2010/11 Schedule

Posted by Cindy on November 4, 2010

I promised this ages ago and it took a kick in the tail from Sprittibee to get me moving.  Here’s our general weekly schedule.  It’s just a sketch of what we try to do daily and weekly, but so many other things come up (like field trips, 4-H or orthodontist appts) that the schedule is very loose.  Very loose.

We do most of our Bible, science and history studies together.  You’ll notice I don’t have particular things like writing, art and music in the schedule this year.  That’s because I’m using science and especially history lessons to cover those subjects this year.  For example, at least once a week there is a writing assignment that goes along with the history learning – maybe a research report or historical fiction piece or project.

So, in short, just because it looks like each day’s lessons are rather light, there’s a lot more involved in the history and science subjects than meets the eye.

Since almost everyone asks…We’re TYPICALLY finished with school around lunchtime.  That doesn’t include read-alouds, music lesson practice, nature walks, horse training and the like.  Those are our more casual afternoon activities and aren’t usually “scheduled”.  Not every afternoon is spent doing academic style things either.  We plan most of our appointments and errands during the afternoon, so at least one afternoon a week is eaten up with these things.

When you live and school with the Charlotte Mason/Unit Study styles, a lot can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.  My kids are by no means geniuses, but they are very academically capable without having to pour over schoolwork for hours and hours a day.

You can see what curriculum we’re using this year here.

**Editing to add:  My children usually read before they go to bed at night, so reading is not typically part of the “school day”, even thought it’s part of our daily curriculum.

Packing Up 2007-08

Posted by Cindy on May 14, 2008

I’ve been asked before if I keep all my children’s work from year to year.  My answer – mercy, no!    Here’s a peek into how I wrap up our school year.

Throughout the year, all of the children’s work goes into subject folders or notebooks.   For example, when a math lesson is completed and checked, it gets filed in the math folder.  All maps, worksheets and projects from our Around the World studies went into a folder for that study.  All stories, newsletters, spelling tests, grammar sheets, etc were filed in the language arts notebook.

At the end of the year, we go through each folder and pull out 3-10 of the best samples for an end of the year portfolio.  Each of the subjects is then put together in one folder that shows a sampling of our learning from the year.  All other worksheets and such are pitched.  Yep, thrown in the garbage!  Gasp, you say?  How can I get rid of all of it and not worry about having to prove our schooling?  When I taught in the public school system, a similar system of “a few best pieces” was the practice for each child’s cumulative folder.  If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me!  I couldn’t possibly keep each and every piece of work we do from year to year.  I’d have crates stacked to the ceiling!

100+ of math from the year….

Turns into about 10 pages of math to keep…..

Along with the folder of sample work (math, writing, spelling, grammar, maps, etc.), I will keep ALL unit notebooks and lapbooks.  These are things I do want to keep intact and on file from year to year.  Why these?  They represent the memories and fun of our homeschooling.  Much effort and time was put into documenting our learning in these and, honestly, I want to look back (and have the kids look back) on these just like we might look back through a photo album.

This is Mahayla’s final “portfolio” for the year.  It’s about 2 1/2 – 3″ high.

I also keep a folder full of art and any writing journals, field trip journals or nature journals that have been completed.  (If these haven’t been filled in entirely, I’ll just let the kids continue using them next year.)

I also keep a small folder of awards, school pictures, program bulletins, ticket stubs and such – as well as the report card.  This folder is almost like a scrapbook of achievements and events from the year.

Finally, I stack and bundle each child’s keepsakes and place them in a tub.  My lesson plan book – which also includes the beginning of the year goal sheets, a list of curriculum used and any correspondence papers from the board of education – slides into the tub right alongside the bundles.

Here are both children’s stacks from this school year, with my lesson plan book and other important documents on top.

Now I have a nice set of memories from the year, as well as a solid bit of “proof” for homeschooling should I ever need it.

I’d love to see how you wrap up your year.  Let me know if you post about it on your blog.

Record Keeping

Posted by Cindy on April 22, 2007

The end of our school year is quickly approaching.  It’s been a long, drawn out year for us – starting July 1st, taking a huge baby break and then starting up again.  I think we’re down to 12 “official” days.  We’ll continue some light, fun learning through the summer, but more on that in another post.

So many people ask me, “What do I need to keep for records of our school year?”  So, I’m going to tell you what I keep.  In KY, we are required to keep an attendance record and proof that we have taught the required subjects.

Each year, I keep my record of attendance, lesson plans, curriculum list, letter of intent, certified letter to the DPP receipt, any other legal correspondences, and narrative report cards in a 1″ three-ring binder.  I keep the entire binder as part of my yearly records.

As you can see below, we keep everything we’ve done all year in various folders and notebooks – one for each subject.  At the end of the school year, I go through most notebooks (or subjects) and pull out a sampling from the beginning of the year, middle of the year and end of the year.  I only choose well-done work and try to choose things that show a good progression of skills from the beginning of the year to the end.  The subjects I narrow down like this include Bible, math, handwriting/copywork, grammar, phonics, spelling, writing, reading lists, and art.

For science and history/geography, I keep all the work.  We spend a lot of time putting together nice notebooks, lapbooks and timelines.   They make great resources for us to go back through as we move on to other science topics and history eras.  Not to mention, if the DPP ever shows up at my door, I would just love for him to see the fun we have learning as he looks through these!

After I’ve gathered the lesson plan book, the science and history things and the folder with a sampling of all other work, I add any co-op awards, school pictures, certificates or other important things to each child’s pile.  In such a lovely and highly technical fashion, I rubber band each child’s pile and then file them away in a Rubbermaid tote!  This tote is holding five years worth of records.

So there you have it.  It’s a very simple system.  I have proof if needed and a great reminder of each school year!