Step 5a. Choose Unique Forms JUST for You

 Step 5a. Choose Unique Forms JUST for You

Step 5a choose unique forms means you decide EACH year what forms your homeschool planner should and should not have.

When finished, click on the graphic to go to the next page.

[Listing forms at the top of this page will help you to see more quickly what you want on this page and scroll down to find the number.]

Curriculum Pages for Planner

  Option 1 New Homeschooler Homework. Track Your Week FIRST. Don’t guess how to schedule.

Purpose of Form: To help you track your time and find the rhythm to your household. Scheduling needs to be on your timetable, not the rest of the homeschooling world.

This form works to track your time for a week for several purposes:

You might be new to homeschooling and need to “find” your rhythm. So it helps you to see where you place “items” on your day. Items are grocery shopping, laundry, rest time, work time, family time, etc.

Also this form is good if you need to track a diet, work or if your homeschooling day is broken up into chunks. It can help you to manage those times.

There is no need for anybody else to see this except you so that you can find where your “troubled” spots are. Print several and space throughout your planner so you can track your time anytime you feel you are falling behind.

  Option 2. Attendance Charts

Purpose of form: Track attendance. I have updated the attendance form, but have also kept my previous attendance forms below to give you more options. Here is a graphic that explains both options, but read below as I explain about it too. My love for color has grown since my original Attendance Forms and my previous forms were in need of some color luv. 

The Attendance Forms were some of my first forms where I started adding a bit of color not knowing if you would like it or not. I had just started to move away from creating only black and white copies.

Here are a few details about the updated forms:

• I have 2 options.
• Both forms have a place for 4 children.  It is not that I have a fondness for the number four (tee hee hee) but that number of columns fits nicely on one page.
• Both forms have an expanded Key Area. I added a few more codes too AND I created a few blank lines for codes that may be unique for your family and that you need to track.  You just write them in each year.
• To allow room for the extra key code area because I was already at the bottom of the page, both forms had to be bumped up a bit.  It doesn’t affect binding or anything, I just wanted you to know that height wise it will be a bit taller than the rest of the forms in your planner.  I know, a small detail but those things matter when I create forms.
• The biggest difference between the forms is that one has a blank area to fill in the month you begin school AND to fill in your semesters.   This allows for a lot more flexibility whether you begin tracking in May, June or July.  The other form follows all the rest of the forms on my 7 Step Homeschool Planner, which run from July to June (academic year) and allow for year around homeschooling.  On this form, the semesters are already filled in too.

 The forms below here are my previous forms.

Academic Year. 3 Color Choices & 1 Form For An Only Child.

Purpose of form: Track Attendance. There are two choices here depending on how you schedule your school. The charts at the bottom are labeled across the top beginning with July to June to coincide with an academic year. The one chart at the bottom is labeled beginning with January to December if you do not follow the public school schedule but follow more of a physical year.

Even though we don’t have to keep attendance here in Texas, I do from time to time. I do this because I feel as a homeschool Leader, it keeps me accountable for my time I give to my family and to others. So if I need to ever check the “pulse” on my homeschooling journey, I add these in for the year. It especially becomes important to use for the high school years where you do want to keep up with attendance a little better.

This picture shows you how to use it in case all of those lines make you look at it sideways. One thing about forms is that they are no good to the user if the user doesn’t fully utilize their value. So here is a sample picture to explain how to use it. We made it real big so you can see it and explain how to use the chart below.

First, I made it so that you can use it with at LEAST 4 children or students on this one page.

(Note: I made a form for one child too if you prefer separate pages. We just like things streamlined. Too, if you have 5 or 6 children, you can still just use two pages.)

Second, each child’s name goes on the line that says student. You noticed I indicated that on the picture with a different color marker for each child.

Third, EACH day of EVERY month is divided on the chart into 4 columns. So one column for each child. The space is just big enough to either fill it in, check it for attendance or put the corresponding letter “S” for sick, “F” for Field Trip, etc.

Are you with me ?

Look at Aug. 1. You see the YELLOW Student 1 and the space for that student corresponds to the YELLOW space on that line. It is the same on that one day for each student.

So you get all 4 kids on one day using 4 columns.

Fourth, the gray lines where the black arrow is pointing to on the left side are there just to help you find your way across as you use it during the year. The gray lines using 5’s increment. So a gray line is on the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th,etc. all the way down the page. Again, it is just so you do not get a headache navigating your way around the chart.

Once you download them, you will see how easy, they are to use.

Remember: Print Front/Back if you have more than 4 children.

Option 3. School Year Homeschool Planning Schedule following the {Academic Calendar}.

Purpose of this form: Plan your school year. Created using July to June Academic School year

One of the true gems of homeschooling is to be able to school year around. Look at the sample below to see how I highlighted the days we plan on schooling. I have taken off some in March, almost the complete month of April off, some in Nov and Dec, July and even June. Also I am keeping up with our schedule in both weeks and days. Our days we plan to school are highlighted in light yellow.

Why take ALL of your “Summer Break” in the summer? Take some in the spring, some in the fall or some in the summer.

You can download it under the sample picture to study it if you like to.

My Sample One Year To Show You How to Use Year Around Homeschool Schedule

 Download Sample here if you want to look it over.

I have added an improved key to the bottom of the school around planning schedules. The above picture is at the bottom of the forms now. Goal is on there because that is what it is. Don’t beat yourself up when it doesn’t match reality or achieved.  Mine never does each year and it won’t because we are imperfect and life happens. You can count on that. I know for me though, I meet way more goals than I ever would have if I had not planned.

Also I separated out Holidays from days off from school on the legend. For a lot of homeschoolers holidays do not always equal to a day off for various reasons. Homeschoolers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and I respect that. So this allows you to mark holidays so you know what is going on in the community but it may not necessarily be a day off from school for you. The yellow indicates yellow highlighter and the blue indicates a blue highlighter. Something else that I added to the legend this year is to note the end of the 1st quarter, 1st semester,etc. You may or may not want to use this but it helps me in noting those dates so that I can switch out unit themes or start another study like geography. Doing one subject like geography for one quarter and say art for another is how successful educators get “it all in”. I left those boxes blank because you may want to circle those dates, write them in, use a highlighter or use some other symbol.

Current Academic Year 2020 to 2021 Planning Your Year Form.
Grab the 2 Page Appointment Keepers here on Step 2.

Next Academic Year 2021 to 2022 Planning Your Year Form.

3b. School Year Homeschool Planning Following the {Physical Year}.

    Current Physical Year 2020 & Next Physical Year 2021

Option 4. Curriculum Resource Checklist – Editable Too! Up to 4 Students on one page.You’re planning by the Academic Year.

Purpose of Form. Can you remember which resource is for which child during which term? This form should be used in your planner to help you see which resources you will be using with which child and for which term. {keep it straight ma’am}

In addition, because you might not use the same resources for the 1st semester as you would the 2nd semester or even each quarter, this is NOT called a YEARLY Curriculum Resource Checklist.

The very name “year” implies one does not have flexibility or that you are “locked’ in to using the same resources or curriculum for the whole year.

If you find that the same resources will be used for your whole school year, simply type in the current school year.

Look at my example here that is in my planner for the first part of Jan. 2011. It is only for the 2nd semester. These were not all the same resources I used for the WHOLE year.  This reminds me of what I will be using this next period to finish up our school year.

In other words, you will need at least 1 per child and more if you switch around in the year. Me? I normally have 2 per child or 1 per semester per child.

Above My Sample Copy for You to Visualize.

      Editable for you. Download Curriculum Resource here.

Option 5. Mission Statement.

Purpose of Form: Put into words what you want at the beginning, middle and end of this journey. Every year some things will change and some things will not. Highlighting what your goals are each year will keep them fresh in your mind and help you to navigate your way.

Option 6. Weekly Planning
3 Color Choices and 1 Black/White.

 Purpose of Form: This is a weekly glance (that means brief notes if you want to plan a week ahead.

 Why is this not a weekly glance at my home, my whole life and my school form? That is what a family calendar is for that is in a place for all the family members to see.

 This form was designed only for planning your school. Some people may think that its more organized to have your whole life on one planner. It may be if you aren’t homeschooling. Organizing and homeschooling is a slightly different lifestyle. The fact is that you do control your school time and you do not need to clutter up your curriculum planner. You should know ahead of time before you plan school that week that you have a Dr’s appointment, field trip, etc and that is noted on your form for that purpose only.

 Because some people may need to see a big picture of school for the week these forms give you a place to glance. Because my planner is daily, some of you might choose to have weekly glances.

 Also another tip for this form is that you can plan one week ahead and if you arrive at that week and prefer to do something different, then just write something different in your daily lesson plan.

 Think of the weekly planning page as a “blue print” of what is to come or what perhaps you planned but did not accomplish. Just like the daily planning page, erasing is NOT encouraged. It is just a “plan” remember. Surrender to it and plan. Go back and make notes. It is for “planning” not lesson making.

 There are small boxes on the form so that you can go back and check off what you actually accomplished and this may help you plan more efficiently to see what you planned versus what was actually accomplished.

 Note: The colors on these Weekly Planning pages coordinate with the Notes/Journal Pages below.{keep it pretty too} There is enough variety that they will match with any cover as I used “bars of colors” like the sample above.

So each Weekly Planning pages have the bars of colors AND you can choose either the bar of squares or bars of dots. Mix and match and have fun! Not quite as fun as shopping for a diamond ring, but almost.  I included a black and white copy too.

Option 7 Reading Logs.

Almost as fun as shoe shopping because there are 7 color options to choose from. Choose one color for each child or divide it up by term.

Purpose of Form: To List and Track Reading of Each Child.

A short personal story here: When I started homeschooling I pored over a book written by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. It was about how to teach reading and it listed books by genre. As wonderful as it was in helping me to see I needed a balanced reading program, I learned that I didn’t need to know how to teach reading to 30 children only my 3.{quit stressing} So I put the book aside but remembered the wonderful key they used to classify books by and have used it since I started homeschooling. I have incorporated that key, which is a code to the types of genre, in this form.

Even though the key is intended to be used up through 6th grade, I believe it has merit all the way through school. How many of us know how to classify genre?

Once you and your child become familiar with the key or genre overview sheet below, it will be easy to code your reading.

The follow Genre Overview is from Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell Reading Logs found here.

 Fiction Genre

Code	Genre	Definition
TL	Traditional Literature	Stories that are passed down from one group to another in history. This includes folktales, fables, fairy tales and myths from different cultures.
F	Fantasy	A story including elements that are impossible such as talking animals or magical powers. Make-believe is what this genre is all about.
SF	Science Fiction	A type of fantasy that uses science and technology (robots,time machines,etc)
RF	Realistic Fantasy	A story using made-up characters that could happen in real life.
HF	Historical Fiction	A fictional story that takes place in a particular time period in the past. Often the setting is real, but the characters are made up form the author’s imagination.
M	Mystery	A suspenseful story about a puzzling event that is not solved until the end of the story.

HTML Tables

Nonfiction Genre

Code	Genre	Definition
I	Informational	Texts that provide facts about a variety of topics (sports, animals, science, history, careers, travel, geography, space, weather,etc)
B	Biography	The story of a real person’s life written by another person.
AB	Autobiography	The story of a real person’s life that is written by that person.
P	Poetry	{note: this is really “other genre” but for sake of organization I am putting this genre here.} Poetry is verse written to create a response of thought and feeling from the reader. It often uses rhythm and rhyme to help convey its meaning.

HTML Tables

About how to use the form:{it may be easier to download the form below as I explain it to you} Once you and your child become familiar with the above table, then it’s easy to use the form. I did put the key at the top of the form for easy reference; Then select either Fiction or Nonfiction then put the code in the box.

At the bottom of the form for each book is a way to track reading. “Ch” represents Chapters. Simply check off the chapter number as your child goes along reading each chapter or have them do it. This makes it easy to glance and see where child is in their reading instead of trying remember in your head or ask them each time.

In addition, if there are more chapters than listed {30 are on the form} there is a blank grid below to fill in. Also you may want to just use the bottom blank grid and keep up with the chapters by using 2’s, 3’s, or 5’s. Use the blank grid if need be to customize how you want to track.

Also, because some books are just “way out there” on the number of chapters they have, you can simply fill in the number of pages. {My oldest son just read one that had 80 chapters – who puts that many chapters in a book? It happens and it was an informational book. Each chapter was only like 5 pages long because they quickly switched topics} In that case you can just use “Number of Pages” and fill in Date/Started and Date/Completed. The form was designed for any age reader and flexibility.

Option 8. Day at a Glance

Purpose of Form: Some big picture people feel comfort in writing things down in more than one place and need to see it all.

I have created a few forms to help them along but encourage you to divide it out. Use a Home Management Binder and a visual central command center in your kitchen or other area that is used by all of your family members to see. I believe that simplifies tasks, but again to help you along I created a few forms so you don’t give up all your creature comforts as you learn to organize.

I am putting what I call my “classic” or original forms here because I had many requests for them when I took them down to do an updo to this  form.

Option 9. Journal Pages or Notes.

 7 Color Options.

Note: These journal pages match in color to the weekly planning pages above in Number 6. Instead of putting a picture of all 8 pages, look above at Number 6 to see your favorite colors then download the same journal page below or mix and match.

Option 10. Middle and High School Planning.

Purpose of Form: Help Plan High School and determine your grading scale. Also after driving courses and to get your teens on your insurance some providers give you a discount if your student has good grades. I had to prepare progress reports midterm to show my sons’s grades.

Sample of How to Use Editable Progress Report

After that jubilant day, the fun day came for insurance. The insurance company gives a discount for good grades in school and needed a current progress report. Oh yippee, I needed another form and figured you would need one like this too sometime or the other.

Since I need something a little more official looking than the pretty progress report  (Option 16) I already have on the site, which is basically used to satisfy reporting for those that live in countries/states like this, I put this report together. It really acts as our final report card too.  It is editable and I am in love with it. It worked just perfectly when I sent it to our insurance guy. The only parts not editable are the comments and the signature which are normally done hand written.

If you need to Go Back:

Click Here for Step 1 Choose a Pretty Front & Back Cover.

Click Here for Step 2 Choose Calendars & Appointment Keepers

Click Here for Step 3  Choose Goals & Objectives

Click Here for Step 4 Choose Lesson Planning Pages

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