My workbox 'schedule strip'

So much has changed, I haven't blogged in a really long time :( but I'm looking forward to it again. 2 of my girls are looking forward to school in the fall. DD14 is in an arts program at a Catholic school. And dd16 is in a French immersion program.

So I am left with dd9 at home, rising 5th grader.

I have used modified workboxes with her since the beginning. The system hasn't really changed for us a whole bunch.  I changed which drawers I used, but over all, it's the same. Each subject has a drawer to go into, it's static, doesn't change much day to day.

What is evolving though, is how things are planned. The velcro tags just aren't working for us. My littles thieve them!! LOL  So I got to thinking... how does dd9 work? What makes her thrive? What does she enjoy?

She loves lists. I can give her a chore list, and she is SO happy. Not to do chores, as much as to have a list to tackle.

But a list of assignments with details can seem so daunting... so how can I break it down?

This is what I came up with. Thanks to Pinterest! I'm a Pinterest addict, I admit it!

First I found this blog: Sugardoodle - it has a template to print on sticky notes. I must have pinned this a year ago. Neat idea, but really, what would I use it for.

Since I want dd9 to be working efficiently, knowing when to get me as it's a work with me, but be prepared to work with me when needed.  We have littles in the house, who need me too, so the more prepared SHE is, the easier it is to get right to it. I needed to figure something out.

I create my own planner on my computer,  it's easy to use the sticky note template to transfer directions with slight modifications for her.

Step 1: Print template:

Step 2: Add sticky notes:

you might notice I wrote 'top' on the templates as they aren't vertically centered. Just a little something to make life easier.

Step 3: Added in the lesson plans/instructions and printed on the sticky notes.

 Step 4:

 I was going to decorate a folder and have it laminated, but we found these folders at Dollarama, and they are heavy duty. 15 sturdy folders for $2.... can't beat that price! And I'm all about saving where I can for sure.

I placed the printed sticky notes on the left side of the folder, she can transfer to the right side as she completes them.

How we use it:

I think this assignment folder is the best of both worlds, in my universe, anyway. It's interactive like the velcro tags. Remove from one side, and place on the other.  She will see the 'list' physically diminish, more apparent than just a check mark on a list. Less fuss than all the schedule strips nothing for the littles to thieve, but doubles as a schedule strip, too. It's flexible, it can include more than just school work, but assistance in planning, time management, chores and anything else she wants. We can add reminders to call friends, make plans, etc.  She has been upset when she intends to call a friend and later forgets, she can start using either the folder or her agenda - with a note to check it, to help with these things. Essentially a daily planner in a folder.

I am really liking how this idea is shaping up!

 The labels are marked 'Things to Do'(on the left) and 'Assignments completed'(on the right). I am adding circles marked 1-2-3-4-5.  That way, how I order and organize the planner is also apparent to her.

 The first 3 stickies on the left are Monday planning - Getting ready for the day, setting up for Monday meetings - she has a couple online courses that she needs to check in to get assignments and see if she has any Elives to participate in, and then a meeting with me - where we'll mark it in her weekly folder(another post for another day) and plug into her alarms of her iPad, as a reminder. My older girls were terrible for forgetting those. They do record them, but attending it  live allows for some interaction.

The next 5 stickies are below are the things that don't require a lot of instructions - in this case, get out spelling lesson 8, and get mom, get out math, pgs 12-13 and get mom. etc. In the right column, there is a reminder to go burn off some energy, trampoline for 10 minutes, helps us refocus, then there is a couple larger stickies, for 2 more subjects. And the final blue note is after school chores.

I will  have her transfer stickies to the right side as she is completed, so I can sit down later - during nap time, or in the evening - and record things in my planner completed, grade anything that needs it and set up for the next day. It offers so much flex. If I have a sick day, it means those things with mom, won't get put in her folder, or if they are, she just leaves them for the next day. If we go off on a tangent and spend a whole day doing science, no biggie, the others will just stay where they are until the next day. My planner is set up with that same flexibility, but that is another post for another day.

Funny how a few years experience changes everything :)

Have a wonderful day!!

Heading to the finished line!

The girls are starting to finish up their school year ;) The 2 older girls are a little panicked realizing that things they have been avoiding, are now needing to be done! I allowed them a little freedom to decide what they were working on, and they decided to avoid some things LOL.... guess what? It needs to be done. So they have to really focus. It is totally doable, not excessive, just no slacking.

Guess I need to not let them have so much free reign next year.

What a find!

I've been staring with dread at my one book shelf. I don't like it, it's cluttered, it's overfull, we can't find anything on it.

As a result, the kids don't want to put things away, it's too difficult so the desk was becoming a catch all. It was driving dh and I C-R-A-Z-Y!

I was looking at buying a new shelf. Up for consideration was the Expedit shelves from Ikea. They recently lowered the price. But still, it was $80 I didn't really want to spend. Then Zellers advertised a similar style shelf for $40. Much better, but still, not really in the budget.  I was going to see if I could skim off the grocery budget for a few weeks and get the cash for it.

It's driving me CRAZY!

The school year is coming close to an end :) New curricula has started arriving and we'll soon be moving into the 'next year'.

However, I need to address some issues :(  My bookshelf drives me INSANE! Our family desk is overrun with paper.  Although I use my binder all the time, I still have issues with too many loose papers.  I don't have the right type of system yet. I'm closer than I was :) but not there yet.

I'm going to be searching for a solution. If anyone has a similar blogpost, I'd love to see it!

We don't have a school room. We use the dining area, we eat in the kitchen. I have 1 shelf, and really no room for another.  And we need to tackle this. It drives dh and I crazy!

A Fringe Benefit of Homeschooling

My second youngest is now 12!

I brought her and her 2 sisters plus 7 of her friends to her the pool today, and treated them to Dairy Queen afterward.

Two will be sleeping over, currently they are running around in the sunshine, YES, we finally have some sunshine! There is still mountains of snow, but it's beautiful out.

Tracking or grading the kids work.

 Whether we have to report to the gov't with grades or not, I feel it is important to track what we are doing.

I use a large number of ebooks for our curriculum. The amount of paper can be deceiving as to how far we are progressing, so I like to have a chart handy. I like to know where we have to go, and where we've been. I don't grade everything. Religious studies, history, science for dd7 is simply being checked off.  Math, spelling, LA IS being graded as it gives me perspective on what she is retaining, where we need work.

Spring is coming!!!

I cleaned up our front yard planters yesterday. Along the house there is minimal snow, so I took off the winter decor I had still on them.  The earth in those planters is thawed, I'll soon be able to put flowers in! I'm so excited to see new life breathed into our yard after a long winter.

Won't that be a sight? 3 to 4 feet of snow and planters over flowing with blooms?

Preparing for spring got me thinking.