work was rushed so there are somethings that we missed. But we're pushing through the rest of the year.

 

Also for math...I'm not sure how I'm gonna plan math with the filing method. I think having a page a day filed for each child is NOT unreasonable.

 

I will be doing ALOT of printing this year for next year because this year I had a Ker and she didn't do as much of the printer heavy subjects as my 2nd grader, next year she'll be in 1st and be into the printer heavy things...

 

Thank goodness for the purchase of my laser printer. Now to guess when I'll need a new toner when I start printing for next year....:lol:

[KeriJ]

WELL. I just made it to page 50-something of the HUGE filing thread....

 

I can't find that thread. Could you give me a link?

 

I don't understand the filing system anyway. I am a huge planner and very organized, but I don't make lesson plans. I just count the number of chapters in each of my books and see how many I need to do per week to get done in 33-34 weeks. That gives me an extra two weeks in case I get behind a little bit. I plan a schedule for the year to make sure we are going to have school for 36 weeks. At the end of each quarter, I evaluate to see if we are on track.

 

Most of my books are organized to fit into about a 36-week school year anyway. Of my core subjects (math, English, etc), I just do one chapter per day. Of my more peripheral subjects, I just do them once per week and figure out how many pages I need to do per lesson to get the subject done in one year. So I just have bookmarks in every book, and each day I go on with the next lesson. If my husband teaches something, he just picks up where the bookmark is.

 

The only monthly organizing I do is going to the library to check out books for reading and supplemental history and science.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

This is exactly what I do. Works great for us!!

[christielee7278]

I think I'm going to use this system for history, arts/crafts, and geography (the three subjects that need the most prep work and were dropped most often each week this year). Maybe if I have everything ready to go, we'll get more of each accomplished each week. We use the workbox system and usually we just do one lesson from the other subjects a day so I don't see a need to cut up those books. I like the idea of paperclipping a notecard to each file folder with a book list on one side and materials list on the other. Easy to grab the week before and have ready.

[delaney]

I am a daily planner and reshuffler. I have to be able to reorganize and be fluid with the days and weeks. I have found making folders by week easier. Wish I could plan by the year...sigh.

[mymonkeybug]

:eek: to cutting apart books, makes me need a good stiff :cheers2:

 

Seriously though, I am all for what works for each individual person and family. I personally can't cut my books apart because I, as someone else mentioned earlier, need to be able to resell them when done to help offset the cost of the new year's items.

 

I find the cutting, filing, workboxing, etc...all interesting. I do none of it but am intrigued none the less.

 

:crying: over all those poor bookless spines.

[Amy Jo]

Do any of you use HST+ with your files? I did my planning on spreadsheets last year, and I'm thinking that would be easier with HST, plus I'd have some pretty reports at the end of the year.

 

So late to this thread, but I'm excited to I had to share. It's not as if dh is going to understand if I tell him all about my homeschool plans. He'll just smile politely and try to change the subject as soon as possible. :001_huh:

 

Sounds just like my husband. At least he always agrees with whatever I want. Which doesn't help when I'm undecided. :lol: I'm still waiting to start filing, I need to see how DS8's reading goes.

[TKDmom]

Just make sure you don't accidentally slice up any TMs that look almost exactly like the student books. It's a little embarrassing to admit to your dh that the book you spent the last 20 minutes mutilating was the WRONG book.

 

Someone may have already mentioned this, but I've decided that if I continue with filing, I can't file a whole school year at once. I filed for the whole year this year, and ended up dropping several programs that I was using. I had printed off all 36 weeks of several e-book curricula. If I had only printed 6 or 9 weeks, I'd be felling a lot less guilty about killing trees. It's also a pain to un-file things that aren't working for you.

[Ginny May]

This will be my first year doing this. I have never heard of filing system until last week when I could not sleep. I see on the old thread they were going to take pics (start a new thread). I can not find that thread. Does anyone know where it is?:grouphug: I have taken 1 book apart and have all of my weeks made up for two kids. So excited. Just seeing all the stuff I need for this one subject and being able to get it now and put it in the file is a blessing :O)

[mom31257]

Here is a thread where people posted links to their blogs.

 

Here is one with some photos.

 

If you want to read more, do an advanced search and put filing in the box and choose "search titles only". Most of the major discussions happened last summer and early fall.

[Violet Crown]

I was intrigued by filing, but like others, I can't bring myself to slice books (well, okay, one art appreciation/projects book that I love, and was $1).

 

Also, I've always felt that one of the best features of homeschooling is that you can accelerate or decelerate the pace to fit your student. Filing seems to lock you in to a certain pace.

 

This year, I'm combining sit-at-child's-elbow and tutor at the pace needed, and filing. Individual pacing for the three subjects we consider really core--Literature, Math, Latin--and all the rest filed. "All the rest" basically means subjects where I think it's fine to skip lessons occasionally (just like ps!), or not do them for a week if she does the whole week's worth in one day.

 

I'm hoping this method will let us focus more real homeschooling time and mental energy (mine) on the subjects that are the reason we homeschool. But I suspect I'm not really using the filing method people are talking about.

[ProudGrandma]

I am so intrigued by this filing system but I was nervous about us getting behind and then I would feel the need to reshuffle all of the folders...and I REALLY didn't want to do that. So I plan to do something like this...I think...instead of labeling my folders with dates, I am simply just going to number them starting with 1 and going to 180...that way it doesn't matter if I get behind a day because we will just do the next folder. Inside each hanging folder will be either 3 regular folders (one for each kid) or just 3 bundles of work held by a paper clip)...one set of papers for each school day. Still in the thinking stages, but I think this is what I will be trying for this next year.