First Timers and Their Silly Notebooks

Sure sign of a “first-time” home schooler: Piles of random catalogues and newsletters detailing the lastest HS news and regulations, late night schedule planning marathons (not the “un-schoolers” I guess… I’ll have to think about that (now very appealing) option… social planning (sports, PE, field trips, play dates, etc.), and a good dose of self-doubt for even this most confident (I thought) of mama-teachers.

Traditional schools provide all of this. I’m not sure I quite realized the sheer amount of planning required to educate a child within a modern framework. And I feel - daily, but only momentarily - that I am missing big chunks of the puzzle.  Do I really need to explain what an amber alert is to my 4 year old?

Don’t misunderstand. I DO sit down with my incredible, spirited son and just bask in the time I have with him, realizing the most important things to teach him now are not in any books: most of them learned while trying to get along with his 2 year old sister who steals and usually destroys his favorite lego buildings. Patience, compassion, empathy, kindness. But our French lessons are suffering terribly. We still haven’t memorized Frere Jaques - and it’s only 4 lines! (The Bonjour Les Amis videos are charming to watch however.)

I remember my first year of law school, everyone read a new book called One L: The turbulent true story of a first year at Harvard Law School. The thrill of beginning, the fear of being weeded out, or indeed, just not liking the intended, very expensive, course of study. The book was frightening and thrilling at the same time. But I liked it most of all because I knew I was not alone. Someone else had gone before me and felt the fear, the pride, the frustrations, and yes, the joys too!

I think many many books on home schooling are written by home educators who know so much, they forget what they felt at the beginning, and in this memory lapse, lose an important connection to the reader.  Today I am wishing for a good old-fashioned first year diary to encourage me in this huge endeavor so many of us have taken on.  Can anybody recommend one?

Just to clarify: I am experiencing (in spite of the aforementioned re-occurring self-doubt) overwhelming joy and excitement being the primary knowledge sharer.  Overwhelming joy and an overwhelming sense of chaos accumulating while I ignore the dishes to blow bubbles (and nature journal) in the backyard for the afternoon.

One thing that has truly made a difference in how I approach each day is my (very) simple notebook. It won’t do the dishes for me, but I can take it outside on those days (like today) when the weather is too nice not to be outside! There are hundreds of great ideas in the blogging world for how to make your own tidy notebook, but this how I went about it.

1) I found a simple sturdy notebook that I love. Since I will be carrying it around with me everywhere. I used these binders from Russel and Hazel. They have a nifty rubber band that holds all my loose papers together - I always have some loose papers trying to escape!

2) Filled with  dividers, folder pockets and top-loading page protectors. And, (this is key for me, or I would never use the notebook!), a pen/pencil zip case to store the “mama only” fountain pens & highlighters.

3) I really wanted an “everything in one place” kind of binder, instead of separate ones for school, home, food, etc. I didn’t need a filing system, just a reference system. So my sections are as follows:

• Pencil Case
• 1 Page protector with: Current weekly combined schedule (HS and family events) on one side and my Dreams/Goals list for myself and both children on the other. The Dreams/Goals list also works great as a prayer list for me.
• A folder divider with pocket. I usually have a composition book (with the Spell to Write and Read WISE guide words) here, along wtih some nice sticky notes and labels .
• Another page protector with the “family rules” : Be Kind, Obey Quickly, Be A Cheerful Giver, No Whining, Be Truthful. Alongside these rules are the Bible verses we use for “training times.” Most of the verses I found in the Proverbs for Parenting book.
• Section 1: Family Calender/Contacts
• Section 2: Kids: personal - this includes their immunization schedules (yikes), vision prescriptions, height/weight. I’m also using it as a journal for those great moments you want to remember but don’t have the time to record them properly. At least I’ll have some scribbles notes about Matt’s first visit to the dentist that I can reference later on!
• Section 3: Food (recipes and master grocery list)
• Section 4: Budget/Bill Schedule (just a reference for dates - I’m far too paranoid to put any account information in my notebook.)
• Section 5: California home school laws and home school support group information
• Section 6: (By far the biggest section) Home school schedule and curriculum. For this section I purchased a down-loadable planner called The Image Bearer. It’s technically for those who are using the Charlotte Mason method, but I’m using a pretty heavy classical approach and am finding the two mesh nicely in this planner. I can choose to either type in my lesson plans or print out the sheets and handwrite them as I go, AND, I can use it for every year, every student, for the rest of their time in our home school! This planner was my catalyst for getting organized, and it also reminds me to keep the lessons short!
• Section 7: Home School - long term planning/objectives. I’m adding here the neat stuff I find (usually on the internet) but can’t really use in kindergarten.
• Section 8: Books & Media: reading log, library lists, things to check out, things to buy
• Section 9: Character Training and Practical Skills. In The Image Bearer planner there is a great list of habits and character traits to teach from, if I’m hard up for ideas that week. Although, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time on the Konos website lately thinking about using their unit study as a supplement or maybe a summer program.
• Section 10: Field-Trips and Fun Crafts

That’s it! Well, it does sound like a lot. But it didn’t take long at all to do it and I feel much less overwhelmed. More in control. Because I am, in fact, a closet control freak. And if we need to be evacuated because of wildfires this year, I’m set.