Our New Planner

I have finished our lessons plans ... for the WHOLE YEAR ...

HIP HIP HOORAY !!! YAHOOOOOO !! YIPPIEEEEE !! (can you sense my joy yet ??)

I generally write ALL of our lesson plans by hand, which takes A LOT of time at first, and then even more time if changes are to be made ... we prefer a daily TO DO list for each child. I used to spend many many evenings working on plans for the following week, or even sometimes the following day. Then we tried a few software "planners" but they were nearly as much work as writing everything out, and even tried making documents in Word and Excel that turned out NOT to work as planned. The LESSON PLANNING (actual written / typed kind) is my BIGGEST frustration with homeschooling ... so it HAD to be fixed.

This summer we found the CM Organizer and subscribed for the trial after seeing the demos - jsut to play and see if it was actually what it seemed. Well, there are so many neat features specific to a literature type curriculum (we use a modified version of www.amblesideonline.com ) ... plus the daily print option ... cumulative records (for viewing or printing) ... dates and titles that "roll" if not completed or if it was missed or if more time is needed (worked on OR finished) .... optional NOTES for each book / subject ... oh, there is just so much I like about it.

But most of all, I am THRILLED because in one (M-F) week I have planned a full year of school for all 6 of our children --- the only things that may get added or changed will only be AFTER someone makes significant progress (like for our 2 non-readers who hopefully will begin reading solo this year). Sick days, unexpected traveling, missing books, needs for more time or slower pace ... these will not interfere with our plans anymore. HOORAY !!

If you get a minute, please stop by http://www.simplycharlottemason.com/ and watch the demos of this program. It is worth every penny (in my joyful but very humble opinion).