Saturday, August 16, 2008 - Where to put all the papers?! - a CM blog carnival post - 3
This is the third post in my CM planning series.
I'll talk about how I keep plans and records.
How I keep plans:
Well, one of the awesome things about AO is that everything is online... just a click away. So, really I just need my reading schedule for the term and I'm set.
But... I am a binder girl. I LOVE three-ring binders, maybe a little too much ;) I have 2 binders for my AO stuff. An AO reference Notebook (has pretty much anything I find and print off the AO website, or other resources) and the AO term Notebook (has all the information I need for the term if not for the entire year). This is divided by subject: History/Timelines (I put the term's timeline figures here to use as needed), Art/Music (prints for the term, Music selections), Nature/Science (resources that I will use for the term), Copywork/Hymns (pre-printed copywork selections and the lyrics to the hymns for the term which we also use for copywork), Shakespeare/Plutarch (nothing here yet), Poetry (term's selections printed from the website) Memory/Recitation (passages we're working on or will work on), and Handiwork/Life Skills (any ideas I find I stash in here).
Normal people would have no need for AO reference notebook because they have reliable internet. I keep it because where we used to live the internet and/or electricity was not always reliable, and I needed to have the info in case I needed it (I also downloaded all the e-books and online content into files on my computer and burned a DVD for each year in case emergency).
AO reference Notebook
AO term Notebook
How I keep records:
I do not keep records other than the boys each keep a personal notebook/portfolio (kept accessible) every year for their loose papers, and we periodically sort through it, keeping only their best work as a reminder to them of what they've studied (& in case anyone asks). Every year, before the new school year, we empty out their notebooks and store only their best and favorites. We put all of this into the BIG binders (these are gigantic 3" binders kept in our office for periodic reminiscent perusal) that have the samples of several past years' work combined. We get rid of everything else by sending artwork to grandparents and throwing the rest away.
personal notebook/portfolio: This is how I manage to keep the papers
under control around here:
You are truely ruthless! But I guess you must with traveling around and all that too. I did finally come up with a system for storing the past work though. I got some Ikea magazine file boxes that you screw together at the sides. Each year there is a box for each child. Their papers, drawings, record keeping book, and a selection of small projects get put into the box and into the loft. So this week as we have sorted out the school room for the new year, I set up the boxes and everything that didnt' get thrown away got put in there instead. By the end of the week the boxes will be ready to send up to the loft! One thing I do like is the fact that since we dropped all the busy work, there are less papers to deal with! Horray for Charlotte Mason!
This is definitely an area I need more motivation and time in, organizing those papers. I have had the kids use spiral notebooks in the past, but we end up with such bulky amounts of work to hold on to. This year I will try switching to loose leaf, and I am following AO a lot more closely, and each in their own year, so there will be a lot more to hold on to.
Every year I feel I need to revisit this area and tweak it a bit. I haven't found an organizational method that I love yet. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and methods here.
~Erin
AO term Notebook
This is how I manage to keep the papers 
