Planning for Next School Year including Downloadable Forms!

I know, I know...  It's terribly early to be planning for the 2013-14 school year, but that's how I roll!  Not to mention, my normal planning month, April, will be filled with baby-gazing and resting.  So, I have to get ready for next year NOW!

It will take me a while to complete my planner.  I've made my list of the contents I plan to have:

• Pretty Cover (I'll laminate a pretty sheet of scrapbook paper)
• Title page (with my school title, school year, and the kids' grade levels)
• Envelopes (I put in several 8 1/2 X 5 envelopes so I can put in loose papers without them being loose)
• Calendars Tab
• Our daily schedule by subject (it helps me to know what I want to accomplish each day, but becomes obsolete after the first couple of months, either because I get used to our schedule or it changes)
• School attendance calendar (I get this from donnayoung.org)
• 2013-14 monthly calendars (I've found several free calendars with pretty, cute, or whimsical borders and backgrounds; I've always used plain ones in the past, but I'm going with "fun" this time)
• Plan/Assign Tab
• 54 weeks of planning sheets (I make my own in Excel; 2 pages per week with blanks for all the kids and their subjects.  I fill these in on a weekly basis.)
• History & Science Tab
• History plan (This is where my advanced planning comes in handy; I plan, by chapter of the history text(s) we are using, the topics to be covered for both the Grammar Stage and the Logic Stage along with documentaries we might watch and supplemental books for the kids to read.)
• Science plan (Just like history; although, this coming year, I'm changing texts to a Logic Stage text, so I'll have to figure out what to do for my Grammar Stage children using the same texts.)
• Kids' Grade Plans Tab (Another realm of advanced planning - I go through all of the kids' texts and decide when all of the lessons will be taught and build in breaks; of course by the end of the third month, I'm usually off track, but I like knowing where I would like to be and eventually we catch up.)
• Lists Tab (I make several lists for things I want to keep up with)
• Text books used for each child
• Performance pieces
• 2014-15 text book wish list

I usually take my planner, once put together to my satisfaction, to my local office supply store for clear plastic covers and spiral binding.

I may try to publish some of my forms here in the future.  I don't mind sharing!

Speaking of sharing, I've made a Student Planner for my children, and I'm happy to let you download it!  One page is a relatively blank form that can be printed for the number of weeks of the school year.  Since we home school year round (with several breaks built in), I plan on printing 52-54.  That page is here.  Just so you know, I've made it for the subjects we use; if you don't use those subjects, you can at least use it as a guide to create your own.  The blanks next to the weekday names are to put in the specific dates.

The next page is the page my children can use to write the things they want.  Included are areas to write down their "jobs at home" (i.e., their chores), a To Do List, appointments, and things they are reading/doing.  I've also included "Dreams for the Week," "Creative Corner" (for doodles and the like), and a question at the bottom of the page they can answer (a different question every week).  There are 54 different pages here.

I will print the first page (the school work planning page), then print the fun page on the back side of the school work planning page.  I'll either comb bind each child's book with a cover page of their choice or I'll take it to my local office store and have it spiral bound.

I don't mind if you download them and use them for your own use.  If you choose to share, please link back to my website and don't pawn off my work as your own.  See?  Nothing too harsh!

What about the toddler?

I have (as have legions of other homeschooling mommies) been asked, "What do you do with your toddler while you are homeschooling your other children?" I could give some lofty, intellectual answer that shows exactly how wonderful a mother-teacher-multitasker I am. I could say, I bounce him on my knee as we are studying Victorian Britain or he watches patiently as the kids are doing Spanish. Reality is this - during our first day of homeschool, Chaucer (19 months old):

Played in the dog's water
Put the dog's food in the dog's water
Colored on Casey's worksheets
Scribbled on a white bookshelf
Knocked a picture off the wall
Used Fisher Pri€e Little People to destroy the living room

The FIRST DAY!

Really... A YEAR?!

Well, almost a year...

I went away, but now I'm back. I decided to take a break right after that post in August 2010. Between work, school, kids, life - something had to give, so I stopped blogging. I hope to keep up with it, if anything, so that I can better chronicle my children's educations. I make a year-end portfolio for the older three and, sadly, a nice detail of what we did was missing - because I stopped blogging.

We're starting a new school year tomorrow and I'm beside-myself-excited! The kids, on the other hand ... not so much. Let me rephrase: Casey and Will are none too thrilled; Tricky, is quite excited since she has her own collection of school books. I hope the newness and curiosity sticks with the Trick for a while.

I'll update the sidebars with our books for this year, the kids' ages and interests, and (with any luck) some more up-to-date photos! My little weeds have grown quite a bit in the past year!

A Most Exclusive School

I was just commenting on another blog about a home school being exclusive. Really, just think about it... there are private schools out there that are in such demand that the second the parents get a positive pregnancy test result, they're signing up on the waiting list!

Well, I guess Gratia Plena Academia is pretty exclusive, too - as are most home schools. Although, mine isn't as exclusive as it was a few years ago. As of right now, I have 3 students and one on the waiting list!

[Guess I'd better go ahead and make a onesie sporting our homeschool's logo.]

Eating History

Studying history CAN be fun! As part of our Story of the World 2 lesson on Islam, we made an oasis - the edible kind.


Yes, not only can history be fun - it can be eaten, too!!!

You've Asked How I Did It...

I've been asked how I made my school t-shirts, so I thought I would post my (not too detailed) instructions.

ITEMS NEEDED:

computer
ink jet printer
iron-on labels
iron
pillowcase
ironing board
articles to be decorated
software allowing images to be reversed


1. What do you want to create?
For me, it was a logo for our family's home school. Since our school is named Gratia Plena Academia (Full of Grace Academy - the "full of grace" coming from the Rosary), I wanted a picture of Mary and the infant Jesus. I searched online and after viewing hundreds of pictures, found one I liked. Fortunately, it was already round, so I didn't have to make it round - round was my personal preference.

Next, I saved the image to my computer and opened it in Adobe PhotoShop - I have version 6. I added text above and below the picture - I just sort of fumble around in PhotoShop until it looks like what I want it to look like; I don't profess to know what I'm doing. Let's just say I hit the Undo button a lot and save every time I get something I want.

Finally, there is a reverse image option in PhotoShop. This is the ESSENTIAL step to creating an iron on. If you don't reverse the image before you print it to your transfer paper, it WILL be reversed on your finished product. (Which isn't a problem if you're narcissistic and stare at yourself in a mirror while you're wearing your newly created shirt, but it will be hard for everyone else to read it.) So, reverse the image, then save. After I saved my image in PhotoShop, I then open it in Microsoft Word. I can maximize the number of iron-ons on an 8 1/2 X 11 transfer sheet in Word - again, I'm not yet prolific in PhotoShop, but Word I know.


2. What do you want to put your logo on?
I prefer white t-shirts and white tote bags. My most recent project is my third foray into the world of iron-ons and I'm still playing it safe by using what I've used in the past. White. You can purchase dark colors iron-ons, but I've never tried it. I'm keeping it simple, for now.

I made t-shirts for all three of my children, my husband, and myself, along with 2 tote bags. The logo on the tote bag is much larger than the t-shirt image. I just used Word to paste my image on a blank page, then right clicked on the image to pull up a menu and selected the option to change the image size. I was happy that the image resolution was good after the enlargement, but you should be aware that if you make the image too large, the distortion may be too great to make a good iron-on.

For my tote bags, I just used one 8 1/2 X 11 transfer sheet per logo. However, for the t-shirts, my logo size was much smaller, so I was able to print all 5 logos on one transfer sheet.

When you're ready to print, put a blank sheet into your printer and print a test page. You want to make sure that, if your image is in color, that your color ink is working. You also want to make sure that the image you print is a mirror image of what you want your finished product to look like. Once you're satisfied with the test, put in the iron-on paper (making sure you have it in the printer to print on the proper side) and print.


3. How do you iron it on?
The transfer sheets come with (very) detailed instructions. The pillowcase mentioned above in the items needed comes into play here. Just follow the directions with the iron-ons - there are before, during and aftercare instructions.

Well that's how I did it! I need to go now - and find more things to plaster with my school's logo!

Starting Off in Style

Well, I've been at it again... I made iron-ons for t-shirts and tote bags with our home school logo! Of course, I had to photograph a couple, tastefully displayed with a variety of books the kids will use this year.

Homeschooling Tricky

I made letters from water bottle tops, laminated circles with letters written in to spell out words with an accompanying picture, and set Tricky to work.

This is a better look at what I've done:




This is Tricky in action:

Chicken Mummy

A picture of Pharaoh Gamehen I. I just realized I never posted a picture of her. Here she is in all of her mummified glory:

Just prior to wrapping-

Wrapped-

By the way, her resting place, for now, is atop a bookshelf in our school room.

Standardized Tests

I recently began researching standardized tests as Casey will be taking one during the 2010-2011 school year. Georgia requires homeschoolers to take a standardized test every three years beginning at the end of third grade, although the State does not require that those results be submitted to public school authorities. “Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm reference tests to evaluate their educational progress at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade and records of such tests and scores shall be retained but shall not be required to be submitted to public educational authorities.” O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690 (c)(7).

Georgia third graders in public school take the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Knowing what I’ve heard and read about the CRCT, I know that I do not want my children to take that particular standardized test, nor do they have to. I just don’t feel as though my third-grader needs to be tested on, and thus forcing me to teach outside of my planned course of study, Frederick Douglass-civil rights, Susan B. Anthony-women's rights, Mary McLeod Bethune-education, Franklin D. Roosevelt- New Deal and World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt-United Nations and human rights, Thurgood Marshall-civil rights, Lyndon B. Johnson-Great Society and voting rights, and Cesar Chavez-workers' rights. [Topics on the Social Studies portion of a recent CRCT.] Fortunately, Georgia does not dictate which standardized test a homeschooler must take, just that it must be a national standardized test.

I was, however, a bit stunned at the volume of standardized tests available to a homeschooling parent of a third grader. So, to do my part to possibly help another parent make an informed decision about which test to give, I have compiled the following information, listed alphabetically, from various online resources. A list of testing suppliers can be found here. NOTE: This is by no means a comprehensive list, but merely a list of the tests I’ve considered.


California Achievement Test, 5th edition (CAT/5)
Grades: K-12
Administration: Parents administer the test at home and send it back to be scored. You have two weeks after receiving the test to administer and return it for scoring. Scoring takes 3 to 8 weeks.
Subjects tested: Reading, spelling, language mechanics and expression, mathematics, study skills, science and social studies.
Format: A timed test with five test formats available, descriptions of which can be found here.
Results: Results are printed to include national percentiles, scale scores, grade equivalents, stanine results, and other data. You must request percentile scoring and /or stanine results or you will only receive raw scores and grade equivalents.
Other: One comment I read while researching the CAT is that it is popular among Christian schools and home schools because it contains more traditional values than other standardized tests. Also available are the CAT (original) and the CAT/6 (the 6th edition) - I have not researched the differences between these and the CAT/5.


Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)
Grades: 1-12
Subjects tested: reading, language arts, spelling, math, science, social studies and reference skills.
Results: You receive a professional critique with the scores.


Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)
Grades: K-12 (grades 2 and below are tested orally)
Administration: 4-year baccalaureate degree in any field required for administrator. From the ITBS official website: “Test materials for use with home-schooled students can be obtained through the public school district where the student resides or through the AEA that encompasses the student's residence. Arrangements might be made for such students to test at the local school when students of that district take their tests. If the district has a home-school assistance center, arrangements for testing might be made with that center.”
Subjects tested: K-2: Vocabulary, Word Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Listening, Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Sources of Information. Grades 3-8: Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation, Usage and Expression, Math Concepts and Estimation, Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation, Math Computation, Social Studies, Maps and Diagrams, Reference Materials, Word Analysis, Listening.
Results: Raw Scores, Percent Correct, Grade Equivalent, Developmental Standard Score, and Percentile Rank.
Other: For more information about the ITBS, go to the official website here.


Personalized Achievement Summary System (PASS)
Grades: 3-8
Administration: Parents administer the test at home and return the test for scoring and analysis. Test should be given twice per year, with at least 6 months between testing recommended. You have four weeks after receiving the test to administer and return it for scoring.
Subjects tested: Reading, language, and mathematics.
Format: Untimed test.
Other: This test was developed specifically for homeschoolers. Additional information can be found here.


Stanford Achievement Test (SAT)
[Not to be confused with the Scholastic Aptitude Test - SAT - for college]
Grades: K-12
Administration: Administrator must have a baccalaureate degree in any field plus other requirements, and the test publisher has strict guidelines which must be followed when testing a relative.
Subjects tested: Reading, math, language, spelling, listening, science and social studies. The exact subjects covered in a test will depend on the child’s grade level.
Format: A timed test with multiple choice, short answer, and extended answer questions.
Results: Scores given are in relation to other students. There is also an explain of how your child did in each area and suggestions for improvement.

Ramping Up Our Schedule

Each week I'm adding a little bit more to our workload knowing we'll be taking time off at the beginning of 2010.

This week I added our corresponding Read Alouds to history. I started reading Beowulf a few days ago. The kids are enjoying it. While, much to my husband's chagrin, it is not the Seamus Heaney translation - a truly fabulous translation, I might add - it is a condensed, more child-friendly version with beautiful illustrations. I've been reading at mealtime - now, there's a way to experience the destructive powers of Grendel, his mother, and Beowulf... while eating!

We're also adding memorization back into our plans. This week (and maybe next week, too - it takes my four year old a bit longer to memorize than my six year old and Tricky's trying to learn it, too) we are commiting Christina Rossetti's How Many Seconds to memory.

Also, since we're studying astronomy, our new telescope (Orion SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian reflecting telescope) is coming in quite handy. We've seen Saturn, its rings, and its moon, Titan; a globular cluster (M13), and the two stars at the curve of the handle in the Big Dipper (with my naked eye, I can only make out one star). Hopefully we can go out tonight, if we get a break in the clouds, to stargaze some more!