With the new year upon us, it’s usually the time of year that we take a step back, reevaluate how things are going, and then tweak what we’re doing, making changes if needed.  If you homeschool, then you know how important it is to do this, especially in your kids’ schedules and study times.  We ended up doing a slight overhaul to our schedule when January hit….it wasn’t that our old schedule was bad, but it just wasn’t quite working, and we were a bit overwhelmed.  So, it was time for a change.

There are literally tons of free forms, programs, and ways to help you stay organized online; all you have to do is search, and you will have an endless array of choices before you.  The key, though, is to stay true to yourself and your family.  You have to personalize everything that you do….which involves being flexible.  Boy, have I had to learn that lesson.  If something in your schedule isn’t working with your kids, maybe it’s time to sit back and consider how you could do that particular thing differently.

So, here’s an idea of how I organize and keep a schedule with our homeschool.  This may seem borderline OCD, or maybe all the way OCD, but I know that if I don’t have some kind of outline or plan, I’m going to be in trouble….we won’t get anything done.  So, here are some of the things I do, and I’ll share sources of where I’ve gotten the forms or ideas from.

First of all, we have our main school schedule.  Last year, we tried doing year round schooling, but we missed out on a lot of summer, so it wasn’t worth it for our family.  At the beginning of this year, I sat down with our school district’s calendar (to give me an idea of holidays), my calendar pages, and a highlighter, and I figured out which days we would want off.  Granted, we’re taking a few more days off than the school district, but that’s the beauty of homeschooling.:)  In our state, as long as we have our core/non-core hours in, we’re good.  (Of course, you need to check your state’s homeschooling laws; every state is different.)  Then, once I figured that out, I spent time figuring up how many hours we’d need to get in every day vs. the amount of schoolwork we had to do for the year.  On average, we get between 4 1/2 -5 hours or more every day.  I scheduled that out in a color-coded Excel spreadsheet because that way Jacob can look at the schedule and see what subjects he has that day and how long they might take.  Again, flexibility is required because he may need more time on certain days, or he might not get everything done….which is fine.  I actually got the idea for a color-coded spreadsheet schedule from a fellow blogger, and I have searched and searched for her blog, but I can’t find it.  I am so sorry….although, Google has many ideas for this very subject.

With the schedule reworked, I’ve found that Jacob’s doing so much better, paying way more attention than he was before because I’m limiting the amount of time he’s spending on one subject, say, math.  If he’s not understanding something, then we come back to it tomorrow….vs. spending 2 hours and making him even more frustrated with school.

Another thing I’m doing differently is keeping a draft of lesson plans, and then I go in daily and insert what we’ve done that day into my more formal weekly schedule, part of which is pictured; Friday is on another page.  I got this idea from Donna Young, and it has saved me so much hassle and time.  I’m not constantly erasing my weekly schedule when we can’t finish something or if we have a sick day.  Donna Young actually has the Quarter Planner sheets and the Weekly Schedule sheets.  I have a Quarter Planner sheet for each subject that we do, and as we complete a day or half a day I check it off and put the date, so it will be easier to fill in the weekly planner later on.  Donna Young actually has sample planner forms filled out, so you can see how they work.

Grades and hours are a whole other concern when it comes to keeping things organized.  With Jacob being in the 2nd grade, I don’t have to worry that much about grades right now, but I still try to keep track of things, just in case we were ever to get checked up on….you just never know, and it doesn’t hurt to cover your tracks.  I actually got my Daily Grades and Daily Log sheets from Families for Home Education, an organization for Missouri homeschoolers.  The Daily Log reflects both core and non-core hours, which is essential to comply with Missouri laws.  Any homeschooler in any state might find their forms useful, though.  When I first started homeschooling, I ordered their First Things First CD for $7.50, and these forms were included.

As for how I keep all of Jacob’s papers and work organized, I actually gleaned a lot of great info from the book, The Well-Trained Mind.  I use a binder system, and I’ve combined all of his language arts into one big binder, history and geography in one, and so on.  That way, at any given time, I can pull down the binders and show them if I have to, since we are required to also keep a portfolio.  When the next year comes around, out comes the crate, and I load it up with all of last year’s papers, and the binders can be used again.  Rubber bands come in handy then for all of those loose papers.

My main binder includes my calendars, planner sheets, grades, daily log, etc.  I have everything separated with tabs, so I can just flip easily to what I need.

One thing I’ve tried to keep track of but can’t seem to stay up with because he reads so fast, is the books that Jacob reads.  I’ve tried keeping a form filled out, but I just can’t stay on top of it.  I would love it if you have ideas for this….on just keeping a list of the books your kids read.

Anyway, that’s just a glimpse into how we stay organized in our homeschool.  I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts on this, as I’m always looking to improve and gain new insight from other, more experienced homeschool moms. How do you schedule your homeschool?  What programs or forms do you have in place to help you stay organized and on top of things?  Hoping this encourages you today; let’s get crackalackin’ since Monday is upon us!  Have a beautiful day!

To read more from Mel, you can visit her personal blog, Real Heart Prints.