Practical Tips for Home Schools (from real mothers)
I asked some homeschooling mothers for their best tips on organizing their home schools. These tips could be anything from schedules, books, meals or whatever worked well for them.
Here are the results!
Jody
Order and Discipline
When I get up before everyone else and have time to dress, pray, visit with dh, and have coffee then I am ready to greet the day and my kids with a smile and a song.
Mary F.
Every evening, take a few minutes to look at the next day's schedule and make your plans, including meals. Make a list for yourself and one f or the children, if possible. I read this in one of the Moore's books, and it has always been a real lifesaver for me.
Lara in CA
How Can I Keep Track of All Those Great Books
This is a great way to get organized and quickly find books you've used in the past. You don't have to spend all that time writing down names of books, or even typing them. You simply lay the book spines on a photocopy machine, laying a piece of white paper over the open spaces (so the machine doesn't fill it with black). Do only enough books to fill the left side of the paper. After you make your copy, use a bright marker and number your books on the spines from left to right. Now, on the blank half of the paper, you have room to write #1, #2, etc. down the page and put some comments about the book. Fast tip: use stars to denote which books were great vs. just average.
You will be happy to discover that looking at the spine will bring back the memory of that book, as well as the author (to get other books by him/her) and, often, the Dewey Decimal number to save library look-up time. Sometimes you' ll see a Series title so you can find other books in that Series. You can look at this paper years later and still remember if that book was useful.
This is best done just before or leaving the library, where you've selected an assortment at one time to use at home. I also do this when I look at lots of books in the summer to use the following year. To be even more organized, only do certain topics per page, such as birds on one page, history, Civil War on another. Then you can file them either in a big reference folder or close to the curriculum you'll use.
From Ruth (message board)
Art Work
One "tip" I will pass along to you is what I have done with the huge amount of pictures my kids draw! Some go on the fridge or wall for awhile and then into a big desk drawer. About once every couple of months I go through it and pick the best ones out and add to our school box for that year. Don't tell anyone, but the rest get thrown out! This works well because sometimes my kids ask me a week or two later, "where is that picture I drew for you, that was on the fridge?" I reply, "Oh, it's in my special picture drawer!"
From Lisa
Storage for School Items
The one thing that I've found most useful is for each child to have their own place for storage of their material. Each of my boys have a three drawer bin to put their material they are working on in. That way each of them always knows where his "stuff" is.
God bless, Karla B.
If push comes to shove,what do we really need??? We're moving in a month and I am currently trying this organizational thing in earnest! I only hs one child so this may be exceedingly sparce for some parents. We are moving from a home with 3800 square feet to an apartment with about 1000 square feet. This is a move for one year and 90 percent of our furnishings are going into storage.I have had to go through our household furnishings and our homeschool things and cull, cull, cull. So I'm using furniture in ways that never before occurred to me to use as homeschool storage units. I have a small blanket chest that will double as a coffee table and a book case. The books will be placed in the chest binding up for easy viewing.I have two end tables with lower shelves that will also double as book shelves. Believe me this was the hardest task( to choose which books to take). I am taking less than 10 percent of our books. I will use our local library next year. Since I am using the PUO online curriculum the numbers of absolutely HAVE TO homeschool books are minimized. I am taking baskets that were formally used for knitting supplies and magazines and using them as decorative storage containers. I am going to use one of the kitchen cabinets for homeschool art supplies. So instead of opening a kitchen cupboard and finding spices I will find pencils and paint and brushes neatly organized in Mason Jars. In a word this is going to be a SIMPLIFING year.
Vicki in NC
We like using dishpans or a similar plastic bin for each child, to help keep their stuff (current books, notebooks, etc.) together. I've used the same Rubbermaid bins for three years now, so they hold up very well. The bin can be carried wherever the kids are studying, helping us keep track of all the stuff. The bins have a home on a shelf for overnight, and we taped a layer of soft foam to the bottom of each bin so it wouldn't scratch the shelf as it gets slid in and out. I also keep several baskets (upstairs and downstairs) in which we keep the books we are currently reading aloud.
We also keep a small portable hanging file rack with color-coded files for each child, in which we keep paperwork until I have a chance to file it in the appropriate notebook. A mom on the WTM board suggested that these could be further sub-divided as needed by inserting regular manila folders inside the hanging files.
Time organization: Borrowing an idea from Lora Gleaton of In His Steps, plan for real life. Schedule a day or half-day off each week, for appointments, errands, bill-paying or whatever you have to do to live life. (Or a periodic week off would accomplish the same goal.) It will relieve all kinds of stress if you're not trying to cram and juggle things that shouldn't be scheduled for the same slot of time.
Valerie
Scheduling and Assignments
I make up a "generic" chart with subjects down the side and days of the week on top. I do this in the summer with much thought and prayer. I do not put page numbers in the squares, just "daily gram" or "spelling power" etc. This slides into the clear cover of their main three ring binder for the year. It also includes jobs. They are much more self motivated when they are not standing around asking, "Mom, what do I do next?" We do most subjects either M,W,F or T,TH like a college schedule, with the exception of math and they like the variety with routine. I am very flexible, though to change the schedule and do a nature study, take a walk, go to a class or do a salt map. This is just our "backbone" to keep things in order and I have been doing it this way for about 4 years.
In Christ, Sunny
Have a calender on the refrigerator. I carry a datebook everywhere. Get an answering machine if you are interrupted a lot w/ calls and screen them or wait until you're free to listen to them.
Abby
We got our girls working with weekly assignment sheets as soon as possible. I wrote out their assigned work (IN PENCIL!) and as they complete assignments they "highlight" them. We can easily see when the work is done, but the records can still be read. This year they'll be using the Homeschool Journal to write their own daily work in... at least my 8th grader... the 6th grader may still need some help. I think I'm going to jot down the assignments on a 3x5 card and have her paperclip it in her journal and then write in assignments as they're completed. We have a short "assignment explanation" time on Mondays to clarify any questions and then a "check-out" time on Fridays to make sure it all got accomplished (or erased if it ended up being unnecessary)
Kim Frey
Keeping Records
My kids keep everything in notebooks and journals (everything including piano recital programs, concert programs, participation certificates, etc.), and we keep 100s of page protectors on hand to stick things in those so they can go in one of the notebooks, too. For record keeping, I journal. My oldest girls keep their own records, but so far I'm keeping my son's high school records. I have a spiral journal with headings-- books read; magazines, articles, and non-book types of rea ding; videos watched; texts completed; projects done; a heading for discussions, resources used, etc. I list everything the kids have done under one of these headings. For my son, I already had to make a special WWII heading because he's done SO much! Eventually (by the end of sophomore year), I start organizing everything into courses, but I have been closely monitoring what's being done before we get there. Since we don't keep track of grades or hours, I don't have that to contend with. As far as organizing books, the books we use are mostly real books, so they go on our regular bookshelves. We're always desperately needing more bookshelves! My daughter just read me a quote the other day that she joked was close to my philosophy: "I would be most content if my chidren grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." (Anna Quindlen)
Susan L.
When I am organized, I do all lessons for the entire week ahead, and the older ones just check off what they've completed. (I allow their input, too). It's easy for me to see what's been done, and helps me remember when I'm supposed to be involved. This also helps me count off the # of weeks we've had formal instruction, so we can have time away without worry. The best part is seeing how many things we really did over a year, and what books were read, field trips, etc.
When I was really organized, I bought clear labels and printed up the labels with all the assignments for certain subjects. (Two copies, one for each child). Then, as that week came, I just peeled off the labels and stuck them in the book. Clear labels are best, because they can be overlapped with the next label. No more erasing when plans changed, plus it's done in the summer and frees up all that time later. (I always wanted curriculum people to do this for us! Hello, is anyone listening?).
Their book has the following columns: Bible, Math, Language Arts, Science/Social Studies, Hist./Geog, Other. Under Other goes Music, Art, Field Trips, special projects, books read.
For my first grader, his columns are Bible, Math and Reading. The second half of the 2-page spread list things to remember, such as memory work, AWANA, field trips, crafts, activities, games, books to read, read-alouds, etc.
I must say that this next year will be a transition, because the high schooler will plan and organize all of his lessons. I'm sure it won't be easy at first, but I plan for learning time. We will purchase the book "Home School for High School and Beyond", and I think working through that book counts as "credits", too. It has wonderful tips on how to plan and organize one's time and how to accomplish one's education. I recommend it for the older ones.
RuthK
The Perfect Room and Place for Everything
The one thing that I've found most useful is flexibility as to "where" you do school (if you have a choice of different rooms, unlike Vicki!). Most of our bookshelves, computer, keyboard, are in our basement rec room, so we thought it would be a logical place to have lessons; but for a while our toddler made this impossible (pulling books off the shelves, mainly), and we migrated up to the kitchen table where there were fewer distractions (and occasional snacks). Now she's three and not quite such a wave of destruction, and we're going to give our "learning room" another try. (No more keeping workbooks in a big flat Rubbermaid box under the couch! I guess that's a tip for those in small spaces.)
Anne W.
Designate one small area for all extra supplies. We use a small bookcase to keep extra paper, art supplies (clay, art pencils, markers, scissors,etc.) There is room also for a dictionary, books I would like them to choose from (larger bookshelves w/more books in other rooms), a globe on top shelf. Of course at times these things are all over the house, but they do have their own place if we need to really get the house neat.
Abby
Meal Planning
Having that before dinner hour basically low-key and simple helps me to have a few minutes to unwind before facing the evening. I start my dinner prep after breakfast (chopping veggies, browning meat, etc.), keep a collection of crockpot recipes, and do like jobs together and ahead of time (cooking enough chicken for a pot pie, a casserole and a pasta dish). A fter schooling all day, my energies are low and dinner has been known to suffer in the past.
Jo in OH
Half of my battle with meal preparation is the age old question, "What's for supper?" I find it helpful to plan a menu for the week for each meal. Even if it's just the main course, most of the battle is won! Have the children sit down with you to give you ideas of entres they'd like. You can always interchange one day's menu with another. I may also add a short list of baking or desserts to be done for the week. Once you have a few weeks worth of menus, you need only to rotate them!
Jody
I am new to homeschooling but when I had my daycare of 11 children everyday, organization was something I really had to think lots about and thought I'd share an idea the children really liked and it helped me too for meal time. I would plan my menu's a week in advance with all 11 children sitting there with me contributing ideas. They would offer ideas for what they wanted for meals and snacks and then once that was written out and agreed upon, I would have them make lists of what ingredients it would take to make that meal. After all those lists were done, they would go on scavenger hunts thru my pantry and refrigerator and cross off the things we already had and then... presto! A grocery list. The children learned, got pride in a sort of ownership over their meals and they helped me stay organized. All that aside, their keeping busy doing something together without arguments or getting into trouble was a real blessing too.
Janet Ford - MI-Northwoods Dairy Goats
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