Five Tips For A Good Beginning

Many homeschool families school year-round, and many follow a calendar similar to their neighborhood schools.

Those who take a summer break probably have or are gearing up to start a brand-new year.  Here are some ideas for a positive  beginning:

1)  Be excited, and let your enthusiasm show.  Attitudes are contagious, so be sure your children are catching all of your good feelings.  Marketing is very important!

2)  Prepare several weeks of materials ahead of time.  My family uses a packaged curriculum, so a great deal of the organization is done for me.  I typically use Sunday afternoons as my preparation day, but when we first begin I like to have looked over and gathered the enrichment materials for the next month or so.  This allows me to focus on the children rather than the material.

3)  Do something fun or unusual during your first few weeks.  While everyone is readjusting to your routine, add some favorite activities (or some new ones!) to keep everyone feeling excited.  In our first few weeks, my oldest son started band classes at our local public school, I took the children on a 'book scavenger hunt' at our library, and we went with cousins on a field trip.

4)  Talk about what everyone is learning.  My children love to talk. Period.  I encourage them to tell others (like their father, other family members, friends and interested adults) about what they are studying.  It helps with their retention, make them feel proud of their work, and can be a great tool to show individuals without exposure how effective homeschooling is.  Discussing what they are learning with you helps them practice for whenever those opportunities arrive.

5)  Take it easy.  Don't try to get everything done.  Freeze some meals ahead of time or plan on grilled cheese and soup for supper.  Watch your children instead of your curriculum.  It is your prerogative to avoid the pressure and stress that children face in institutional schools so take advantage of it.


And don't forget to take a few pictures!  Best wishes on your new year from all of us here at Growing Your Homeschool.

Creating a Homeschool Space

When we first started homeschooling, we lived in a house with less than one thousand square foot living area. We were very limited on space.  Our homeschool area consisted of a shelving system, our dining room table, and the living room sofa.  That was all we needed.

Fast forward eight years, and now we live in a house more than twice that size with a designated room for homeschooling.  It is a blessing.  However, you might be surprised to know, I don't think it is essential for homeschooling.  No, indeed, I know you don't really need a specific homeschool room to successfully teach your children.  And, you definitely don't need the cutest, most current organizational methods and devices which 'guarentee success.'  For I have witnessed many families homeschool with so much less, and dare I say it, perhaps have done a better job than those with so much more. 

The truth of the matter is...

To homeschool, you only need a few things in regard to physical space. 

Perhaps your homeschool area is a designated room or part of a room.  Maybe you see your whole house as a homeschool setting.  Or, for your family, the world is your classroom.  Regardless of your situation, you still have a need for a physical space for homeschool supplies, books, and important papers.

Three Essentials for a Homeschool Space, Area, or Room...

• Shelves or Storage Area - I think we can all agree that some kind of housing or location for all your books and supplies is needed.  Whether you store them all in one room or throughout your house in convenient point of use locations, this is one way to personalize homeschooling.
• Place to Work - Depending on your homeschool style and preferences, this place to work could be a desk, table and chairs, clipboards, sofa, or bean bag chairs.
• Box, Drawer, or Binder - Important papers like state regulations, lesson plans, attendance records need to be kept in an easy to find location.  You may never need to prove your child's homeschooling experiences, but having the documents in a secure, easy to find location, can be a benefit if you do.

Four Things to Remember When Creating a Homeschool Space...

• Organize your space to respond to the needs of your family.  Don't try to copy someone else's space.  Try any organization method you think will work for your family, but don't keep using it just because someone else recommends it.  If it doesn't work for your family, try something else.
• Remember why and how you homeschool.  These two factors will greatly determine how you set up your homeschool area.
• Your homeschool space can contribute to the success of your homeschool, but it does not determine it.  It can be wonderful to create an organized space or room of beauty and comfort to use for homeschooling.  It is a blessing to give our children {and ourselves} this, if we are able.  However, many homeschool families successfully homeschool with less.  The latest organizational gadgets or the biggest homeschool rooms do not guarantee homeschool success.
• What works this year, may not next year.  Homeschool situations change.  Circumstances, the number of children you homeschool, or the way you homeschool may change over time.  Your space might need to be altered to accommodate these changes.

Five Fun Extra Items to Consider Adding to Any Homeschool Space...

• Color and Patterns - Make your space a little more personal and fun with color and/or patterns.
• Containers - All sizes and shapes can help organize almost any homeschool area.
• Pictures, Posters, and Children's Art Work - Decorate your area with visual aids, pretty pictures, or original works of art.
• Animals and Plants - Live plants and animals can add vitality to an area.  Most children are fascinated with observing living things. 
• Unexpected Items - Just because a space is designated for homeschooling, doesn't mean everything in it has to be functional. Some items may be included for fun or beauty. 

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Dorie enjoys being outside, photography, art, writing, a strong cup of coffee, and good conversations seasoned with much laughter. She and her drummer husband, Jerry, share a life built on faith in Jesus, love, and grace. They have been blessed with four active children. Each day, whether easy or trying, is a wondrous part of this grace filled journey, and Dorie blogs about them all at These Grace Filled Days. Their homeschooling adventures can be found at Homeschooling Just Next Door.

Our Favorite Homeschool Tools 2012

Happy New Year! For my first post of 2012, I want to share with you the items we have discovered (or rediscovered) as homeschool essentials for our family this year.

1. Apps

My oldest son and I both moved into the world of smarter MP3s or cell phones this holiday season. We are already making use of them to look up unknown words with dictionary apps, find places with map apps, and make lists with note apps.

2. Sharpie Liquid Pencil

I do lots of different things to encourage writing in my dysgraphic son. Special writing items really help him to feel excited about writing. We discovered this product (thank you, Santa) is perfect as it allows him to erase as he is working, never breaks (he presses hard) and becomes permanent the next day.

3. Dry Erase Slate

My daughter is on the invisible thresh hold of truly "getting" reading and writing. She enjoys all work encompassing those subjects, but for some reason this tool has been like magic to her. She loves to write and erase, write and erase, write and erase. If I lived in a state with more stringent record keeping requirements, I would take pictures of her work before she erased it. As it is, I just mark her work as done in my lesson plans, and write on her work book "completed on dry erase slate."

4. Dedicated School Storage

You have heard me talk about this before, and I'm sure I will talk about it again - but it still bears repeating. Organize your materials ahead of time. Have a space devoted only to storing school items. In our case, it is an ugly old set of particle-board shelves I bought at a school garage sale. It's indispensable! I have a section for each child to keep their 'everyday' items like pencils, math books and journals. I have a section where I keep items I use every day like my lesson plans, the books we are reading that week, paper and flashcards. I have a section for books we have finished and books we have yet to come to. It saves me so much time and heartache!

5. Binders

How did I ever homeschool without binders?! I don't know either. I have a binder that contains the entire year's lesson plans, a binder containing enrichment materials, a binder for the appendix that came with my curriculum, and my own week-long binder. Each week, I move what I need for the five school days into it. This includes lesson plans for our core (shared) work, lesson plans for each child's language arts and reading, phonics materials for my first grader, and any seasonal coloring pages or enrichment activities. I separate each of these areas with tabbed, pocketed 3-ring dividers. I place uncompleted work (like spelling lists or coloring pages) on one side of the pocket, and completed work in the other. I also keep stickers for the kids' papers, a zippered pencil case for myself, and inspirational items there (this prayer card is my favorite).

What wonderful items have been a boon to your family in homeschooling this year?

Organizing Our Homes

Welcome to our Homeschool Holiday Open House!

This week we are discussing some of the most frequently asked questions of homeschoolers. So far several ladies have shared how they schedule and manage their days. Today, Sam, Ralene, and I are discussing how we organize our homes. And, of course, we'd love for you to join the discussion.

Sam:
I have a separate space for homeschooling-so that helps.  Everything school related lives upstairs and the main living area and my bedroom are on the first floor.  I am pretty organize-driven.  I love to purge and clear out things.  I also love to find new storage solutions for the things I do keep.  We use all the vertical space we can, and purge often.

We have an evening rule that the main downstairs rooms be cleaned up by 8:00 family time in the evening, the last clean of the day, but we try to stay on top of things throughout the day as well. The vacuum is run again at 8:00.  I like waking up to a clean house!

Ralene:

"The biggest thing that changed in our house is that we set aside a large chunk of the office as the homeschool area. We found a neat table that wasn't full size, but not like tiny-tot size either. My husband sanded and refinished it, and that's what we use to work at. I have a shelf that has our daily curriculum and work boxes on it. Then two book cases full of art supplies, books, workbooks, and lots of resources. We don't have a lot of wall space, in that room, so I bought an easel to hold a large white board, and on the back of the white board, I glued a world map. We did have just enough room to put up a calendar on the wall. 

Around the rest of the house, we've made little changes. The kids have a chore chart on the wall in the hallway. In the living room, there's some art supplies and books for them to look at/play with in their free time. In the living room, there's also a computer that we bought mainly just for homeschool and household purposes. It has learning games and internet access. The girls are still at that age, for me, where they don't use it without me, but it's still another tool that we can use.

Cleaning/organization-wise, I know a lot of homeschool moms (including myself) have a hard time keeping the house together. Very rarely will someone show up (especially without notice) and see a tidy home. However, I have developed my own system to keep things from getting too out of hand. It started with Flylady.net, and then I had to make my own tweaks. So, every room gets attention at least once a week (major traffic places like living room get twice a week)."

Dorie
"We have a separate room designated for homeschooling.  However, we didn't start out that way.  When we first started homeschooling, we lived in a tiny house.  Our school books were stored on a shelf and I taught our preschooler at the same table we had meals. 

Later we moved to a larger home.  Once we purposed a room for our homeschooling, we arranged the space and brought in a few organizing tools.  We have multiple shelving units, with a variety of drawer and shelf options.  Learning games, puzzles, globes, maps, reference materials, and books fill our shelves.  We brought in a desk for me and one for the children's computer.  We also set up tables for the children to use.  A free standing chalk board and white board are used daily.  The electric drums and keyboard are in one corner, and art supplies are stored in another area of the room.

Despite a designated room, other rooms in our home are used regularly for school lessons, as well.  With a sink and stove top readily available, the kitchen is our main area for science experiments.  Each of the children's rooms has book shelves, and our living room and family room have baskets of books. 

For the most part, the children are free to move about the house as desired throughout the day.  Sometimes, they bring their bean bag chairs down from their bedrooms, and cozy up with a good book in the living room.  Other times, in warmer weather, they may head outside with a blanket and work under the clear blue sky.

To keep a full house clean is challenging.  Adding homeschooling to the day, and a clean house seems impossible.  For us, we maintain a clean house by following a routine and using a children's chore chart.  Daily, we strive to have all items in the downstairs rooms put away before dinner.  For our homeschool room, we typically clean it on Fridays so it is ready for Monday morning."

How do you organize your home now that you are homeschooling?
Are your rooms allocated differently? 
Are you keeping supplies in one area or all through the house?
Do you have a favorite organizational tool?
{By commenting, you are automatically entered in today's giveaway.}

Today's giveaway:

A Preschool Pack of
Transportation Counting Cards
(numbers 1-10)

~ created by Marla

This giveaway is open to all residents of the USA
and ends Saturday, December 31 at 11:59 PM EST,

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.

Winner will be announced on Monday, January 2, 2012.

Schedules, Planning, and Managing Our Time

Welcome to our Homeschool Holiday Open House! 

This week, we are opening up a little bit more
about the details of our individual homeschools. 
We'll talk about how we organize our homes, manage our days,
tackle technology, and still find time for ourselves!
No, we certainly aren't superwomen,
but are simply sharing what works,
or doesn't work, for us in our homeschools. 
We hope you find encouragement in these posts,
and invite you to join the discussions

and enter the giveaways. 

When homeschool moms get together, several topics always surface.  One I've asked and been asked often is 'how do you plan your time to include all the tasks of life plus homeschool?'  Sometimes this question is worded slightly differently, but the intent remains.  Most people want to know how homeschoolers plan their days.

When asked, Aurie, Jessica, and Tracy responded with
planning techniques and schedules that work for them.

Aurie:

"I use a schedule that has some flexibility, but for the most part stays the same.  The girls get up, are dressed, have breakfast and play by 9am. {while they are playing I get the breakfast dishes washed and do any lunch or dinner prep}  Sophie starts school at 9am, with Bella still playing in the other room.  We break for snack time at 10:00am, and then Bella comes in to color while we finish up.  Lunch is at 11:30am, and the girls are down for naps/quiet time from 12:00-3:00pm.  Since Sophie is preschool, we don't generally do school in the afternoons.  We'll work on some crafts, some fine motor skills, or go outside and run around.

What really makes this schedule work is me getting up an hour before the girls do in the morning.  I have my quiet time, jump online to check email, blog posts & twitter and then get ready to start my day while the girls are still asleep.  This change has really helped to keep me on track!"

Jessica:

"I do my scheduling in small, adjustable blocks.  Our school year is 36 weeks long, usually beginning in early August and ending in late April.  (State requirements would come into play for homeschooling families here; my state requires a similar number of days and the same required subjects as public school.)

Next, I plan a month at a time.  Each month offers an opportunity for me to tweak the scheduled extracurriculars my children participate in.  My oldest son is in band at the public school, which has an already set schedule, but most of the other lessons and sports are scheduled on a monthly basis.

Each Sunday, I catch up on bookwork for our Farm and plan for the week ahead.  I have a school binder where I keep all our plans and papers for the week.  Each child has a section of the folder where I keep their work yet to be done, and a pocket where I keep their finished papers.  I check off items in the lessons plans as we complete them.  At the end of the week, I remove all the papers and file them (I also keep an item or two that is an example of their best work separate, which we then display at our end-of-the-school-year party) and place next week lesson plans into the binder.  I front-load our week, with most of our activities and heavy academic work Monday through Thursday.  This way, Friday is a short academic day with more time for whatever we need that week (catching up around the house, meeting friends, going on a field trip, decorating for Christmas).

Each evening, I set out all the assignments and materials for the next day at their places.  I also set out my own supplies, the read aloud books we are working from, maps and tools.  I like to set out craft items or coloring supplies as well, if we are going to have a lot of 'listening only' activities the next day.  I also like to set up a CD to play the geography songs, memory verse songs or math facts songs we work on.

I also use the evenings to look ahead at what activities are the next day, and pack the items we need to take along with us.  I also think about (and if I have time, prep ahead a bit) what we are eating the next day.

The most important part of my planning is flexibility.  If we are behind on an assignment, or something comes up, or someone is feeling poorly, or a friend needs our help, we can adjust what we are doing.  School can start earlier and end later (in a day or in the year!), we may push some work back to the end of the week, or we may work ahead if we know things will be busy the next day.  Having a general outline and being able to change it each day is one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling for my family."

Tracy:

"We typically have a very structured homeschool day.  I plan exactly what we will do, and because my children are small, I allow for about 15 minutes per activity.  We use hanging file pockets to organize the activities.  Each pocket will include the worksheet, reading book, or other activity, along with all of the necessary tools to accomplish the task (scissors, crayons, pencil, etc.) I set a timer, and we work our way through the pockets one at a time. Sticking with a strict schedule has taught the kids to work hard even on tasks they don't prefer, because they realize it's only a short amount of time before the next activity.

However, I have had to organize differently this year since becoming pregnant.  For instance, I have become very flexible with our start time, often starting our school day close to 10 or 10:30.  And when I do have a rough day, we work only through the essentials and skip our opening pledge and calendar activities.  It's really forced me to evaluate what my priorities are for each day, what must get done, and what can wait for another day.  It truly is amazing how flexible you can be, even with a structured school schedule!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Every homeschool operates on a slightly different schedule or routine.
We'd love to hear how you organize your days to teach your children,
clean your home, cook meals, and visit with your neighbor?
{By commenting, you will automatically be entered in today's giveaway.}

Today's giveaway:

Educating the WholeHearted Child

by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson

~courtesy Aurie~

This giveaway is open to all residents of the USA
and ends Saturday, December 31 at 11:59 PM  EST,

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.

Winner will be announced on Monday, January 2, 2012.

Creative Organization

I will admit it. Lately I've become a Pinterest-aholic. I can totally lose myself in the overabundance of ideas and creativity--from food to school to home decor, and so much more. Perusing the site the other day is actually what inspired this post. So, I thought I would share some of the fun ideas for some creative organization, not just for our homeschools, but for our home as well. 

Idea #1: A Chalkboard/Whiteboard Wall

I am so doing this when we get our house. Pick a space on the wall...or the whole wall, and turn it into an all purpose instrument for education and hours of fun. Man, with all the chalkboard ideas I've seen lately, my whole house could be a chalkboard. My other two favorites were the refrigerator door and the coffee table. 

Idea #2: Use Common Items to Separate and Store Art Supplies (and whatever you might find useful)

I keep seeing all these cute decorated sorters. People use soup cans, cheap plastic cups, flower pots, etc to store their crayons, markers, pencils, beads, buttons... You get the picture. I liked the idea I saw where they posted the cans on a painted strip of wood and attached it to the wall above the child's desk.

Idea #3: Creative Jewelry Organizer

Ever since the hanging heart my grandmother made me broke about a year ago, I've been searching for the perfect item to store my jewelry...and I finally found one to make! First, head to the hardware store and pick out a variety of hooks, knobs, and pulls, along with whatever size light-weight board you would like. At home, cover the board with any sort of decorative cloth you like, and then start screwing in the the hooks, knobs, and pulls in a fun arrangement. The knobs are for necklaces, the hooks for necklaces or rings, and the pulls for dangling earrings. Fun, right?

Idea #4: Fun Calendars

Every family needs a schedule, right? Especially busy homeschool families! I've seen a host of different ideas, from the typical wall/refrigerator calendars to large wall calendars. I like the fun ones that tend to be decorative as well as functional. I saw neat idea of buying some cheap picture frames and printing out a page for each day of the week. Then you use whiteboard markers and keep your schedule up for the week in a fun picture pattern. Don't forget the fun of picture/scrapbook calendars.

Idea #5: Flylady Steps

If you've never visited the Flylady site, you need to hop over for some great ideas. Two concepts that have been lifesaving for me: It doesn't have to be perfect (what!?) and you can do anything in 15 mins. One of my favorite exercises to do is to take three boxes into a messy area for TRASH, GIVEAWAY, or KEEP (but it goes in a different room). Then I spend 10 mins cleaning, and use the last 5 mins to put the boxes away. Trash goes out to the trash, Giveaway goes out to the garage, and I put all the stuff in the Keep box back where it belongs. Voila!

What fun tips and tricks do you have to share?

Building a Student Portfolio

"Isn't that something due at the end of the school year?" she hesitantly asks me.

"Yes, it is due at the end of May," I reply, "but I suggest you begin it now.  It is easier to build the portfolio over the course of a year, rather than all at once at year end."

We are sitting together at a long table with several portfolios laid open.  A first meeting between two homeschooling moms.  She embarking on her first year, and I, the one who will review her portfolio and year-end reports. 

She is already nervous and filled with questions.  Gently, I outline a possible procedure.  It is very similar to the one my portfolio leader gave me years ago when we first began homeschooling.  The advice hasn't changed much, withstanding all these years.  She listens intently, as I begin to explain.

Before I share these tips, it is important that I remind each family to check their own state's requirements, as well as the requirements of your local area, umbrella school, or group.  Some states/groups require much more or much less.  You must adhere to their requirements.  However, these basic guidelines can serve to help you create a concise overview of your student's school year.


4 General Guidelines to Building a Portfolio:

1. Create the frame work of your portfolio at the beginning of the school year.  For our family, we purchase a three inch binder for each child for each school year.  Generally, we decorate the exterior the summer before we start the school year.  Inside, I add a title page and create divisions with either tabbed dividers or colored card stock.  The divisions I need to include are based on what is required for our umbrella school and a few extras we like to include.  Our divisions are Year-End Report, Attendance Record, Lesson Plans, Reading List, Academic Work (grouped by subject or unit), Field Trips, Extra Activities, and Special Days and Holidays. 
2. Decide how frequently you want to add to the portfolio.  By making this decision now, you will then routinely add to the portfolio as the year progresses rather than going through a year's worth of student work in May.  My first couple of years, I added papers on a monthly basis. 
3. Determine a criteria for what you want to keep in the portfolio for your family.  This can be difficult to make one rule for all subjects.  Tests aren't always given in every subject.  A few subjects have limited paper work evidence to keep.  For us, the classes in which tests are administered, these get placed in the portfolio.  For subjects without tests, we tend to save a sampling of day to day work.
4. Periodically check that the work placed in the portfolio reflects the student's progress and abilities.  A portfolio doesn't have to be filled with perfect papers or stellar reports.  It should reflect the student's abilities and class work.  Additionally, I check to make sure I am not saving too much of one subject and not enough of another.  For instance, if the once a week music class papers are more plentiful than his daily math class pages, the portfolio is not reflecting his actual school year.

4 FAQs concerning portfolios:

How much of one subject should I place in the portfolio?
This depends on the frequency of the class and the amount and type of work required of the student.  Major subjects like math and English generally require a larger sampling than music and art.  Personally, a guideline I use is one student work sample per week per major subject, and one student work sample per month per minor subject.  This generally works out to 36-40 samples for each major subject and 10-12 samples for each minor subject.

How do I document field trips?
There are several possibilities.  One way is to keep a child's ticket, brochure, or paper activity completed while on the field trip.  Take a few photographs during the field trip of your child engaged in a learning activity, in front of a monument, or something memorable from the trip.  Add these to a summary activity like a narration, worksheet, or extension activity, and place them in your child's portfolio.

What about large projects that don't fit into the portfolio?
Over the past years, we have had many of these projects.  Some we kept alongside of the binder.  For instance, when my son created a spiral bound biology notebook, we simply stored it alongside the portfolio.  However, this is impractical for some projects, like the solar system model.  For this, we took a picture of the child with the project and mounted the photograph to a piece of paper containing a summary paragraph about the project.

How can I personalize the portfolio even further?
One idea is to include personal photographs beyond academic work.  An annual 'school' photograph is a nice addition.  We like to add a few pages of pictures showcasing special days and holidays celebrated during that school year.

Seeds of Wisdom--Paper Organization

It's Friday! That means it's time for another Q&A with our esteemed panel. This week's question:

How do you keep all of your subjects/papers/etc organized? (short answer)

MARLA: I put every activity/game that I create into a file folder. The file folders are sorted into groups (such as "counting to 10" or "Letter A") and put into hanging file folders. Finally, the hanging file folders are placed alphabetically into file boxes (each box labeled with a different subject). In order to keep completed paperwork organized, I put it into dated file folders and store it in a file box. I also photograph some of Abigail's completed work and file it in a special folder on my computer; this saves space in my house because I am then able to recycle the papers. In order to keep my weekly lessons organized, I put the activities/materials for each day into baskets (one basket for each day of the week). Then, I just have to grab the correct basket each morning and we are ready to go. I also keep daily lesson planning notes on the calendar on my phone.


JESSICA: I do things a week at a time. On the weekend, I bring out everything for the next week (our whole school year is planned by the week) and I keep it in my own binder, which is tabbed by child and/or subject. Each day that goes by, I can access what I need from the binder, and I keep a pocketed folder in it for finished work. At the end of the week, I file the completed work under each child's name. 


 I also have a "best of the week" system, where each child's best work goes on display for the following week. Then, when I'm filing, I take the 'best' work and file it in a separate file. At the end of the year, I bring out the 36 'best of the week' projects for each child and have a terrific display for grandparents and visitors to see how much they've progressed over the 36 weeks. When we are finished with the entire school year, I move all the files to a cardboard file box, labeled with the dates and grades. 


 Another tip - I file children's magazines, seasonal books and activities according to month. At the beginning of each month, I put away last month's items and bring out the new things. I lay them out on the coffee table and watch the magic happen. It's taken a few years to find a system I'm happy with (for now), but I made a lot of changes to get here. I am not afraid to change again if I find something I think might work for our family!


SHAMBERLY: We have a book shelf in our living room, and the bottom shelf on it is designated as the kids' school shelf. All of their school books, flash cards, Bible lessons/books, etc... are all on that shelf, so they are accessible, they have a clea...r place that the kids can easily access to bring their school books out as well as learn to put them away in the same place every time. We also have an Arts & Crafts drawer in the kitchen which holds crayons, pencils, stamps, etc... 

I don't really have to organize any lessons/subjects at this point because, except for Bible lessons, we are doing everything out of one book - a 'complete' preschool curriculum.

TRACY: I have my lesson plans in an editable pdf planner. Each week as a part of my prep, I pull any worksheet papers for the week and organize them in sheet protectors by subject and date. So, in one sheet protector, I'll have all my phonics work...sheets with Monday on top. I'll have other sheet protectors for numbers, handwriting, coloring/skills, etc. That way, as I set up our workboxes for the next school day, I can pull the sheets out of my notebook and place them right in the appropriate workbox with all the supplies they will need to complete that worksheet (pencil, crayons, scissors, whatever). And I love our workbox system!

SAM: Every week I file them away in the kid's binders. Each child has a permanent file they will go in at the end of the year, and I am getting crates to keep them organized by year.

BETH: I am just starting so my organizational system is still developing. I organize seasonal activities into file folders in a crate to include any ideas, papers, and books that go along with that particular time of the year. I also store everything in the same place, on a 5-tiered shelf and chest of drawers to keep all materials in the same place for easy access.

NESSA: This will be my first formal go at organizing....I am going to do all of my planning on a homeschool planning app on my Mac (LOVE THIS!) and will be keeping all worksheets, work done, etc in a closet maid filing system, just for school stuff. I am planning on making portfolios at the end of year to showcase all of the work they have done

AURIE: Since this is my first go-round with paper, I have a file for each day of the week with the days work planned out. I'm planning on keeping a monthy folder of all the busy work which will help me record each week/month.


What do you use? 


Also, remember, if you have any questions you'd like us to explore, send an email to raleneburke at yahoo dot com and we'll get you it answered!