Organization - Part 3

One thing I did last year with Daniel that was a raging success and I am continuing this year is making a daily checklist.  It is really great and I recommend it to anyone I know who is struggling with homeschooling.  This is why it works:

• It gives Daniel (and this year, Sierra) a list of what he/she has to do that day.  Instead of me telling him/her what needs to be done, it is right there on a sheet of paper.  It is just less overwhelming for them.
• Daniel/Sierra can look at the list and decide in what order they want to do school.  Sometimes, I will have to say, "no, we need to do that one last", but most of the time, they can choose what they want to do which makes it easier to get them to actually DO what they need to do.  Daniel was far more motivated to do school when it was in his power to choose how it would be done.
• There is a sense of completion.  When he/she gets done with a task, there is a box to be checked off.  Instead of just going from subject to subject, I like the idea of closure...the closing of a book, the putting down of a pencil, the checking off on the list.
• And, much like the sense of completion, there is the visual of seeing the end of school coming closer and closer.  The more checks on the list mean the end of school is quickly coming.  There would be great joy when Daniel would see he has one more task left and than he is free to play.
• The biggest reason of all is accountability.  It is much like getting a syllabus in college.  You know ahead of time what needs to be done.  There is also no such thing as saying "I forgot" or "I meant to".  It is there on the list and if it does not get done, than there are consequences.

I am including a word document that I created that has Sierra's schedule for the month of September.  I include a cute graphic just to personalize it.  I can't recommend this enough.  It makes life so much easier for you and your kids.  

daily_work.doc
File Size:	227 kb
File Type:	doc

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