Those of you who have been with us from the beginning know that it’s been our goal all along to develop an online planner and record keeper specifically for CMers. Well, after years of designing and developing, we’re thrilled to announce that the CM Organizer is now officially online!
Just like CMers are a different breed of homeschooler, the CM Organizer is a different kind of planner. It’s unique.
Many of you already use our CM Bookfinder to find great living books. Now with the CM Organizer you can schedule how and when you want to use those books for each student. You can add your own books too. We then provide a daily plan where you can check off each student’s work as he works at his own pace. And in true CM style, we keep your school records but with no grading required.
We’re pretty excited about the CM Organizer because we think it will help you save time and stay organized! Plus, it is amazingly easy to use! Take a look at our overview video to see for yourself.
We’ve also provided some quick, easy to understand videos that go into more detail, if you’d like to learn more.
In future updates, we’ll share more about the features of the CM Organizer. But for now we encourage you to sign up for a free 30-day trial account and have fun exploring!
Drop us a note and let us know what you think of the CM Organizer.
24 comments
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Betty
March 1st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Well, Sonya, I took you up on the 30 day trial with the organizer and it was not too hard to set up and I think it is going to be very helpful. Thank you for ALL the help with my questions. This is the most helpful planner I’ve ever seen. All the options are truly amazing. You thought of everything! Keep up the wonderful work!
Blessings,
Betty
Michelle Lingle
March 1st, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Just finished the demo! Wow! You ladies are so creative!! Thank you for the resource!! I will definately check out the 30 day trial!! I love the idea of it being linked up to the CM bookfinder–what a time saver!!
Michelle
Lori Seaborg
March 1st, 2007 at 3:39 pm
It will be fun to play with this program. I think it’s going to be helpful. I didn’t find all of our books in the program, so will have to input quite a few of them. I’m looking forward to next week, when I will have enough books inputted to use the program fully.
I’d love it if you had a “Subject” heading for Natural History or Nature Studies. I was putting them under “Science,” but we also have a subject of science here at home that is separate.
Also — it would be great if several options could be chosen under the area that has you decide if it is “read indpendently” or “nature study” or “handicrafts”. For some books, I’d like the children to do a combination of activities.
Heather W.
March 1st, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Amazing!!! You have become my new best friend! I’ve always wanted something like this “organizer.” The tool is remarkable, a must-have. I can’t wait to share this with my CM group.
Samantha Cashen
March 1st, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I am so excited about this organizer. Even though a lot of books were not already here it was easy to add them. I am wondering if there is a way to print out tomorrow’s schedule today. I seem to be able to only view today’s schedule even though we have checked off all of our assignments.
My favorite part is the progress reports. I am thrilled to be able to bring up a progress report at anytime. It’s great for my husband who loves to get a quick run down of the kids day and for family who can’t fathom school without textbooks or grades. Not to mention it will be great to file in their year-end folder so they can see everything they have accomplished.
I agree with the comment to add a subject for Nature Study, this is a separate course of study outside of our science and to be able to add more than one option. Some of our copywork will also be recitation, Nature study might be reading and narrating one day & outside for observation or journaling another day. Just a few thoughts but overall this is a gem, a true asset to our homeschool. Thank you for all of your hard work on this project.
Sonya
March 1st, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Consider it done, ladies! I just added a subject called “Nature Study.” It should be available to you now.
Lori, great idea about being able to select several method options. I’ll add it to our “future features” list to be considered.
Samantha, right now the Daily Plan will print only today’s assignments, but your idea of being able to print tomorrow’s assignments is already on our “future features” list. I think it would be very convenient.
We have lots of ideas for “future features,” but we wanted to get the CM Organizer online and available to you as soon as possible so we had to determine which features were definite “musts” now and which could wait. We are committed to keep improving and upgrading it.
Thanks for all the encouragement and comments, everyone! We appreciate all the feedback. Keep it coming.
Lorraine
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:33 am
Mostly just wanted to encourage you. We are using the printed forms already designed for AO, but I have a child who might need something less advanced than AO, and I’ll definitely keep this in mind.
I don’t know if you are already considering it, but offering an option where ‘narration’ has a box to check off along with ‘reading’ ….. well, that might be helpful keeping them separated, if you know what I mean.
Especially if I can ‘assign’ a narration after the reading was completed…..
Now that would be powerful.
Thanks for your good work.
Lorraine
Lorraine
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:36 am
BTW, I don’t know how others feel about it, but I wouldn’t personally be inclined to try out something that I didn’t already know pricing for, and though I tried to find pricing info, I couldn’t find it. If I have to sign up for a trial prior to finding pricing, it is a general policy in my book not to do that. I mean, I trust you ladies more than I would almost any site out there, but I’m slow to sign up for something prior to knowledge about pricing.
For one thing, it might tend to set me up for coveting something that I simply couldn’t afford, and, well, I’d rather not set myself up for a fall like that……
Just a thought,
Lorraine
Sonya
March 2nd, 2007 at 9:08 am
Hi, Lorraine -
Thanks so much for your comments and ideas! The pricing is $9.95 a month. It’s posted on the front page of the CM Organizer and on the page when a person creates an account; but I appreciate your comment because it lets us know that we may need to post it in more places.
I like the narration box idea. One way you might be able to keep track of that right now is by using the Notes feature. You could add a Note to a reading assignment that simply says, “Narrated” or even type a description of the narration.
Hope this helps,
Sonya
Marisa
March 2nd, 2007 at 9:16 am
Hi,
I was wondering if someone could help me - I finished adding all my resources, etc. to the CM organizer last night. When I pull up my daily schedule for today it shows everything we’re supposed to do FOR TODAY. Is it not supposed to show the other subjects, in case we choose to work on one of those?
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks, Marisa
Sonya
March 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 am
Hi, Marisa -
Your resources scheduled for today will have the green checkboxes showing. If your other resources were scheduled to start on or before 3/2/07 (today), they should also be in the Daily Plan but won’t have their checkboxes showing. You can open them by clicking on the little triangles beside their titles. If the other resources were scheduled to start 3/3/07 or some other date after today, they will show up in your Daily Plan on the day they are supposed to start.
Does that help? Or am I being clear as mud?
Sonya
Marisa
March 2nd, 2007 at 11:22 am
Hi Sonya,
Okay, that explains a little bit. :o) My first day using the CM organizer is today. So, you’re saying that whenever the days come for the subjects I have scheduled for days other than today, they’ll start to show up.
Let me give you an example:
Our work scheduled for today is: 1. Grammar 2. Leisure Reading 3. Math 4. Dictation 5. Poetry 6. Bible
Now, all these things show up in their green boxes like they’re supposed to because they are scheduled for today, March 2, 2007.
From what I understand, the other subjects that I didn’t schedule for today, like writing, literature, art, music, nature study, etc. should still show up, but not in green boxes. They should have a little arrow that I can click on to bring them up in case we decide to work on one of them today. But the thing is, only one of these non-scheduled subjects (literature) is showing up - and only for one of my children.
Shouldn’t ALL the subjects be showing? The ones for today, in green boxes, the ones not for today, with little arrows beside them?
Does that paint a clearer picture? I’m afraid I’m being “clear as mud” myself! LOL!
Any thoughts on this? BTW, thank you so much for your prompt reply! Also, I absolutely love the CM Organizer!
Marisa
Sonya
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Marisa, when you first set up the resources for the other subjects (like writing, literature, art, music, nature study, etc.), what Start Date did you give them? (I’m hoping the answer to that question will help us wipe off some of the mud
Sonya
Marisa
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pm
The start dates I gave them are March 5, 6, and 7th. The thing that confguses me, is that literature, for BOTH my children, starts on Monday, March 5th. But on TODAY’S schedule, it’s showing everything we should be doing today, PLUS literature (with the little arrow beside it to pull it up we decide to use it)- but ONLY for my son.
Is that kind of wierd? Maybe it’ll all right itself on Monday, March 5th, when more of the subjects will start to kick in. Who knows?
I just want to say that I really appreciate all the help and support. I’d be completely lost without you!
Marisa
Sonya
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:19 pm
You’re right, Marisa. The other subjects will start showing on March 5, 6, and 7 — their Start Dates. I’m not sure about that one maverick Literature. Maybe he was just eager to get on the Daily Plan!
Thanks for your kind words. We’re here to help.
Grace and peace,
Sonya
Wyndee Clara
March 5th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I’m setting up our schedule and have questions about the chapter layout for Our Island Story. Can you tell me why the chapters are not in order?
Sonya
March 5th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Oh, I’m so glad you mentioned that, Wyndee! At one point in our building and beta testing of the CM Organizer, some of the books’ chapters got scrambled in the CM Bookfinder. We thought we had caught all of them and reordered them, but we evidently missed Our Island Story.
It’s fixed now, so go ahead and schedule it using the latest version from the CM Bookfinder. And if you notice any more books with chapters that are out of order, please let me know. Thanks so much!
Grace and peace,
Sonya
Wyndee Clara
March 5th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Thank you! I’m really looking forward to using this resource!
Jennifer in PA
March 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
It looks wonderful but it is out of my price range and probably that of many home schoolers. I understand that you need to be compensated for your work but 9.95/month adds up to almost $120/year. To me that is alot of money.
Karen Patton
March 20th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Hi — I am loving the idea of the CM Organizer. Whew! Finally a planning tool that “fits” how we are doing things here. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! I feel like I have found a treasure! I cannot wait to get going on some of the other resources in your site (Laying Down the Rails and Spelling Wisdom, and the Business Math Programs, and the 106 Days of Creation…just to name a few)!
I do have a frustration with not having more religion course options than “Bible.” In our Catholic home school, we have Bible Study, Catechism, Saints Reading, Apologetics, Liturgical Year Activities, etc. All these I would gladly “lump” into a “Religion” section or course, but it somehow doesn’t seem to work in my mind to lump them into “Bible.” Maybe I’m being “finicky?”
Again, Thanks for all you do! Your program and your site are treasures!
Blessings,
Karen
+AMDG+
Karen Patton
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Hi Sonya –
I have been getting my resources into the Organizer, and I am loving it! As I am working through entering the resources and getting the daily plan going, I have been coming up with more questions and comments.
Is there a way to add a book and mark the book read without checking off every chapter? (Maybe mark divisions as “none” - haven’t tried it yet) I have two voracious readers, and it is not uncommon for them to complete several books in one day. I’d like to add these books to have a complete record of all their reading, but I don’t really want to work through each chapter.
Is there a way to go back further than two weeks? We began our Charlotte Mason style curriculum at the end of February and I’d like to accurately record which dates we did each assignment.
Are there any plans to offer a price break for “ordering” the CM Organizer for a year at a time? I like to pay for “things” all at once and not go month by month. That’s just how I tend to budget. For example, I have the kids signed up on Cosmeo. We could pay $9.95/month or $99/year. We chose to pay the $99/year. Just a thought.
Again, I am so excited about the program! This is a powerful tool, and I am telling all my CM friends.
Blessings,
Karen
+AMDG+
Karen Patton
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Hi Sonya –
I had another question pop up today. I would like to add our field trips in as a special resource. We go on at least one field trip a month with our home school group. Which subject would you use to categorize field trips? Could you add a “Field Trip” category or “Other?” I would understand if you don’t want the list of subjects to get too long though. Just a thought. As you can tell, I’m engrossed in this program, and I am trying to get the total picture of our home school documented.
Thanks a bunch!
Blessings,
Karen
+AMDG+
Sonya
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Jennifer,
Sorry it took us so long to get back with you. We’ve been preparing for the Webinar. Thanks so much for your comments. We realize that the Organizer may not be for everyone. But we decided it was better to charge a fair price that allowed this tool to be built than not to be able to do it at all. Although it’s not necessarily cheap, we believe we’ve built something that provides a great value for the price. And we’re continuing to improve it day by day.
Thanks to everyone for your comments — positive and negative. We value your feedback!
Grace and peace,
Sonya
Sonya
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Karen,
Thanks for the encouragement. You’ve got some great questions. Let’s see if we can answer them for you.
Re: A “Religion” subject — We understand how those resources may not fit well under the “Bible” subject; however, we’re trying hard not to let that subject list get too long or it will become hard to use. Usually, when I have a resource that cultivates my children’s spiritual development, I use the “Personal Development” subject.
Re: Completing a book without checking off each chapter — You’re absolutely right. Just enter it with “None” in the Division Type, schedule it as usual, then check it off as Finished.
Re: Going back farther than two weeks — At this point, no, there isn’t a way to record work done previous to those two weeks. Now, if you wanted to, you could enter the resources and mark that work as completed; the dates just wouldn’t be exact.
Re: A discounted yearly subscription — Thanks for the idea about offering a discount for a year’s worth of service. We’ve been thinking along the same lines, but it will take a little while to get the programming in place. We appreciate the suggestion!
Re: Field trip subjects — It might work best to connect the field trips to their respective subjects. For example, if you’re going to the art museum, you could put that field trip under the Art subject. If you’re going to a zoo, you could put that under Science or Nature Study. If you’re going to a ballet presentation, you could put that under Fine Arts. Does that make sense?
Grace and peace,
Sonya