The whole process can feel a little daunting: there are so many resources available and it's hard to know where to begin.
As I scoured my shelves the other day to look for some Kindergarten materials to lend out to a friend, I found an index-card box I used when we were beginning our own homeschool journey.
At that time I was doing a lot of reading: I checked out several books on homeschooling from the library and I borrowed copies of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine from a friend. I was gathering a lot of ideas and taking notes. Eventually I decided to organize those notes and to write the ideas down on an index card and file them by subject. I would read an article about a particular curriculum or way of teaching and I'd jot it down and file it. I'd hear about a math game, and I'd file it in my box. I'd hear of a book recommendation from a trusted friend and I'd write it down and file it.
This might seem a little outdated to some of you, but I am much more a pen-and-paper kind of a girl than a computer girl, so this worked for me. And it gave me a way to file ideas that weren't from the computer. (Actually, I think this was before I even started reading homeschooling blogs.)
As I pulled this out the other day I began looking through it and it was fun to see how many of these ideas I have implemented over the past four years. Others I had forgotten, but still want to do. And I realized that I should still be using this little box. Often I'll be reading a homeschooling blog and come across an idea (or book or curriculum) and don't necessarily want to bookmark the whole page: I just want a single title or a name. So I end up grabbing my journal and jotting it down there (my journal is sort of my catch-all). But then that idea gets lost in the pages of my journal and it's hard for me to track it down later (IF I can even remember that I wrote it down!) One of my new goals is to start using this again in order to organize homeschooling ideas.
So as I thought this week of some of you newer moms starting out, I thought this might be a good way to start organizing some of your ideas!
Blessings to you and yours,
~Stacy
Lol, and I thought I was the only one who still enjoyed paper-and-pencil notes. I think this might work for me, as I squirrel away titles and ideas too in my notebooks which get mixed in with all of my life's notes. :)
ReplyDeleteDo you put a little notations next to items indicating whether they were accomplished or purchased or used? Sometimes I check out a book title, like for history and realize it is will be better for my son in a few years. I won't be using my current notebooks then, so your box seems like a better idea.
Heather~
DeleteYes, I do. Or I cross things off as I've seen the item and realized it's not for us. And yes-- I'll often write "later" or "older", if I've perused something and like it but we're not yet there.
Thanks for this post. I'm a pencil and paper girl too and it's nice to see a system like this...:)
ReplyDeleteHow did I not know you were a pencil and paper girl, too? ~smile~ Love you!
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