The Promised Schedule

I stated earlier in a post that I would share the spreadsheet schedule I made up for this year. I made lots of changes on the template that I was using and this seems like it will work much better for us. I did it on excel, but when I uploaded it to google docs, I converted it to the google docs format. I will enclose the links.  Note that along the bottom of the spreadsheet are different "tabs". The front page is the master schedule, then each child has his/her own pared down version of it. I have other tabs for scheduling field trips, chapter book reading for each kid, and even one to record extra spelling words on.  By that I mean this: it seems like always I am being asked how to spell ________. So if it happens to be a word I feel they should know, I record it on my "spelling" sheet and the word gets added to their list for the next week.  (By the way, we do not use a published spelling curriculum. Instead we use the 1400 most commonly used words in the English language and each kid is working through that list. If anyone is interested in a more indepth explanation of how it works, let me know and I can post about that.....)

Anyway, I will also post a link to a household cleaning schedule. Again, there are tabs at the bottom for different areas of the house and a detailed list of what needs to be done in each area. We focus on one area/week (in addition to the normal cleaning). This is a joint effort between the kids and me.

School Schedule/Planner 2012-2013

Deep Cleaning Checklist

So here is how I am doing the school schedule. I used to type in each week's lesson plans. I have found it easier and more manageable this year to just use the template and write in the weekly plans by hand, that way it is easier to change if something comes up.  I bought a "trapper keeper" type binder (remember those from your school days?) I have used a normal 3 ring binder in previous years, but have found that the "fancy" binder is a lot more useful.

I printed off my master schedule (several copies so I don't have to do it each week) and hole punched it and put it in the binder. I wrote out the lesson plans on it. This is my copy that I keep track of who has completed what.  Then I printed off each of the kids their own copy and placed them in a sheet protector. I use a dry erase marker to write their weekly assignments on it. Then at the end of the week, we wipe off the dry erase sheet and write the next week's assignments.

At the bottom of their sheet I write the weekly cleaning zone as well as the memory verse reference that we are working on. Each kid keeps their own schedule with their school stuff.

My spelling lists, field trip lists, and teacher's manuals are kept in my binder as well so that they are handy and I'm not always trying to track them down.

I also keep the cleaning charts each in a page protector in my fancy binder. The "zone of the week" sheet and its protector gets pulled out each week and posted on our chore chart. We try to spend 15-20 minutes a few times each week in the cleaning zone and as each task gets done, we mark it off. All of the kids help, even the 1 and 3 year old are able to do many tasks. As a bonus, they LOVE to help. It is a good thing to train your children to love God honoring work and to do it with an attitude of joyfulness. Make sure you are presenting that attitude toward your work as well.

So there you have it... the system that is currently working for us! But as with anything, it is subject to change at any moment. Also, the schedule is meant to serve me, I am not a slave to it. It works out on paper and that won't necessarily be the case each day in "real" life! I know this. But it is a handy guide. Feel free to use our methods and adapt them in your household.