*Michelle* Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Books, e-books, audio books, DVDs, documentaries, YouTube videos, apps, games, toys... We haven't even started first grade yet and I'm already saying, "Oh, we could have used that" too many times. How do you keep track of your resources so you can plan your lessons effectively??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMOm Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 We follow the four year cycle so I have pinterest boards for each year- I pin anything & everything that I might use, would like to see or think about more, documentaries, books, activity ideas, etc. to one of those four years (and I also have boards for Language Arts, Math and different Science & Nature study topics). Then, when I sit down to plan my year, I used those boards. I have found it to be tremendously helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 We follow the four year cycle so I have pinterest boards for each year- I pin anything & everything that I might use, would like to see or think about more, documentaries, books, activity ideas, etc. to one of those four years (and I also have boards for Language Arts, Math and different Science & Nature study topics). Then, when I sit down to plan my year, I used those boards. I have found it to be tremendously helpful. I love this idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 I forgot about Pinterest. See what I mean, LOL? I actually have boards set up there similar to yours, but for grades only. I've been pinning crafts and activities there. I may need to break out good old MS Excel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2three Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I have a very long word document that I've been keeping for a few years now, since even before I had children... I worked as a tutor then and was always coming across things that I knew would be perfect for some child or other. It's arranged as a bullet pointed list, with plenty of things under multiple bullets (for example, a link to this forum might be under "homeschool forums," "academic forums" and "classical education resources). Then I can write a quick note about each link ("very active forum about homeschooling, only sane afterschooling forum I've ever found"). It looks kind of like a mess, but it's easy to find what I'm looking for, either by finding the right bullet, or searching the document for a term I know I used in the description. I recently started putting it all on a website, so I can access it on my phone when I'm out at the bookstore, but it's still just a private blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briansmama Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I use Evernote and make notebooks full of links to resources for each area, especially science, history, and literature. I like it better than Pinterest because it's private (although you can create private boards on Pinterest), plus I do all my planning in Evernote too so it's all right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 Because I am a wannabe librarian, I spent an inordinate amount of time today making a spreadsheet with our books, ebooks, and audiobooks. I need to add in our DVDs and other videos. It's a good thing it's leftover night. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishMum Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 We follow the four year cycle so I have pinterest boards for each year- I pin anything & everything that I might use, would like to see or think about more, documentaries, books, activity ideas, etc. to one of those four years (and I also have boards for Language Arts, Math and different Science & Nature study topics). Then, when I sit down to plan my year, I used those boards. I have found it to be tremendously helpful. Great idea! I use http://www.circusponies.com on my Mac and iPad. It's $$ but the have a free trial, I think. I have the iPad app too, they sync via drop box. It had a steep learning curve for me, but I'm a bit slow on the uptake;) I love it. I have everything listed, including links and pdfs. I'm not super organized, but this is helping me be a little better. Pintest is a great idea especially for the visual amongst us, and it's free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishMum Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Because I am a wannabe librarian, I spent an inordinate amount of time today making a spreadsheet with our books, ebooks, and audiobooks. I need to add in our DVDs and other videos. It's a good thing it's leftover night. :) LOL! I'm a wannabe too, well in so much as I love books, but don't like the work involved! If you have an iPhone or iPad, have a look at http://www.books-app.com, I use it to keep a list of all my books, you can put them in groups. I have been using it for 3 years, and I no longer make duplicate purchases! Yeah! I can also see what I have for any give subject easily. When I purchase a book I put in a few groups, ie History(ancients) plus a grade. I add my pdfs and DVDs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 All my education PDF's are on a memory stick. I try to bookmark by category all online resources. Any books are on our homeschool shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 For record keeping, I put a lot of non-book resources (cds, dvds, pdf curricula, kits, etc) on LibraryThing. By using the tag function, you can sort them all out. For planning, I put things on a big spreadsheet with different tabs. Each subject has a planning/tentative scheduling tab and a resources/shopping list tab. Well, that is the way it is supposed to be. IRL, But sometimes often, I get behind with cataloguing. So I toss a lot of things we plan to use into big bins, arranged by subject, and shuffle through it. I include a page of possible library books, videos, (major) websites, etc -- things that I plan to borrow, watch instantly, or do on the computer/tablet. This system works pretty well for me. Not 100% foolproof, but good enough. BTW, I am comfortable with 'life is short, and nobody is perfect.' So my system could drive better, more organized parents nuts, lol. :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly: If I have enough good resources to teach well and engage dc, I don't beat myself up if I have forgotten to get out an educational puzzle or a packet of Colonial currency or a plastic lens that lets you see like an insect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Pinterest, bookmarks, and Post-It notes in my TM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 For record keeping, I put a lot of non-book resources (cds, dvds, pdf curricula, kits, etc) on LibraryThing. By using the tag function, you can sort them all out. Not to criticize, but if your tag looks like "Sally 1st grade English Week 22" then that's against the rules on LibraryThing. You may wake up one morning to see that some admin has deleted them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Not to criticize, but if your tag looks like "Sally 1st grade English Week 22" then that's against the rules on LibraryThing. You may wake up one morning to see that some admin has deleted them all. I should have been clearer. I don't use LT to plan, just to organize resources that I will use for planning on spreadsheets. My tags, which I've had since LT began, are hierarchical & based on IRL library subject cataloguing. But you have made a good point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I should have been clearer. I don't use LT to plan, just to organize resources that I will use for planning on spreadsheets. My tags, which I've had since LT began, are hierarchical & based on IRL library subject cataloguing. But you have made a good point! Yep, that's the way to do it! :thumbup1: I used LT to organize a church library and the main thing everyone talked about in that forum was that you should never use "tag" to mark a book as "checked out" or "on shelf 5". And I have no idea how often admins delete bad tags, but theoretically it could happen. So...just checking. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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