Planning full year with filing system

[Nemom]

Last year I was overwhelmed and burned out every weekend trying to plan the next weeks lessons. So, I decided to try planning the whole year using the hanging file folder system. Planning went great for Language Arts (it was so freeing to rip those workbooks apart!)

 

Now, I am trying to plan MOH year 2 and I am totally overwhelmed again! It is hard because i really don't know what half of the chapters are about (can't wait to learn though). Hard to pull together activities and movies/you tube clips and books when I don't know what I am looking for. I feel like I need to preread everything just to finish the planning.

 

I haven't even started on Science yet! My least favorite subject by the way.

 

How is your planning going?

[Mandy in TN]

As I don't want to pay $200 for a timeline, I am diligently trying to figure out how to create a Montessori Timeline of Life to introduce next week. To that end, today I purchased a 2'x12' roll of white paper from the Parent-Teacher store. Today, I also made some 5-part nomenclature cards for the five mass extinction events that I also plan for ds to cover next week.

 

As far as our weekly folders for fall, ds does like and want to continue with those. (We use folders with fasteners, so we dont lose things, but same idea.) I have everything purchased except for Essentials in Writing, and it is all in a Rubbermaid container in my homeschool closet waiting for assembly until Walmart stocks cheap folders with fasteners. :)

 

I am trying to organize some things for Montessori shelves at least for science and social studies, but I am having a hard time getting ahead of what we are doing now!

Mandy

[MotherGoose]

Stil in the thinking process...

[MiMi 4under3]

I used a filing system for the first time this past year.

I was surprised by how much time it took to assemble - but it was so well worth it all year to just pull out the next thing and have it all ready. 

We're still finishing up this year, but I CANNOT wait to start assembling again.  :D

[Guest Sarahko108]

How do you all use/organize the file folders? I did the plan on the weekend method this past year and am looking for something better. Love the idea of having everything right there and ready to go!

[CrunchyGirl]

I'm not sure how well a filing system would work for me but I'm thinking about spending the next few weeks planning out science and history for the whole year. It's just too much to do during the year and then it's hard to get done.

[Mandy in TN]

How do you all use/organize the file folders? I did the plan on the weekend method this past year and am looking for something better. Love the idea of having everything right there and ready to go!

 

This past year I created weekly folders by semester. Towards the end of summer, I took all Doodle's workbooks and had the bindings cut off. I printed off whatever else he needed. Then, I divided each individual workbook in half. The half for second semester I put away. The first half I divided into 16 roughly equal piles making copies as necessary when the front of the page needed to be in one pile and the back needed to be in the other. Then, I did NOT divide those 16 piles into 5 smaller piles. I just kept going with the next workbook or print outs. I did them in order so that a subject stayed together. I would do Evan-Moor Read and Understand Poetry, the Holt Elements of Language workbook, MCP Plaid Phonics, MCP Spelling Workout, EMC's Write-in Reader, and Evan-Moor Daily Paragraph Editing all in a row. He used Evan-Moor Daily Math for drill and I put that in there, but I didn't stick it in the middle of the LA. I put it in first. He also used a geography workbook, and I stuck that in the back.

 

I did just one semester, because, since last year was our first year doing folders, I didn't want to do the whole year in case it didn't work. There were a couple of things that I included first semester that I didn't do second (a science workbook and some book guides that just weren't happening). However, second semester I went ahead and put MEP math in the folder. We also started using some history workbooks, but I never had the bindings cut in order to put them in the folders. This year I will create all 32 folders before school starts.

 

This next year I plan to include the LA topics in his folder. He will use Vocabulary from Classical Roots instead of MCP phonics and spelling. Last year he used the highest level of Evan-Moor poetry in that series, so he will be using Art of Poetry. We are using Didax Editing once a week instead of E-M Daily Paragraph Editing. He is continuing with Holt Elements of Language. Last year he used Write@Home for composition, but this year I will put the student pages for Essentials in Writing in his folder. He will not be using the EMC Write-in Reader because we will be doing short stories together. I am going to add his history workbook pages this year alongside his geography workbook. I have Focus on Science and Use It Don't Lose It Daily Math Drill that will also go in the folder.

 

I don't divide the weekly folder into days because I don't care if Doodle wants to do all of his geography or grammar or whatever all in one day. I don't want to micromanage, spoon-feed, his daily schedule to him. He was 10yo turning 11 this past year and wanted a little autonomy in deciding his day. This kept him on track by week, but let him have a voice. Also, except for grammar, he pretty much does the work in his folder independently. I just try to glance at it daily to make sure he is on track to finish at the end of the week. If not, I point out that he probably needs to do a little more work the next day, but basically I have just let there be natural consequences. There have been a few times this year when he missed Friday afternoon park day because his folder wasn't complete, and there have been a couple of Saturdays that he needed to finish his folder. I just viewed it as a lesson in time management. Even with these natural consequences, he obviously preferred his folders to having me manage his days because he asked to do them again next year.

 

I divide the semester into 16 folders instead of 18 but then mark off 18 weeks/ 90 days on the calendar for the semester because then you have some wiggle room before you feel like you are behind where you need to be in order to finish by your desired finish date. You have 10 days to designate as field trip days, sick days, or something else came up days before you are feeling that you are behind where you want to be. I will do this again this next year. The increase in weekly work when dividing a workbook into 16 piles instead of 18 is negligible, and the breathing room it gives us is worth it. I think of the folders as 5 days of work. You could mark hatch marks on the outside of the folder if you needed to in order to keep up. You could also write any extras you did during that time. I keep all of the folders in a drawer in my homeschool closet. When he is done with a folder, ds puts it up and pulls out a new one.

 

I also really like hole-punching the sheets and using folders with fasteners. Then, there are no loose sheets of paper and the folder can be used out of the house without worrying about pieces of paper falling out.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

[MommytoFour]

There's a massive thread about filing systems: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/189482-does-anyone-incorporate-a-filing-system-for-lesson-plans/

 

[coffeegal]

 

I don't divide the weekly folder into days because I don't care if Doodle wants to do all of his geography or grammar or whatever all in one day. I don't want to micromanage, spoon-feed, his daily schedule to him. He was 10yo turning 11 this past year and wanted a little autonomy in deciding his day. This kept him on track by week, but let him have a voice. Also, except for grammar, he pretty much does the work in his folder independently. I just try to glance at it daily to make sure he is on track to finish at the end of the week. If not, I point out that he probably needs to do a little more work the next day, but basically I have just let there be natural consequences. There have been a few times this year when he missed Friday afternoon park day because his folder wasn't complete, and there have been a couple of Saturdays that he needed to finish his folder. I just viewed it as a lesson in time management. Even with these natural consequences, he obviously preferred his folders to having me manage his days because he asked to do them again next year.

 

 

 

:iagree:

I use 36 hanging file folders that is divided into children and myself, but not by day. This way we can adapt to weekly schedule changes if needed and adapt for individual children's preferences. It worked very well this past year. I had almost everything I needed at my finger tips and ready to pass out to each child as needed. My colored file folder held all tests and reading assignment sheets I wanted to post in the kitchen.

[HS Mom in NC]

I've done the 36 week file folder system for a couple of years now and I love it.

 

First, I figure out my year.  Since my youngest is basically an only child and has very close friends in the neighborhood who attend PS, I follow out PS calendar.  

 

~How many weeks are you going to school?

~What days/weeks are you going to take off?

~Think about which weeks may need to be lighter for holiday burn out, busier times of year, day long holidays etc.

~Consider floating days or a week or two for illness and general "life happens" situations.

 

History

 

Here's how I did it for last year for The Middle Ages. I use Story of the World (SOTW.) I did not read the whole book first.  I skimmed the first sentence of each paragraph as I was planning. I group Story of the World readings by region, but I'll leave out that information because it's not particularly useful to most people reading this post.

 

This website won't let something formatted in a matrix chart copy and paste correctly.

 

1. I count out SOTW chapters and divide by 36.  It isn't evenly divisible, but it gives me an idea if I need to aim for 2 or 3 readings per week. The first column of my chart has each week number and dates.

 

Example: 1   Aug 4-9

 

2. I look through the Story of the World (SOTW) table of contents and write, next to the title of each section, which week it will be read keeping in mind step #1. Then I go back to my planning chart and write the title in the next column.

Example: The Glory that was Rome

                Celts in Britain

                Barbarians come to Britain

 

3. I look through my SOTW Activity Guide and note which Usborne Book of World History (UBWH) readings go with each chapter. I put that in the next column. Or I could look through the table of contents of UBWH if I didn't have the activity guide.

 

Example: UBWH 88-91

 

4. I go through the Activity Guide (AG) and put in the chart which activities we'll do that week (if any.) I write what page number in the next column.

Example: Celtic double headed war ax AG 26. (You can add a supplies list here if that's helpful.)

 

5. I go through the Activity Guide and write in supplemental library books and authors and their call numbers if I don't own the books in the next two columns because this can be a long list.

 

Example: Celtic Fairy Tales Matthews                  

Last Snake in Ireland

Medieval Tales Osborne                       

Patrick De Paola

Across a Dark And Wild Sea Brown      

Irish Myths and Legends Daly

Sir Gawain Hastings

 

6. I go to my copy of Blackline Maps of World History (now sold as Maptrek by Terri Johnson) and print out the applicable master and student maps and staple them together. Then I  put the title and page numbers of the maps in the next column. *Note, I hear there's a Maptrek website by Terri Johnson with a chart listing several History Curricula and which maps correspond with them.

 

Example: BMWH Barbarian Europe 68-69

 

7. I list Youtube videos that I've found that are relevant to what we're studying.  I put that in the the next column.

 

Example: There wasn't one for the first week, but in the second week YT: Making History: Medieval Monasteries.

 

 

When she's done with assignments she puts them in her file folder.  We do narrations for most of the SOTW chapters. We use those and other completed assignments in a lapbook/notebook later at the end of the unit, the semester or the end of the year.

 

 

In the file before the first day of school:

 

~A copy of the matrix planning chart.  Yep.  In every single file.  Why?  Life happens.

~A print out of each of the the master and student maps for the week.

~Any print outs related to activities for the week.

~Supplies list for anything needed for each week.

~Assigned reading list for independent readers.

~Grammar assignments for that week (legally copied or disassembled from the workbook or study guide.)

~Logic assignments for that week (legally copied or disassembled from the workbook or study guide.)

~Handwriting

~Latin and Greek Word Root assignments or materials.

 

 

 

 

I'll do a science one later.

 

 

[PeterPan]

Last year I was overwhelmed and burned out every weekend trying to plan the next weeks lessons. So, I decided to try planning the whole year using the hanging file folder system. Planning went great for Language Arts (it was so freeing to rip those workbooks apart!)

 

Now, I am trying to plan MOH year 2 and I am totally overwhelmed again! It is hard because i really don't know what half of the chapters are about (can't wait to learn though). Hard to pull together activities and movies/you tube clips and books when I don't know what I am looking for. I feel like I need to preread everything just to finish the planning.

 

I haven't even started on Science yet! My least favorite subject by the way.

 

How is your planning going?

Not to be dumb, but did you notice that MOH already has lists for you in the back of the book?  They're even already grouped by week, iirc. 

[Nemom]

Not to be dumb, but did you notice that MOH already has lists for you in the back of the book? They're even already grouped by week, iirc.

Thank You and Yes, I already know that. DD is NOT a big reader. We prefer to watch movies and documentaries-less tears & fighting!

[Halcyon]

I like the idea of organizing by week rather than day. Because we work out of the home 2 days a week, i also like the idea of portable work. I think in the front of each folder i am going to put a printout of what needs to be done that week, because some of our work will not be able to be put in the file folder (Physical Science by Derek Owens, TabletClass, reading assignments). 

 

TBH, I am afraid of cutting apart certain books...like Latin Prep, SYRWTL Science...cheaper workbooks I have no problem with. 

 

Hmmmmmm. THinking. 

 

Maybe just a to do list for each week will be enough for my kids.

[FO4UR]

I've tried a bit of everything over the years.  I pre-plan, photocopy, and file by subject for the entire year.  This past year was disorganized b/c I planned thinking we'd be HSing at *home.*  We ended up moving, scrambling up our system, and it was all just "ugh".  We got it done, but it wasn't pretty.  We do a lot of traveling for dh's work, and it's often unpredictable.

 

My plan for the coming year is to give each child a single binder that will contain everything needed for school.  I'd like for the binders to hold 4-6 weeks worth of work.  I'll clean out the folders as they get full and file completed work away, refilling with the new stuff that I file by yearly subject.  I'm doing this partly b/c I need to keep things super simple and centralized in order to get everything done, and b/c we need to remain able to mobilize if we get a call that morning....pack the bag and hop in the van.

 

 

I  like the idea of 36 folders, but I think it would flop for my family b/c it's too much and too many....too easy to get lost and forgotten.

[Snow]

I've done the 36 week file folder system for a couple of years now and I love it.

 

First, I figure out my year. Since my youngest is basically an only child and has very close friends in the neighborhood who attend PS, I follow out PS calendar.

 

~How many weeks are you going to school?

~What days/weeks are you going to take off?

~Think about which weeks may need to be lighter for holiday burn out, busier times of year, day long holidays etc.

~Consider floating days or a week or two for illness and general "life happens" situations.

 

History

 

Here's how I did it for last year for The Middle Ages. I use Story of the World (SOTW.) I did not read the whole book first. I skimmed the first sentence of each paragraph as I was planning. I group Story of the World readings by region, but I'll leave out that information because it's not particularly useful to most people reading this post.

 

This website won't let something formatted in a matrix chart copy and paste correctly.

 

1. I count out SOTW chapters and divide by 36. It isn't evenly divisible, but it gives me an idea if I need to aim for 2 or 3 readings per week. The first column of my chart has each week number and dates.

 

Example: 1 Aug 4-9

 

2. I look through the Story of the World (SOTW) table of contents and write, next to the title of each section, which week it will be read keeping in mind step #1. Then I go back to my planning chart and write the title in the next column.

 

Example: The Glory that was Rome

Celts in Britain

Barbarians come to Britain

 

3. I look through my SOTW Activity Guide and note which Usborne Book of World History (UBWH) readings go with each chapter. I put that in the next column. Or I could look through the table of contents of UBWH if I didn't have the activity guide.

 

Example: UBWH 88-91

 

4. I go through the Activity Guide (AG) and put in the chart which activities we'll do that week (if any.) I write what page number in the next column.

 

Example: Celtic double headed war ax AG 26. (You can add a supplies list here if that's helpful.)

 

5. I go through the Activity Guide and write in supplemental library books and authors and their call numbers if I don't own the books in the next two columns because this can be a long list.

 

Example: Celtic Fairy Tales Matthews Last Snake in Ireland

Medieval Tales Osborne Patrick De Paola

Across a Dark And Wild Sea Brown Irish Myths and Legends Daly

Sir Gawain Hastings

 

6. I go to my copy of Blackline Maps of World History (now sold as Maptrek by Terri Johnson) and print out the applicable map and put the title and page number of the map in the next column. *Note, I hear there's a Maptrek website by Terri Johnson with a chart listing several History Curricula and which maps correspond with.

 

Example: BMWH Barbarian Europe 68-69

 

7. I list Youtube videos that I've found that are relevant to what we're studying. I put that in the the next column.

 

Example: There wasn't one for the first week, but in the second week Making History: Medieval Monasteries.

 

 

When she's done with assignments she puts them in her file folder. We do narrations for most of the SOTW chapters. We use those and other completed assignments in a lapbook/notebook later at the end of the unit, the semester or the end of the year.

 

 

In the file before the first day of school:

 

~A copy of the matrix chart. Yep. In every single file. Why? Life happens.

~A print out of each of the the master and student maps for the week.

~Any print outs related to activities for the week.

~Supplies list for anything needed for each week.

~Assigned reading list for independent readers.

~Grammar assignments for that week (legally copied or disassembled from the workbook or study guide.)

~Logic assignments for that week (legally copied or disassembled from the workbook or study guide.)

~Handwriting

~Latin and Greek Word Root assignments or materials.

 

 

 

 

I'll do a science one later.

That was very helpful! Thank you. How long does it take you? I find it takes me forever because I get so indecisive about everything little thing. Seeing how you list it out makes it feel more manageable.

[HS Mom in NC]

That was very helpful! Thank you. How long does it take you? I find it takes me forever because I get so indecisive about everything little thing. Seeing how you list it out makes it feel more manageable.

 

I spend several weeks in summer doing it. A friend IRL (Violin Mom here at TWTM boards) talked me through it showing me how she does it for her 5 kids. I've only ever done it for 3 at most and am currently doing it for 1, so it's a more leisurely  process for me.

 

 I know up front that I'm over planning.  I plan everything I'd love to do (most of which, related to history, is in the SOTW Activity Guide) and I know I won't get every single thing done when the time comes.  I'm OK with that because I'm less frustrated with planning it and not doing some of it than trying to figure things out during the school year.  Putting things aside sometimes is just the price of admission for knowing I don't have to do anything other than pick up a few supplies and the library books every couple of weeks because I have it all planned out. So, that was a long winded way of saying I don't do a lot of deciding I just include everything I'd like to do.

 

I had more logic planned than we actually did last year.  I just put it aside and I'll start with that and add to it from the next logic workbook this year. Last year I planned to do all of Simply Grammar, but my youngest had a hard time with abstract ideas like nouns that are ideas and subjective and objective cases.  I put that aside and now I'll start with that this year and cross my fingers. I have art activities from Discovering the Great Artists by Kohl and Solga planned out and I know full well that they're likely to be skipped now and then when things get crazy-that's OK.  I can always do them during the summer when the youngest gets restless or during the next 4 year rotation.  Doing 2-3 history and science rotations takes the pressure off.  We can do it next time.

 

[HS Mom in NC]

 

 

I  like the idea of 36 folders, but I think it would flop for my family b/c it's too much and too many....too easy to get lost and forgotten.

 

That can happen very easily.  That's why I have a matrix chart with every week planned out and copy of it in every single file folder and a copy in my planning notebook.  When I had 3 kids on the file folder system it was a life saver to keep track of what every kid should be doing and when the kid should be doing it. The kids seem to like knowing when they're done and the teens liked having the incentive of working harder and longer to finish early and go to a midnight premiere of a movie or taking Friday off. I know Violin Mom here at TWTM IRL and she talked me through how she does it for her 5.  It takes her all summer, but if works for her situation for several different reasons. Granted, it's not for everyone.

[HS Mom in NC]

Science

 

This is science from last year.  I have a strong Charlotte Mason bent so I was looking for living books as my spine. I chose the topic of weather and biomes. Then I looked for books in my local library's online catalog. I checked a lot of them and looked through them deciding based on my child's abilities, simplicity of activities and visual and verbal appeal. To understand weather and biomes, a child needs to understand the earth's relationship to the sun in space.  I chose the following books:

 

Weather by Kerrod-I bought this one because it had lots of simple experiments that I would do throughout the semester.

Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space (UFES) I bought this too because I would use it the second semester for astronomy.

 

First, I decided how many weeks I wanted to cover that topic.  I decided on 18 weeks.  That's from the beginning of school to Christmas Break. I put the week number that the dates in the first column on my matrix planning chart.

Example: 1

                Aug 4-9

 

In the next column I put the name of the books I'd read aloud and the authors' names.  Most of these were library books I checked out. I didn't always read the entire book, sometimes it was just a relevant section.

 

Example: Weather by Kerrod

UFES-The Moving Sky

Day and Night by Stone

Earth by Richardson

 

The next column had an experiment or activity  that reinforced the main idea of the read alouds. All the experiments (EX.) came from Weather by Kerrod. The activities (ACT.) were usually supplemental things I found online and printed out.

 

Example: EX. Weight Air pg. 15

ACT. Layers of Earth

 

The last column had a list of supplies needed for the experiments and activities that week.

 

Example: Tape, ruler, thread, 2 balloons of equal size.

 

 

 

I used two different series for the biomes part which started at week 4. One titled with each type of biome: Tundra, Tropical Rainforests, etc. by Philip Johansson because they had food web charts in them and a series titled with A Walk in ________________________ the Tundra, the Tropical Rainforest, etc. by Johnson because it was delightfully written and beautifully photographed. Each week we read the Johnson book one day and the Johansson book another day another day we did an activity.  I printed out very small images of plants and animals from that biome and she made a chart similar to the food web in the book we read.

 

1st column: 5

                   Sept 2-6

2nd column: Tundra

3rd column: A Walk in the Tundra by Johnson

                    Tundra by Johansson

4th column: Act. make a food web of life from print outs (animals and plants that live in tundra)

5th column: print outs of: owl, wolf, fox, duck, rabbit, muskox, berries, poppies, etc.

 

I knew which animals I wanted to print out because I checked out and skimmed through the Johnson and Johansson books during the planning during the summer. I googled "free coloring pages" along with the name of the plant or animal I wanted to print out.  Then I printed each image out on a very small scale (1-2.5 inches across) so we could put a lot of them on a page.  By reorienting the paper after each printing of an image, I could fit 4 images on each paper.  I put those in the hanging file folder for the week we were using them.

 

 

In General

 

I usually had to go to a few local libraries to get the books I needed, so I checked out everything I needed for 3 weeks. If none of those books were huge, I put them in the corresponding hanging file folder. A few thin books can fit right in for convenience sake.

 

I had a hanging file folder for a science a history lapbook/notebook of our completed projects.  That's another way of doing lapbooking-as a portfolio.  You can do it that way or you can do it the usual way of printing out a pre-designed by someone else lapbook and filing it in your whichever week's filing folder you decide works best for your particular plans or a combination of the two. 

 

Not every subject necessarily works with hanging file folders, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can put some subjects in and leave others out.  Math and Phonics are more "work at your own individual pace" type subjects so some people choose not to put a week's worth of assignments in.  Other people want to complete a certain amount of phonics and math in a year, so divide up the lessons (either legally copy them or physical disassemble the workbooks) staple the pages of each lesson together and put as many lessons as you want your child to do that week in the file folders.

 

Have a safe place to put assignments you didn't get to if you want to use them the next year or pass them on to someone else.

[Nemom]

Finished history! WOO HOO!

 

Saving science for next week.

[SebastianCat]

I plan the entire year in advance also.   I just finished typing up history assignments for my rising 7th grader for the year, and LOVE this method.    I type up an assignment sheet for each week, then hand the child the assignment sheet plus any loose papers (and I do tear out pages from workbooks for some subjects, but not everything).   I take the assignments from each subject's material (Sonlight, Apologia science, etc.) and type it into a master schedule for each child.

 

I file the papers by week in two large Sonlight binders with the 1-36 tabs.   About half of a year's worth of material fits in each 4" binder, so I use two binders.   

 

There are a few subjects, like IEW (writing) and my DD's math, that I can't schedule in advance.   DD's math skills are such that sometimes, she flies through the material and other times, we need to slow WAY down until she masters a topic.    So those subjects get assigned the Sunday before - but everything else is already assigned, with an assignment sheet and all necessary paperwork, and all I need to do is take it out of the binder and hand it to the kids.

[MooCow]

Towards the middle of this past school year, I did file folders two months at a time off of my master guide. This coming school year, I've already started prepping for. With file folders of course. I've also begun ripping apart workbooks and the like.

[Snow]

and I know I won't get every single thing done when the time comes. I'm OK with that because I'm less frustrated with planning it and not doing some of it than trying to figure things out during the school year. Putting things aside sometimes is just the price of admission for knowing I don't have to do anything other than pick up a few supplies and the library books every couple of weeks because I have it all planned out. So, that was a long winded way of saying I don't do a lot of deciding I just include everything I'd like to do.

 

That's a great perspective, thanks for sharing. I guess I procrastinate via perfectionism sometimes and I get overwhelmed with the decisions. But you're right...having it listed out and planned would probably be way more gratifying!

[Angie in VA]

 

6. I go to my copy of Blackline Maps of World History (now sold as Maptrek by Terri Johnson) and print out the applicable master and student maps and staple them together. Then I  put the title and page numbers of the maps in the next column. *Note, I hear there's a Maptrek website by Terri Johnson with a chart listing several History Curricula and which maps correspond with them.

 

 

 

Anyone have a link to this? 

[braymalena]

Here's the link to the free curriculum integration guides:

http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/Integration-Guides.html

[Angie in VA]

Here's the link to the free curriculum integration guides:

http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/Integration-Guides.html

 

TYVM!

[MotherGoose]

I have my 36 folders, and I've filed science (Nancy Larson), CAP Fable, Sequential Spelling, FLL, and Singapore Math with the tests, extra practice, etc., phonics, thinking skills, and I think that is all so far. I did one semester of math but the full year for the rest. I tore apart all the workbooks or printed the PDFs. Occasionally a worksheet was printed back to back with something that was supposed to be for the next week, so I did copy that. I guess that is a technical violation of copyright laws, but it doesn't violate the spirit of the law--I'm not preserving the workbook for another child to use later or to sell. It's destroyed! :D Trying to keep track of which worksheet I needed to hold over from the last week is too much trouble. I printed out handwriting too, but didn't put it in folders because it'll be more of a skill-building thing (cursive). I still need to put in math facts practice, any art, music, history, and foreign language. My plan is at the beginning of every week I'll further separate the week into the number of days we are doing school. That way I won't have to write out assignment sheets, I'll just hand over the folder after we are done with the "mommy" work. My dd is a leftie so I was going to rebind some of the workbooks anyway, and this skips that step. It will also, I hope, solve the never-ending hunt for workbooks, or the drama that ensues when she drops a stack of books. It is a bit overwhelming, but when I think about how much time I waste during the school year looking for books or waiting for her to find the page it will help SOOO much.

[Nemom]

My dd is a leftie so I was going to rebind some of the workbooks anyway, and this skips that step.

I don't have a leftie but what a great idea!

[sbgrace]

I do pre-plan and file folder my subjects that require planning--things that aren't do the next thing type curriculum. But I file by unit, subject, or chapter rather than week or day.

 

For example, I have a folder for each chapter of history. It has all paper materials copied, lists of supplies needed, activity instructions, etc. I have a history section in my computer bookmarks with video links, also by chapter. For science, I have files by unit. So my unit on human body has lesson plans in order with all the extras built into the plans. I have supplemental materials for certain subjects also printed out and filed by subject.

 

Essentially, I turn those into do the next thing subjects with my files. Materials (spelling, math, and similar) that are open and go stay intact. I just put little flag post it wherever we stop and pick up there the next day.

[Halcyon]

SBgrace--i like that idea. I am wary of planning "week by week" for my older in particular because in some subjects he might get bogged down for a week or two (writing and math) when he hits a harder part, and other subjects he might want to whiz ahead.

 

So do you plan each subject and then your child just "does the next thing" within each subject?

[Jayne J]

I've done both the weekly folders, and the subject by subject method and much prefer the latter. I do all the printing, listing, etc. and put each content subject into it's own folder by chapter or topic or whatever. Then, we work through it in a "do the next thing" kind of way. I generally make a master list for myself, with all the subjects and the progression and cross them off as we go--it helps me keep an eye on when we are ahead or behind somewhere.

So, for history, I'll break our text into quarters and go through each quarter, making reading lists, documentary lists, writing out assignments/chapters to read and putting together worksheets/coloring pages/etc. I put each quarter into it's own folder/binder and we work through it that way. Same for science, although I generally organize that by topic rather than semester. I don't put dates or weeks on anything, but use my master list to help us stay on track.

The weekly folders were too labor intensive and gave me less flexibility to move our focus from subject to subject. Now, if we get excited about our science, we can keep going and not worry about reshuffling all of our history papers.

 

 

ETA: I only do this for content areas--most of our skill areas are 'do the next thing' already, although I also break the those texts into semesters in my master list, in order to make sure we are roughly on track.

[Zoo Keeper]

I do pre-plan and file folder my subjects that require planning--things that aren't do the next thing type curriculum. But I file by unit, subject, or chapter rather than week or day.

 

For example, I have a folder for each chapter of history. It has all paper materials copied, lists of supplies needed, activity instructions, etc. I have a history section in my computer bookmarks with video links, also by chapter. For science, I have files by unit. So my unit on human body has lesson plans in order with all the extras built into the plans. I have supplemental materials for certain subjects also printed out and filed by subject.

 

Essentially, I turn those into do the next thing subjects with my files. Materials (spelling, math, and similar) that are open and go stay intact. I just put little flag post it wherever we stop and pick up there the next day.

 

This is similar to what I do; I plan by subject, and do any photocopying, etc. during my summer off.  I put all the grammar worksheets (or history maps, or science lab sheets, etc.)  in a binder, in the order they will be used, and put it on the shelf.  My children know that if they need a history map for today's lesson, it will be in the binder labeled " Fidget's History" on the shelf next to Mom's big binder with all the schedules.  My younger two still have to go get their binders and bring them to me so *I* take out the needed papers, but my two oldest are well able to find what they need without assistance.

 

This has worked well, for the papers are still there, in order, ready when we need them, even if we end up throwing my lovely schedules out the window.   

 

Planning it all out, and forcing myself to read ahead, look over and think about the materials we will use, make the copies etc.,  has made my scheduling more realistic than it used to be; I have been learning how to adapt the materials to the child, rather than getting into a lather because we didn't finish ___ by ___. 

[NikiSC]

I'm also using the 36 file folder system.  I think things will run much smoother this year.  I couldn't figure out what to do about the CLE Light Units, so I decided to put the whole LU in the week they should begin.  It didn't seem reasonable to me to rip those apart and copy pages that may go in the following week.  I'm thinking for Science and History I may put materials needed in ziplock bags labeled by the week and store those separately.  I still need to type assignment sheets :crying:.

[My3girls]

I did by subject last year, but I am going to try by week this year.  I found it too easy to not get to a subject for a week or better at a time.  The plan thus far is to have 36 folders for each girl with no dates just week 1, week 2, etc...  We'll still do the next thing as we did this last year, but I am hoping this will keep me from getting behind in the not favorite subjects.  We can still spend extra time on a topic or subject, but it will be in addition to that weeks lessons and not instead of, kwim?

[sbgrace]

SBgrace--i like that idea. I am wary of planning "week by week" for my older in particular because in some subjects he might get bogged down for a week or two (writing and math) when he hits a harder part, and other subjects he might want to whiz ahead.

 

So do you plan each subject and then your child just "does the next thing" within each subject?

 

Yes. All our subjects are do the next thing this way. I can pre-plan so it's grab and go, but still move each child at a pace that fits.