Organization tips for Preparing

[SillyMamaLuvsU]

Hey ya'll. I am brand new to this forum and am strongly consider using HOD for the first time. I am fairly certain I would like to use Preparing for my 4th grader, allowing my 7th grader to do most of it alongside us. (I also have a rising 9th grader and, to make things extra fun, a 21 month old.)

I am the type of person who likes to have everything organized and prepared ahead of time. Can you ladies give me some tips on how you organize your new materials? Such as, how many binders I would need, what they should be labeled so I will know what type of work to put in each one. I know this might sound like such a simple thing to some, but it's something I struggle with as organization is not something I'm naturally gifted at.

Or, if you keep everything in one binder and use dividers, how do you label your dividers? I feel so silly asking for such details but I need all the help I can get.

Thank you.

[Motherjoy]

The introduction, which is found online, has the information that you need about supplies and binders. There is a write-up about each subject and in that, Carrie tells you what you will need.

Here's the link:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/PHFHG-intro.pdf

[SillyMamaLuvsU]

So it seems as if I would need a 3 ring binder for history notebook, 3 ring binder for science notebook and all other copywork stuff goes into the composition book? Spelling, dictation, bible verses, etc...would all go into the same composition book?

[Kathleen]

We used Preparing last year - and it was a real treat! You're in for a wonderful year! Here's what we had...

3-ring binder(s) -
We used 1 for history. (Notebooking that was usually done in the Independent History Box went here in plastic sleeves. And we had some looseleaf paper behind the plastic sleeves for the written narrations done on day 4 of the units.)
We used another for Science. (Plastic sleeves and a tab to divide the "Notebooking" section from the "Lab" section. You can photocopy the "lab" sheet from the appendix and you'll use it once each unit. Then we also had some looseleaf paper in the back for the 5 questions that are answered on day 3 of each unit.)
Some moms use only 1 binder and have a tab for history, another for science notebooking, and another for science labs. You'd probably need a 2 inch binder for that option. We used 2 one-inch binders as they were super-cheap on the back to school sales.

Common Place book -
We used a nicer journal type book that we got at Staples. It was black leather-like material with a magnetic clasp. You can use a bound composition book if you'd like.

Notebooks -
We got 4 spiral bound notebooks, and used one each for...Math, English, Dictation, and Creative Writing (from the poetry box).

Folder -
Grant also had a folder with prongs in the middle where I put his poems that I copied from the appendix. (Then we each had a copy to read from. ) In the front flap of the folder, he also kept his dictation that I copied from the appendix so that he could "check" it off as completed and circle his errors if necessary. (The process is described in the appendix at the start of the dictation exercises.)

3x5 card box -
We used this for alphabetizing vocaulary cards. I found the "ABC tabs" at WalMart this year, too. And then you'll need 3-5 3x5 cards for each unit.

Post-It Note Tabs -
I LOVE these! I use the little sticky tabs to mark our place in the guide. (You could use regular post-it notes, but I found the tabs to stick better for longer. ) I put one on the page in the guide we're on. Another in the appendix to mark where we're at for math. Another to mark the poetry. Then I also use one to mark where we're at in the DITHOR guide.

Maybe if I have time later I can come bakc to put pictures in this post. Hopefully this helps!
Kathleen

[SillyMamaLuvsU]

Kathleen, thank you for being so detailed! I need those types of details in order to really "see it" in my head. I cannot afford to purchase it right now, so I'm sure it will all come together when I actually have the manual in my hands.

For the common place book, do you only use it for copywork? I am new to copywork but excited about it! So anytime the guide says to copy something, like a Bible verse, it would go into that common place book, right?

I would love to hear how everyone organizes their stuff. Thank you so much.

[RachelB]

Kathleen, thank you so much for sharing how you organized all your Preparing materials! We're doing that next year, and it's nice to kind of have a mental heads up before I get all the manual in my hands!

SillyMamaLuvsU, thanks for asking the question! I'm a hands-on, visual person as well, and am excited to start Preparing next year. I keep telling myself to just enjoy our summer!

[Motherjoy]

We used 3 3-ring binders. One for science, one for history, and one for language arts (dictation, poetry, english).

We had two composition books, one for vocabulary and one as a common place book. If I had to do it again, we would have done an index card box for vocabulary and a nicer journal for a common place book. We would continue using the same common place book until high school.

[momtofive]

Thank you so much Kathleen for your organizational tips. And thank you again sillymamaluvsU, for posting a great question. This has been one area that I've been trying to get nailed down: the layout of our programs. This coming year we are going to be using HOD for the FIRST time! We are so excited! We'll be using CTC for my oldest, Beyond for my next two, and LHTH for the youngest two. Kathleen, since you seem to be so wonderfully organized, please feel free to share any future organization tips (for CTC) and maybe some previous ones (from Beyond) to help some of us newbies!! We love the help!

In Christ,

Lisa

[Kathleen]

Kathleen, thank you for being so detailed! I need those types of details in order to really "see it" in my head. I cannot afford to purchase it right now, so I'm sure it will all come together when I actually have the manual in my hands.

For the common place book, do you only use it for copywork? I am new to copywork but excited about it! So anytime the guide says to copy something, like a Bible verse, it would go into that common place book, right?

I would love to hear how everyone organizes their stuff. Thank you so much.

It will definitely come together for you when you have the manual. If you read through the introduction, you're set. The guide is very open-and-go so that you can just jump in and do school. I never look ahead and our days just flowed along so easily. I LOVE that about HOD!!! I really enjoy homeschooling my kids...and don't need to have an extra planning time (that I know would rarely happen because of the other life things that I need to do).

In Preparing the guide will specifically tell you to copy something into the Common Place book if you should. There were other things that you copy for notebooking pages in history or science. Here's what the introduction says about the common place book...
Students also need a Common Place Book for their copywork. A
Common Place Book is often a bound composition book with lined pages. It
provides a common place to copy anything that is timeless, memorable, or
worthy of rereading. It is for copying text and not for original writing. Bible
verses, classic poetry, and passages from excellent literature with beautiful or
vivid wording are often included. Students will add to the Common Place
Book throughout the year.

We'll keep adding to the same Common Place book this year in CTC. So it's something you hang onto for a while.

You can even print out the introduction here on the website if you want to read through it now. Click on the Preparing guide on the Home page and you'll see where to bring up the introduction.

Kathleen

[Michelle]

Hi there,
We just finished Preparing....with my 10 yo ds and you got a lot of good info. about what you need for each subject. I just wanted to add (if it wasn't already) how I organized ALL of his things for the year.

We used a 10-drawer organizer and I just put labels on the front of the drawers and each subject fit in there perfectly. I only had him put in what he was currently using in the drawers and for the rest, we used a spare dresser to keep books we weren't currently using. We kept it in the basement/schoolroom, but he could take each drawer out and do that subject anywhere in the house.

That worked great for us!
God bless, Michelle

[smithdonnajo]

We just started Preparing a couple of weeks ago. I like the idea of having most everything in one place, so we are using a big 3-ring binder for most everything.

I got him the style that has a nice zipper type cover on it. My son likes gadget-type things, so he likes that. His favorite color is red, so we found a red one! I put dividers in the 3-ring binder. Our dividers are: Poetry, Written Narrations, History Notebook, Science Notebook (right now, we are putting the Science Lab sheets in with the Science Notebook section, but we might divide that out at a later time). In addition to the 3-ring binder, we have an index card file box for vocabulary, a wide-ruled composition book for Common Place - found a red one! (I looked at the nice journals, but all the ones I could find were college ruled, and he needs the wide ruled), a 3-prong folder for R&S English (I plan to transfer these to it's own section in the 3-ring binder every 9 weeks or so), and a wide-ruled composition book for dictation (in black). I think that's it.

We are enjoying Preparing! Have fun!

[Carrie]

Ladies,

These are such wonderful organizational helps for all those who are embarking on their HOD journey! I just wanted to say thank-you to each of you who take time to respond and help one another! You are such a blessing to me and to so many ladies who read and respond.

Have a terrific day!

Blessings,
Carrie