Every year as I get ready for the new school year I take a look at the way I had things organized the previous year and I try to improve on my madness well devised plan of attack. This year is no exception. ESPECIALLY this year I should say. Last year I had no plan of attack. You see I moved out of one state, moved in TEMPORARILY with my In-laws, bought a house, unpacked, needed to repair said house, and homeschool the kids while trying to help my darling husband find a new job. All this kicked the entire concept of pre-planning my school year right out the window. And so the entire year I was having to take small breaks in order to figure out A) what I had done. B) what needed to be done. and C) how in the world I was going to accomplish such a feat. And in the long run We are just a couple of weeks from starting the new year and we are still finishing up a couple of subjects. So I decided . . . that just stunk!

So this year I may be going a BIT overboard on the planning. BUT I will NOT be needing to take mini breaks to get the next unit organized. So our year WILL run much smoother. So here is my plan of attack!! :)

THE PRE-PLANNER! Homeschool Tracker Plus has really REALLY come through for me yet again. I love this program and some of the additions they made to it this last year have shown the wonderful versatility to its fullest extent. I am really going to love staying on top of my "master plan" with it. For the last few weeks I have been Scouring the Yahoo Boards for plans to import to speed up my planning process, but I have really loved creating my own lesson plans as well. After importing or creating each separate lesson plan (one per subject/course) I then copied it over to a master plan named for the school year. I archived all the others so that I would still have them, but they wouldn't get in my way.

Normally this would be the extent of my pre-planning. After last year however, I wanted to make sure that I had a plan and I was going to be ready to stay on top of school no matter what curve balls life throws at me. So I decided to make a planner . . . .

THE TORTURE SCHOOL PLANNER! So how did I create my planner? What pages did I add?? I don't know!! I just printed it all and stuffed it in! Ok maybe not. I did have a method to my pre-planning madness!

My plan was to use the assignment report as my order. For a couple of different reasons but the main one was I like that it was neat and easy to read. The lesson plan report is confusing if you just want a check off sheet that you can write the date you assigned something, the date it was done, the grade they received and/or if you skipped it. The lesson plan report just doesn't offer this. And the Assignment report gives dates. Which is NOT what I wanted. I would be scratching out and it would be a mess. So I had to come up with a way to have my cake and eat it too.

So using all the lesson plans that I just created I submitted one course at a time to the assignment grid. While I did this I was figuring out as I went how often each subject had to be done in order to FINISH by June. I then "printed" the assignment report in .pdf format. Now I have Adobe Acrobat Professional, but you can print to pdf just fine with a free program, one that I have used is: Bullzip (http://bullzip.com/) It's very reliable and I have had no problems with it.

Now I didn't want the dates on it. But there is no way in HST to not add the dates so here's what I did! And it's the tricky part. I exported each of the pages from the .pdf into a JPEG. WHAT?? I turned them into jpgs so that I could edit the page! After writing this I decided to figure out a way for you folks without Adobe pro to be able to do this too! And I did it! On line there is a website that you can convert PDF's (or any other file type) to a JPG (or any other file type!) It is Zamzar (http://www.zamzar.com/) This is a FREE service. It even has the ability to set up an online media file storage system if you choose. I think there is a free file service and a "paid" one. Now you do NOT need to set it up, they will just email your file to you at your email address. I used it to convert a 4 page pdf into jpg. I did not set up the file storage service, it took about 1 min for the file to convert and be emailed to me. The 4 page pdf was turned into 4 jpgs. one for each page. Which is exactly what my Adobe Pro did for me.

**SO WHY DIDN"T I CHANGE IT TO A DOC FOR OFFICE??? Well very simply put, I did!! Zamzar makes it into an image for the document. Which you would still have to edit, but it's kind of a pain to get it where you need it to go. You can't just highlight and delete. Creating it as a JPG is the easiest!

For the next step you open paint (or any other graphic editing program you may have--most have the free paint program (listed in accessories) that comes on windows based computers--I don't have a clue on MACs!) Open your document, and zoom in so that you get a good view of the date columns. use the rectangle selection tool (the dotted rectangle) and draw a box around the date. Then press the delete button on your keyboard. It's GONE! Keep doing that for all of your dates. Also, if you have points or sessions on your report that you want to write in after the fact, delete those too!! IF YOU GOOF and accidentally delete a line or something: Press CTRL and Z. This will undo what ever you just did. If it was a while a go, you can just keep pressing it until you get to the right correction.

Once you have your boxes empty and you are ready to print it--you need to crop it first! set your view so you can see your entire page in the main view. I set my view to 50%. Then use your select rectangle tool again and drag it around your entire "printed" section. Leave off as much white as possible. Then Right click in the middle of the page and choose CROP. It should remove all the white space.

  Now go into file, then page set up. I find that paint is funny in that it spreads the page over 4 pages. So i click on FIT TO and change it to 1 by 1. This will force it to print it to just one page. Now I print the file to pdf at this point. Choose print, chose your pdf printer (Bullzip or your choice) and print it. It should print up just fine, it may be on the tad smaller side, I find that paint does that--but it's still easy to read. I print it to pdf so that if something happens, the page gets ripped, kids spill juice on it, mom enters the wrong dates on the wrong page (I have NEVER DONE THAT!! Ok only once or twice!) etc. I find having the file already edited saves me a ton of headache later.

This seems like a lot of work, but believe me, once you get going it takes seconds to edit a file and print it. In the long run, your nice, neat, organized planner will be worth it!

So that gives you your "lesson plan" pages. I print each subject separately, but back to back within that subject.

Other pages that I add to my planner! For the kids' planners (I only created one for my older two kids so they can keep track of what they need to do!) Their planner includes (and in this order):

• 18 month calendar (starts July 2010 ends Dec. 2011)
• A daily Schedule. This is from the Lesson Schedule in HST + I printed the file so that each day was separate so that it was easy for them to read.
• A check off list. This is from Donna Young.org (http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/checklist2.htm) This is a checklist for the kids to mark off what subjects they did and it shows them what days we have Co-op. I have 2 of these in each planner-1 for each semester. I have the dates marked, and on thinking about it, since we don't do every subject every day, I could have marked off the subjects that are not required for the day. Like On Monday's we don't do history I could have blackened out the History box for every Monday.
• At this point for the kids, I break into the subjects. I use a divider page that the kids helped me design in Microsoft office Publisher. I printed them on heavier paper so it was easier to find. I may add tabs to it as well, but I haven't decided that yet. I only included THEIR subjects. (except for Math--I also added in Math for the "littles" Sometimes I have them help with that. And if I can say just do lesson such and such, they can look in their planner, find lesson such and such and then know what is supposed to be done.)
• The Front Cover was designed by each of the kids. They reflect their personalities. DD10 has a horse on purple stripes. DD13 has all sorts of "Treats" on a pink background. I had a couple requirements that they had to figure out how to add in. 1) it had to say that it was THEIR 2010/2011 School Planner. 2) It had to have a picture of our school mascot Shiver! they found some fun ways to incorporate these two requirements. DD13 added her name to a candy bar label! It gave them a chance to bring on the creative side!!
• The back cover I designed. I created it simple and mainly white so that they could DOODLE on it. :) Both front and back covers have clear transparency to protect them.

Now my planner has a few added bells and whistles. Not only do I have EVERY SUBJECT For all 4 kids, but I also have a few extra planning pages. So here are mine in this order (Some are the same as above)

• 18 month Calendar
• Target goals for the year. This is a file that I created based on one I found in the Tanglewood Corebook I downloaded a long time ago. I like the concept of the page, but I didn't like what they had done with it. You can download an excel file of my fully editable version here: http://www.mediafire.com/?91maosmhiwmsi54 The purpose of this is to make notes of where you expect to be at various points along the school year--basically every 6 weeks. Then when you reach that point--you can compare where you are and make changes to help keep you on track. I put this at the front, so that I keep it in mind!
• Contacts: this is for people I know online or in person that are homeschoolers so that I can call them up, email them, facebook them or whatever if I have questions. Sometimes when we get stuck we can't think who to ask. this helps me by not making me think who!
• Passwords and log ins. This is for websites etc. that I have subscriptions to. Such as Lesson Planet, Enchanted Learning, Edhelper, etc. It's hard to keep it all straight sometimes and I also mark down when my subscription expires! (This form is from the Master Planner download on Currclick)
• Next is my daily Schedule. I played with the option of just having the full week on a 2 page spread like I normally do, but I decided to go with simplicity. One day per page.
• I have a lined sheet . this is just to make a note or two on.
• Book Key. This is essential! I know exactly what books I added in to HST. NOW. BUT as I found out this past summer, just because I know it now, doesn't mean that I will remember what S&S means in 5 months when I get to it. So listing the book name, and the key I gave it will help me tremendously. This form is from Donna Young as well. (http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/b-key.htm)
• The next 4 pages are Course of Study pages. One for each of my kids. This is basically just a tally sheet of what subjects they are doing and what books they are using for those subjects. I don't need a portfolio in our state at this time, but I like to have it all orderly and if I ever have to need it, it's there! Form is also from Donna Young (http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/course_of_study.htm)
• Field Trip/Educational events log. This is just a form that I have so that I can enter information about a field trip, play, etc. This is my staging form. I'll actually have it all added into HST+ but sometimes it's just easier to write it down and add it in when I'm updating grades and such. I just don't want to forget to add it in, so I write it down.
• The next form is a 4 year High school Course plan. My oldest is in 8th grade this year. So this is the year that we really need to make some longer term decisions. I have this form in my planner so that A) I won't lose it. B) I wont' forget to do it. And C) So that DD and I can discuss it often. This should be an important decision and as much hers as it is mine. I want to go with her interests and really focus on them so that her education isn't wasting her time. (the form I have is from the Master Planner, but I am sure Donna Young has one as well)
• After this I break into subjects.

BINDING?? There are a couple of methods you can use. I personally don't have one of the more expensive binders. I have a Zutter Bind it all that I purchased at Hobby Lobby with a 50% off coupon. (http://binditall.com/Products.html) So I paid around $35. This is what I used to bind mine and the kids' planners. Another option if you don't have this or another personal binder is taking it to your local office supply store with a copy center. They will punch and bind it for a very minimal price, normally around $2.

How does this all work with my other organization plans?? Very Nicely Thank You! Workboxes is my main organization tool that I use with the kids. By having the older two with their binders, they can actually know way ahead of time what needs to be done. their boxes don't change a whole lot, I use it basically to store their books and other paraphernalia. The younger kids' boxes are now easy to fill because I just look at my planner subject by subject and I add in what is coming up next on my list. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy! :)

Looping is also just one check mark off. This way if they get done with their boxes and we still have time for school, they can just start up at the top of their boxes and start over--their next lesson would be the next one on the page in their planner. It really does lend to a very smooth transition.



So what is everyone else doing???

Well it's official . . . I have been dubbed a slacker!  So life has been hectic and I have had very little time to sit at the computer and "get creative" but I have a few excuses too! 

American History was put on hold because quite frankly, I didn't like where I was going with it. The book I was using while extremely interesting, was a bit "TOO TRUTHFUL" for my younger kids. I'm all for the truth, but sometimes you need to sand the edges so that it doesn't do more harm than good. So I put it aside and I have been looking, searching, for an alternate "spine." AND I HAVE FOUND IT! BUT it's even more work to get it ready . . . so I have put it off . . . SLACKER?? YES, I will accept that title.

The new set is "A History of US" by Joy Hakim. I found most of these at a Used Curriculum sale (bought almost the entire set for less than $18 and a friend had an extra of the one book I was missing).  Now I don't know about you but the guides just aren't an option for us due to financial reasons . . . soooo . . . . I am of course trying to come up with a schedule. And I will be mixing in projects from Home School in the Woods' Time Traveler's series.  Not all projects will be "covered" at least I don't think we will do them all at this point . . . but they all look so fun we just might decide to do it anyways!

I have a friend demanding I finish ASAP so I will do my best to get something figured out SOON (read this as this week!) and will flush it out a bit as I go.  Hang on folks cause it could be a FAST and bumpy ride! :^D

~T8ermomma

Well I have finally gotten desperate enough to figure out the work around to the changes brought on by Mozilla 4.

• I was able to update United States Pit Stop with the new download.
  
• I added a new page under American History named Presidential Look Up. It's the new study about the presidents.
  
• I also added links to the American History page for chapters 2-4 and added an updated chapter 1 link. The changes made to chapter one is JUST cosmetic. Please don't feel a need to re-download it if you have already done so.

I have also changed my plans for my actual study. Life has given me lemons and I am making lemonade. So my plans have completely changed!! My spine may not be the one I have planned. I will finish the study, but I may be going with something else as I am finding it's leaving many holes I don't want left open.