Time Management Helps for Homeschool Students

Does your child seem to take forever to finish a day of school?  Does he/she get frustrated looking at a pile of work to be done each morning?  Instead of stacking the books beside or on the table, why not try a few of these organizational helps.

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Are you having a hard time keeping track of the work accomplished each day?  Does your state require you to journal each day, recording specifically what was accomplished when?  Perhaps one of these systems would help you.

1. Folder System or Box System - The work for each subject of the day is divided into separate folders or boxes.  The child progresses through them one at a time until all the folders or boxes are completed.  This works well for younger children and those children who are motivated by seeing a box or folder emptied.

2. Assignment Books or Check Lists - Older students may prefer a planning book of their own which lists what assignments are to be worked on each day.  The child can simply cross off what work they complete.  These work wonderfully for older elementary to middle school aged students.

3. Weekly Schedules or Monthly Schedules - Depending on your homeschool method or style, a weekly or monthly calendar may suffice for your student.  We have used these for chores, family events, field trips, and co-op days.

4. Syllabus - Sometimes, a semester or full year can be outlined in a syllabus form.  This is similar to a check list, but is for specific class.  Our oldest child uses a syllabus for his science co-op class.  It works wonderfully to guide him.  With it, he easily keeps up to date with his work.  A syllabus can be a great guide for middle school aged to high school students.

5. Time Records - For those homeschoolers who must know exactly how much time was spent on which subject, a time record is an easy way to keep this vital information.  Some people work within a spread sheet, listing the date, subject, what was accomplished, and time spent doing the work.  Other people use a planner and write the times within the individual blocks. 


What time management or organizational tools do you use in your homeschool?

Five Reasons To Try Notebooking

Notebooking, or (or lapbooks, as they are often called) can be a great addition to your homeschool.  Here are five reasons we tried to (and will continue to) notebook in ours.

1)  Notebooking is a great tool for retention, as well as encouragement toward further learning on a topic.  Notebooking is a way of retelling what has been learned in a way that appeals to a specific child's learning style.

2)  Notebooking has no rules.  Whatever your child likes best (coloring, writing, drawing, painting, cutting, pasting) can be included.  However creative or utilitarian they desire their work to be is just fine.

3)  Having control is inspiring.  The less direction I have given my children, the more elaborate and detailed their notebooks have become.  I have also been shocked at the amount of work they will do without being assigned.  My dyslexic/dysgraphic child is writing up a storm.

4)  There are endless ways to add to a notebook.  One of my favorite resources has been this list of suggestions from the Notebooking Fairy.  There are also reams of Pinterest boards and web sites dedicated to notebooking ideas.

5)  Notebooking is fun.  So much fun, that my children have been working on their notebooks in their free time.  Notebooking is fun because it, like homeschooling itself, can be tailored to the needs, desires and talents of the individual child.

Have you tried notebooking as a part of your homeschool?

Seeds of Wisdom--Favorite Tools

Welcome, everyone! This is our first Seeds of Wisdom post, and I am so excited to share the question/answers with you all. Seeds of Wisdom is an opportunity for YOU to ask US questions. We choose one question for each Friday post, and a handful of us will answer it the best we can.

It is wise to take council of more than one person as no one person has all the answers, and some questions have no wrong answers only different solutions. This is a chance for open discussion where we want to hear from you as much as we want to offer our own advice.

Being that this is the first week, of course, we have no questions from the readers yet. If you would like to submit a question, please send an email to me at raleneburke at yahoo dot com. I'll let you know when your question is chosen (most likely in the order that it was received). For this week, I proposed my own question to our panel of esteemed mothers!

What is your favorite tool you use on a consistent basis for education in the home?

My favorite homeschool tool is my planner. I have been using "The Well-Planned Day" since a few months into our first year of homeschooling, and I really love it. It is well laid out, and very visually appealing. You can see a full preview of the planner here:www.wellplannedday.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=01WPD_2011-2012

The windows on my French doors and Crayola Window markers =) Since we mostly do school at our dining room table, I use the windows as my white board! They are in the perfect spot, are big and the kids LOVE it

Signing Time Video Series. I have been using them for over two years and my children know 200+ signs in ASL.

Honestly, I'd have to say Google! I can find the answer to any question I have, find any supplement that I need, locate any Youtube video or educational website. And many times, I find what I need for free. I have no idea what I'd do without Google and the internet.

My favorite tool has been the Usborne Books. They are wonderful for social studies and history. They are so kid-friendly, with interesting illustrations and factual information that promotes discussion and learning. I also love the libra...ry. It is a treasure-trove of homeschool tools, not only the books but the activities and other people there as well. My favorite motivational tool is location - it's a wonderful gift to be able to move around while you are learning. My children use this often when they are frustrated and find a new location (coffee table? kitchen table? on the floor? in a box?) often helps get them over a difficult hump. I love to move lessons outside when the weather is nice.

My computer - I love creating new activities that are tailored to the specific needs/interests of my daughter and searching the internet for printable supplements to my instruction! There are so many wonderful websites for finding free pre...school learning activities (chlidcareland.com, preschoolprintables.com, filefolderfun.com, dltk-kids.com, christianpreschoolprintables.com, homeschoolshare.com, lapbooklessons.com). Plus, I use online games and videos to supplement instruction. These days, we are using starfall.com every single day for additional support in early reading skills.

This is going to sound crazy at first..but hear me out ;) Facebook is one of my greatest tools. Since we have virtually no homeschoolers in our area, I rely on the advice, suggestions and ideas of my fellow homeschooling mothers on FB. Seriously- I don't know what I would do without them.

I've been thinking about it, and I will say that one of my favorite tools is called Learn Your Letters, Learn To Serve, from the Heavenly Homemakers website... http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/learn-your-letters-learn-to-serve-complete-curriculum-kit . I like it because it helps my kids learn their letters, scripture verses, etc... all while helping them creatively think of ways to serve the people in our lives. My heart is for my kids to really love people and love to serve people for th...e sake of being a blessing to them - not having the mindset of doing something to get something back out of it - this incorporates school lessons into practical character building lessons that we can do in our every day lives.

My favorite tool is definitely our new homeschool room. I'm so excited that we have the extra space in this house to dedicate specifically to homeschooling. I mean, some of the other kids stuff is in there--books, art supplies, games--but it's all stuff that we also use for homeschool. Anyway, hubby just finished sanding and refinishing a table that's just the perfect size for us. Small enough not to overwhelm the kids, big enough for us all to have our own work space. We put up a small white board and I have 2 books shelves dedicated to homeschool related books and a set of bins for art/school supplies. We also have a little reading/song time area. Can you tell I'm just so excited by this new development? The kids love it, too!

What about you? What's your favorite tool? Leave a comment today, and Beth is giving away one of the Singing Time videos! Giveaway will be open until midnight Sunday, and we'll announce the winner with Monday's post!

Tomorrow, we'll get a chance to hear from Tracy, so stick around. Have a fabulous weekend!