Master Planning and Scheduling Thread for 2015-16 School Year

[Halcyon]

I am starting to think about planning out next year for my kids, and thought it would be fun to see how others are doing their planning for the coming year. Paper? Excel? Scholaric? HST+? I have used just about every method out there including (this past year) basically no method at all except "do the next thing and work til you're done" LOL. But since ds12 will be in 8th next year, I figure that I'd better determine which, of all the methods I've tried, will be the best fit since I will need to be more consistent come high school!

 

Right now, I am leaning towards a simple Word doc (or rather Google Doc) first page will state name, year, courses and texts being used. Then each page will have either a week's expected work by subject, or day to day--I haven't decided. There will be check mark boxes so DS can go through and check off when he has completed the assignment. He has liked this option in the past and I want him to really be a participant this year. The reason I am leaning towards a Word doc as opposed to excel or HST+ or whatever is that I can type in as much as I want in terms of notes: rabbit trails, videos we throw in, field trips, observances, etc.  I would probably plan out a month or two at a time.

 

Okay, share! I want to hear especially from people who have tried a few methods, and why you've settled on the one you've settled on. Oh, and while I LOVE the idea of pre-planning every. darn. thing. that just doesn't work for our family--it's better for us to have a framework and then throw in vids, books, field trips etc as we go.

 

 

[Halcyon]

Oh, and if anyone has used Scholaric I'd love to hear reviews.

[Targhee]

I use paper in the beginning, and it's always my go-to. Lots of notes, charts, and ideas in more than one place. I tried consolidating with several different apps which would synch across devices, but I really enjoy putting pen to paper.

 

After my brainstorming has matured a bit, I use Pages on my iPad to do up several charts (curriculum, schedule, daily routine), etc. I have tried a couple of homeschool planners/tracking systems but they are more work for me than I care for. We are constantly skipping dats, doing half a day, etc (hey that's one reason we homeschool!) that it is more effort to adjust my digital plans than I like.

 

In the end, I have gone through it all so much I've internalized it, and the kids get daily and weekly checklists, which I write by hand. Those also become our records. I rarely assign grades to assignments. - rather I mark errors, and if there are enough they go back and fix them.

 

Boring? Simple.

[TarynB]

We use OneNote and it syncs between my laptop, DS's laptop, and his iPad. (We could also use it on our iPhones if we wanted to.) I plan a week at a time with a separate tab for each week. DS checks things off as he completes them and I can see it instantly. I include hyperlinks to supplements, links to videos, "printouts" of webpages and PDFs, scans DS's completed hard copy work, etc. Very easy to set up and adjust things between weeks. I've been using OneNote for almost 3 years now and I love having everything in one place (plus I back it up in a second location). DS likes being able to see the plan for the week on his own devices and working independently for some things. And if I ever need a hardcopy, I simply print what I need from within OneNote.

 

ETA - Previously I used Excel (was a spreadsheet guru in previous life) and EverNote (dumped it). I really like OneNote though.

[RosieCotton]

 Oh, and while I LOVE the idea of pre-planning every. darn. thing. that just doesn't work for our family--it's better for us to have a framework and then throw in vids, books, field trips etc as we go.

 

This is me. I can only get about a month out ahead here.

 

I would especially love if someone could do the planning for me and hand me the completed doc!. Does that exist?

***How come no one here has put together a business like that hive??

 

Listening in as I only have One Note and may try to utilize it more next year, would like to hear what others find helpful.

[Ethel Mertz]

I use pen and paper in the beginning and, soon after, transition material into a word document. I make an over all calendar for the year and then create separate documents for each subject, with lessons laid out, links, and supplemental materials listed. Mind you, I might not use all the materials I've listed for a lesson, but they're there if I need more material.

 

Each week, I put the lessons into Homeschool Tracker (HST). I then print two copies of each day's lessons (one for DS and one for me), record how much time was spent on each, and can easily enter a grade if needed. Each evening, I take a look at what notes I may have scribbled on the paper and adjust things as needed. Often the notes I scribble to myself are reminders of what needs more work or brilliant ideas that occurred to me in the middle of the day.

 

Because I have word documents already for each subject, all I have to do is copy and paste the assignment into HST.

[Critterfixer]

Sticking to good old graph paper and my trusty mechanical pencil this year.

[happypamama]

I use OneNote myself.  I've used Excel spreadsheets and Word lists before, plus the HomeschoolHelper app, and I like OneNote better than any of them.

 

I use a master template for each week, one list for each day for each child, plus a list for group subjects for each day, and I copy it for each week, leaving out the list for any day where we have off.  I add any specifics like math lesson numbers to the template as well.  That way, it's easy for me to keep track of where they are and what I need to check.

 

I'm spending the spring getting each subject to "do the next thing."  Some, like DuoLingo, are pretty obvious.  Saxon Math is obvious, but I printed a list of the lessons and the tests that go after each set of lessons, and I will put that in DD's spiral notebook.  (I've used single notebooks for single subjects in the past, but I kind of like the idea of having one notebook per child for all handwritten stuff.  I'm going to broach that to the children.)  Other subjects require more detailed notes, so they get their own tabs.

 

I have planned a year's worth of lessons, but I haven't assigned a day to them.  There may be days when a subject just doesn't get done, so I only plan a week or so in advance, in specifics.  Over the weekends, I look at the upcoming week and note which days would be good for a science project, or I adjust things that didn't get finished the previous week.  It all evens out in the end.

 

With high school coming up in a year, I think I need to make separate lists where I keep track of time spent on each subject, but I think that'll be relatively easy.

 

Almost everything is ready for next year, since I've been working off and on since February.  I'm down to the little details now, mostly.

[paceofnature]

Another OneNote user here. I like to plan out the year by subject in one notebook and then add assignments to the kid's notebooks on the weekend. They are then able to access it from their computer. This gives me the flexibility that I need, but all the thinking and planning has been done already ;)

[Butter]

After going through many, many ways I have settled on a plain old Word document and then copying it into my bullet journal each quarter.

[SkateLeft]

I use OneNote, Word and Excel. I usually make my syllabi in Word and import them to OneNote. I have a planning notebook in OneNote and individual notebooks for each kid.

 

My gradebooks are done in Excel. I have Excel workbooks for each semester, with worksheets set up for each course.

[FairProspects]

HST+. I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use to layout the online classes & activities to make sure everything is reasonable and actually fits with travel time, and then schoolwork gets entered into HST+ along with classes & activities to print out weekly checklists for each kid. I do throw in additional things like documentaries, field trips, etc. that come up too - I just change sequence numbers, enter it into HST+, and assign it.

[maize]

I'm doing most of my planning with Homeschool Planet.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I have excel spreadsheets and word docs.  I have an excel spreadsheet for daily plans/as-builts, which has upcoming lessons laid out for a few weeks ahead and gets updated with what we actually do.  Things like camps, vacations, practices, etc. go on here too, so it helps me keep a big-picture view in mind and keep track of where we are vs. where I want to be.  And to see what I need to put on hold at the library, print, download, etc. for the coming weeks.  This is the work-in-progress planning tool that gets touched every day.

 

 And then for next year, I have planning spreadsheets for each of the subjects where I need to plan ahead and coordinate resources - so one for science, one for history/lit so far.  I do make tentative syllabi in word docs, and for 7th I made a master syllabus.  But when I'm linking up items from multiple resources, I really like an excel spreadsheet.

[73349]

I would especially love if someone could do the planning for me and hand me the completed doc!. Does that exist?

***How come no one here has put together a business like that hive??

 

I would seriously enjoy doing that for a living--I'd even ProClick things together--but I don't think I can do it fast enough for most people to be willing and able to pay what would equal a fair hourly rate.

 

 

My Google Sheet planbook with a printed weekly list has been working out well for me this year. For next year, the printed list will be simplified a bit, but otherwise I'll keep things the same.

[MinivanMom]

I do all my planning on Excel spreadsheets.

[Aurelia]

I use a Word doc and write general plans for each week (read X chapter in this history book, complete lesson X in that science program). I don't list math or English because skill subjects rarely go in sync with content things. Sometimes I plan for 8 weeks of a thing (neurology) and others may take 45 (SOTW4). DD also isn't fully synchronous with her skills, so sometimes one will seem to be dragging and then accelerate and I'll have to adjust my resources accordingly (or just buy new stuff because the old is basically useless). 

[MotherGoose]

I will have 4th and 1st, and am expecting a baby in October. Last year I did the 36 week file folder thing and that worked well. I also did "do the next thing" after I abandoned some of those plans. This year I REALLY NEED TO NOT tamper with plans after they've been done. So I'm going to need to figure out what I'm going to do, and stick to it. I'm looking to do daily planning, writing out plans, in something that I can also give to 4th grader to read without having to write out daily assignments. I NEED her to be pretty independent :)

[Another Lynn]

Excel and paper.  Paper when I'm weighing pros and cons.  Excel when I want to see how things look together, or show a sample week, etc. 

[AmyontheFarm]

I plan in Excel

 

The kids get their OneNote binder link with all of their subjects listed across the top.  When they click the subject on top it is broken down into either 90 days for a semester or 36 weeks or 180 days depending on the subject. 

[TeaCookiesBears]

My ideas are all over the place but here is how it goes every year.

 

*I start off by gathering my ideas for the up coming school year from Evernote and my planning notebook.

*Then I use good old pen and paper to write a rough draft of subjects and resources I plan to use that year.

*I am not really good at planning ahead I am more of a do the next thing type so, I go though each resource and create a general outline of how many lessons to complete daily/weekly to stay on track.

*Once I am sure everything is the way I want I enter the info in hst+, type the docs, and then print and place them in each dds portfolio.

*Since my oldest dd is in high school I also type out course descriptions for Homeschool tracker for transcripts.

 

ETA:

I use to do everything by paper and pen using the homeschool planning sheets by Donna Young's website in the beginning and rarely used hst+ because of the learning curve.

[Doodlebug]

This next year, I'm going to try out the folder system, planning 36 weeks of work. And I'll probably start this process with slips of paper that I can write subject on and spread across the table in our weekly format.   

 

I will keep our content schedule and book lists in one-note ... I find One Note most effective for our errand running because the list is never left behind.

 

 

[Halcyon]

I did actually set up One Note at some point. I was just perusing it--can it be accessed by the kids on their ipads?

[Openhearted]

 

Listening in as I only have One Note and may try to utilize it more next year, would like to hear what others find helpful.

Me too! I would love to figure out Onenote. I have a laptop. It is extremely slow. I mostly use the Kindle Fire. Any tips? Tutorials?

[Halcyon]

okay just figured out that kids can log in as me on OneNote on their ipads and see their assignments. Sweet!

[Halcyon]

Here's a mega thread from last year: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/475290-how-did-i-just-find-out-about-this-great-planning-software-one-note/

[Holly]

I'll be using this planner: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/019784

I've never seen one laid out like this...there is one long column of lines for each day.  I think it will be great for keeping track of all our readings and should be enough space to keep track of where each kid is in their books.  I'm going to order the older three kids their own planners for the coming year...I want them to work a bit more independently. 

 

I'm currently working on a weekly plan...I like to plan out the year on a weekly basis, but fill out the daily planner either just before that week starts or as we are completing that actual day.  For my weekly plans, I usually make a large table on MS Word.

[ondreeuh]

I used HST+ in the past, but it was such a pain to modify the schedule once it was set.

 

We started using Homeschool Skedtrack last quarter and I LOOOOOOVE it. All of the work for one subject is entered on one line (much easier than HST+ where you have to line up sequence numbers). I enter hyperlinks for things like CNN Student News, math videos, history websites, etc. You can even set it so subjects only appear on certain days. You can make the lessons editable if you want - so you can schedule something like "free reading" and then the kid types in what they read. When the kid logs in, they see their tasks for the day. They check them off as they're done, and the next day the next lessons appear. If they skip a lesson, it appears on the schedule the next day, so you don't have to manually reschedule anything. It can keep track of days and/or hours for attendance purposes. I even love the fact that it's web-based, so I can keep it open in a tab and don't have to open a separate program. It's easy to switch between students. It's even easy to generate a report of the work done per subject (with dates).

[Halcyon]

Okay, now I have to look at Skedtrack LOL...

[sdobis]

I'm a pencil and paper gal. Each kid has a notebook where I write their daily assignments and chores. I spend time in the beginning of the year to figure out what needs to be done each day, but I certainly don't write down a year's worth of assignments. I've learned my lesson that that never works. When I have a subject that I have to actually plan out, I only do about a month at a time. I make sure I have the books and supplies and figure out what I need to do each day. I do my personal note taking on Evernote. That way I can see it on all of my devices. 

[Coco_Clark]

I do my giant year-long, every subject, every kid plan on an excel sheet during the spring.  Finishing it up this month, in fact.  Then in September I'll print it out, and every few weeks transfer what's next into my paper planner.

[Arcadia]

okay just figured out that kids can log in as me on OneNote on their ipads and see their assignments. Sweet!

It would also give your kids access to your hotmail/outlook and OneDrive on their iPads.

 

What I did was do a share to my hubby's hotmail account so he can see and edit from his own account for things we collaborate on.  My kids assignments are written into their planners.

 

I don't usually plan ahead. What I did was to key in the items to be completed into excel, then key in the date completed in the next column. That way I could see how much is left to be done.

[happypamama]

okay just figured out that kids can log in as me on OneNote on their ipads and see their assignments. Sweet!

You can set it up two ways. One, you can just set up your OneNote account on multiple devices. That's what I did -- it's on my desktop, my tablet, the kids' tablet, and DH's desktop -- and I prefer it that way. The other way is to set up accounts for other people and then share specific notebooks with them. I don't like that as much, because if DD checks something off under her account, it'll show her initials next to the item on my account, and it'll highlight it. I see why that would be useful for people collaborating on group projects, but I found it too cluttered. So I uninstalled OneNote on the kids' tablet and reinstalled it with my account.

[meena]

I use OneNote. I have made a lot of changes in how I use it but this is the latest iteration:

 

I make the master plan in a notebook I've titled "School" with tabs for each subject. I try to plan out at least 6 weeks, if not more, at a time. Then each week I copy the assignment checklists for that week into individual notebooks for each child. I use the "share" feature to create a website link to each of their notebooks and then bookmark those sites. That way they don't have to be logged in to see/check off their work and they can't access my other notebooks. I don't want them getting into my School notebook and accidentally deleting or changing all my plans!

 

One great benefit to OneNote is that I can attach files directly into their assignment checklists. For example, I assign SOTW reading and attach the accompanying audio files right into the list. They can see the assignment, click it to open, listen/read along, and then check it off when they're finished. I've also inserted links to documents stored in the cloud. That's really helped streamline and make school more portable.

[EmseB]

We are doing MP next year, so I'm using their lovely, simple lesson plans for day-to-day. I also have Homeschool Planet for me to track resources we need each week, add in extras, and schedule our year, but I start all my ideas on scratch paper in front of the computer.

 

And I think I'm getting one of these for each of my boys next year.  I started using Sarah McKenzie's notebook method from her blog post for my oldest about a month ago and he loves it, and I love making it.  And after a month, I love looking back through the pages and seeing what we've accomplished.  The log books would just be something special that they would like to use instead of a spiral notebook.  It would be an unnecessary splurge, so I may not do it.

 

So, yeah, I like planning and planners of all forms it seems!

[TarynB]

if DD checks something off under her account, it'll show her initials next to the item on my account, and it'll highlight it. I see why that would be useful for people collaborating on group projects, but I found it too cluttered.

OneNote does that by default, but there's also an option to turn off that feature in the settings.

[FO4UR]

I'm a paper planner.  I made these for my kids.

 

I have word documents with my Master Plan. I make sure that it's doable, cohesive, and complete before I begin. I will list assignments in the subject planner pages in ink.  I will sit down with each child to make a weekly routine with them and then they will fill out the daily plans on Sunday afternoons. At the end of the week, they can go through and check off the assignments completed on the subject planner pages before planning out the days for the next week.

 

We are moving towards more independence, more responsibility from the kids....less pushing from me, more discussion with me.

 

 

I have tried HST and HST+, and I've tried the online planner with the homeschool buyers co-op....I've tried a few others.  For some reason, they make me twitchy!  I feel in control of the paper/pen...I feel like I'm drowning and behind with electronic planners.  I don't like seeing all the un-checked assignments pop up in my face.  I have issues...

[Saddlemomma]

We use OneNote and it syncs between my laptop, DS's laptop, and his iPad. (We could also use it on our iPhones if we wanted to.) I plan a week at a time with a separate tab for each week. DS checks things off as he completes them and I can see it instantly. I include hyperlinks to supplements, links to videos, "printouts" of webpages and PDFs, scans DS's completed hard copy work, etc. Very easy to set up and adjust things between weeks. I've been using OneNote for almost 3 years now and I love having everything in one place (plus I back it up in a second location). DS likes being able to see the plan for the week on his own devices and working independently for some things. And if I ever need a hardcopy, I simply print what I need from within OneNote.

 

ETA - Previously I used Excel (was a spreadsheet guru in previous life) and EverNote (dumped it). I really like OneNote though.

 

This is exactly what I do too.

[Halcyon]

I am getting excited to plan. I have decided DS9 will begin Henle this year, and DS12 will begin Wheelocks, so I will be in planning heaven LOL.

[happypamama]

OneNote does that by default, but there's also an option to turn off that feature in the settings.

Oooh! I would rather do it that way. I looked and looked and did not see that in the settings, though. I must have missed it. Will go look again.

 

Halcyon, which printing of Henle are you using? I have been extremely unimpressed at how Henle looks. The small print is going to be a big problem. I was looking at the small fat book version of Henle that the CC people use, and it really didn't look user friendly. This may not matter to everyone, but it will matter to my daughter; those things will be instant turn offs. So I'm still deciding.

[rutheart]

In the summer, I plan a Word document for each subject for each kid, so I can edit and switch topics around to be more complementary (i.e. pig art project when we study farms in science). When I've finished planning/coordinating all the subjects, I print each subject out in a different color paper (so you can quickly find the instructions for a science experiment or an elaborate art project). I cut apart each week and file it into a weekly file folder (my file cabinet has hanging file folders for weeks 1-36 with a different color folder for each child).

 

For example, my 4th grader's science for this week looks like:

"Science 4 Week 33 -Crystals and Nanotech

Read F102-103 and discuss tools, heat, light, sound, and forces in Minecraft; do experiment on MB p104

Read M68-71

Read M72-75

Make sugar crystals

Read M76-78"

 

(F, M, and MB refer to different books)

 

Each school week, I look at my schedule and arrange the subjects so we don't get overextended on any particular day. I have too many activities that are on every other week to be able to stick to a weekly schedule. In the science example, if we were going somewhere today, I'd move the experiment to another day. By separating the planning of WHAT we do from WHEN we do it, I avoid a lot of erasing and keep the weekly planning to a minimum.

 

This method of planning worked so well this year that we are only one week behind schedule, and that was only because I had 2 major surgeries in February.

Ruth

[Halcyon]

Oooh! I would rather do it that way. I looked and looked and did not see that in the settings, though. I must have missed it. Will go look again.

 

Halcyon, which printing of Henle are you using? I have been extremely unimpressed at how Henle looks. The small print is going to be a big problem. I was looking at the small fat book version of Henle that the CC people use, and it really didn't look user friendly. This may not matter to everyone, but it will matter to my daughter; those things will be instant turn offs. So I'm still deciding.

 

 

I dont know if there are different printings of Henle--they're all pretty tiny in terms of font LOL. Yes, it doesn't look very good, and that's a consideration for sure. But my older managed it fine and younger will too, although inevitably with more griping than older, as is his wont......;)

[happypamama]

I dont know if there are different printings of Henle--they're all pretty tiny in terms of font LOL. Yes, it doesn't look very good, and that's a consideration for sure. But my older managed it fine and younger will too, although inevitably with more griping than older, as is his wont......;)

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. Latin is DD's favorite subject, so I am really reluctant to make it unpleasant for her. I think this is one case where I'm just going to have to decide to go with something else, no matter how great Henle is. I haven't looked much at Wheelock yet. I liked the looks of Latin Alive (very clean looking and visually appealing), and their site says they are much like Wheelock, but I haven't quite looked at them much. Thanks for weighing in!

[mom31257]

I've tried some online planners and don't really like them. I prefer pen and paper. I plan out a tentative whole year in the summer using blank excel sheets with blocks for the subjects and weeks of our year. I list the chapter, lesson numbers, unit, etc., to be covered during each week. 

 

This year, I gave ds a list weekly and discussed each day what had to be done. Next year, it's just going to be me and him, so I'm thinking I might have him do more of the weekly planning. 

 

 

[Another Lynn]

Oooh! I would rather do it that way. I looked and looked and did not see that in the settings, though. I must have missed it. Will go look again.

 

Halcyon, which printing of Henle are you using? I have been extremely unimpressed at how Henle looks. The small print is going to be a big problem. I was looking at the small fat book version of Henle that the CC people use, and it really didn't look user friendly. This may not matter to everyone, but it will matter to my daughter; those things will be instant turn offs. So I'm still deciding.

 

This won't help the font issue, but it is so much easier to use if you have the binding cut and spiral bind it.  At least then it will lay flat.

[melmichigan]

I'm a pencil and paper type of person too.  I tried Scholaric and Homeschool Planet, but found them to be more work.  I've also learned that I can loosely plan the year, but do weekly lesson plans so that I can shift things as needed.  This year I moved to detailed individual children's planners, and two Plum Paper Planners for myself.  One is the regular planner listing appointments, to do lists, and online commitments.  The second is the family planner personalized with each child's name, with two additional sections are for our combined subjects.  It has become my lesson planner.  

[Maela]

OneNote.  Next year will be our fourth year.  I've tried Scholaric, Homeschool Helper, and Word documents.  Oh, and a basic teacher's planner.

 

I only plan 6-7 weeks at a time though, and I'm not going to be planning the first Learning Period of 2015-16 until the beginning of August.  I've learned that planning way ahead of time (for me, anyway) doesn't work.

 

Also, we work best as a back-to-basics family.  I discovered that early this school year, and it's made things so much simpler.  So there isn't much to plan.  There's more work for me to do after each week and after each Learning period is over.  

 

Before each Learning Period:

 

1.  I estimate how many/print out Math Mammoth pages, estimate/tear out Explode the Code pages, etc.  I put them in a file folder for whichever week of the Learning Period we plan on using them.  

 

2.  I create a page in OneNote for each week (there's a tab for each Learning Period).  

 

3.  I create a new blank Reading List for that LP so I can keep track of all the read alouds, independent reading, and audiobooks and which subjects they might cover.  I look at my master book list to see which books would be good to read for that LP and kind of try to plan out when they'll be read.  Reading is a huge part of our homeschool, so this step is important.

 

Before each week:

 

1.  I put the papers from that week's file folder into the kids' school boxes, along with their current independent reading book.  

 

2.  I fill out their My Student Log Books with lesson/page numbers so that they can check things off every day.  

 

At the end of the week:

 

1.  I take a picture of the Log Book page and insert it into the OneNote page I had made for that week.  

 

2.  I add what we did for Memory Work, what we read, and which Duolingo lessons we covered to the OneNote page.

 

3.  I take any work that I want to save as samples for our education coordinator and put it in my Work Samples file folder for that Learning Period.

 

At the end of each Learning Period:

 

1.  I go through the work samples file folder and make sure I have a good representation of what we did.  

 

2.  I print out the Reading List.

[Halcyon]

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. Latin is DD's favorite subject, so I am really reluctant to make it unpleasant for her. I think this is one case where I'm just going to have to decide to go with something else, no matter how great Henle is. I haven't looked much at Wheelock yet. I liked the looks of Latin Alive (very clean looking and visually appealing), and their site says they are much like Wheelock, but I haven't quite looked at them much. Thanks for weighing in!

 

 

Just as a heads up, some wonderful WTM-er converted the exercises in Henle to a pdf for readability and I happened to find it buried in my dropbox. Here's the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pr9a4s91bie4kc0/henle-latin-1-textbook-latin-to-english-exercises1.pdf?dl=0

[happypamama]

Just as a heads up, some wonderful WTM-er converted the exercises in Henle to a pdf for readability and I happened to find it buried in my dropbox. Here's the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pr9a4s91bie4kc0/henle-latin-1-textbook-latin-to-english-exercises1.pdf?dl=0

You are awesome -- thank you!

[jar7709]

I'm weird. I do my big-picture planning (goals, topics to cover, spines) in a mind mapping program (my favorite is MindMeister). From there I just plan one week at a time, pulling out resources we need each Sunday and keeping track of each day's to-do list modified bullet journal style. Then every month or so I go back to the mind map, check things off and revise as needed. At the end of the year I export the mind map to word or excel and print it out and stick it in the file. This has been the only method that has worked for me long term.