Diving Back into Homeschooling Series: Part Two

ordering books & my notebooks (pre-reading & commonplace)

“The peace of all things lies in the tranquility of order; and order is the disposition of equal and unequal things in such a way as to give to each its proper place.”

-St Augustine from the city of God XIX.13

“I want to see little children adorning every home, as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less and less selfish and more and more loving, because they have come.”

-Elizabeth Prentiss

This week has found me beginning the new, but delightful practice of prereading as I prepare for our upcoming homeschool year. Since I’ve mostly finalized my book list for next year, I’m mostly purchasing my essential books used. I am also hoping to utilize my local public library as much as possible this year. I’ve been comforted by the realization that truly so much of home education can be done prudently, on a budget. New and beautiful supplies bring delight, but many things can be borrowed or purchased gently used. This week I filled out an application for a tax-exempt number, with the hopes of getting some portion of the money we’ve spent on items back.

I also officially withdrew Priscilla for next year and notified our local district of my intent to homeschool. Each state has different laws and regulations regarding homeschooling I’m learning. So far, the expectations for Minnesota seem straightforward. I’m no fan of bureaucratic paperwork, but we press on with our eyes on the prize. I rewarded myself by designing a teacher badge I can hopefully use in addition to our forthcoming tax-exempt number to receive discounts at places like Michael’s (and hopefully others!).

Organization is one of my passions, hobbies really, and the large bite of home education seems chewable with systems in place. I decided to color code all of our subjects. I remember doing this in high school and college with my own schoolwork. I wish I could recall which colors I used for each subject. As books have come in, I’ve placed a small strip of colorful washi-tape along their spines and am grouping books together by subject. Next I mark sections for prereading with flags. When I have a moment I sit down and begin reading, taking notes in my prereading notebook.

My prereading notebook is just a Moleskin knockoff, I’ve divided it by subject and added sticky tags for easy subject reference. The first few books I’ve pre-read are our math book and Pagoo, which is part of our Nature Study book list. I think it’s usually ideal to read an entire subject’s books at a time, but since I’m finding items used and putting together a few book lists (Ambelside Online, Mater Amabilis, The Children’s Tradition, and Heritage Mom), books are coming in here and there. It seems to be a system that is working well for me presently. A note on Heritage Mom: I am immensely grateful to Black, pioneering homeschool mothers like Amber who have made it their mission to find and add to the Charlotte Mason community books that represent the dignity in all children. If you’re not familiar with her, you’ll find her site a wellspring of knowledge and sources.

The other notebook I’m delighting in is my commonplace notebook. This is a place for notes, quotes, ideas, or inspiration that comes from the non-book list books I am reading. Presently I’m deep into homeschooling and parenting books, especially loving Hold onto Your Kids, and so I’m marking parts that really resonate with me in my commonplace notebook. I found mine from Golden Coil but am not certain that the item is worth the expensive price point.

This is where I’ll be most of the summer: prereading, marking books as they come in, and generally getting things in order. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on The Children’s Tradition curriculum once it’s live and having it printed and bound for easy access. From there I’ll begin my year, term, and weekly planning including a logbook which I’m quite looking forward to assembling.

None of this would have been realistic or even doable for me without the example and direction from others who have been where I am. So many generous mothers have shared their planning processes and methods. To them, I am grateful.

I’d like to end today’s writing with a brief but heartfelt story about Priscilla and Forest School. This week she was able to attend our outdoor school co-op for the first time since she is on spring break. Another little girl in our group so generously made her a sign saying, ‘welcome to forest school Priscilla.’ It was truly one of kindest and sweetest gestures! Both Priscilla and I were melting! We had a beautiful day with great conversation, sunshine, and children playing games of freeze tag and rolling down the hill. Upon our departure, Cilla got back into the car and announced, “I’m so excited to be homeschooled.” I know she will look forward to and enjoy Forest School this coming summer and next school year as much as her brothers and I have.