My Quivers Full - A Close Look At Planning

May. 10, 2008 - A Close Look At Planning

This has been requested more than once by a few people, so for your reading pleasure, here's a closer look at how I plan and put together my school binder.

First, I buy a good quality binder. Last year I had a two inch binder, and it was a tight fit to get everything in there. This year I bumped up to a "Big Daddy" 3 inch binder. It will give me a little more room in there, plus I will have some planning pages in there for Peanut (3) who will be joining us this fall.

The first thing I put in is a calendar. I use the school year at a glance calendar from PrintFree.com. The only thing I'm required to present upon questioning by the state is attendance, so this one paper covers it. I just put an "X" in the box for the day we do school. If we go on a field trip, I put a number in the box. On the back of the calendar page, I write the number and then where we went on our field trip.

Next I have pages that have memorization for the kids. These are things I hope to have the kids memorize this school year, whether its poems, books of the Bible, or geography. This isn't everything that I have them memorize, but things I know I want them to work on during the year. This year, for instance, I knew we'd be learning the Great Lakes, so I added that to my memorization page for Big Man. This is in no way the only geography he'd learn this year, but I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle. I also had the books of the New Testament listed. He memorized all of those, and moved on to the Old Testament, although I didn't have those books listed. I also have a Kindergarten memorization page where I have the things I wanted to be sure Little Monkey learned like his address, how to dial 911, etc.

I also have a sheet of paper with possible field trips listed. If we really need to get out of the house, I can look at this list for some ideas.

The rest of the binder is split into two main sections, one for Big Man and one for Little Monkey. I used white divider tabs with their names on it for these dividers only so they catch my eye quickly. The subjects for each child is divided with colored dividers within their section. This way, they may be working on the same thing, but may be at a different place within it. I can easily keep it all straight this way.

Now on to how I have my plans laid out. Here's a picture I took earlier this year inside my planning binder:

Binder/Planner

Not a good look at a planning page, I know, so you can click here to download a few sample pages. It will open in a Word document. The first thing yo will see there are a couple of sample memorization pages. Next you will find a page called "Reading List". This is how I keep track of the books Big Man picks out of our reading basket for his reading time. The next page you'll see is a sample page for Arithmetic. These type of subjects have a specific lesson number and page number. I write the date next to whatever lesson we did that day. You'll see "speed drill" next to most lessons. These are days there is an optional speed drill. I just put a check mark there if we do one of those drills that day. For test day, I write the date, then the grade they got on the test in red. For a subject like grammar, I have the same set up: lesson number and a line for the date. Since our grammar lessons may also include copywork, dictation, or something called an "enrichment activity" I add the appropriate activity with a line for the date there as well. What if you have a subject where there isn't a workbook or a lesson page number? That's what you'll see on the last sample page from the binder download. I've included a page from my science section this year. It gives the lesson number, then the books we use as spines are listed with the appropriate page numbers for that lesson. Any experiments, activities, etc. are listed as well as library books we could use for that weeks lesson. I just put a check mark in the box next to the things we do. I write the dates we do things for that lesson at the top of the page. Again, Indiana isn't demanding these things, but I just like to be able to go back and see what we did when. It also gives my hubby a way to look in my binder quickly and see what we covered that week.

Getting the binder together like this takes a bit of time, but it is exactly what I need to feel prepared for the schoolyear. I hope it gives you some ideas to help you with your planning this summer.

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Comments

May. 10, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by MayTheyBeMightyMen

Fantastic! I'm still learning how to get my Home School Tracker software fully functional for me. To me, it would be like one of your binders, but with the capability of generating grades without having to do the math. :'P (I cheat calculation everywhere I can.) ;')

I loved your idea of planning certain things that need to be accomplished in the year. I've never done that. I think I might be trusting the curriculum a bit to much. I get done, and I realize I've blindly moved through it without checking to see what I might have needed/wanted to add, etc. I have got to be more proactive/forward-thinking in my planning. The in the moment stuff isn't working well.

I can see the amount of time invested is completely worth it! Would you be willing to check in with me in a sort of "accountability" way over the next few months as I try to wrangle a plan for next year? I'd really appreciate the encouragement/accountability, if you're willing!

Thanks for sharing this. I'm going electronic, but I want and NEED an "e-binder" like yours. I really, really do!

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May. 12, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by crysnrod