I have used a different organization system this year for homeschooling. In the past, I have used workboxes, which I highly praise and recommend. I may use them again. But, this past year, I organized all of the older boys' schoolwork in 3 inch binders. I got the idea off of the My Father's World K yahoo group. Some moms were doing this for the Kindergarteners. I adjusted the concept to work with the multi-cycle level for MFW.
I bought enough two-pocket plastic folders
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Avery-Plastic-Insertable-2-Pocket-Dividers-8-Tab/14935298?findingMethod=rr
or
They do have pockets on the front and the back. So, you could use one folder for two weeks of school. I wasn't sure how it would work, so I used one per week. Yes, it was initially costly, but it was worth it for me.
All of the organizing was done up front. Having a infant to toddler and a new K student, I knew organization would be rough. This hasn't worked perfectly, but when it didn't it was more my fault for not double checking progress as often as I should. My biggest issue every year is that I lose steam. So, it is better for me to have a system like this in place where the organization is done way ahead of time. My boys know that by the end of the week, the folder should be empty. It is a great encouragement for me to look now, and see 28 weeks of folders, empty. It is a great accomplishment for us after a few rough years.
Next year, I will put a schedule in the front of each boy's weekly folder. Since MFW allows you to copy for your own family use, this is probably what I will do. Also, all coompleted worksheets and schoolwork is filed into a one inch, three ring binder.
Attached are some folders to help show what all the fuss is about. As I mentioned, it is work up front, I spent an afternoon putting it all together. Then, went through all worksheets including language and decided how many they should do per week. Since I know how it works, I'll try to add in more subjects for next year. It was a learning curve this year.*Another thing I plan to do to help is to gather all supplies needed for art and science projects into one bin, so that it is all ready for the year or perhaps just months ahead of time. MFW suggested this to me and I think it is a wonderful idea!
The weekly folders
An enclosed, velcro-close packet for holding extras
Worksheets fit in the folder, with the half divider, you can thumb through the worksheets when needed.
Our timeline which is in notebook form http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/book-of-centuries/
Happy Organizing!
4 comments:
I had done the whole year planning previously but this year I only planned about 6-8 weeks at a time, then I scheduled a week off for all of us. I pre-planned these weeks to coincide with busy times, preparing for holidays, etc. That is also when I plan the next 'block'. I read about this short semester/week off idea in a HSLDA article and it has been such a blessing for me this year - it really helped with the 'losing steam' period sometime in the new year. We combined that with using the pocket dividers but I just filled one or two blocks in each planning week and I have LOVED those pocket dividers. Of course your school year goes on a little longer, we will not finish til end June, but it has been completely worth it to have those little 'light at the end of the tunnel' breaks planned into our year.
I really like this idea. I think my oldest would love having more control of what she does when and it would help me keep the little ones more organized. Right now we just throw it all in a dishpan bin and they do what is in there. Thanks for sharing:)
That was mee.....
Hello .... I don't know WHAT is happening with my comments today!! Hoping to get back into my blogging again. Great organizing!
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