Another of these things I keep intending to do and then forgetting.

1.  Last Sunday I hiked up to the top of Multnomah Falls.  This is the most physically demanding thing I have done — since I gave birth to Sarah I guess.   I can still feel it.

2.  I pruned back the raspberries, assembled the new compost bin,  and weeded half the roses.

3.  We made it to the library this week.

Those are my three very small successes.  You can see some more at Faith & Family.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook
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Thank you Peggy.

FOR TODAY : June 15, 2009

I am so sore today from yesterday’s hike up Multnomah Falls.  But I survived it.

Outside my Window – I can see the first little cherries turning red.  This is very exciting.  This week we plan on going strawberry picking so we can put up strawberries for the year.  My flowers need watered, my gardens need weeded and the lawn needs mowed again.

I am thinking – About next years plans.  I have a good start on the planning, but there is still a lot to do.  I would like to have it all done by the end of the month so it is ready to go when we get back from our travels later in July and August.

From the learning rooms – Next years plans have taken over.  We still have some work to do this summer.  We are going to be doing some fun activities and projects.  Ashley is out of school for summer.  She has her summer reading list and art  portfolio to work on.

I am thankful for- Very patient people hiking with us yesterday.  I didn’t realize just how horribly out of shape I am.  Now I do.  Need to work on that.

From the kitchen – Nothing much today.  Ashley made cookies yesterday.   Tomorrow I plan on doing some sourdough.

I am reading – Home Comforts.  I am loving this book right now.

I am hoping – That my legs stop hurting sometime today.  That the sky clears up.   I think today is going to end up busy.

I am creating – A new dress for me.

I am hearing – Hannah keeps telling Josh “stop that”.  Poor Josh is getting himself in trouble, mostly because Christopher isn’t here to occupy him.  Christopher is off having fun with my parents on his “big trip” to California.

Around the house – We have an extra dog.  My parents yellow lab is hanging out here with us.

One of my favorite things – Ibuprofen.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week – More lesson planning.  A little baking, a little sewing and some fun with friends.  Nothing too exciting.

A picture I am sharing:

At this point I have the subjects and the books selected from the children for next year.  Now I turn my efforts to getting it all organized.  I won’t pretend that my way is the only way, or even the best way, it is just the way that works for me so far.  And that could change.  Many of the ideas I use I have drawn from other people, websites, books, and observation – none of it is really rocket science either.

I admit I have a “thing” for binders.    So I set up a “Lesson Plan” binder that contains the lesson plans for each child, the weekly plan calendar which lays out the plan for our family learning each week, the children’s weekly folders where I put the children’s daily checklists and any worksheets that are needed for the week.  This might sound like things are getting repeated all over the place, but there is a certain practicality about it – at least to me.

The Lesson Plan Binder:

I have a durable binder one inch binder that I use.   It is divided into four sections, one for each child.  Each section contains a copy of the subject list with texts, each subject laid out on a planner page and the book list for each child.

Then each subject is laid out for the 12 weeks on planning pages.   I have five columns for days of the week and one column for notes, the 6 weeks per page so each subject is a 4 page spread.  This allows me enough space for writing.  I made these with MS Publisher, but you could use just about any word processing  program or even a spreadsheet.  Or you can find printable planning sheets online.

This shows a blank layout.  Once I have them all printed I three hole punch them and put them in the binder, then  I use these sheets to lay out the weekly plan for each subject.    I start with post-its and pencil.  Post-it planning is not my original idea and you can see a couple other examples here and here. In each square I write the pages and assignments (trips, readings, crafts, projects) for each day.  The reason for using pencil and post-its is because I have to move things around a bit when it comes to putting things into the calendar to sync the four children’s lessons together.  Those things that I am pretty certain will work on a specific day (like daily math and reading) get penciled.  Post-its are for more time consuming or resource intensive parts, or things that will need to work with the other children’s lesson.  So things like history and geography where I try to work with the children more as a group are put on post-its so I can move them easily.