“Organization isn't about perfection; it's about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money and improving your overall quality of life.”
― Christina Scalise
― Christina Scalise
You can often google organizing your homeschool space and get lots and lots of links from people who claim to be experts in organization and if you googled that and got a link for this page, I must say I am NOT an expert. I am a mom...a homeschooler...a wife...I know what I need to make MY life easier and what I do may or may not work for you. This year, my organization would make my last year's organization want to crawl in a hole and cry. Is it a proven method? I will let you know in a year!! Shoot, I'll let you know in a week (a week after school starts, that is).
Last year, I was praised by so many by my seemingly orderly way of doing school. I would sit down each week and make out a plan for the upcoming week...making checklists for my son to check off on daily so he can see what he has to do as well as take ownership over his schooling. This method worked very well except for a couple things. I would have busy weeks and weekends (oh wait, I am a stay at home mom....I just sit around all day watching soaps....my bad) and would not have time to sit down and figure out what needed to be done the next week. I would say to myself...eh, why not wing it...that's the beauty of homeschool, right? But then the end of school came rapidly closer and I had let a LOT of things go and all of our goals were not accomplished.
So, after really burning out some brain cells, I decided I needed a new game plan. My first thought was to plan a month's work at a time, but I started thinking...what if I plan out a month and I get to April and realize that we have SO MUCH left to do.....or I crammed too much in and frustrated Daniel and I. I decided the best course of action was to conquer a year's lesson plan at once. I would be able to see what my end game looked like and could see where things could be shifted when needed (field trips...vacations). It seemed to me that if I could have the whole year planned, I could concentrate solely on teaching and less on administrative stuff.
And that is just what I did. I sat down, subject by subject and I formulated a plan for each kid. I created my own lesson plan book for each kid and personalized the schedule for the kids.
Here is what my lesson plans, calendars and all things administrative look like:
Last year, I was praised by so many by my seemingly orderly way of doing school. I would sit down each week and make out a plan for the upcoming week...making checklists for my son to check off on daily so he can see what he has to do as well as take ownership over his schooling. This method worked very well except for a couple things. I would have busy weeks and weekends (oh wait, I am a stay at home mom....I just sit around all day watching soaps....my bad) and would not have time to sit down and figure out what needed to be done the next week. I would say to myself...eh, why not wing it...that's the beauty of homeschool, right? But then the end of school came rapidly closer and I had let a LOT of things go and all of our goals were not accomplished.
So, after really burning out some brain cells, I decided I needed a new game plan. My first thought was to plan a month's work at a time, but I started thinking...what if I plan out a month and I get to April and realize that we have SO MUCH left to do.....or I crammed too much in and frustrated Daniel and I. I decided the best course of action was to conquer a year's lesson plan at once. I would be able to see what my end game looked like and could see where things could be shifted when needed (field trips...vacations). It seemed to me that if I could have the whole year planned, I could concentrate solely on teaching and less on administrative stuff.
And that is just what I did. I sat down, subject by subject and I formulated a plan for each kid. I created my own lesson plan book for each kid and personalized the schedule for the kids.
Here is what my lesson plans, calendars and all things administrative look like:
One thing I am doing different this year is binders. I am keeping each subject for each kid seperated by binders. I have also organized each binder with dividers I created on my computer that gives info like chapter titles and subjects to be learned in that chapter. I have put in a schedule for each chapter that lists what dates certain areas will be covered. This is also a check-list of sorts. This is all about accountability both for me and the kids. This allows all of us to see what is coming up...supplies needed... Also, having a binder for each subject allows the kids to get a subject out and done and than put it up and get another one. It is all about closure and moving on. It also keeps things organized...no getting science and history mixed up. In theory, a subject will be taken care of from taking off the shelf to replacing on to the shelf before going on to the next. Also, with the dividers I created, it will make it easier to study topics. Here is some of what that looks like:
They have daily folders. Each week, the folders will be ready for them. In each folder will be a daily checklist of what they need to do that day. The folder will also contain any worksheets or notes that need to be done. On my bookshelf I have a "teacher's inbox" where the folders will be placed upon completion for me to check as well as any work that needs to be checked.
Just about every subject has a binder. I opted to use loose leaf paper for writing and note taking so their papers and/or notes can be easily inserted into the right place (i.e. Sierra's notes on Chapter 1 in America Land I Love will be in the Chapter 1 section of her binder...which will make it easier for her to study for quizzes and tests). Neither have binders for Math or Spelling...they will just use composition books for those subjects.
Tomorrow, I will try to post on how we did our school set-up. I am pretty excited about this system and have high hopes that it will work out well!!
Just about every subject has a binder. I opted to use loose leaf paper for writing and note taking so their papers and/or notes can be easily inserted into the right place (i.e. Sierra's notes on Chapter 1 in America Land I Love will be in the Chapter 1 section of her binder...which will make it easier for her to study for quizzes and tests). Neither have binders for Math or Spelling...they will just use composition books for those subjects.
Tomorrow, I will try to post on how we did our school set-up. I am pretty excited about this system and have high hopes that it will work out well!!
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