HOMESCHOOLING 2010

First things first.  The picture is my 9 year old daughter, busy working with her 12 year old sister making Artist Trading Cards.  A fun summer activity.  But, thinking ahead to autumn...as many of us moms have been, or are at least thinking about, I've been busy planning out my children's curriculum and schedules.  Every year, we always manage to tweak things in an effort to make our homeschool experience more fun and more efficient.
The children have given me input on their curriculum choices and schedules, as well. But, I have to admit, since I am juggling a very full plate with a large family, I do reserve the right to have the final word since I need to blend their choices with my need to stay sane for a full 
school year .  
 
I'm about 3/4 done with my planning, and since I've been reading posts along this general topic, I thought I would take the time to chime in here with what's working for our family in case it's inspiring to others.
In our state, children attend school for 180 days.  So, that's 36 weeks in the year, M-F, obviously.  What we did last year, that we all agreed upon, that we will probably make a habit now, is "taking Friday's off".  As homeschoolers know, it's not really "off", because we're always learning, but those won't be our "academic" days.  We've dubbed Fridays as Fun Fieldtrip Fridays, and that will be as formal as a large group trip or as intimate as a cozy afternoon snuggled together in a warm house playing card and board games all day in our jammies during the frigid January snowstorms, making cookies or breads.  
 
The children have helped me to plan our their year, by taking all of their workbooks, putting them together by subject, and we go through with calculators and figure out how many pages per week (or month as the case may be) that we need to accomplish to finish the book by May.  We write that right inside the front cover of the book, as well as on an individual sheet of paper for each child. What we end up with is a list for each child.  Then, we decide on what we want to do, on which day, and make sure it doesn't conflict with other plans we have outside the home.  Since the children have assorted commitments outside the home, on different schedules, we do the following; we print off a monthly calendar (blank) for each child.  Link here:http://abcteach.com/directory/teaching_extras/calendars/
When it is completed, I put it into a clear plastic sleeve.  Any edits as we go along, are easily done ON TOP OF the sheet, with a dry erase marker.  The children keep their sheets in a folder, and the folders are stored together so they are readily available every day in one spot.
 
Where do I put the folders ?  I recently went to Staples and found an unplanned purchase.  I don't recall the exact name of it, but it's made to hold manila folder and it has 15 spaces for them.  It was $15 full price.  A sort of huge pocket folder, I guess.  It hangs up from ceiling to floor in direction.  That gives me enough spaces for all of the children, plus "field trips", and similar other events, to readily access.
 
Our workboxes are arranged per child.  Their subjects/materials are in their own workbox. We refer to the written calendar for each month (and we'll revise monthly as needed for changes in science, etc), that the children will get from their Calendar Folder. They'll have a Daily Work Completion Sheet to sign off on, as they finish what is on their schedule, and that will just go into the folder.  It also gives them some direct responsibility to have input as they finish their work, once I check it and let them know that it's done.  They also like to put stickers on their papers, too (the younger ones).  So, I have rolls of stickers and they can choose some.   For us, it's fun.  
 
Some of the subjects I will be teaching them in a small group setting since they are so close in age, which will save me time, and I'm sure they'll enjoy the conversations that will come of it.  Other subjects, like Math, they'll have out at the same time, but of course I will have to work individually with them.  The older two are excited about the freedom of having their schedules be ... their own.  My biggest creative challenge, and I've dealt with it before, is that I babysit for my 17 month old granddaughter four days a week, so I'm going to have a workbox for her, too, filled with things to entertain her (and teach her!) while I'm also working with the other children.  It keeps me very busy, but I know we'll do it.  And we have Fridays to look forward to !  LOL !!  =-))
 
I LOVE homeschooling !!!