that;each;child;will;be;doing.;Then;the
research;begins.;If;I’m;changing;any;cur-ricula,;I;try;to;find;reviews;online;or;chat
with;fellow;homeschoolers;to;explore;my
curriculum;options.;The Old Schoolhouse
website;is;a;great;place;to;start;for;reviews
on;every;imaginable;subject.;After;sor-ting;through;reviews,;I;determine;what
we;will;be;using;in;the;next;year.;On;my
spreadsheet,;I;enter;which;products;or
publishers;we;need;for;each;subject;and
then;create;columns;for;pricing.;Know-ing;what;we;are;looking;for;makes;it;eas-ier;to;start;bargain;shopping;at;various
websites.;Some;of;the;best;parts;of;our
summer;are;‘box;days’;which;is;when;the
boxes;of;new;books;and;materials;start
arriving.
When;the;new;things;start;coming;in,
it’s;time;to;look;around;our;homeschool
space;to;see;what;can;go;out;in;order
to make room. Cleaning out unused
items;or;completed;grade-level;curricu-
la;can;make;room;for;new;things.;Sell-
ing;those;unneeded;books;can;help;you
earn;money;to;buy;new;ones;or;put;to-
wards;fun;field;trips!;If;you;would;rather
avoid;the;hassle;of;selling,;passing;your
no;longer;needed;materials;on;to;other
homeschoolers can be a huge blessing
too.;As;I;get;ready;for;our;new;year,;I
go;through;each;shelf;and;bin;and;pull
out;things;that;we;are;ready;to;part;with.
After;all;the;shelves;are;decluttered,;I;get
to;the;least;fun;but;most;necessary;part
.;.;.;the;cleaning.;Shelves;get;a;good;dust-
ing,;tables;get;wiped;down,;and;the;floor
gets;scrubbed.;Eraser;bits;get;vacuumed
up,;old;papers;and;art;projects;get;“filed”
(either;to;keep;or;not),;and;those;strange,
unidentified;sticky;spots;are;tackled.;I;am
pretty;sure;they;were;from;craft;projects
involving;glue;sticks.;At;least,;that’s;what
I keep telling myself! The schoolroom
can;really;take;a;beating;since;we;are;in
there;every;day.;Our;space;is;decluttered,
clean,;and;ready;to;go.;Now,;entering;the
school;room;is;like;a;breath;of;fresh;air.
Once;I;have;our;new;curriculum;put
away;in;our;clean;space,;I;can;start;lesson
planning.;There;are;many;options;avail-
able;to;help.;The Old Schoolhouse Maga-
zine;offers;several;options;of;The School-
house Planner.;It;is;easy;to;find;one;that
fits;your;family.;With;planner;in;hand;or
on;the;laptop,;I;grab;my;teacher;manu-
als;and;student;books;to;do;some;general
scheduling.;Looking;through;an;instruc-
tor’s;guide,;I;figure;out;how;many;days;of
lessons;and;tests;are;included,;and;divide
that;by;36;(which;is;the;number;of;five
day;weeks;needed;to;fulfill;our;required
school;days).;That;number;gives;me;how
many lessons I need to schedule each
week.;For;example,;this;year;my;daugh-
ter;will;do;a;lesson;in;her;math;book;four
days;per;week,;and;we;will;do;flashcards
or;computer;games;on;the;fifth;day.;This
will;allow;us;to;finish;her;grade;level;book
by;the;end;of;the;year.;Taking;the;time
now;to;figure;out;how;often;each;subject
will;be;assigned;makes;my;weekly;plan-
ning;so;much;easier;and;gives;me;a;basic
structure;with;which;to;work.;This;is;also
the;time;when;I;flip;through;the;teacher
guides;to;make;a;list;of;any;extra;required
supplies.;Doing;art;projects;and;science
experiments;is;so;much;easier;if;I;already
have;everything;I;need;on;hand.;Once;I
have;a;comprehensive;list;of;needs,;I;am
ready;to;stock;up.;When;it;comes;time;to
create;an;African;tribal;mask;or;balloon
rocket,;we;don’t;have;to;postpone;the;ac-
tivity;because;we;are;missing;something!
During;this;planning;time,;I;also;make;a
list;of;possible;field;trip;ideas;that;would
coordinate;with;our;upcoming;studies.
Finally,;the;bulk;of;my;planning;and
prepping is done. The only thing left
is;to;now;wait;for;the;‘back-to-school’
shopping;sales;to;stock;up;on;the;essen-tial;items;like;pencils,;erasers,;and;note-books.;And;maybe;take;a;few;minutes
to;sip;tea;while;continuing;to;pray;for;a
wonderful;school;year;ahead.
Jennifer is a homeschooling mom to two
younglings in the great state of PA. Staying
organized helps her have the time to add
fun extras to their already full school days.
You can see more of what keeps her and
her family busy at http://hydrangeasand
harmony.blogspot.com
When;it;comes;time
to;create;an;African
tribal;mask;or;balloon
rocket,;we;don’t;have;to
postpone;the;activity
something! If;I’m;changing;any
curricula,;I;try;to
find;reviews;online
or;chat;with;fellow
homeschoolers
to;explore;my
curriculum;options.
