Summer Goals - Part 1

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

That's right! Teach Academy has finished our first year of homeschooling! Just in time too! I have the kids signed up for some really fun summer camps! I will do a retrospective post later this summer about our first year. We also have some graduations this year, so I'll post that soon too!

I, myself, have quite a few things I want to get accomplished this summer. Here is the first part of my SUMMER GOALS list. I say first part because I am stealing borrowing an idea from my friend Bethany. She does a Summer Fun List (to see hers click here), of fun summer things their family is going to do. I read her post and I was inspired to do one with our kids. Thanks, Bethany!

So here is what I, personally, want to get accomplished this summer and I will post our one with the kids soon!

1. Finish a yearbook for the kids - I have been working very hard on it this week and am getting close to being done. We have yearbooks from all our years at parochial school and I didn't want the kids not to have one because we are homeschooling.

2. Organize my curriculum - I have to put away all of this year's books keeping it somehow labeled so I can find it again when the next child needs it. I haven't figured out a systems for that yet, and would love to hear what other homeschoolers do! I also have almost all of next year's curriculum. I bought most of it at a huge homeschool conference I attended this spring. I have one subject left to order (add that to my to do list), and I ordered my Catholic religion books this week. Funny side note, I switched companies this year and I had to ship them to my priest! They wouldn't let me ship them to a private home address! I guess the answer keys in teacher manuals of religion/ Theology books for grades Preschool, 2nd and 4th are hot on the black market???

3. Finish unpacking - um, little embarrassed to write that one. Tomorrow is June and later in June will be the one year anniversary of being in our new home. And yes, I still have boxes. Worse, I don't have a single picture hung! If you know me well, you know I am a photo addict! I love getting the kids pictures taken, taking them myself and covering my walls in them. Still, not a one is hung yet! And yes, it is driving me crazy.

4. Purchase Homeschool Tracker ONLINE. I am going to go tech-savvy and get the newest program that Homsechool Tracker offers. HSTOnline. I am intrigued by the idea of it updating itself whenever needed and excited by the fact that if my computer kicks the bucket I will still have all my info out in "the cloud." I am a big fan of organization and I am super excited that once I enter in all the kids subjects and sections that I can just pull from that master list weekly or monthly, whichever I choose, to do lesson plans. I first started researching programs because I used a paper book planner this year (My Well Planned Day), but I don't want to be digging for old lesson plan books when my kids each reach the year in school of an older sibling. I will post later in the summer how it is working for me.

5. Organize my homeschool area of my house - I went to IKEA and bought some of their TROFAST systems. I am excited to get them put together and organize, organize, organize!