Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Educator, Coach, Life Strategist

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Jul 15 2014

{Round-Up} Free Homeschool Planners

 

free planners

 

As homeschool families, we all begin and end at different times of the year.  In our home, for instance, the “year” runs [roughly] August to August.

Most of my major planning occurs in July (read how I do it HERE).  Then, I use a variety of planning systems to track smaller items and keep things running smoothly from day to day.

At planning time, I often develop new forms I can use to streamline what we do.

Apparently, lots of other people do, too!

A few minutes of visiting friends’ blogs and web sites,  combined with a little prodding to hear what others were up to, and I was quickly able to produce a list a mile long (almost).

Not only is it fun to print and use these planners and tracking sheets, but you’ll get many new ideas seeing how others do it in their homes!

 

Grab a cup of coffee, tea or your favorite green smoothie and pull up a chair.  You’ll be here a little while.

 

Might want to check for ink and paper in the printer, too…

 

For starters, some of the forms I have to share with you:

My household binder is available free HERE for download.

My high school planning map (a 4-year plan) is available free HERE.

[I do have a curriculum and lesson system and a high school planning system.   Neither is free, but are available inexpensively in our bookstore.]

 

My blogging friends have shared some of their fantastic & free planning pages with me:

Meet Penny offers a free planning calendar plus a lesson planning page for you to print.

Over at 123 Homeschool 4 Me, you’ll find free planner pages, report cards and other fun pages to share.

Everyday Snapshots is offering a free set of planner pages after you enter an email address.

Homeschooling on a Dime offers an entire set of homeschool planning ages exclusively for its subscribers.

Simply Vicki has a color-coordinated set!

Dynamic Homeschool Plus has developed a full set of customizable plans that are free for the taking.

Walking by the Way offers some great interest-led planners listed for free.

One Fun Mom offers several different planner pages for organizing a homeschool week.

Alternative Learning has some great printables and downloads for planning around thematic units.

LJSkool has a one-page printable to track school vacations.  (I love that it says school is “closed” during those weeks!)

Denschool offers an entirely free system for homeschool planning and creating a calendar.

And don’t forget Christian Homeschool Hub, where subscribers have access to tons of printable resources for organization.

 

Others you might like — all free – that hail from around the globe:

Donna Young has loads and loads of free planning pages for every style of homeschool and every need

Passport Academy offers many freebies, including planner pages and lesson planners for preschoolers.

Five J’s has a one-page assignment planner free for downloading.

Living Well Spending Less has a free planner she developed for her own use.  I particularly like her cover designs!

The Homeschool Mom offers several different planners, including one for high school.

Free homeschool deals offers a free student planner in 6 colors.

Bright Hub Education has a free planner for download one page at a time.

Notebooking Nook offers planner pages in both black & white and color.

 

Some free planning e-books I came across:

A free planning ebook, with printable forms, is available for download at Homeschooling-Ideas.

A Free & Frugal Homeschooling Planning Pack e-book is available for free download.

 

Plus, a couple of free programs and apps for planning, too:

Homeschook Skedtrack

Learn Boost

 

Finally, even more free planners in case you still haven’t found what you’re looking for:

The Happy Housewife offers a high school planner is 2 different formats. Make sure to double-check that it meets your particular requirements before using.

A Unit Study Planner is available free at Heart of Wisdom

Several different planning pages can be found at Pumpkin Patch.

Homeschooling Hearts & Minds offers some free pages.  They remind me of the ones I made when my kids were little!

Highland Heritage Forms offers 22 different free for homeschoolers to print.

Mama Jenn has a bunch of forms free for printing.

Homeschool Creations offers several printables, including planning sheets that are useful for a workbox system.

 

Have I left one out?  Do YOU offer a great free planner, too?

 

Feel free to list it as a COMMENT.  Thank you!

 

Marie-Claire Moreau, Quick Start Homeschool

 

 

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Written by Marie-Claire · Categorized: Homeschool · Tagged: calendars, chores, classroom resources, freebies, household, lesson planning, organization, record-keeping, scheduling

Jan 21 2014

{Day 21} Designing Charts and Schedules For Every Need

31 Days of Homeschooling ~ Quick Start Homeschool

{Day 21} Designing Charts and Schedules For Every Need

{For an overview of all 31 Days of Homeschooling click HERE.}

To advance to the next lesson, look for the “NEXT LESSON” link at the end of this article.

Lots of homeschool families enjoy using schedules and charts.  Somehow, just putting something in writing and hanging it on a wall, makes for a smoother, more productive day.

Schedules can be used to plan everything from breakfast to bedtime, and everything in between.  Scheduling for homeschoolers is a great way to make sure that everything that needs to be accomplished is given priority, then hung in plain sight for all to follow all day long.

Different kinds of schedules work for different homeschool families.  Some families create a very loose schedule of activities for each day that resembles more of a list.  Others like a very detailed, block format schedule, assigning specific times to activities from morning until night.  Schedules can represent one day, one week, a month, or even longer.  The work of developing a schedule pays off when families notice that more is accomplished and nothing important is forgotten.

Charts are handy for specific, unchanging tasks.   Charts are useful for listing things, such as chores, supplies, procedures, and ingredients.   Charts are also immensely helpful for explaining things, like how-to do something, such as clean a bedroom, scrub a bathtub, solve a linear equation, reach a parent at work, or anything at all.  Many parents also use charts in places where children are likely to need reminders, like a bathroom sink, shoe drop-off area, or a refrigerator.

As a life-long charter and scheduler, I believe these simple tools are the key to an orderly household, a focused family, more peaceful relationships, and many more hours in the day.   My theory has always been, “If it isn’t on the schedule (or the chart), it probably won’t get done!” and I know this to be true.

In this age of smart devices, some may feel the temptation to record lists and appointments on a wireless device.  This is fine; however, I assert that charts and schedules yield the best results when the entire family is involved.  Therefore, no matter which method is used to schedule and chart activities, keep in mind that every chart and schedule must be plainly visible to every member of the family (even non-readers), any time they are needed.

Although no family is perfect, using charts and schedules can revolutionize many aspects of family and homeschool life.  Follow the links at the end of this post to learn more about several different systems that may work for you.  Also, THIS BOOK has an entire chapter of charts and schedules for homeschool households.

NEXT LESSON

Further Reading:

Scheduling non-readers

Block scheduling tutorial

Chore chart with weekly rotations

15 minute organization saves time and sanity later

 

Written by Marie-Claire · Categorized: Announcements & Special Events · Tagged: 31 days, calendars, chores, e-course, free, household, lesson planning, mini e-course, scheduling

Jan 18 2014

{Day 18} Balancing Housework with Homeschool

31 Days of Homeschooling ~ Quick Start Homeschool

{Day 18} Balancing Housework with Homeschool

{For an overview of all 31 Days of Homeschooling click HERE.}

To advance to the next lesson, look for the “NEXT LESSON” link at the end of this article.

One of the things that concern some families is keeping the home in order.  In particular, since homeschooling is a full-time job — one that usually requires more time at home – how will anything else ever get done?

This is a common concern.  Common, but not unsolvable.

For those who like a clean house and an orderly environment, there are many techniques that can help.  These range from easy to much more complex.  Choose one that fits your lifestyle:

  • Confine homeschooling activities to one or two places — not all over the house.  Assign a space or an entire room for classroom items and leave everything there.  Then, close the door if you’d prefer not to look at it all day.  If space in a room is not possible, use a closet, several cabinets or an armoire instead.
  • Keep everything neatly organized by using totes, bins, boxes, drawers or whatever is needed to fit daily homeschool supplies.  Make sure that children know where everything goes when the day is done.  Dedicate a time each day to putting everything away.  This gives the feeling of neatness — at least for a little while each day.
  • Schedule periodic breaks throughout the day to replace items, do quick cleanups, put things away and perform household tasks.  Don’t save everything until the end of the day.  Put in a load of laundry before morning activities begin. After the first activity, transfer it to the dryer.  In between classes, run a vacuum or clean a toilet.  Children should do this, too.  Have a cleanup period every 2 hours — involve the children. After lunch, assign cleanup duties to someone.  Set a timer to start dinner at 4:00 pm, to be sure it’s ready by 6:00 pm.  The possibilities are endless.  
  • Assign chores to specific children every day, and enforce that chores are completed to your satisfaction.  Post chores in a place where everyone can see.  Children as young as 2 or 3 can help.  {For more suggestions, search on CHORES.}
  • Choose less “messy” and less “big” activities.  For example, instead of a finger-painting activity, choose one using washable crayons or colored pencils instead.  Instead of measuring the proportional distance between the Sun and the planets using a tape measure and a very long driveway, use a computer program instead.
  • Homeschool on a porch, in the back yard, in a tree house, on a boat, in the garage, in a vehicle while waiting for someone, or somewhere else from time to time.  This method keeps the house clean for a period and gives relief for a short time.
  • Take a few classes outside the home, especially the ones that require spreading out (e.g., cooking), creating strong odors (e.g., chemistry), involve messy supplies (e.g., sculpture), generate loud noises (e.g., percussion), and so on.

…and, to remove the pressure of worrying that someone may drop by while the house is a mess…

  • Tell family, friends and neighbors that you will be homeschooling.
  • Explain  that school takes place between 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (or whatever times you prefer) and that you are unable to receive guests during those hours.
  • Make it a habit of visiting friends and neighbors during “after school” hours.  Do this before they have the chance to come to you.
  • Hang a flag or a sign on the door saying, “School is in session” or a similar message.
  • Or, do as some moms do, and keep a bathrobe or house coat by the front door.  When visitors stop by, explain you aren’t feeling well, and it isn’t a convenient time to drop by!

One of my favorite seminars to deliver (and one of my most popular) is called, Make Block Scheduling Work For You!  See a description of this talk, along with some of the other topics I talk about, by clicking HERE.

NEXT LESSON

Further reading:

Tips for keeping chore systems running optimally

Recognize time-wasters and reclaim the day!

Clean enough

 

Written by Marie-Claire · Categorized: Announcements & Special Events · Tagged: 31 days, 31-day program, chores, e-course, free, freebies, household, housework, mini e-course

Jul 04 2013

Tips for keeping chore systems running optimally (answering your questions)

I receive frequent questions about chore charting and the delegation of duties in the household.  These questions seem to stem from parents’ concerns when making the decision to homeschool — basically, wondering how everything they did before will possibly get done now.

Let me begin by saying that in order for the house and school to run smoothly, homeschool moms and dads must immediately adopt the position that everyone is in it together.  When homeschooling, there are no stay-at-home-moms or stay-at-home-dads who keep the house, no working moms or dads who come home to a tidy home and a hot meal, and (assuming this concept was even in place) no room for antiquated roles of bygone eras.  The family operates as a unit, thus everyone pitches in for everyone to reap the rewards of this extraordinary lifestyle.  No questions asked.  For families pulling children from schools and bringing them home, this may take a short period of adjustment, but will quickly become the norm as the home becomes the central hub of activity and is utilized more hours per day than ever before.

I have written extensively about chore charts here at Quick Start Homeschool.  Please use the search bar or tags at the end of this post to get additional ideas or to read how I do it in our home.

In this post, I discuss two strategies that I use to keep our chore system running optimally.  These are (1) conducting periodic chore “reviews” and (2) remembering to “train” children as they learn new chores (or improve how they perform existing chores).  I cannot imagine a successful chore system without these important elements.  I describe how these tasks are performed in our home, using examples common to many families with children old enough to contribute to maintaining the home and yard.  This is a lengthy post but I hope will be useful to those who have requested I explain the process in detail.

Chore Review:

Several times a year, I review the lists of chores I assign to my children.   Typically, this review comes after several particularly trying weeks when it seems as though many of our chores are not being completed, or when our family experiences some major change in schedules or living situation (like a move from one city to another, addition of a new family member, new job, new pet or extended visit from family).

As I prepare to review our chore charts, I reflect on how things have generally been running around the house and yard for the last several weeks or months that our schedules have been in place.  The review includes paying special attention to areas that seem to be constantly messy or unclean in the house or yard, new areas of responsibility that have developed since the last revision of the chore charts, plus any kinds of road-blocks to progress that could be addressed either by the removal or addition of chores on the list.

Examples of household situations that might put this strategy into action include a mudroom that is always cluttered or dirty and never seems to be addressed by anyone in the household; pets that are not receiving regular baths or are not fed nor cages cleaned on a regular basis; a vehicle littered with trash and items that are never removed from the car; or a sink full of  dirty dishes left sitting far too long.  If these are determined to be critical areas that should be addressed, they can all be addressed by revising the chore system.

Before coming to any conclusions about our chore system, I also try to recall my observations of my children doing their chores and the types of feedback I receive from them (complaining, whining or frustration over chores), which children seem to have too many or too few chores as compared to other children (unequal balance or unfair burden on any one child), and which chores my children have expressed they prefer over others (Translation: which chores they don’t mind vs. which they hate the most).

Examples of putting this strategy into action includes remembering which child does not like to collect trash and clean toilets, which child finds it fun to fold towels and put them away, which child I observe is not strong enough to safely and comfortably push the lawn mower, and which child is not tall enough nor skilled enough to wash a high window.  In these cases, a determination should be made as to whether these chores should be reassigned to someone else, whether the child requires discipline or encouragement to learn these chores anyhow, or if the chore is really necessary and could be left undone (or either my husband or I should do instead).

Finally, when reviewing chore charts, I look at the number of children who will be living with us for the next several months (e.g., who is home from college, leaving for college, and so on), who is old enough to be added to the chore rotation (e.g., toddlers and littles grown enough to begin learning chores and helping in some way), new work schedules that must be incorporated into the existing system (e.g., children who hold part-time jobs, are involved in extensive sports training or activities, etc.) and also the increased level of competency and maturity I notice in each of the children (Translation: who is now ready to tackle more chores or more difficult ones).   Because chore charts take time to develop, I try to predict what could work for the next several months — even the entire year – so the chore charts will last a while, and I will not need to revise it again too soon.

An example of putting this strategy into action includes scheduling children who are very busy a flexible set of chores that can be completed any time during the week, instead of ones that must be completed on specific days.  Another example is to have both weekday and weekend chores so that children who are not available during the week may complete chores on weekends instead, or vice-versa.  A technique I sometimes use is to incorporate children into the chore rotation as though they were home full-time, and complete their chores myself until they return home and the chores become their responsibility again.

In a nutshell, the purpose of the chore review is to see how our chore system is presently working, or if is time to make tweaks and changes.  Usually (in most cases, probably 90% of the time) my intuition was correct and it is time to make adjustments.  When making adjustments, I take all of my thoughts and translate them into a system that I believe can work for us.  Depending how extensive the revisions, I might either revise the existing charts or create a new chore system altogether.

Chore Training:

Once chore charts have been completed, I run through them in my head, trying to imagine each child completing his daily responsibilities.  I think about which children need re-training for chores they have not completed satisfactorily in the past and which children will need to be trained in new chores altogether.  I also note which chores are very complex or have many parts, thus could benefit from chore cards (stay tuned for future post) or some type of “cheat sheet” reminder for the child until he becomes proficient enough to do it without extra help.

When training children for new chores, the only way to do this is by modeling it as the children watch.  We teach the task once or many times, depending on the task itself.  This is followed by asking the child to do it on his own the next time under our supervision.  We continue to monitor and supervise the chore for as many days or weeks as it takes until the chore is done properly, until we believe the child can do it safely on his own, until we believe the child knows where all of the necessary supplies are located and is skilled in cleaning up after himself when done, or all of the above.  Usually, this is all it takes for proper training, however occasionally I discover a chore is simply too difficult or inappropriate for a particular child, and I reassign it to someone else.  I rely on my husband’s feedback for areas that he supervises, and make changes that way, too.

I do not require children to “check off” assignments on a chart, however many families find that technique very helpful.  Some families also enjoy giving stickers, moving clothespins or awarding points for completed chores.  I rarely run into situations where my children forget to complete chores or perform them badly; however, if I begin to notice a problem with our chore system, I typically ask my kids to let me know when they have completed their chores so that I can perform a quick inspection.  Should anything seem wrong, I try to address it immediately before the problem persists too long.  As children grow, the need for inspections lessens, but with young children, I strongly advise taking a look and giving praise and feedback as appropriate.

I cannot imagine a home where everyone does not contribute!  Too often I meet families at conferences and meetings who tell me the mom is overwhelmed and the children become antsy while waiting for mom to assign school work or projects.   This continues to surprise me as I wonder how the evolution of parental roles and concept of sharing responsibilities seem to be lost on these families.  When one or both parents are over-worked or overwhelmed and children have free time, these are perfect opportunities to begin implementing a system for children to begin pitching in.  Parents who believe it takes too much time to teach children how to perform a job, and continue cleaning up after them as they learn, have not thought carefully about the consequences of these actions.  Certainly it takes time for this work to bear fruit, but the rewards are endless, and extend beyond the family home into adulthood when children are able to keep their own homes and assume responsibility for projects later on.

Please use the COMMENT area to share feedback or ask questions about chore charting and the delegation of duties in your family.  I would love to hear what you do, or share additional tips to make your homeschool experience a more joyous one!

Marie-Claire

Written by Marie-Claire · Categorized: Homeschool · Tagged: chores, household, large families, laundry, scheduling, work-at-home

Aug 13 2012

Chores for kids

Do you assign daily/weekly chores to your kids?  What are some of the things your kids can do?

I don’t know about you, but I love to hear what kids are doing in other homes.  It gives me ideas to learn from other families, and I love to hear about chore systems I’ve never tried before.

Hearing from other families is also good for another reason:  it helps to know what kids are capable of at every age.  If I have a child I’m not sure is ready for a job, knowing kids in other families do it encourages me to train my kids to do it, too.

Did you know that chores go hand-in-hand with homeschooling, too?  When spending lots of time at home, chores can be incorporated into the regular school day.  Homeschooling is the perfect time to teach kids to manage a home and yard, anyway.  What kid wouldn’t benefit by knowing these things as he/she gets older?

Over the years, I have been able to perfect chore system that works for us  in every season of life.  I know what my kids are capable of, and I have an idea of the maturity it takes to get things done right.

Here is a list of just some of the things I know my kids can do.  I hope this list will inspire you to find the perfect chore system for your family:

 

Sample Chores By Age*

TEENS (13 and up) may…

  • Do yard work, such as mowing grass, cutting branches and hauling debris
  • Supervise younger siblings, including feeding, bathing, dressing, reading to, and more
  • Prepare meals for themselves and the entire family, including clean-up (When should kids learn to cook?)
  • Perform heavy cleaning jobs, like window washing, scrubbing walls and floors, and cleaning hard-to-reach areas
  • Be asked to maintain areas of the home entirely on their own
  • Older teens may even be asked to drive children to and from activities

OLDER ELEMENTARY (8-12) students may…

  • Wash and fold laundry (read how)
  • Clean and maintain bathrooms
  • Prepare lists and help with grocery shopping
  • Vacuum and mop high usage areas
  • Weed gardens, trim plantings, harvest herbs and vegetables
  • Wash, feed and groom animals; clean pet areas

YOUNGER students (5-7) may…

  • Bring laundry into laundry room
  • Clean sinks and counter-tops
  • Dust shelves
  • Vacuum under beds
  • Put dishes away
  • Brush pets
  • Pick up around the house (learn how)

VERY YOUNG children (4 and under) are able to…

  • Carry toys to bins
  • Re-shelve books (learn how)
  • Wipe door knobs and light switches with damp rags
  • Place plastic dishware into in sink or dishwasher
  • Clean low cabinet doors
  • Wipe down chairs

[*Ages are approximate — only parents know when children are ready and trained to tackle certain jobs.]

Most parents seem to assign chores either daily or weekly (I do both).  Some have more than one chore period per day, too.

Take a look at the difference between daily and weekly chores, below:

Take a look at this list of less frequent maintenance items that can be added to chore rotations, too:

Creating chore systems for a family takes a while to get just right.  Don’t be afraid to do them in pencil first, and use them for a couple of weeks before committing them to ink.  Once experience and training has set in, the rewards of chore charting really begin to show. Congratulate your kids for a job well done, and be happy you’re providing them a skill they’ll use for many years to come!

Marie-Claire Moreau, Quick Start Homeschool

Did you like this?  If so, you’ll also like these:

Awarding credit for life skills

A basic life curriculum for my boys

Chore charts with rotations

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Written by Marie-Claire · Categorized: Homeschool · Tagged: chores, household, laundry, scheduling, work-at-home

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