Preparing Take 3!

My third child just started Preparing!  This child is not as organized as the others.  She tends to loose things regularly, so I am having to keep on top of her!

This time through, I am trying just one binder without page protectors.  I have only set it up for about 1/3-1/2 of the guide.  When I go to print out more pages, I might have to take out some of the old work.  But that is okay.  Hopefully it will mean she won't have pages stuffed everywhere this way.

For science, I printed out the very simple pages I had made for #2.  Each week they have a science lab, five questions, and a notebooking page (the other day is an oral narration).  For the question day, I have the questions typed out so I can check them without the guide.  For the notebooking pages, I have some lines at the top for the verse.  This keeps their writing a reasonable size while still having them plan most of the page on their own.  And then for the lab day, I have a form typed up.

For history, this time I decided to use one of the files from Facebook.  Most of the pages have basic instructions at the top, leaving the page mostly blank.  I like this option for this child because it is easier for me to check at the end of each unit to confirm everything was done.  With four kids in four guides, I needed an easier way to make sure everything was done.

For timeline, we are continuing the baseball card holder option.  This is so much easier for us to keep and store!

And then at the end of the binder, there is room for her to store any projects.

Outside of the binder, she has three composition books.  One is for dictation, one is for grammar, and the last is for writing.  My kids continue these year after year until they are full. They also each have a journal for their common place book.

Here is a look at her current items in her plastic bin:

And here is her binder:

CtC Take 2!

My second child is now more than half way through Heart of Dakota's Creation to Christ.  I made a few minor changes to how I set everything up for my oldest, as I find my initial set up is never perfect.  But, the first set up is still good!

I did not buy the new Bible study.  I contemplated it for a while, but I think it would be too similar to what my kids are already getting at Awana and church.  I like the depth of Genesis for our family at this point.  So, for the Bible study/Geography binder, nothing really changed.  I did decide which travel log would be best for him and only printed those, but that is the only change I made.

For history, nothing changes as well.  Since the binder is only the HOD notebooking pages and a few page protectors for projects, there is nothing to set up differently.  I am recording myself reading the history books for my son though.  He struggles with reading a little, so I thought this would help him immensely.

Science is the main area I have made changes.  Instead of three sections in the binder for notebooking, five questions, and lab reports, I made pages for the guide covering all of those.  In the main area, the pages are printed in the order that they are completed.  Then in the back, there is an area for animal prints, birds, and plants.  Little books seem to get lots in our house, so keeping these in a binder seems safer. 

Also for science, I purchased the audio for the Apologia book.  Again, since my son struggles with reading, having the book read aloud will likely be helpful.  I am also record the audio for at least the next two books as well. 

For poetry, I have decided to not do large sheets.  We are just going to do 8.5x11 sheets and store them in a standard binder.  Larger sheets just took my oldest a long time to paint (background color mostly).  And this child has amazing fine motor skills, so he will be fine with a smaller canvas.

Here is a picture of his current material on his desk:

Getting Ready for Revival to Revolution

My oldest will be starting Heart of Dakota's Revival to Revolution soon.  This guide covers world history from the mid 1700's to the 1900's, including US History.  It is designed for 11-13 year olds, with extensions for 14-15 year olds.  Most use it for 7th or 8th grade.

When we received our package, the first thing I did was make sure we had everything.  Then, I went through and put washi tape on the binding of each book.  On the washi tape, I labeled what box the book was used for and what units it was used (unless it was used the whole guide.  I use a different washi tape for each guide, so I can easily see what guide a book is used for when it is on the bookshelf.  I use one washi tape for all DITHOR (literature study) books.  On the washi tape, I put the genre, level, and how many days it is used.  I also put clear contact paper on the guide, to keep it in good shape.

Then it was time to get everything set up.  First, I created a binder for history.  This binder has the notebooking pages from HOD in it.  The notebooking pages came with a piece of chipboard, already hole punched.  I simply cut a single slit in each of the holes, so my daughter can move it without opening the binder rings.  This way she can place it behind the current unit page, giving her a firmer surface to write on.  And that is all I did to set up the first binder.

The second binder I set up was for science.  I could have just put the inventor study notebooking pages in the binder and called it done.  But, I didn't love how the guidebook opened, and I thought it might frustrate my daughter.  So, I heated up the edge of the logbook with a hair dryer, and removed the pages from it.  I then hole punched them and placed them in the binder.  I used removable sticky tabs to mark the beginning of each section of the textbook.  At the end of the logbook, there are a few template pages.  I put them in a page protector, so my daughter can get them out easier.  The index pages are after that page protector, so they are easy to find.

The third binder took the longest to get set up.  First, it has the student pages for geography, printed from the MapTrek CDs.  There is a file in the Facebook group for this guide that lists what maps are used with each section, which made printing easier!  I wrote at the bottom of each page what unit the map was used for, to make it easier for my daughter to determine what map to use.  I then placed them in the binder in that order.  The second section in the binder is Worthy Words.  This box is intended to be done orally, but my daughter prefers to be more independent.  And if I don't remember, she just skips reporting to me.  So, I printed the questions for each unit so she can jot down answers.  I don't require full sentences, but I want to see she is getting the gist of the assignment in her quick answers.  I also found a page explaining purpose and tone.  I put that page into a page protector which serves as a divider in the guide.  The last section is the material for the composer study, taken from the Amy Pak CD.  I tried to organize them by how we would use them.  Some pages I put in page protectors.  Some items I pre-cut for my daughter, and then put those pieces in ziplock bags.  I am still not 100% sure how it will all go together, but I think I have everything printed at least.

The last thing I put together was the MapTrek teacher maps.  I decided to go with one binder for all the maps (RtR-MtMM).  I put the pages into page protectors to ensure they last through all of my children.

The other items we have are:
1. 3 composition books for language arts - 1 for dictation, 1 for grammar, and 1 for writing.  We continue these year after year until they are full.

2. Common Place book.  My daughter's original one got destroyed, so I purchased a new one this year.  I am contemplating going through the guide and noting what should be written each unit so I can confirm it is getting done.

3. Math.  We are going back to Horizons Pre-Algebra.  I am just not confident that Principles of Math is a great option for our family.  I find the textbook lacking, the word problems often overly wordy, and more typos that I want to deal with.
4. DITHOR.  We are moving on to Level 6/7/8 this year.  I have decided to keep the books well "hidden" so my daughter can't read ahead.
5. Dictation - I print out the passages and put them in a report cover.  We are still continuing a level from last year, so there was no preparing for the start of the year.  But we will likely change levels mid-year. (Report cover under dictation composition book)

And I think that is it.  We are ready to begin next week!