Getting Organized for the year

I am very blessed to have a separate schoolroom from the rest of the house. But occasionally life gets in the way.... this year, it was Christmas. Being behind in my Christmas prep, we started storing things in the schoolroom while we took our 2 weeks off. Big mistake. It has taken me 7 months to tackle this hurdle and reclaim our schoolroom! But reclaim it we have! Take a look!

You may have seen our "cublets" before... we have now made the addition of Desk Apprentices for each of the desks! I struggled and read pros and cons of these organizers and finally bought one to see if I would like it... I liked it so much that I went back and bought several more! These come from Staples and have a pretty steep price online ($46) but in store they are only $26 - go figure. And if you are part of the Rewards club, you can get money back on used ink cartridges. I had a $20 certificate which I used toward the first DA. Plus Staples has a Back to School card for $10 and you will receive 15% off purchases through 9/15/12. Brings these bad boys down to about $23 each.

How we use the Desk Apprentice...
I have all of my teacher manuals in mine plus my red pencils for grading, tabs, memory sticks, pens and pencils, scissors, etc.

The 4 oldest kids have all their curriculum loaded into their DA. I have included their notebooks and journals, teaching dvds, workbooks and readers. Plus pens and pencils, highliters and scissors. It is our hope that when we go out in the RV, these will be a grab and go solution for Roadschooling - homeschooling on the road! Can't wait to try it!

Another favorite in our schoolroom is our pocket chart and map rail. Since we are limited to wall space due to the many windows in our schoolroom, we had to get creative in how to utilize maps and charts. This rail from Ikea makes accessing them very easy... I just pull out the map or chart I need - now you see it....

Now you don't!

Of course, teacher gets her space too.  I love being able to place my hands on things quickly and with 5 kids, it is almost a must!  It is a pleasure to come to school and work at my organized desk....

And my curriculum wall....

If you haven't guessed by now, we love organization. With 5 kids, organization is the difference between getting things done and ..

... pulling my hair out!

Best laid plans

The beginning of a new school year always brings hope and goals.  The year is started with anticipation and enthusiasm by teacher and students alike.  Homeschool is no different from public school in this regard.

We are starting our fourth year homeschooling now.  I have high hopes for the year and a  fear that my expectations won't be realized.  Not that my kids won't learn but that all that I have planned won't get accomplished.  I do understand that my plans probably far exceed what the local school has planned.  After all, I only have 5 kids to teach.  But I plan what I think we should learn and then kick myself when it doesn't happen the way I have planned.

This is when I have to rely on the Lord and know that He will help me accomplish what He wants me to complete this year.  He knows my limitations and He shows grace to my children for my shortcomings.  It would be so easy to be stressed over all the lessons we don't accomplish and not celebrate all that has been accomplished.  I can lift up my concerns to Him and He can bring me peace over decisions or convict me where I need to try harder.  He has blessed our homeschool immensely.

Another way I have discovered to counter the sinking feeling is in scheduling each subject.  I like to schedule the whole year, that way I know how often I need to do each subject in order to complete by the end of the year.  If it doesn't get scheduled, it won't get done!  I know this can be overwhelming for most people and it was frustrating when I had to reschedule (especially in my written planner).  I have found an amazing tool though.  It is called Homeschool Tracker and it allows me to schedule all of my subjects with minimal work.  This Basic software program is offered free (with limited functions), Plus is offered for a one time fee of $49, or Online which is accessible anywhere and costs as little as $5 per month.  I love this program!  I can reschedule with just a few clicks on the computer, create reusable lesson plans, schedule field trips, track attendence, run reports such as report cards and assignments. 

At the beginning of the week I print out the assignment list for each day for each child.  This stays on their desk and they highlite assignments as they complete them.  I can then check them off on the program and enter grades as I correct papers.  My goal though is to place the software on our network so that the kids can track assignments straight from their computers and mark the box when they are finished with each assignment.  The program is set up so that they can only see their assignments and cannot make changes except to check the finished box. 

This program doesn't do the assignments for us but it does help me plan for it!

How do you organize that?

I am a self proclaimed organizational nut! I probably drive my husband crazy but he is very tolerant. I love to be organized and know exactly where things are at any given moment... when I can't put my hands on what I want right away, I start pulling my hair out.

The last several months have been the hair-pulling kind. I have been so behind on organization that I almost forgot the joy that comes with knowing where things are. That is until I started cleaning out the homeschool room. Oh, yes. Now I remember! Do you feel that way as well? Having the house in a state of disaray causes an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. And each day that goes by only magnifies the feeling. So here is my target list of what to do to stay in this nirvana of peace....

1. Clean up the classroom at the end of the day - may seem simple but having each of the kids at the end of the day clean up their desks and prepare for the next day is of vital importance. It says that we care about what we do during school and we will focus on being prepared for the next educational adventure.

2. Chores for the kids. My kids actually enjoy doing chores. But they need to know what is expected and when it is expected. That is why we do chorepacks. The kids are self sufficient but I know that I need to train them and then check their chores to make sure that they are completing to my expectations. Only doing half the job does not cut it. If they are willing to do the work, I need to take the time to check their efforts and train them with encouragement when it is not quite up to par. It is only fair.

3. Have a spot for everything. Please don't look in my garage! This is a work in progress. But the immediate home and classroom need to have a spot for things when we are done. This gives a sense of accomplishment when things can be put away and joy of what we have done together.

4. Clean out what you are not using. This is a hard one. I have inherited lots of wonderful curriculum and supplies from those who have gone before. But sometimes their style of teaching is different from mine and some things I have received I keep in the thought of "I might use this sometime..." This is especially difficult when you have little ones and you don't know how they might learn or what resource might be of benefit to them at any given time. But we need to have eyes for how we teach and what is enjoyable. If you know that you like to play games and spend one on one with a kindergartner, then probably holding on to all those Abeka workbooks are just space wasters. How freeing it is to finally clean out and sell/give to others the supplies that might actually work for them! Not to mention, providing wonderful space for the items that you may actually use!

Looking over my organized space makes me feel like I am capable of teaching these children. I know it is really not a gauge of my ability to teach but the grounding I feel in a clean home and classroom is an encouragement. I feel like it is one less area that I need to worry about and gives me the freedom just to teach (and to learn!) Praise God!