marylandhsmom Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 My old system has been to keep all the books together. We store them in a metal magazine file , one for each boy. I think what I'll do now, after reading this thread, and the thread about teacher's binders, is to make each boy a 3 ring binder. I'm not going to separate the books by weekly work. I'll just put the entire 3 hole punched ETC book behind the lang arts tab. I usually let my ds work on as many ETC pages as he likes at one time, until it's done, and then we start on the next thing. So one day he may do two pages, the next he'll work through 4. I'd rather keep it self-paced than decide what he will do in a week. I think I'll put a checklist in front so he can see what we'll do daily. And I'll let him decide the order. So he can flip to the math tab and work on Miquon (again I allow this stuff to be self-paced) or go to the lang arts tab and work on ETC. Some people like to organize Miquon by topics. I like to just work through the Orange book straight through, then start Red and so on. Some things are still teacher directed. I'm using things that are oral or not consumable (FLL, BW, WWE, phonics) so I'm looking at the teacher binder to help me organize those plans. I keep tubs in the attic for each boy. It's easy at the end of the year to just put completed books in there for storage. I'm not sure what to do with a lot of loose papers at the end of the year? Buy a new binder? That would get old. Maybe spiral bound a year's worth of finished work for safe keeping? But I like the idea of each boy taking down their binder and getting started. I also like the idea of a zipper pouch. My boys are always losing, or arguing over, pens and pencils. Oh ok, I see! So do you just take the ETC books to Kinkos to get them drilled for holes? (Not sure how you'd hole punch the books). Same goes for the Miquon books, I'm guessing? LOVE your ideas (and your curric choices, btw). I've been so helped by you - thank you so much Walking-Iris! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Oh ok, I see! So do you just take the ETC books to Kinkos to get them drilled for holes? (Not sure how you'd hole punch the books). Same goes for the Miquon books, I'm guessing? LOVE your ideas (and your curric choices, btw). I've been so helped by you - thank you so much Walking-Iris! Well my plan was to just hole punch them. With a hole puncher. LOL http://www.walmart.c...-Holes/14915983 That's what I've done with my other printed pdfs. Bravewriter, Arrow guides, RSO, HO etc. I imagine I would just take the binding off and then hole punch the loose sheets. Miquon is perforated. I may have to use an Exacto on some others to make it easier. I have a friend who has ProClicked some things for me. I like the idea of teacher's materials being spiral bound, but I like the idea of a 3 ring binder for the kids work better. Just for ease of getting things in and out. Especially for things like History Pockets. However I love having the Saxon sheets spiral bound. But some printed pdfs (RSO and TWJ especially) are so huge that it would take more than one spiral bounding to make a book. I have a binder for the BW and another that I keep RSO and OHC in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 It just occurred to me that at the end of the year I can just buy a set of discs to save their papers, which is about $4.00 I think and holds up to 200 pages. I would think that I should be able to narrow down what needs to be saved for a year into 200 pages, and if not I can just buy another set of discs. I can use cardstock as a cover since it is just being stored. So it isn't very complicated to store long term.......It would just be the initial storing before they go in weekly, which would be in a binder or expansion file and paper clipped by child. Also, I think I saw a mom who used folders for 6 weeks worth of work and paper clips them by week into those folders. I could do the same except have one folder per week and have the papers paperclipped by child instead. Again, if they are already hole-punched they will be very easy to put in quickly. Long term it makes so much sense because buying a ream of paper that is $12.00 and has 500 sheets will last us a long time rather than buying separate spiral bound books for each content subject for each kid, which we sometimes don't use all of (and therefore waste paper or overlap years). This way we can use only what we need. The disc way isn't really that expensive. It was $10 for the notebook from Staples, $40 for the punch (which will be used a ton) and the accessories were pretty cheap as well. The only thing I can see adding up quickly is page protectors if you use those a lot. Expansion discs were about $4.00 if one needs more than the amount of pages it comes with (which I think was 60 pages). It is so nice that it has the flexibility of a spiral notebook but the ease of taking out pages of a binder (even easier, actually). It has most of the available options that a binder has (dividers, pocket folders, page protectors, tabs, etc.) and can hold any size paper. For example, I can put in a spelling paper (skinnier than a regular page) or an index card and it will stay in there. It is really brilliant. I can take out the pages and bind them with different discs for any reason. It is really, really cool! It doesn't replace binders for some things (like holding more than 400 pages or needing/wanting something that stands up on a shelf), but for everyday use it is very efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 One other observation I made is that I can put blank pages in behind something I want them to copy (like a chart or a map) and they can easily pull out the blank sheet to put side by side with what they are copying and then easily put it right back into the notebook. The following week if they are still going to copy that map or that chart I can leave that chart in (saving copying) but put a new blank sheet in behind it...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 So people who are doing this now: do you subdivide by subject or by day? Or do you not subdivide at all, haha! THis is what our days work looks like. If I were to put it in a weeks notebook, I would do the same subjects, but probably use the 1-5 dividers and separate them out. I actually had tried that in a binder for each subject - but she could not deal with it... hence the need for daily notebooks. She actually requested them - I didn't think she liked them, so I quit for a few weeks. Her language therapist talked to her about some "overwhelmed with work" issues, and that was one of the things she said she had liked. Having it all there in one spot, but then the dividers so she wasn't look at it getting overwhelmed. My pages that just have text on them - "grab binder and get mom for lesson" will be replaced with actual lesson papers of some sort, because again - that flows better for her. I print the index page on regular paper (using a template from Avery), I had planned on printing it on the colored sheets that come with the dividers - but I have changed the order and this works just fine. She doesn't really use it - it is for me when filling it. For her the whole idea is "open and go". I found sticking with more generic titles let me swap out what is in the section. Right now the proofreading is from Scholastic (funny fairytale proofreading), and I will swap back to EM later. Or something else I have here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 It is so nice that it has the flexibility of a spiral notebook but the ease of taking out pages of a binder (even easier, actually). It has most of the available options that a binder has (dividers, pocket folders, page protectors, tabs, etc.) and can hold any size paper. For example, I can put in a spelling paper (skinnier than a regular page) or an index card and it will stay in there. It is really brilliant. I can take out the pages and bind them with different discs for any reason. It is really, really cool! It doesn't replace binders for some things (like holding more than 400 pages or needing/wanting something that stands up on a shelf), but for everyday use it is very efficient. THis is what originally sold me on it - it is flexible, yet the pages are secure and almost spiral bound. I swear I haven't even touched the iceberg on what i *could* do with it - maybe this is my summer for that! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Tracey, Thank you for the picture. It reminded me that I can possibly experiment with using only every other disc to save money. Also, the Staples packs come with 12 disks and you only need 11 so I should have extras (plus the smaller discs that come with it which I can still use to group some kind of papers with cardstock covers). My oldest has "overwhelmed" issues. If this becomes a problem I may need to make some kind of daily book instead. Of course, it is kind of expensive to buy 5 of them, but I guess I could order those from Circa and it wouldn't be so bad. I'm excited about the possibilities....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Who is it that spiral binds their Saxon? Can you give me details on how you do this? I was contemplating this today and although I will keep their calendar books in a pocket folder that goes in their disc-bound notebook I think I want their worksheets bound. The reason for this is that I noticed that even though their Saxon binder is organized and their weekly folder is organized with their Saxon papers, I end up stacking them on my desk for weeks at a time before finally getting around to putting them away. Part of me thinks that since I'll have to change out the pages weekly anyway with our new system that it should be easy to do that with Saxon too, I am concerned that I won't actually do it. And that again, I will end up with loose pages. I could staple a whole weeks pages together at the top corner and then just take out the staple. Or I could put a piece of printer paper on top with the week number and lesson numbers and then 3 hole punch it and put three staples down the left side to make a mini-booklet that can be put into a pocket folder. Then they could just pull that out each day. At the end of the week it would just go back into their Saxon binder and at the end of the year I can take out the staples, put them in dividers (which are already set up) by type of paper (tests, masters, drill sheets, worksheets) and record the grades that way. Then I can toss everything but the tests and masters and grade recording sheets. Again, sorry for the thinking out loud. I do this with my husband but he ju Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 oops... He just nods as if he's paying attention and I need you ladies to point out if something won't work or if there is a better way to do it. All that being said, just in case I want to have them spiral bound I'd like to hear how others are doing it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 oops... He just nods as if he's paying attention and I need you ladies to point out if something won't work or if there is a better way to do it. All that being said, just in case I want to have them spiral bound I'd like to hear how others are doing it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Tracey, Thank you for the picture. It reminded me that I can possibly experiment with using only every other disc to save money. Also, the Staples packs come with 12 disks and you only need 11 so I should have extras (plus the smaller discs that come with it which I can still use to group some kind of papers with cardstock covers). My oldest has "overwhelmed" issues. If this becomes a problem I may need to make some kind of daily book instead. Of course, it is kind of expensive to buy 5 of them, but I guess I could order those from Circa and it wouldn't be so bad. I'm excited about the possibilities....... I honestly haven't minded the every other disk thing as much as I thought I would. They seem to stay together - but she isn't very hard on them either. Looking in the bucket yesterday when I was taking pictures, it does look like the kids found most of my bags of disks. There are some tiny ones missing - but they will turn un as week muck out that room in the coming weeks! If you do end up having to do daily, the circa translucent covers (no disks) are two for $12, so that is cheaper than the poly covers at staples. I'm going to guess they are thicker too - I need to order some but it will be a few weeks. Of course, I could probably do weekly books for that child just fine - I just don't know how it looks for her right now (she will either be in PS again, or home doing K12 with the virtual school here in the county). I'm going to start planning out what I want to print, and need to print in the form of blank pages - which sounds wayyyyy more fun than finishing up the last 3 weeks of my college career! LOL!! Have fun playing. Oh and Saxon, I didn't bind it, but I did make DD a binder of the worksheet blanks for 5/4 and 6/5. I can't help beyond that! (it was a different child, pre-circa) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 **duplicate** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2three Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 What do people mean by the disk system? I think I missed something. Sorry to be obtuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Thank you! I was actually going to ask about the Evan-Moore books, particularly the daily language arts ones. Do you think they're a relatively good complete curriculum? Obviously I'll help her out when needed and we'll supplement as needed. And I don't want to make this workbook to make extra work for her, but as a way to efficiently provide most of the work for a few subjects that she can do independently, so that we can concentrate on other subjects during the alone-time we have to "school." We are going to be using EM Language Fundamentals, not the EM Daily Language Review. Next year will be our first year using it. It looks good to me, and I've read good reviews of Evan-Moor stuff in general here at TWTM. I like that the concepts are taught on the worksheet. She reads well, so it can mostly be independent; although I'll review it with her most days until I think she's getting used to it. We're also going to be using FLL2. FLL is so repetitive that we skipped a lot of lessons, and finished Level One early last year. I want to do grammar nearly every day, and I think that EM LF would work well for the days we don't do FLL. I really like all the other EM stuff too. But I like workbooks, and I know a lot of people here do not. So people who are doing this now: do you subdivide by subject or by day? Or do you not subdivide at all, haha! I don't divide at all. If this works well and we continue with this set up, I imagine I'll want to divide the subjects when they're older. Edited to correct a typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Who is it that spiral binds their Saxon? Can you give me details on how you do this? I have Saxon spiral bound. A friend did it for me with a ProClick. I really loved the system this year. We used blank cardstock as covers. I printed, double sided, all the sheets, tests, and facts sheets. I make copies of any activity sheets as we come to them. In Saxon there's a facts test every day and a test sheet after 5 lessons. I have all of the daily sheets spiral bound together. A whole year of Saxon made two spiral notebooks. I didn't spiral bind (?) the facts sheets, but I think it would be best to either have them in a separate spiral notebook, or printed one-sided. Then you would layer the facts test and the two daily sheets, repeat. You would have to be careful for those few lessons that use two facts sheets. You could also print the activity sheets and place those in where they would be used. If it was done like that I imagine it would be 3-4 notebooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 What do people mean by the disk system? I think I missed something. Sorry to be obtuse. The Circa system from Levenger, or Arc at staples. Check out the pictures in my post, it has a pic of the disks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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