Homeschooling from Scratch~Keeping on Track thru the whole year

    


       Keeping a commitment for an entire year can be a really hard thing to do.  Each year as a homeschooling family you really need to recommit to the new year.  For me that starts with the homeschool conference that is coming up this weekend.  I have planed for it and I think I shop and participate in it smartly using my time there the best possible way.  So how do I keep up the pace through out the year and get everything complete? 
       It gets tough sometimes, I have to admit.  I will share with you a little secret.  We had to go to schooling year round a few years ago because I was having health problems.  It turned out to be not as serious as we originally had thought and now I am doing awesome!  Praise God!  However during that uncertain and testing time we were not always on track with our studies and had to go thru the summer to get our studies complete before the next year.  Don’t worry the kids got about a 3 week break that summer! Whew! 
     After that summer I kept thinking there has to be an easier way.  Life is not always, okay never really, predictable I think.  In the best efforts to get said things done life likes to throw curve balls whether it be that you got up and just didn’t feel well to something as crazy as out of town things or family emergencies that need to be handled now! After our short summer year, I came up with excel spread sheets that worked for us and I purchased an 8.5x5 inch binder for each.  Planners for the kids!  It worked great!  My kiddos are also required to do chores and at first I had those in there as well and calendar pages!  I was super excited!  Okay honestly the kids were not!  We used these for 2 years and I got tired of cutting the paper, since I made them myself.
     I then went to full size 1” binders.  With the larger binder the kids can also put any loose leaf assignments behind subject tabs that I can easily access.  So if our day gets crazy all their work is in an easy for me to get place to look over for the next day.
     The planner pages have been a successful thing at our house!  Here is a sample


   As you can tell it isn’t anything fancy!  It gets the job done and keeps us on track!  How we use them, is when the kids have completed their assignments,  they are to use a highlighter and cross off that assignment.  I don’t care if they do all of their math lessons or history lessons in one day, however I don’t want them to go any farther ahead than the week.  I have to remind them that going farther will cause them to possible to do an entire day of a subject they don’t like!  We found it best to stay at a week max for working a head.  Just as with anything else, there is no wrong or right answer with how you plan your year, week or day.  This is just one way that I have found with 4 kiddos at home in 4 different grades to keep on track.  It works for me, it may not for you .you have to find what you can work with and stick to. 
    Check out what my crew friends have to say today on the 5 Days of Homeschooling Blog Hop!