On the Farm in Iowa

I have been at this 10 years now?  And each year or every 6 months or so, I find something new to keep my progress recorded.  I do really REALLY love Homeschool Tracker, as I’ve stated on my homeschool blog, but in the current arrangement in the house, my computer is upstairs and we do most of our school downstairs.  I went back to paper record keeping.  I will use my Homeschool Tracker by recording our grades in that, so I can make up a transcript, quick and easy like, when the time comes. 

I was trying to find the perfect tool to record and to plan and I realized that what worked for some, didn’t work for all classes.  I also had two notebooks and two children with two notebooks and it was getting to be a handful to carry around all these books.  I tried combining my record keeping with my home management binder, but I found I didn’t use it at all because it was HUGE and cumbersome!   However, today, I decided just to put our study courses in a 3 ring binder.  I have dividers separating the different courses, and I made copies of one simple master sheet that works well.  The sheet is simple enough that I can modify it for both kids if they are studying the same material.  I can also add a column for listing grades on some assignments, when necessary. 

I like pretty.  I like unique and creative forms.  But when it really comes right down to it… I SOOOO love simple! Simple works.  Simple can be easily modified and still look uncluttered.  I’ve realized that I don’t need fancy record keeping books.  But I do need to have records.  So, simple just seems to work all around. 

My plans are usually made on loose leaf paper, so sliding that in the appropriate course worked really well.  I’ve tried other planners, I actually like the CLASS record planner book and I like Rod and Staff’s simple record keeping book, but with both books, I tend to get ahead in a subject or two and pretty soon I am flipping pages trying to keep track of a full day’s work.  I’ve also tried a ring bound notebook or a ring bound project notebook.  Those work better, but when we change directions, it is hard to reorganize a ring bound plan.  I realized I needed a different system that worked with our style of learning. 

I like several things about the new record keeping book.  I have both students in ONE book.  Everything is clean, simple and clutter free; I have what I need and nothing more.  It is only the study subjects, so once books are put away, I put the record book away and it slides away in a drawer.  It is a small handy binder, only 1/2 inch wide.  I can see it will make school so much easier.  AND, I even allowed for some creativity.  I used a 1/2 inch 3 ring binder with the clear plastic pockets on the outside, so I can decorate and redecorate as I desire. 

I used it the first time today and my oh my did things run smoother and better.  I wasn’t fumbling for a different book for a different subject.  When the girls asked a question, the book was handy for both of them.  If I was working on one subject and another came in to ask a question about another subject… I had the information right there…(each divider has the needed sheets filed with finished items filed to the back… so no flipping through all the pages to find the information I needed)… SOOOO NICE!  

I know it is hard to believe that I may have stumbled upon something that works, finally, especially since I’ve only used it one day.  But I have a hope and a peace about this that is different than other tries before.  Before I wanted something pretty, or something educational looking, something that was like what everyone else was using, or something that made me look intelligent if someone happened to snoop upon it.  LOL.  All the other ideas were motivated by selfish thoughts in some way or another.   I realized that isn’t what I needed.  I simply needed a way to record our happenings that had some ability to shift and change when I did.  I was excited this morning to discover that something so simple can work. 

Now parts of my book are parts of systems that I have used in the past… the ones I tend to fall back on when I LOSE my book and when life is busy and I don’t have time to fill in all the blank spots in the other planners and record keeping books.  That is likely the key to finding success in my record keeping system. They are tools I have used before, but ones I kept running away from because something new caught my eye!  When time was scrunched these simple pages worked.  When I misplaced my book, or my kids misplaced my book, I could grab a sheet and still work on some planning and add it to the notebook another time.  No more running to and fro looking for something better… may my heart be satisfied with simple! 

I’d post a picture, but thought that perhaps that wasn’t best, afterall, what worked for me was finding those things that I needed to use for my specific area, for my specific family.  If you are searching for that perfect tool, consider the fact that perhaps, just perhaps you already have the materials to make your own simple record/planner book.  I just used the word processor on my computer to create a simple table that I could print out.  It included the items that I needed, period.  I placed it into a 3 ring binder, which worked best for me… what I discovered was that the size really made a difference.  I’ve used 1 inch, 1.5 inches, 2 inches, and even a 3 inch binder… but wow a small 1/2 inch binder feels JUST right for me!   May you find what works just right for YOU! 

Warmly, ~Melissa

We are finding out more and more the scholarships available.  Wow!  We aren’t applying for all of them at this time, but I am trying to file them away for the next child on the horizon.  For my oldest daughter, we are focusing on our county scholarship.  We needed our application in by April 15th.  The process entailed that we have a letter of acceptance from a college of our choice.  We chose our local community college because our daughter will likely start there to do general ed. classes. 

To get our letter of acceptance, we did what every other child in school had to do… submit a copy of our transcript and any college exams taken.  We submitted our daughters transcript and her ACT scores.  2 weeks later, we received our acceptance letter. 

We submitted our application for the scholarship.  As long as we follow the rules of the scholarship, we should have no problems with getting the monies, as the only requisite for receiving the monies are that you live in the county for your junior and senior years of high school.  We qualify on that, so our application was just verifying that information and showing our intent to send our daughter to college. 

We should find out sometime this coming month what amount the monies will come to.  We are told it will be around $4,000.  Woo Hoo! 

As a side note, my disorganization last year at this time, caused us to not submit in time for last years’ scholarship.  The students have to apply their senior year… my daughter was in her senior year, last year… however we had a horrible lambing season, which caused our entire household to stop.  We didn’t do any school during this 3 to 4 month period of having a selenium deficiency lambing flock.  We lost many lambs, we had a lamb nursery in the house, we had round the clock schedules so that someone was up taking care of these little lambs that could not care for themselves.  Anyways, to make up for this, we had to finish up this fall, she completed the last of her classes by the end of October. 

This disruption in schedule had a purpose.  God allowed our family time… time to deal with our farm troubles, time to deal with financial struggles, time to finish school, time to test for college.  We finished classes this fall, as stated above, then my daugther took her ACT’s in October and December.  She was a young graduate, so this extension of time was OK… my daughter also came to terms with graduating later than expected by saying… at least it was still 2007!  LOL.  When I asked about the scholarship this fall, they said it was perfectly OK for my daughter to apply this year, since she didn’t officially finish her classes until the public school years, school year 2007-08.  God was sooo good to us, that in my disorganization and in my stress, he allowed time for us to heal and still be completely ok with scholarships, testings, transcripts and graduation. 

God is so good to us!   His timing is perfect!

Warmly, ~Melissa

It is Finished!  (Copy of post from my PRAISE blog)

Now, I don’t claim to understand what God must have felt like to finish the creation of the world. No not at all. But, the satisfaction of putting yourself so deeply into a project and pushing yourself to keep at it, to not give in to temptation to do a little less, to finish with the knowledge that you’ve done the best you were able to do….it had to be a little taste of that great accomplishment.

I praise God for helping me to accomplish this goal. (so does my daughter!) I praise God for standing by my side when I felt so drained and totally exhausted from this project. I simply… Praise God!

Warmly, ~Melissa