*Disclaimer: All of these plans are not because I am Miss Super-Organized Mama. These plans are because I'm a MESS, y'all. If I didn't take these couple weeks to lay it all out, I fear what our year would look like because it's a train wreck up in here.
As I've said, these plans are to get me started. After that, it's a miracle if I stick to them beyond December. But I can always find them and jump back in if I find the will. This next step is a beautiful joke. I think it's brilliant, but I've yet to use it well. I start with grand plans (and way too many of them) and we soon pare things down to bare essentials. These files are part of the excessive grand plans that don't have to be. Every year, I am certain things will be different. I'm determined we will slow down and be more leisurely in our days. This year, I'm as determined as ever, even though things look more chaotic than ever. Or perhaps it's because things look more chaotic than ever.
So here it is:
A file folder for every week of the year. I generally just fill them to December and intend to fill the second semester during Christmas Break. Perhaps that's why we never take these plans into the new year?
These files contain the workbook full of extra math drills, copywork, the coloring pages that coincide with our history lessons, the ebook unit studies, and the cool vocabulary posters that I plan to introduce. If my master plan tells me we'll study the Erie Canal on week 23, that's where the lapbook elements for canals would go. (I have never and will never assign a lapbook about canals. That was just an example. A bad example.) When we studied anatomy, I assigned different body parts each week and had large cut-outs of each organ to color and glue to their wall posters. Yes, I had body parts in my file cabinet.
This gets the fun stuff out of my computer where I forget they exist and into the hands of my children. For a while. And then we pare down out of desperation. But it will be better this year. It really will!
As I've said, these plans are to get me started. After that, it's a miracle if I stick to them beyond December. But I can always find them and jump back in if I find the will. This next step is a beautiful joke. I think it's brilliant, but I've yet to use it well. I start with grand plans (and way too many of them) and we soon pare things down to bare essentials. These files are part of the excessive grand plans that don't have to be. Every year, I am certain things will be different. I'm determined we will slow down and be more leisurely in our days. This year, I'm as determined as ever, even though things look more chaotic than ever. Or perhaps it's because things look more chaotic than ever.
So here it is:
A file folder for every week of the year. I generally just fill them to December and intend to fill the second semester during Christmas Break. Perhaps that's why we never take these plans into the new year?
These files contain the workbook full of extra math drills, copywork, the coloring pages that coincide with our history lessons, the ebook unit studies, and the cool vocabulary posters that I plan to introduce. If my master plan tells me we'll study the Erie Canal on week 23, that's where the lapbook elements for canals would go. (I have never and will never assign a lapbook about canals. That was just an example. A bad example.) When we studied anatomy, I assigned different body parts each week and had large cut-outs of each organ to color and glue to their wall posters. Yes, I had body parts in my file cabinet.
This gets the fun stuff out of my computer where I forget they exist and into the hands of my children. For a while. And then we pare down out of desperation. But it will be better this year. It really will!
While there are many groups participating in this week's blog hop, I'd like to especially draw your attention to this group of ladies, whom I'm teaming up with:
- Amy @ Counting Change... Again
- Shawna @ Tenacity Divine
- Adena @ AdenaF
- Emilee @ Pea of Sweetness
- Kathy @ Kathys Cluttered Mind
- Sara @ Embracing Destiny
- Annette @ A Net in Time Homeschooling
I LOVE this idea! I always stick random things I find and want to use sometime in random places and then cannot locate them when I need to/ Thanks for the idea!!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! I'm definitely implementing this. Great place to store extra info if I come across interesting things to go along with our readings!
ReplyDelete