when i first began preparing to homeschool two summers ago, i spent several days with my dear friend beth in wisconson, already several years into her homeschooling journey. she was so patient with me, answering all of my questions about record-keeping, curriculum-choosing, planning, the daily schedule, supplies, classroom set-up, etc. it was the most valuable time, and though overwhelming, it took quite a bit of the fear away. being super-organized is an entirely new way of life for me, but this is what i'm doing so far to stay on top of the paper piles...

KIDS' ORGANIZATION

the kids each have a large binder (brown linen, 1" binders from here, pictured above). heron's has the following tabs (shepherd and per have fewer categories; per's is pretty much just ART!) :

  • LANGUAGE ARTS, with sub-tabs 
    • COPYWORK - any loose-leaf copywork completed on lined paper goes in here
    • CORRESPONDENCE - (from friday's mail day) sheet protectors, each with one letter they've received, and a color photocopy of the letter they wrote in return (mostly pictures so far, unless they narrate to me)
    • READING COMPREHENSION / NARRATION - most narration i take is in separate notebooks (one entire history notebook, and a general narration notebook for our weekly studies--poetry/literature + artists/composers + geography + natural science), but anything else on loose-leaf is filed here
    • MEMORY WORK : a list of verses, passages, poems, or other information we've memorized
    • READING - i keep three lists here : one for Heron's books she reads on her own, one for our family read-alouds, and one for the audiobooks we listen to
  • MATH - there are no workbooks in montessori math, only worksheets to record answers worked out with manipulative materials, such as the golden beads. all of these sheets are kept here.
  • NATURAL SCIENCE - two lists : one of all of our nature outings, and another with all of our nature journaling activities (actual entries are kept in their watercolor nature notebooks)
  • ART / MUSIC - four lists : composers we've studied, artists we've studied, a list of drawing exercises completed with josh from drawing with children, and handicraft lessons/projects we've started/completed

loose-leaf work from the kids throughout the week gets placed in our "completed work" bin in the classroom. every friday during my lesson-planning time i sort through this bin and file their work into their binders. at the end of each year i transfer all their work into a bigger binder (the 2"  linen ones from here). we don't have a ton of loose-leaf work to file since much of their work is in separate notebooks. each child also has a folder where i place any work/worksheets for the week at hand. these sit permanently in my basket of school books that i tote around from room to room throughout the day as we do school. i print out or photocopy any of these items during my friday lesson-planning time, and put it in their folder for the following week. this eliminates last-minute, day-of running around like a chicken with my head cut off!

 

MY ORGANIZATION :

i work out of two binders--a mini-sized one for household-related items (this half-page binder, pictured above), and a larger one for school-related (1" linen, like the kids'). 

my household binder has the following tabs + blank notebook pages (adapted from jessie wise's binder in a well-trained mind) :

  • DAILY PLAN (family activities for the day + projects), a daily "to-do". i make a to-do list here everyday. anything that doesn't get accomplished one day gets placed on the next day's page. i have one page per day for the week ahead. 
  • TO BUY : things i need to remember to order or run out and purchase. i make every effort to order online! i minimize errands as much as possible; they can be such a distraction to our days!
  • ERRANDS : the inevitable...i will keep a list, consolidate them and run out every other wednesday afternoon with per while josh teaches drawing to heron and shepherd.
  • JOSH (to do / to tell). even though he just works in the studio in our backyard, we try not to interrupt each other during the day. i jot down things i need to remember to share with him!
  • BOOKS : a running book list. anytime i see reference made to a book that seems interesting, i make a note of it here to borrow, buy, or place on hold from the library.
  • GIFTS : a list of gift ideas for family and friends so that birthdays & christmas don't catch me off guard!
  • MEALS : a list of the family's favorite meals that i can pull from when i need an easy go-to that will be sure to please
  • BLOG : blog post ideas, notes
  • HOUSE / BUSINESS : household info (printer model #, printer ink type, dimensions of various things (like our big farm table, for which i am always on the lookout for linens), etc., and business (phone numbers, account numbers, social security numbers for the family, contacts, a sleeve to hold business cards), etc.
  • NOTES : a catch-all for anything else

at the front of my school binder is our weekly schedule, a master chore chart for each of the kids, our general meal plan for the week (i glance at this to make our specific meal plan each week), and a list of snack ideas for heron to prepare for our morning snack time. then i have the following tabs :

  • SCHEDULE : a tabbed calendar (i found one at staples by franklin covey, or you can print one out), schedule notes i made when i first created our master schedule. i refer back to this often when i find myself needing to tweak things. it also contains my worksheets i made while making my yearly plan with Managers of their Homes.
  • CURRICULUM INSPIRATION : notes i've taken regarding charlotte mason homeschooling, print-outs from helpful blogs or other online resources (ambleside online, etc.), notes for order of activities with montessori math, etc.
  • MASTERS : in sheet protectors, masters of sheets/worksheets i regularly need to photocopy.
  • NOTES : looks like i have plenty of notes under "curriculum inspiration", but i guess i am always needing more places to take notes!

i also have a lesson planner that i fill out every week (some lessons are planned for the entire year ahead, but written in pencil) on friday, during my lesson planning time, for the week ahead. i make changes & notes as we go along, so that this can also be a record of what we actually did, too.