Works for Me Wednesday: Mom Binder

Have I mentioned that I am something of an organizational freak? It's not so much that I'm organized; it's more that, if I don't keep everything in some semblance of order, I'm totally lost. That's where my "Mom Binder" comes in. I began my binder when we used to do unit studies exclusively, for keeping everything together for the study. It's evolved over the years as our homeschooling style has changed, but it's just as handy as ever.

I keep everything in a three-ring binder. In the front is the page protector that holds my lesson plans so they're always easily visible. (I type them up in Word, using the "One Page Weekly Planner" form from Donna Young's super-fantastic site. Oh, and in case you're wondering why Wednesday is completely blank it's because that's our day for outside classes.)

Behind that is a section for the attendance records that I have to maintain for our state and a section for our school calendar. Though it's not set in stone, I do try to write out our calendar at the beginning of each school year so that I have a general idea of what we'll be doing.

Following those two sections are sections for each of the school subjects for which I need to make copies: language arts (which has essentially become my "preschool" section for Nim's stuff), history and science. Whenever I do my lesson plans, I'll make whatever copies I need of any reproducibles for the week (or two weeks or month...however long I'm planning for).

Next come sections for resources and library information. In the resources, I have my meal planning forms, this fantastic reading level assessment and any other miscellaneous instructions (like the instructions for games that tend to get lost if left with the games) or uplifting "mom devotionals" and things of that nature. The library section has a page that lists the pertinent information for the libraries we use: our card numbers, library phone numbers and hours of operation. It also contains the form that I sometimes remember to fill out listing what books we have checked out, which library they came from and when they're due back.

My "Mom Binder" definitely works for me. Visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for one last blow-out week of Works for Me Wednesday before it moves to a new home and be sure to let her know how much we all appreciate three great years of Works for Me Wednesday tips.