Dear Sheraz. Just found out some of the things I'd planned to order this week and next will need to be postponed. I got to thinking and remembered that I'd copied something into my iPhone notepad about CMO alternatives and just had to thank you for sharing. This will help me with staying on top of things while I wait (hopefully patiently). ;0)
Blessings,
Becca<€<
SCM planner or alternatives
(40 posts) (16 voices)-
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
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You are welcome!
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
chocodog
MemberI just was reading again some of the great ideas others came up with. I thought I would add something that has helped for me. I have 17 hanging file folders. In these file folders I have 3 non hanging folders. One for each child. I color coordinate my kids. Green is for my oldest, Blue middle son, and red my daughter. I put their personal homework in their folder for the week. If they didn't get it done then it can go in the next weeks folder. It takes 15 weeks to do a semester. 2 semsters a year with 2 weeks at the end in case we didn't get all of the 15 weeks done on time. So my file folders go to 17 weeks. This has worked out nicely for me. I put my stuff in the front of the files in the folder that I want to accomplish for the week. I also have put a folder in for me and I move it to the next week and add to or take away.
I am trying to make things easier to accomplish. This way I can look at the weeks we have done and say. Wow we are already on week 6. It is working good because some subjects we cover don't last all the way to the 15 week mark. They may only last till the 6 or 8 week mark. I have noticed some subjects are for 36 weeks so that falls close to a year for us and we just finish it up at the end. :)
Just something that helped me. I like to switch things around to much to do the SM planner. I think I would drive myself nuts entering all of the stuff we do. Just to reenter it again later. My kids also go to work with their dad sometimes and I plan different stuff for them when they do. So that would throw me way off. I also like to see ahead of what I am doing. To put other things in..... Ok maybe I am a little ADD that way.. :) But, I like to switch things around. If I find we are spending more time on something or I found something fun to change around I don't want to type it all in. If however you are the type of person that sticks to the curriculm plans then I would recommend it. That maybe an easier factor in deciding if it is for you or not. For me that is why I am not signing up for it yet. To much work when I have a system that is working for me so far. However, things do change maybe someday I will change my mind. :)
Just my $0.02 Blessings!
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
Rebekahy
MemberChocodog - have you used the SCM Organizer? The great thing about it, is that you can take as much time as you want to complete something - it just sits there being "worked on" until you complete it. You also dont' have to reenter anything. Once you've entered it, you can take it out or put it in as often as you like or just leave it in and don't mark anything on it while you take a break from it. The flexibility is astounding and since lots of things are already entered - you may find that there is very little you even need to enter - just search for your material in the book finder and schedule it. I'm glad that you've found a system that works for you, but just didn't want you to be discouraged from trying it because of misconceptions about how much flexibility it has. Hope that's helpful when considering it someday if your system isn't all you need it to be.
Blessings,
Rebekah
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
4myboys
MemberChocodog -- this seems like something I've been contemplating myself. But I'm not fully sure I understand exactly how you do it. Do you have everything for every subject in the same folder for one week per child? Just a check-list type thing or more to it than that? Do you have assignments in every folder starting out? Do your kids grab their folder themselves and work through the assignments? I can kind of see something like this working for me. I also ended up with only about a 33 week year, and I liked that, especially where I plan to just keep math and copy work going through the summer. We have no rules about days or hours that we must school, but if we did I would simply count more of our everyday stuff as school. In December we only did math and copy work and I really didn't count it as part of a term, starting our second term in January. It's hard to believe we only have 8 weeks of school left in our first homeschool year!
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
chocodog
MemberThanks Rebekah! :)
I just get so many ideas. I add things and mix and match things that work from different curriculms. For instance I love CM Modules. I love to get the books to read together. However I like "The story of the World" CD's and their activities in their books. I also come across worksheets on different sites. I also love to do "Hot Dot" cards. I also love to Do Uncle Joshes maps with a learning center and A history center. I don't think I could get that all in on the days I want them and if something comes up like my son wants to go down to shop then he works on a book type curriculm like ACE paces and some workpages before doing the rest on computer. I do more of a workbox style so I think it would be more confusing. I like the concept but think I would be more rigid then my little mind could hold. I have been the rigid type and my kids burned out to fast on it, Myself included. I just like to stick with a certain time era and work with different ideas. It keeps my curriculm interesting and I am not stuck with ideas from just one person. This is just my history btw. I do MUS for math. and work on things myself. We are all different and what works for one doesn't work for another.
I realize I am a little unusual and don't fit the mold when it comes to curriculm. However, I do find I enjoy learning with the kids more if I am not stuck in one curriculm. To put it all together with all the workboxes and all the books I don't think it would work out. What do you think? It would probably be to much trouble trying to type it all down. Then if I see another worksheet, that I come across, that would be more helpful, I would have to think about what I am doing. I simply put it in for the lesson for that week. If it doesn't get done then it will go to the beginning of the next week or in one of their workboxes for fun, or for one of the History Centers. I hope I am not to confusing.... I guess it just works for me. :)
Thanks for your thoughts. :) I may concider it at a different time. I just found that some things work better if I don't sit and punch all of the work in. I could be wrong but that will be something I will have to examine at another time. I also didn't have the time to punch it all in. I guess if I wanted to do it I would make the time. but, it just didn't seem like such a priority to me, and having to pay for it to boot. Imo. :) Besides I have an older computer and would not be happy if it took a crash on me and I didn't have all of my stuff to access. I live in the middle of nowhere and if that happened I couldn't just go out and print it out. So that was another thought. Sometimes we rely on modern tech. to much that when something happens we freak out when we can't use it. :0
Blessings!
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
I would like to "hear" about your history and geography centers. And, what are hot dot cards?
Becca<><Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
4myboys
MemberWhat Becca said. Sounds interesting.
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
chocodog
MemberSorry, I must have posted at the same time and it didn't show up.
@4 my boys.... I have a hanging file folder with 3 non-hanging folders in them. One for each child. Each their color. I color code my kids. I print off my main weekly schedule from-- old fashioned education.com They have it done out by weeks. I keep this in the front of my weekly folder. You could do it by days and put 5 file folders in the hanging one. You could even put one in each childs file folder if they are old enough to read and figure out their own. My kids pull out their own homework sometimes when they are going with their dad and want to go bad enough to get it ready ahead of time. (Incentive! ) :) I have the week on the hanging file folder.. Ex. week1, week2, ect... up to 17weeks. I strive for 15 but left myself a couple of weeks just incase something in the curriculm takes longer.
I put their work in their folders. The math lessons are numbered. I put them in their ahead of time. I make all of my copies and put 4 in one folder for that week. If it isn't finished by Friday they must do them before they can go with me to the Library... :) (Incentive!) :)
I do a workbox system type of homeschool. You can look it up at Sue Patrick's workboxes or just google Workbox and you will get several peoples ideas... Some are really great. Anyway, I just take their work that they work on their own and put it in these boxes randomly. For ex. box 1-Math worksheet, Box 2-Spelling Words, Box-3-art center, Box 4-read history story, Box 5- post it note that says," Go to science center" Box 6 -Writing cneter- Write a paragraph about the story you read. Box 7- " Go to History poster..... Ect....
The Learning centers are about educational material, made kid friendly so they want to learn. Ex. You want your kids to learn their skeletal systems. You can buy a poster cover the answers with velcro. They have to match the posters body parts to the correct spot. If you want to do more you can order the skeletal system cards from Hot Dots. They have a variety of cards. If you touch the pen to the dot it will tell you if you got it right or wrong. It lights up and tells you several different way if you are wrong or right. Kids love to play with it. They will sit their for hours playing with the answers trying to listen to it buzz and tell them they are wrong. :) You can make up your own cards and buy the dots. If you laminate your cards you can sometimes reuse the dots if you are careful when you take them off with an exacto knife. You can use these for your posters or centers to make learning more fun. It works great for worksheets.
You can set up a Microscope and some slides and some worksheets with some questions. This would be a Science Center. If you find worksheets you like you can just put them in a sheet protector. They can write the answers with dry erase marker and you can just rub it off and use it over and over. You can change it around and months later bring it back for reveiw.
This would also work with an Art Center. Have an small poster with info about the artist. You could velcro the answers on it. Do a picture study and have them list all the things they see. This would be after they have done one with you but you want reinforce what they know.
Music Center-- you could have a tape player and some music going. They can have questions you ask with Hot Dots or a book about the musician. They can write their own peice of music. Tell where everyone sits in an orchestra. Learn their notes. Play notes on a little piano keyboard that plays it back to them. Writing their own songs on paper.... Endless possiabilities.. :)
History Center- This year we are doing 2. One will be Presidents. I am going to do the states the pres. came from at the same time. I am also going to do the state birds, flowers, ect... We also are doing a States song to learn them. I am going to purchase the Hot Dots Pres. Info. We have a book about strange things the pres. have done ect.. this will be part of that even though they have already read the book. I may put a puzzle for my younger daughter to do at this center. So many ideas that I may switch them out during the week to get them thinking and keep their attention. I will also have other books, writings, ect...
Geography. There are a few good Geo. sites that you can pull up on the computer to have them beat their highest score. The computer is also a tool in a center. You can also use games and puzzles and a Globe or map. Along with the Hot Dots and ask questions about the places you want them to learn.
Grammar Center, Latin Center, Spanish Center, Phonics Center, What ever you want them to learn can be a center. My son created his own for us to learn. We learned the Japanese numbers. He wanted to learn them and came up with the material so we had fun matching them up with the numbers. Talk about challenging! :) It was fun to see who would get it write before mom did. :)
If you have anymore questions let me know. It makes learning more fun. Blessings!
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post -
I love all of your creativity. I hope to use snipets that seem like they'd work for our family. Thanks for sharing, Becca<><
Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
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