School Planning

Josh: "Caution! It's almost time to start school!"

By Jove, I think I've about Got it!

I have been plugging away at school planning here and there throughout the summer. After a few recent "all-nighters" (meaning 2-3AM at the VERY latest), I am feeling fairly comfortable with beginning our next school year.

As I struggle with how to articulate what I've done, I am feeling as though I will not be able to communicate this very clearly. I have not done anything complicated; in fact, everything I have done has been in order to simplify and STREAMLINE!

My planning system is broken into three major parts (and then some other things...) First of all, there is the CRATE. This is the major guts of my planning. I have a manila folder for each week. Inside each folder, I have a sheet for each day. On the sheet for each day, I have listed each subject and then left a space for each child under the subjects. I typed out my sheet according to the general order in which we do school.

I do NOT have each line filled out for the whole school year... I wish! I DO have history, Literature (read aloud books), and geography filled in. I have also made note of special writing assignments which will go along with history. Behind each day's sheet, I have placed any hand-outs, quizzes, or History Pockets we will be using for the day. For example, behind each Monday sheet, there is a drill page for the girls' Latin words.

For a moment, I will back up and fill you in on how the crate came into being...

I began my planning with history and literature. I put 36 manila folders on the dining room table, and then I spread out the books (both individual reads and read-alouds) and Veritas Press cards among the folders. *I don't have ALL of their individual reads planned for the whole year, because I like to allow room for library choices and other things. There are some individual reads, however, that go along with the time period we will be studying, and I wanted to be sure we read them at the right time of year.

Next (in order to preserve sanity and finally cut the clutter off the table), I broke the books down into assigned reading portions and wrote them on the assignment sheets in the folders. This allowed the books to return to their spot in our school area. I had previously made copies of the History pockets for each child, so I spread them out through the file folders. I added in our geograpy sheets, Latin drill pages, IEW writing assignments, and anything else that needed to be filed.


In addition to the CRATE, I also have my giant TEACHER NOTEBOOK.

I mentioned that I did not have each day filled out for the year. In the teacher notebook, I have dividers for each subject. Behind the dividers, I have placed a syllabus (without dates... just a list of the order of lessons) for each class. This is so that when I do my late Sunday PM prep. (or sometimes early Monday AM), I can pull out my folder for the week and fill in the assignments. Each day I slip the assignment sheet from the file folder into the front of the teacher notebook.

School in our home is never a perfectly ordered event. I am usually fielding questions about assignments as I am working with other children. I try to head this off as much as possible; nevertheless, it happens. Keeping this detailed daily sheet handy keeps interruptions to a minimum!

Also located in the TEACHER NOTEBOOK is all of our memory work. Each day after Bible, we spend about 15-20 minutes reviewing things from years past and the current year. I have a divider section for each subject that we cover during memory time: Bible verses, catechism, Science, Latin, Art, and History. Behind each divider is stored any information that we will review through the year. For example, behind the art divider I have pictures of famous paintings and their artists. I have a copy of the Latin prayers and declension chants behind the Latin divider, etc.

This evening I spent about an hour doing something a little over the top for my memory work section, but I trust that it will save me a great deal of "rummaging time" as we progress through the school year.

I made a cumulative review master sheet. A what?? I just made a list of our memory subjects, and then I went ahead and broke down our material into which information would be reviewed on which days. Soooo... Now I know that on Monday of week 3, we will review Bible verses 1,2; Catechism questions 40-45; Latin verb chants; science fact sheet 3; History facts 28-30; Renaissance painters, etc.

The third and final major part of my planning are the INDEPENDENT NOTEBOOKS. I made these for the oldest three... Josh won't be doing too much independently this year. In the evening when I am preparing for the next day, I will fill out a sheet for each child and place it open on their desks. This notebook details for them any work which should be able to be completed without assistance. I will write their journal topic, Bible passage to read, current memory verse, math, spelling, grammar, Independent reading, and home ec. assignments.

Keeping on track with school during cross country season has been a challenge for me in the past. Hopefully, taking most of the guesswork and last minute planning away will enable us to "Keep on Truckin'," both in school AND on the cross country course! :)

The final thing I did different for this year was create a "special work" notebook. Instead of filing stuff and figuring out what to do with it at the end of the school year, I am planning on putting "keeper" papers and assignments into the notebook from the start.

It should save me time at the end of the school year, AND Scott will be able to check out their work easily.

Favorite Day

When we arrived home from Chattanooga, I got a special surprise... My book orders had all come in! Hooray!!! This is always my favorite day of the year! I love unpacking the books and seeing all of the fun things we will read and do in the next school year!

I realize that this year is not even complete, but I like to have my order completed and on hand by the beginning of summer. That way, I can spend a few weeks over the summer working on my history syllabus, reading lists, and other lesson plans.

Literature choices

Even as I begin typing, I can imagine some of the pain and displeasure this post will cause some of my fellow homeschool friends, but here I go...

When I was in college, the professors were completely child-centered in their philosophy... to the extent of making it impossible for a teacher to have a life and do everything they thought you should do in the classroom. For example, according to the interests of the student, the teacher should design a completely individual plan spanning across several subjects. So, some students might be reading and studying about horses while others are reading and learning about robots. Some might be snacking on pretzels (need to eat while learning), others might be hanging upside down on the couch in the reading nook, and others might be wearing large headphones for silence while others are wearing them with music.

I thought there were many great things about this... but I saw the joke of it all actually happening with a classroom of 30 children. Part of the appeal of homeschooling was that I might be able to do things like this with my own children.

Another thing that was harped on in college was, "get the kids reading, no matter what it takes!"

This was a little bit bigger of a pill for me to swallow... I just didn't know about all of those little series' books like Goosebumps and such... what happened to quality literature?

As we began homeschooling, I had read lots of books that convinced me I was right in not swallowing the "junk food literature" pill. Our first child learned to read with great ease and getting her to bury her nose in a book... a good quality book... was not a challenge.

THEN.... our next child, sweet Sarah, had a very difficult time learning to read. I think she has a mild case of dyslexia, and on top of that is not as academically motivated as her sister. After trying so many things to get her to enjoy reading independently (amidst many shed tears, frustrating moments, and much more), I saw Sarah sitting and laughing out loud, totally engaged in a book at the library one day.

We were with some homeschooling friends, and the little boy had showed her a book he was reading. She was reading over his shoulder... READING!!! This was progress!! I was dumbfounded, and ready to check out the book.... hey, I was ready to buy the whole set!

But there was a moment of crisis... The book? Way worse than Goosebumps... (I guess, I've never read them...)

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS

Yep, you read it correctly. More specifically, it was Captain Underpants and the Bionic Booger Boy!

I had to weigh the good vs. evil... Good: Sarah was reading (did I mention this was MAJOR!)... Evil: Ok, judging from the title, you may probably surmise that it is a book solely based on potty humor... not exactly the dream of a classical educator

I finally caved in... Ok, so what really happened was I started reading it too and got so tickled that I agreed to let her check it out.

The result? It worked; she decided that reading wasn't so bad after all! (And, the Captain Underpants craze was relatively short-lived!)

I am still not a fan of junk literature, and I definitely require the kids to get their fill of good, quality reading. However, I have made allowances for light reading in free time.

Yesterday, Will begged to check out a Captain Underpants book at the library. Once again, I conceded. Yesterday afternoon, I got another treat. Will and Josh stayed together on the couch giggling for about an hour while Will sounded out the book, line by line. This time, it was not Captain Underpants and the Bionic Booger Boy... Oh, no... this time it was Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assult of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds).

Hey, at least the word "subsequent" is in the title!

Tonight, Will possibly broke his toe by getting it stuck in a treadmill. To make him feel better, he and Scott are snuggled up in a chair reading Captain Underpants together... I am not sure who is enjoying it more! :)

Never fear... Back to the Book of Romans and Adam of the Road tomorrow!