My Teacher's Binder

This past summer I was on the hunt for a teacher's lesson planner that would fit my organizing style.  I had the hardest time!  Homeschool publishers have put together absolutely beautiful planners (like the Well Planned Day series) that I drool over!!  But when I investigated these more carefully, there was so much content that I knew I would never use.  Traditional teacher lesson plan books are usually designed for full classroom use, and that obviously wouldn't help me out either.  I realized I would have to put it together a la carte.  I bought a cute binder at Target, some sturdy dividers with tabs, and went hunting online.   

 

The first page is a week-at-a-glance page broken down by half hour that I found somewhere on the 'net. I keep a regular 12-month calendar on the side of fridge, but I have found it is very helpful to have each day's activities in more detail, especially when events out of the normal routine come up (like the boys' 8:30 Monday morning dentist appointment that I missed because I forgot to write it on this page!!).  I laminated it and use a dry erase marker.  I unfortunately cannot find the original source to share - they shoulda put a link on the file or something.

Next is the attendance section.  But before I "take attendance," each day, I read through a prayer printable that I strategically placed here.  It was included in a free planning pack from Jamerril at freehomeschooldeals.com.   Since I have to go to this section every day, I remember to first lift our school time up to the Lord.

If you would like a copy, go to her Facebook page here, "like" the page, and then click on the tab "For only Likers."  You'll find the file for the planning pack there.  The prayer is page #17 of the pack.  I love to start teaching knowing I've prayed for us first.  It sharpens my perspective and keeps me focused.

 

Anyway, back to attendance... In Missouri, we do not have to keep records of Ben's schooling hours until he is 7 years old.  I do keep a master calendar though where I track our days of school, holiday/sick/field trip days, and how many days of school we've finished so far.  You can find it here on Donna Young's website.  She's got just about every planning printable under the sun and is an amazing resource.  My attendance sheet is the very first option, "2-page dated attendance form." 

 

 Then comes the heart and soul of the binder, the lesson plan pages.  I plan one week at a time which seems to suit our needs just fine.  I always use pencil because there are many things that have to get erased and rewritten.  I keep it on a wooden tv tray so it stays off of the dining room table, our main workspace, and out of the way.

 

 

I found this one here at Super Teacher Worksheets (it's the file listed first on the page).  Because it's a 2-page spread, each square is big enough for me to squeeze two subjects in one block if I need to. 

After the lesson plans I keep a section of reading lists - first grade level literature, age-appropriate read-alouds, and historical reads.  After that come the record keeping pages for his math curriculum.  The last section is one I really don't use but had good intentions when we started out (ha!) - memory work.  Right now, his memorization only comes from the grammar book and his AWANA book, and there's no need to condense it into one spot yet.  Maybe I will in the future as we add science/history memorizing.

 

It's a pretty good system for now... there are other forms I'll probably need to find (or invent myself) when there is another child at the homeschool table.  In any case, I hope this helps you with your school organizing!