Notes to self about sixths and library searches.

When I search SAILS set to “Key Word,” if I copy and paste the whole title with author from the Story of the World activity book pdf, the exact book comes up, which is faster than an author search if the author is prolific (Like Jean Fritz or Diane Stanley).  But I may still have to do an author or title search if the system gets balky.

Also; each time I organize a sixth of the year, I think, what is my work flow again?  Once I look up things in the blog it’s faster, but here goes a more complete list:

My Work Flow:

Grab the “Organize Me’ notebook and look at the letters to the superintendent – that lists all the goals of the year and probably has penciled margin notes like “do 4 chapters each 1/6″

Bring up the file of B’s  last sixth to see where he ended, so you know which next chapters to do.

List all the chapters you need to cover this sixth from all books. (Maybe next year I can do this in the beginning? oh yeah, B is starting the rhetoric phase, everything is different. Scratch that.  Does this mean we are officially classical homeschoolers?  Even if I still read Charlotte Mason blogs and Home Education Magazine?  Ummm  I think I can handle being a neoclassical homeschooler..)

Look at the calender, list the work week ends for all weeks we will be homeschooling this sixth.

Distribute the assignments to the weeks.

Make B’s first weekly daily chart listing EVERYTHING he’s got to do to complete his assignments, making Tuesdays lighter because he’s got flute and Spanish lessons those days.(The empty daily file already has things like ‘take out the trash” on Monday and “help clean the house” on Friday.  As well as “clean your desk and put your books away in the cubby.”)

Print out all the maps and coloring pages from the Story of the World for M and K.

Print out Miquon math pages.

Print out the monthy poems from Ambleside Online year 1 to read to M and K each morning before prayer and hymn sing – well, each morning when we are starting homeschool on time.

Interleave them in the Organize Me notebook.

Put lots of library books on reserve at the library so you have bedtime reading available.  I got as far as Elisabeth I before I ran out of space on my card.