School planning 2012

I have been really busy trying to plan out our school schedule for the year.  The first thing I did was sit down and make a list of all the subjects I wanted each child to do.  Then I went through and made a list of what specific books I wanted each child to use.  I located all the books that we already had, and highlighted on my list the ones that we needed to buy.



The next step was to sort through all the schoolwork from last year, a project that should have been done at the end of the school year but wasn't.  (No excuse for that, I just didn't want to do it...)  I filed it all in manilla envelopes, labeled with the child's name, grade and year, then put the envelopes in bankers boxes, also labeled with the contents so it will be easy to find.

I had Mark install special dividers on our school shelves so that each child has their own "cubbie".  Then I put all the school books for each child on their shelf.   

I sat down with a calendar and figured out what day we needed to start school, when our breaks would be, etc. and typed it up on a sheet to put in my homeschool binder.  Then I went through the school books and typed up a schedule for each textbook of what needs to be accomplished each week.  I also figured out how many of each workbook type page will need to be done each week.
I typed up an assignment sheet for each child old enough to read for each week so they can check off each subject as it's completed.

Finally, I sat down and figured out a daily schedule for us to get everything done.  This was a bit more laborious, because it's so hard to know how things will go once the new little guy is here.  But I did the best I could based on previous baby's schedules, and we will change it as we have too.
This was all a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the end.  The more planning I do now, the easier and better the school year will go!