Tuesday, November 07, 2006

A little more on my school binders...

Awhile back I described how we organize our schoolwork using binders (see here and here). I based this system on something I read a little over a year ago called "The Avilian Home Learning Organization System", but I couldn't find a current link. But this morning, someone over at the 4Real Learning Boards pointed me to a working link, and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you!

The Avilian Home Learning Organization System

The link is a bit unreliable, so if you come across a screen that says "This link is unavailable", please do try again a little later, because it really is a live link! I'm so glad I've finally found this and can give all the credit for my school binders to this family's system!

2 comments:

Angel said...

Out of curiousity, how old is your son? I have a 10 yo 4th grader who might like this system or a variation thereof... I was just wondering if it's that age of wanting freedom but getting overwhelmed... Also, how faithful are you to your weekly schedule?

MamaJen said...

LOL! Well, I'll freely admit I'm not *that* faithful to our weekly schedule. I tend to be a really flexible homeschool mom (almost to a fault, I'm afraid, though so far it is all working out...) But, in general, we do get done about 85% of what I intend to accomplish with my oldest child, less so with my 7 and under crowd. I think I would get even *less* done if I didn't set out my weekly schedule, that's for sure!

My oldest son will be 10 in January, and is technically 4th grade, too. He *loves* this binder system. Having it all sorted out for him keeps him from getting overwhelmed, and he gets the freedom to decide what he wants to do when. Since he knows, and can see, what is expected of him through the week, he can choose to work hard for a few days and take a day off, or he can choose to slack off and frantically get everything done on Friday!

We started last year with this system, when he was 9 and in 3rd grade, and he was able to be largely independent then. My 7 year old has a binder, but is not independent yet at all. I really think that 8, 9 and 10 years of age are when they start to be able to become more independent in their work, and I do think this binder system assists with that.

And, like I said, I have these nice binders with a good weekly schedule - and we fly off on rabbit trails at every turn! We're behind in our Latin a bit because ds has been enjoying our studies on the Human Body so much, and has asked to do some further research in some areas - and who am I to say no? ;-) In other words, I like this system because it provides structure to our freedoms, if that makes any sense!