Feb. 13, 2009 - "Preparing" for a great year with Heart of Dakota!

One of the beauties of home education is the flexibility of planning a school calendar that meets your family's needs.  We tend to homeschool year-round, taking time off as needed.  We have years where we advance to the next level or change things up during January.  I think that if you are in homeschooling for the long haul, this is a great way to stave off burnout and the January doldrums so many moms experience. Sam has jumped into Preparing Hearts for His Glory from Heart of Dakota.  He is using the list of extension books for older readers.   Carrie Austin has created a program that follows the Charlotte Mason method of education using living books, dictation, narration, poetry study, the commonplace book, and more!   This year is a one-year overview of world history, using Hillyer's classic "A Child's History of the World" as the spine text.   We hope to pick up a copy of Drawn Into the Heart of Reading next month, along with the grade 6/7/8 worktext.  I just love that Carrie has created a separate literature program which incorporates all genres, as a nice balance to a history-based literature program. Be sure to check out the latest program Carrie is working on, titled "Hearts for Him Through Time:  Creation to Christ" at Heart of Dakota.   While the new catalog won't be out until spring and the teacher's guide not available until August, you can click on the Store tab and scroll to the bottom for a sneak peek at the resources the program will use.

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Jul. 9, 2008 - Organizing WinterPromise American Story II

This past week I read great posts about organizing homeschool plans on the blogs by Dawn and Three Plus Two.  I also happened to be reading Vicki Caruana's book called "The Organized Home Schooler."  All these ideas really came together for me, and I decided to spend this week tackling an organization of my WinterPromise American Story II materials.  The secretary in me loved setting up this file system, and I was happy that I had the materials to do so kicking around already.  It felt great to get organized without spending a dime!  First, I grabbed a plastic crate hanging file holder, which was already in the schoolroom, along with hanging file folders, colored manilla file folders, and labels.  I created files for all the categories of paperwork in ASII, from the Make Your Own History pages right down to a file just for the narration ideas.  I hung these files in the crate, to use as I put together manilla file folders for each week of the school year.  I decided to take the rest of July off, making our start date August 3.  I then created files for each week between that point and our December break.  The files are labeled with the WP week number and the dates for that week.  This will enable me to add seasonal information to each file, based on the dates.  Even though we have a schoolroom, I sometimes like to school at the kitchen table, or sit at my desk to review lesson plans, gather materials, and so on.  I like my lesson plans to be portable and not all in one huge, overwhelming notebook.  By using the file folder method, I can just grab the file for the week we are on and have almost everything I need at hand. For each file folder, I put in a self-adhesive paper fastener at the top on the right-hand side  (see image below).  I adjusted my three hole punch to the correct setting to punch two holes that align with the width of the fasteners.   I punched holes in the WP lesson plans for language arts, history, and independent pages.  So, all lesson plan pages are on the right-hand side of the file folder when open.  I then put in the grammar exercise page, MYO page, and any pages from the American Achievements pack that would be needed for that week.  These are not fastened, but are tucked into the folder. On the left-hand side of each weekly file folder, I created a pocket for the timeline figures from Homeschool in the Woods.   To create this, I used a pack of large index cards I had hanging around (cut into halves or thirds as desired) and some scrapbooking photo adhesive stickers I had on hand.  Using the list in the lesson plan for each week , I cut out the needed timeline figures and tucked them into the pocket.  This was a good thing to do, because I noticed one time line figure, for example, which was listed on the plan yet not in the Homeschool in the Woods set as it was supposed to be.  I made a note to myself to search for a good Google image. In order to keep myself ahead of things in terms of DVDs I might need to order through Netflix and supplies for projects,  I used post-it notes to create reminders for myself.  The post-it notes in each file folder refer not to the week at hand, but to the following week.  (For example, if I open week 5's file folder, the post-it note inside refers to what I need to have ready for the following week, week 6.)  This gives me a week to order and receive a DVD from Netflix, add items to my shopping list, and verify any upcoming links.  To create these, I simply opened up my folder for Optional/Needed Resources and the Activity Planning Chart and jotted the info down on a post-it. My goal is to swap out these folders during our December break and re-do them for the next semester.  Later today I will add in items from AS I resources, such as the 3-D maps and Mini books.  I will also be using the Quarter Planner form at Donna Young's website to plan out our math, science, and extras such as Latina Christiana I.  I will be adding a weekly plan for these subjects to the file folders. My next project is to create "Completed Work" notebooks.  I did this last year and it made it so easy to three-hole punch workbook pages, writing samples, etc., and pop them right into the notebook.  At the end of a quarter or semester, it is easy to sit down and sort out which will go into a permanent portfolio and which can be trashed.  I'll also be setting up the Desk Apprentices with books, workbooks, etc.  I'll blog it as I go!

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Oct. 10, 2007 - The Satisfaction of Being Home

Jun. 6, 2007 - Currently Being Read at Our House