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How To Organize Your Homeschool

February 11, 2020 by Rebekah 1 Comment

how to organize your homeschool with evernote and busy parents club

In this post I am going to show you how to organize your homeschool with Evernote. At the end of this post I am also sharing a free copy of my Trello board which I now use together with Evernote to plan and organizine our homeschool.

When we were in NJ we were lucky to be limited by very little when it came to homeschooling. We did not have to report with portfolios or make our young people take standardized testing. Not having to “prove” that we were learning certain things at certain times, we had a lot of freedom to let them really follow their passions with learning, delve deeply into things they found interesting, and spend as much time on any given subject that they like.

*Update* We have been homeschooing in PA for about 3 years now (and this baby you see below is now 8!) and although I was terrified at first of the requirements (PA is notiriously difficult to homeschool in, especially when you unschool or self-direct like we do.) but after some deep breaths and a lot of research I definitely found a way to keep to our way of homeschooling and still complete the reporting requirements. If you have questions about how to self-direct or unschool in your homeschool, please reach out to me here and I would be happy to get you started. You can also join our Facebook group, You Can Homeschool.

OK, let’s get back to organizing your homeschool with Evernote.

I started using evernote when my oldest son was  3 1/2 – he has been coming up with up with his own exploration ideas since so having somewhere to keep track of it all is super helpful. Some days it’s hard to keep up with all of his ideas! While I didn’t need to keep a portfolio of our work for reporting purposes (and certainly didn’tt need to at this young of an age) I find that I love journaling these moments of our day.

how to organize your homeschool with evernote

Benefits of journaling your homeschool with evernote:

  •  Memories! This is one of the biggest reasons for me. It will be so nice to look back and see all of the ways he was growing and exploring from such a young age-for me and well as for my son (S!).
  • This does act as a portfolio should you ever find the need for one. While I don’t need one now, I am sure that at some point  my son will need some type of documentation for something and it would be nice to have this already at hand then to have to go back through the years and think of everything we have done.
  • Having a journal of passions, interests, and projects helps to inspire and keep on track with works in progress, as well as provides a jumping off point for future projects. In Lori Pickard’s book Project-Based Homeschooling, Mentoring the Self-Directed Learner, I found her idea of hanging photos of recent trips and pictures of your young person working on their projects hanging around their workspace to be very helpful. O often looks at pics of things he was doing and is re-inspired to finish something of gets a shoot-off idea from that.
  • It’s a great way to keep track of useful resources that you find and use along the way.

Organizing your homeschool

Now, onto how to keep all this stuff in order. I definitely keep paper artwork (some of course, I literally do not have the space for all of it) and other memorabilia from trips, holidays, ext.  As far as daily journaling, to be honest, by the time nighttime rolls around and I would have a chance to sit and handwrite in a journal (or type for that matter) I am so tired and have probably forgotten half of what we have done.

The solution? Evernote. Inspired by this post over at City Kids Homeschooling, I decided to give Evernote a try for journaling and documenting our days.

How to use evernote organize your homeschool:

  • Create a notebook
  • for each new activity I want to document I create a note within that notebook
  • We keep it really simple right now. I have one notebook for all of O’s stuff, and notes from all activities we want to record go in there. Later, I may separate into different notebooks as needed. (I have since added a new notebook for my other son)
  • In each note I can quickly add in a picture, a few notes, any links we were using, ect.
photo 3-2
The main menu. using notebooks and notes section only at this point.

 

List of notes in O's project and interest notebook
List of notes in O’s project and interest notebook
Individual note with simply photo and a few quick notes
Individual note with simply photo and a few quick notes
Note with link to website we were using along with a quick note
Note with link to website we were using along with a quick note.

Conclusion

Using Evernote to organize my homeschool has a lot of benefits. I now use this in combination with Trello for planning- at the bottom of this post you can download a copy of the trello board I created and use it for planning your homeschool. one of the best things about using Evernote for recording is that it really doesn’t interrupt anything we are doing. In just a few quick minutes (or minute) I can jot this stuff down and be on with it. Later, when I want to organize (which I usually do quarterly, or seasonally) I can sync to my computer and organize away when I have time.

So what do you think? Do you already have an organizing system that works for you or are you still looking for your perfect method?

Grab your free copy of the Trello Board I use to plan my homeschool below!

(make a copy once you open it so you have a clean slate to add your items)

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Homeschool Organizing Trello Board

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Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged With: evernote, featured, homeschool organization, Homeschooling, journaling, organization, organizing homeschool, unschooling

Whimsical Boho Nursery Artwork

December 22, 2014 by Rebekah 2 Comments

As we are adding a nursery space into our master bedroom, I’m only looking for a few pieces of art to decorate our new additions space. In order to keep the space from looking cluttered, I wanted to keep the colors light and hang pieces in a collage format to create cohesion and balance.

Wen we eventually move into a larger space and the little one gets their own room, I will carry these pieces into that new space, so as I select pieces for now, I am trying to keep both the idea of how they will look in our master, as well as how they will incorporate into the larger nursery room once we move.

I’m super in love with a boho style right now, here are a few pieces I am loving and that I think would go together really well.

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Filed Under: Kids' Decor Tagged With: art, bohemian, boho, featured, kids' decor, nursery

DIY Felt Story Board

February 5, 2013 by Rebekah Leave a Comment

Today’s post features this super cute felt story board that I created with some really simple {and cheap!} materials in an effort to save my son and myself from mind-numbing winter boredom. YUP, it’s that time of year again…February. Is it just me, or are February and March the LONGEST months of the year? Aside from absolutely sweltering August, that is. Not to be a weather curmudgeon, but these outdoor-unfriendly days can be excruciatingly long when you are in the house all day with a {cranky, teething} toddler. So the other day I took a trip to ye old AC Moore, picked up some supplies {I think this  project cost me about $15 total} and decided to make this adorable felt story board. felt board 1 felt board 2 felt board 3 felt board 4 To get play started I placed some of the felt shapes on the board and some on the ground in front of the board. I also gathered a few animals and some story books that had photos of nature, which matched the board’s theme. felt board 5 These boards, as well as the type of play, can be adjusted as kids get older and can ‘act out’ more advanced stories. In the beginning, having small children act out the story in a book with these physical objects is a great way to get started. Then, when they are a bit older, have them make up their own stories, or even create a storyline that  alternates between yourself and the child, or whoever else they are playing with. So the next time you think you are going to pull all of your hair out because you cannot think of one more activity to do on these super long winter days, don’t do it! Keep your beautiful hair and make this fun felt story board instead. signature for mommy brainer page P.S. Sorry for the few typos on the instruction boards. These boards where created for you by a woman with a toddler attached to her leg. Sometimes multi-tasking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be 😛

Filed Under: Activities For Kids Tagged With: DIY kid's activities, featured, felt story board, kids story board, winter indoor activities for kids

Why Does Cookie Monster Have to Eat Vegetables? Relying on Media to teach Important Messages

November 13, 2012 by Rebekah 2 Comments

I know that Sesame Street’s loveable blue furry critter, Cookie Monster, has been a vegetable convert for a while. Gone are the days of day- long cookie benders ( I wish someone would have told me that yesterday while I chipped away at a massive piece of chocolate cake all day in the grips of PMS…). The fact that cookies are a “sometimes food” should have had time to sink in by now. But you know what? I don’t think he’s really comfortable with it. And you know what else? Neither am I.

When I first heard that this switch was happening it was years ago, and I hadn’t even begun to think about becoming a parent yet. But it really annoyed me. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the late ‘70’s, early ‘80’s and cookie monster was such a big part of my childhood (I was just as annoyed, if not more, when everyone on Sesame Street could see Snuffleupagus as of 1985. Way to kill the excitement Sesame Street…)

My son has just started to watch Sesame Street in the morning, so I was reminded of Cookie’s change all over again. I asked myself why I was so annoyed. The answer has a few parts to it:

First, as a society we constantly tell parents not to let children watch too much T.V.. Yet, often times it seems we rely on television and media alone to convey important messages, like eating healthy, to our children. Many experts will tell you that the problem is not television itself; it is the vapid, blank, non-interactive-ness that children get after staring at it all day. If you watch a show now and then with your children, and help them understand the messages they are seeing, it becomes an interactive activity that can actually be educational.

Here’s where Cookie Monster comes in: I don’t believe it is PBS’s responsibility to teach my child healthy eating. That is my responsibility. As a society, we have fallen into a trap of ‘yes-ing’ our children to a point of detriment. Why are we afraid to tell our children ‘no?’  Or, even better than no, offer a healthier option. I don’t need cookie monster to help me out here.

I, as the parent, want to be the one who helps my children learn and understand how to make choices, and make sense of the world around him. This is why I need Cookie to be a cookie monster who over-indulges. Why? Because this fictional character becomes a learning tool that I can use. Imaginary creatures who do all kinds of crazy things are not there to set examples for children for every little thing. They are there as a tool to help parents explain things to children and to give parents an opportunity to teach their children the difference between fantasy and reality. Classic fairytales are often not examples of what children should do, quite the opposite. Most  provide examples of what not to do.

Now here comes the second part of the answer to the question I asked myself: Research shows that many young children are having an increasingly difficult time telling the difference between fantasy and reality. This comes down to interaction again. The age appropriate media we expose our children to is only damaging (for the most part) if we plop them in front of it and they are left to interpret it completely on their own. The more media children are exposed to, the more time parents have to take to explain everything they are seeing. I don’t know about you but I’m not looking for any extra work here in this department.

Don’t get me wrong. I have enlisted Curious George and that good old Cat in The Hat many a time to act as a distraction while I scramble to get something done. This is not a no T.V. household. It’s just limited. Mostly, it is limited by my son. He only asks or it here and there and there is no way he would sit all day in front of it of his own accord.

So, to conclude my protest of this “cookies are a sometimes food” situation (it even sounds ridiculous), I will leave you with this. What about the imagination and fun of being a kid?   What about just teaching our kids moderation?

I miss the times when a kid could get an ice cream cone and it didn’t have to become a topic of a national discussion about whether or not he would know that he couldn’t eat ice cream for every meal. I miss the days when kids played outside and had to be told at least three times to get in this house!

Slowly I am watching as these fond memories of childhood livin’ are being replaced by a world devoid of the occasional ice cream cone and filled with cartoons that have to tell children how to exercise.

I know I can’t turn back time and make Cookie Monster the way he used to be. But, I can try to remember that one of the most important things I will teach my son is moderation. It’s my job to teach him this so that he can do his job of being a silly toddler who loves to laugh at imaginary puppets as they call upon sock fairies to solve the latest laundry mystery , play in blanket forts, and even eat the occasional cookie…after he finishes his vegetables, of course .

We Love ya Little Buddy, stay strong.

Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged With: cookie monster, cookie moster, eating habits, Education, featured, kids, moderation, sesame street

Exploring Sounds, Color, and Texture: DIY Shake & Sort Activity

October 23, 2012 by Rebekah Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I discovered the magic of creating discovery baskets for my little guy. The first Discovery Basket  took about 10 minutes to put together, cost nothing, and my 13 month old son played with it for hours. 

Inspired by the more engaging style of play that these hand-made exploring toys evoked, I decided to make another activity that would focus on sounds, colors, and sorting.

Here’s what I used to make these

Small plastic containers with lids

glue gun and glue sticks

assorted beads, google eyes, stones, glitter, pony beads, pom-pons

All of my materials came from the dollar store again (I always wondered who bought the random useless stuff in the dollar store…now that mystery is solved). I filled each container with a variety of different items depending on what sound they would make, light they would reflect, ect. I added water and glitter to some for a snow globe effect. Then, I put a ring of hot glue on the lid edge and sealed the cups shut, allowed them to cool, then test-drove then by chucking them around the room a few times and banging them on things.

***Be sure to check for cracks in the plastic after each play session (after about a week of smashing and banging, a few of the containers that had hard materials inside, like stones, developed cracks. I just threw them out, they only  cost $1!) and make sure to supervise with this activity incase anything cracks during play***

I put the cups in a muffin tin, the cups acted like little sorting containers, and my little guy loved sorting them and shaking them…and banging them, and throwing them, and hiding them in the laundry basket.

This shake and sort activity is really fun and these DIY shakers are really versatile for play. We used them as noise makers when we did music and sound play later in the day. The most fun part of this type of play is seeing what your little one does as he’s exploring the items. You’ll be amazed at what kids come up with and you’ll probably find yourself saying, Huh. I never thought of that.  I know I did.

Have Fun!

Filed Under: Activities For Kids Tagged With: Discovery toys, DIY toys, featured, kids, kids games

What the Heck am I Going to Feed You?: Baby & Toddler Cookbook Review

October 17, 2012 by Rebekah 2 Comments

Hi there! As I mentioned last week I was waiting for my copy of “The BIG Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers, and Children.”

It arrived on Tuesday and I dove right in to check out if it was a solution to the nights I like to call, “mommy’s in a hurry to make dinner and can’t think of anything because all she really wants to do is sit down.” Here we go.

First, the copy I received is spiral bound, which I appreciate in a cookbook. The set up is very straight forward with introduction sections covering basic nutrition, tips for dealing with feeding problems, and discussions about creating healthy eating habits from an early age that discusses the importance of how we eat in addition to what we eat (huge fan of that).

The book is broken down into sections by age: Weaning and first foods, 1-2 year olds, 3-6 year olds. It then finishes with a section on meal planning that highlights what to stock up on, healthy snacks, and food safety and storage.

Each recipe in the book has a notation next to it that lets you know if it has to be served immediately, can be refrigerated, or frozen, and for what specific amounts of time for each (I really appreciate this part of the cookbook as I love to batch cook for our little man.)

Here’s a  few cons I found:

-The age 1-3 section is kind of small and this, I feel, is the most difficult age to feed because babies don’t have all of their teeth yet so you can’t always just give them what you are having for dinner. However, I found the recipes in the other sections could be adjusted for this age group if the texture is softened or cut up and the portions are smaller (the authors do note this as well).

-A lot of the recipes are classics and I have seen them many times before. Of course this is really the deal with most recipe collections (even my own food blog.) There are always classics thrown in with new twists. That’s just the way it is. Some things will never change (If you are not old like me you may not have sung those last two lines because you don’t realize they are from a song. Sorry about the joke lost in time).

-The menu section seems a little small. But, it does still give good ideas to branch off of when preparing meals for the day.

In general, the book succeeds in what it is trying to do: be a quick reference guide for busy moms who want to feed their family fresh, home-cooked foods, and would like a little help with an idea or two throughout the day… that somehow seems to consists of  a limitless amount of meals and snacks.

Now what am I going to eat…

The Book: The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers, & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes.

The authors: Judy More and Bridget Wardley

Filed Under: Family-Friendly Recipes Tagged With: featured, kids, kids' meal ideas, kids' recipes, nutrition

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