Feeling Scattered and Unorganized

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  • amandajhilburn
    Participant

    This school year has been a huge learning experience for me and I am still not feeling confident with the randomness of our school work. I have the Planning Your CM Edu. book and have filled it out, but we have changed things, dropped books that we did not like, and rearranged so much that my original plan is not even correct enough to “file” for the year! Math is going well (using Math U See), copywork is fine, picture and composer studies are fine (if I remember to do them), language lessons are fine, and narration is beginning to come around now. I love the Scripture memory system. Dictation will be fine now that I understand it better. Science and Nature study are done very randomly ( I have trouble coming up with Nature Study ideas that make it fun and not monotonous). History is working out using books from module 5 and lots of library books ( I have no idea how many times we switched directions with history this year!) Handicrafts are fun and character building/life skills, etc is my favorite part of our new education method.

    Now to my issue….I know that my kids have learned interesting things this year and are growing mentally and spiritually, but I don’t feel like I have a good handle on a schedule…yearly schedule or framework. I have a weekly schedule for what subjects to cover on what day, but does it matter that our academic subjects are so random and scattered? I have been looking at Living Books Curriculum because it looks so structured and scheduled, but still flexible. In reality, we can not afford to buy it. So, how do I make myself okay with this randomness or should I be okay with it at all?

    I want our next year to be planned a little better. But, if we are picking books from the library how do I schedule them ahead of time? Sometimes the SCM recommended titles for history are not at our library and I have to fill in with what is available. I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t know how to plan terms and make up some evaluations because our living books for history, poetry, artist, composer, and nature are unpredictable for the most part. I can pick a time period, a few artists, composers and poets, but if I do not buy the books how do I plan for what the library may or may not have available at the time we will need them?

    We are using a time line on the wall…and have very basic timeline notebooks (which I forget about very often) so I feel confident that the kids are not confused about when events took place. However, in the future I may not be able to tell what we have covered and what has been left out if we continue down this random path. We have covered ancients, explorers and early American history over the past 2 years.

    Is it okay to just get a basic idea of what time period we are doing, what science topics we will cover, which artists and composers to study and just keep a running list of the books we find to use? I do not have to report anything legally, but I want to feel organized. Any suggestions?

    LindseyD
    Participant

    It sounds to me like you’re doing fine. Smile I think there is randomness in every homeschool, which is what makes it fun and interesting. You sound a lot like me–always wanting a concrete schedule, wanting to know what’s next all the time, wanting to plan, plan, plan! I probably won’t give you much comfort, but I can help you out with your library problem. My librarians are so wonderful and willing to help, and I’m sure all libraries are that way.

    Anyway, I went to our head librarian back in the summer and told her that I was brand-new to hsing and that I would be checking out a lot of books but wouldn’t have time to come in and browse a lot. She kindly gave me her e-mail address and said that I was welcome to e-mail her with our book/DVD/CD needs. So far, my library has been able to find every resource I have needed (either at the library or through inter-library loan), with the exception of Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. (I have since learned that that resource is actually available online for free.) I sent my librarian a long e-mail back in August, detailing each term, what would be studied, what books I knew I would need, and what our dates were for each term. We’re now wrapping up our second term, and I have yet to need to remind the library or have to go in and look for what I want/need. They always call me the week before a new six weeks begins to let me know they have books on hold for me! They have gone out of their way to inter-library loan several of my needed resources. For the subjects that I knew I wanted to study but didn’t have a clue about which resources to use(like picture study and composer study), the library pulls several books and allows me to go through them to determine which ones I want and which ones I don’t. They’re also wonderful about recommending books or movies that I’m not familiar with or would’ve never thought of.

    All that said, my best advice for homeschooling moms is to make friends with your librarian! I couldn’t do this without them. I hope that helps a little!Wink

    Lindsey

    amandajhilburn
    Participant

    WOW! That is one awesome library you have! I can put things on hold, but I have never thought to ask for that much help. I took a little bit of time and checked the module 6 books to see it they are at our library using the bookfinder. A lot of them are available for hold so that makes me feel good 🙂

    I have several resources at home, in my computer (history scribe notebook pages), and at the library that I need to use. I just have trouble remembering to use them and finding them when I need them. I guess I need a rough outline of what to cover throughout the year and have a day for just printing out notebook pages, nature study ideas, and library resources. If I had all this together before the school year starts it would be so much more helpful! I am tired of planning and want to be able to just do what we need to do every week and have fun! That is why an already fixed up plan appeals to me right now. However, I will always have to “tweak” the pre-made planner too! I just need a good system for my random chaos! LOL

    lgeurink
    Member

    My personality does not lean toward randomness at all!  I would go crazy not having things planned for the entire year by August.  I know not every person is like that, but addressing your worries about being so random, I think it is a personality trait that can be both good and bad (as is my trait of organization!).  My biggest tips for being organized (if you decide you need to be more so) would be

    1)  Have a daily planner to consult as you go through your day.  Mine shows a week at a time and is fairly blank so I can put what subject I want where it makes the most sense to me.  I follow scm’s curriculum guide for subjects but like to pick and choose specifics based on my children’s learning styles so I use some from scm, some from other CM sources.  I try to do as much combined work as possible just adjusting my expectations per child.  I plan the entire year by August in my daily planner, including locating resources so I know where to go when I need something.  I put a sticky not on each week with reminders for things I need in the upcoming week like reserving library books or buying art supplies. 

    2)  During the school year, all of our daily work is kept in a box where we do most of our school work-that is where the planner is too so each morning it gets pulled out first.  I then pull out what the planner says I need that day. 

    3)  Sunday nights during the school year I spend changing the items in the box for the upcoming week, making copies, bringing art supplies up, making sure I don’t need to leave the school area for anything while I am teaching so we do not get distracted.  The weeks are then pain free as long as I don’t forget anything! 

    The planner is key for me.  I do not use the scm one and have not even looked at it (sorry Sonya!) but may for next year.  I think the key for a good planner is that it makes sense to you. 

    If your kids opporate well with randomness I would say you are doing fine and not to worry.  If they seem easily distracted or like they are getting confused jumping around then maybe some more order would work.  I loved the planning series on the scm blog starting in May 2008.  I printed each one out and followed them through and it made so much sense.  My mom also always told me to start each year by writing specific goals per child, educational, spiritual, emotional, habits, etc.  You can then look back to see what needs work and what goals you met.  This can help fine tune your days knowing what you want to concentrate on more. 

    As far as the library not having what is stated in the curriculum, I find for science and history I can often find something comparable.  With art/composer/poetry type things that don’t have a specific order to them I just check out what they have available at the time and do them in the order I can get them. 

    I hope this doesn’t confuse you more, but I love love love to organize and know I need to be more random to keep things fun and interesting so don’t get down on yourself for having a trait that will keep the kids interested and be grateful you recognize areas you want to grow in since that can be hard to admit.  You love your kids and that is number one for a succesful year to me.

    amandajhilburn
    Participant

    I do write things down, but I have been doing it daily in a journal….my weeks are planned by subjects but not by which books to read, what projects to do, what notebook pages to use, etc……

    I like the idea of having things on hand and ready to use, but we seem to be “spur of the moment” type folks. I may plan to read about George Washington for a couple of weeks, but my kids may decide to draw him, dress up like him or go off on another entire tangent about false teeth! LOL So if I were to try and plan for the whole year I will end up with what I have now….a yearly plan sheet that is so marked up and confusing that I will never know what we have really accomplished. Does that make any sense?

    Right now I have kept up my journal listing daily what we have done and kept a list of books on librarything.com for both children. I guess I am just going to need to pick modules for history, picture study, composer, and literature and use the guide as a rough plan??? I also think I need to gather all of my resources that I forget about and somehow figure out how to remind myself to use them. Or maybe I should just go ahead and plan the whole year and write in the extra stuff we do….hmmm…that’s an idea.

    LindseyD
    Participant

    It sounds like you know the personality of your family, so what you’re doing may be working for all of you…even if it seems random. I am a very organized person, but sometimes you have to leave room for spontaneous moments too (like drawing George Washington or discussing wooden teeth!). I planned my whole year back in August, but I have found myself tweaking the plan too. It’s nothing to worry about. The children don’t know I’m changing things up (or adding things!). Wink As long as I can keep a calm and collected attitude in front of them, they don’t know I’m feeling unorganized. If I have one of those unorganized days (or weeks, which is very rare) I just take an afternoon while they’re playing and re-group. I did this a couple of weeks ago, and I’m all set! 

    Don’t think you have to keep a rigid schedule down to the minute, if that’s not your or your family’s personality. If it were your personality, then you’d already be doing it because we tend to follow our personalities anyway. I hope that’s helpful! And I still encourage you to talk to your librarian and see if she’d be willing to be your best homeschool friend!

    Lindsey

    amandajhilburn
    Participant

    Thanks Lindsey. I do plan to talk to my librarian 🙂

    I am also going to follow your advice and use this afternoon to regroup and get organized for the rest of this year and have a better idea of what I already have that I can use next year too.

    Thanks so much for listening to all of my crazy problems. 🙂

    Amanda

    lgeurink
    Member

    Your “problems” are not crazy!  I would hardly call them problems anyway.  Even though I have my plan for the year, that is only our 3-4 hours of daily school time.  The rest of the day the kids spend acting out stories or using their stuffed animals as the science projects.  We have not studdied George yet but I am sure the wooden teeth will make a huge impression!  As far as your extras go, here is an idea:  We do school in the kitchen/dining room and I have emptied out one drawer on kid level as the “activity drawer”.  That is where I put magazines articles, puzzles, magnet scenes, and all the fun extra stuff for the week/month.  Some things relate directly like our Egypt coloring book and some are pure fun like Dr. Suess flash cards.  I change things weekly and when they have free time or when I need one ot do something while I work with another I tell them to choose something from the activity drawer.  Maybe a basket or tote would work for you.  I also think you sound like you are accomplishing a lot and the kids are learning.

    amandajhilburn
    Participant

    I sat down this afternoon and reorganized my 3 ring binders of CM info, planners, History notebook pg. indexes, science curriculum, and language arts stuff. I was really amazed at how much stuff we have been doing this year. We are accomplishing much more than I was giving myself credit for, simply because I have not been able to see it all written down. Plus I have bought so much this year while I have been trying this and that, that I don’t really have a lot to buy for next year! I can use the library and internet for history, artist, and composer studies for the most part.

    I feel much better about it all, and will continue to keep my daily journal, use librarything.com to keep track of our books, and use the SCM Yearly Overview planning page to plan out next year.

     

    LindseyD
    Participant

    Amanda,

    I’m so glad you got it all sorted out. And I’m glad that you were able to see some of the “hidden” fruits of your labor! It really does help just to take an afternoon (or a day) every once in a while and go through everything to re-group. I got so much accomplished on my last re-grouping day that I think I’m going to start doing it once a month! 

    Glad everything is better,

    Lindsey

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