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Does CM Organizer = scheduling software?
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I started the FREE TRIAL for the organizer & need your help…
Do you also utilize a scheduler along with the organizer? Which one – paper or electronic (online or otherwise?)?
Not sure if my question is even clear. Because I’ve never used either (the CM Organizer or scheduling software like Homeschool Tracker) I would love to hear from those of you who have. Does the CM Organizer *do* what, say a program like HST does? I certainly don’t want to create more work but can’t quite visualize how the set up is for the day to day use of either.
Thank you.
From what I can see, SCM organizer is a great tool, but I haven’t used it myself. I’d like to, but can’t really put it in my budget now. I see Well Planned Day has a new organizer software program for about half the cost, but I’m not sure how it compares. The screen shots look beautiful, but I can’t find a free trial, with it, so it’s hard to say if it does what you want it to do.
I have never looked into Well Planned Day. I found the Organizer three years ago, and haven’t looked back since. I have never found the Organizer lacking to the point that I would need something else. In fact, I haven’t found it lacking at all! They (the SCM team) are constantly making updates and changes, so it keeps up with our needs. For $9.95/month, I have found it to be a very economical option as well. I don’t know what Homeschool Tracker is either, because like I said, the Organizer meets all of our needs.
The SCMO works well – but if you want a schedule like “child 1 is doing x from 9:00-9:20 while child 2 is doing y from 9:00-9:20….” – no it doesn’t do that. It gives you a to-do-list from the information you have entered.
My kids like picking what they will do when… so that hasn’t been a problem.
I use the Planning Your CM Education to figure out what we want to do each day, and figure out the over-all plan… a lot of the basic information in it is available free here http://simplycharlottemason.com/series/planning/
And I know that some people use the forms from Planning Your CM Education to show what subject when during a day… this page has a link to downloadable versions of the charts/forms http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/planning-your-charlotte-mason-education/links-tips/
I did use the free version of Homeschool Tracker (which is quite different from the pay version) – but I found it difficult to use, especially if I got behind on entering what was done, or did a lot of postponing what we were doing…
Using it in conjunction with The Planning Your CM Ed. is all I need to do whatever it is I need to do. Like Lindsey, once I started using it I never went back to my original way of keeping track/planning, etc. I do incorporate my original ideas that match my personality but I no longer use what I was using. I am very thankful for the SCMO and hopefully will not have to give it up.
I’m just starting my free trial with SCMO, but all I’ve done so far is to enter my kids’ names! I need to watch the demo videos, but since I have 2.5 days of peace & quiet (kids are camping w/ their dad), I’m torn between staying in to “work” or going out to “play,” lol!
What I really need in an organizer is A) something to look at daily that tells me which subjects/books to grab, and B) something to help me look back at what we’ve done when the year is over.
Having said that, I do know I like to see where we are & where we’re going from time to time during the year. As far as a daily schedule goes, I think I’m fine with setting up our daily and/or weekly routine and posting it on the wall or refrigerator so we have an “at-a-glance” view of things. I haven’t bothered to post what we’ll do in the morning, what we’ll do in the afternoon, but that might be helpful for us. We’ve become a little too relaxed in our approach to the day….but I don’t need the online organizer to tell me what we’ll do from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. or anything like that.
Your comments are helpful – thanks. I’m getting a little clearer picture of how things may come together where before I didn’t. I appreciate you taking the time to reply & share what’s working for you.
We have 4 kids ages 8-15 & just moved across country after some significantly rough family issues (read: most ‘school plans’ for this season have long flown out the window). Trying to get my footing & wrap up this year while looking ahead to next fall, I *think* the SCMO is the way to go. I would love to see it more in action somehow in order to better understand how other real-life moms & families utilize this tool. Yes, I am a very visual learner. 🙂
In setting up the trial run, I admit I’m hesitant to enter all the resources for each of our children. It feels like a lot. It IS a lot. But at the same time, I can’t figure/imagine how this organizer/scheduler is going to work for us otherwise. Suggestions???
Thanks for helping me get this sorted.
Once you have al your items in the program then it is wonderful, so yes there is a little work prior but then it is a piece of cake. If you have a scanner, you can scan the books in and that makes it go much faster. Other planners work well, but this is so good for the CM method and does not allow you to feel like you are falling behind. Give the trial a really good try and I think you will see the benefits.
Here is a visual of how Tristan plans her year by day. I do something similar with a calendar and pencil.
http://ourbusyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2012/05/homeschoolsetting-goals-and-schedules.html
When we both are comfortable with how it balances out, then we take the time to enter everything we have selected for everyone in the O. Once it is in there, we don’t have to stress (think) about it too much anymore, because we’ve already figured out the schedule.
Everyday I print my check-off lists for all of us, and enter what we worked on/finished in the evening. If I miss something one day, it is okay. The O automatically reschedules that assignment for the next time we are doing that subject, whether it is tomorrow or next week.
Because I spent a lot of time in the beginning adding our resources for the year, I give myself that time later to be with the kids and enjoying our school instead of always having to stress about my paper planning, getting behind, and all that goes with that. Ack! I’m stressing just remembering that situation! 😉
My kids love their lists and all of their stuff is in the O – from geting up and doing their morning routines (easy checkmark and gets them into the accomplishing of it all), to what they’re doing in school, to their church program activities, to their chores. This allows them to learn how to plan their day, what has to get done, and what their limits for extra activities are (no swimming if your school list isn’t done) and allows them to work independent of me (to a certain degree). That is worth the cost of the O to me just for that. lol
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