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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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I'm trying to figure out how to keep records of what we're reading/learning/doing. I'm not required to keep anything for the state-this would be just for me to look back on in the future.
What do you use? Software? Blogs? Pen and Pencil? Nothing at all?
Thanks
Jennifer
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amyable
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 2:37pm | IP Logged
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For the longest time, I've just used a teacher's planbook sorted by day of week across the top and subjects down the side...jotting down what we did after the fact.
When we did Seton for awhile there this year (we are mostly finished), it did open my family to the joys of having at least some work planned in advance. My kids LIKE to know they need to do pages XYZ today in whatever books.
So when I heard about the Simply Charlotte Mason CM Organizer, I jumped at the chance to try it out. (there is a discussion of it going on right now on Elizabeth's blog) I loved some parts of the CM Organizer it and dislilked others, but it opened my eyes to computerized recordkeeping! So now I'm trying out Homeschool Tracker. This is our first week implementing it, and I'm liking it so far.
I have a feeling I'll stick with a bare bones approach with Homeschool Tracker, adding my own notes in pencil of things we added to the week.
__________________
Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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I was thinking about this today. I bought Edu-Track a few years ago, and then downloaded Homeschool Tracker because it was simpler to use. I don't use either now. 
I like the idea of using a blog and writing daily notes after the fact rather than trying to write out plans to follow. Boy, that sounds bad, huh?! I have never really kept any coherent record and sometimes I look back and wonder what we have done with our time. We have plenty of finished workbooks and dozens of living books read, but I think it would be nice to have at least the highlights written down.
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Angel
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 4:31pm | IP Logged
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I used to keep a spiral notebook in which I jotted down notes of what we actually did that day. Then I started using Homeschool Tracker for the same thing. Then we moved and my desktop was packed away for 3 months, and Homeschool Tracker with it. So I kept a sort-of journal, but I wasn't very dependable with it. (A side effect of 2 moves and a twin pregnancy, I guess.) After that I tried the Homeschool Planner for Unit Studies, which suited us all right, except that I kept forgetting to write in it and when I did, there wasn't enough room to keep track of what each child did separately.
Now I have a blog, which is working out much better because thinking that someone might actually want to have a peek at what we're doing holds me accountable. I still don't really write down my plans too much, and sometimes I still forget to write, but the blog is working better for our purposes.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 10:05pm | IP Logged
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I have the free trial of the CM organizer, and I didn't like it at all. I must remember to cancel before I'm charged!
I did purchase HST Plus a year or so ago, played with it a bit and quit using it. I just spent another 2 hours with it and still find it to be incredibly complicated. Much more than we need at this point.
I did have a blog but I had self esteem issues over it. Why was no one reading? Why was no one commenting? Even though it was only supposed to be my daily notes.
I guess I could just keep a running list in Word of what we read and do, kind of a private journal. But what about pictures?? Not that I take that many pictures.
Let me think on this some more.
Jennifer
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cathhomeschool
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Texas Bluebonnets
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 10:08pm | IP Logged
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I always work up a form on Word that I print out and then fill in as we go. I usually use a combination of a unit based form (covers between 1 and 6 weeks) and a weekly assignment-sheet type form. Most years there are many gaps in the weekly forms because I forget to fill them out in advance and don't remember enough after the fact. I rarely keep these long term, though. I mainly keep my unit outlines. I also have a spiral notebook in which I jot down booklists -- some are tied to unit studies, some are not. Each page or two has a different topic and I just jot down the books that we've read (or that I want to read) that pertain to that topic. So there are pages for various artists, the seasons, poetry, beautiful picture books, etc.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 10:42pm | IP Logged
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Well, I have a need to plan things and I'm trying to keep that need in check by scaling back more and more every year. What started out 2 years ago as a two-page, day-by-day lesson plan document that I created on Microsoft Word, very detailed (too much so) and very time-consuming, is now just one page. It has room to write weekly and daily lesson plans/activities and it has the little ones' routine on it, MOTH-style. It's very versatile and I can use it for planning a theme/topic-based unit study or a literature unit. I print the pages out and fill in the spaces when I plan the units. I keep the pages in a small three ring binder with a pretty paper inside the plastic cover. Nice and tidy. When the year is "over" I have a nice record of what we've done (I do check off what we get to) and I can put it on the shelf and use it as a resource.
I used to use a blank store bought lesson plan book but I couldn't stand the time wasted in re-writing some of the same things each week (kids' names, subject list, etc.) Because I don't trust myself to remember who did what, I can't just keep a general activity list for the whole group. And I don't always find time to write what we do as we do it, so I try to plan in advance and scribble any changes in whenever I can... So that's why I went to typing a general form where I only had to fill in the appropriate blanks for the week. Right now it looks like nothing but a few sentences typed up on a piece of paper about the boys working independently in their math and phonics books and the read-alouds we're using during Lent to prepare our hearts for Easter. It'll stay this way until we find our groove with the new baby...but ideas are brewing for a Goodnight Moon lapbook and a Book of 100(shape book) in the meantime.
When it comes to record keeping, it's kind of funny, but the more little people I have to take care of, the more I feel like I HAVE to have a routine/plan/record-keeping system in place. Otherwise I'm feeling like I'm all over the place and lunch time is here before I know it and I can't remember what we did, let alone what we were supposed to do. But what I'm learning is that i have to remember for me, more kids doesn't have to mean "more complicated." With each new baby I have to find new ways to make my plans even more simple. If I don't remember to keep it simple, I start to feel like a slave to the plans and they become harmful. And they're supposed to always be helpful, right? 
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Kristine
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 10:56pm | IP Logged
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I decided to blog again. And I won't let my feelings/self-esteem get involved in the process! The link is below-if you want to visit. My goal is to post every day what we do, read, see, etc.
Hopefully I can figure out a way to print out the posts every month or two to have a hard copy.
Thanks for all your thoughts and suggestions!
Jennifer
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Record Keeping
