Setting end of second quarter goals

 

 

Keep pace.

 

Setting end of second quarter goals are my favorite because they are easy (just divide the total number of lessons by two) and there’s still time to catch up/slow down if the first quarter was slower/faster than anticipated.  If you use Homeschool Tracker, a handy way to do this is to create an activity called Goal. Then when you divide up your lessons, enter the goal lesson on the proposed completion date under the activity called Goal. For example, let’s say you have a unit of study with a total of 120 lessons.  That means that each quarter, you will be completing 30 lessons arranged loosely as 1-30 for the first quarter, 31-60 second quarter, 61-90 third quarter and 91-120 fourth quarter. If the end of your second quarter is January 16th, then enter a goal for that date for lesson 60.  Once all my goals are in, then I take into account the number of actual days available for lessons for the current quarter, which means taking the total number of days in the quarter and subtracting holidays, field trips and allowing for a sick day or two.  This gives me a really good idea as to how the quarter should be paced for each subject.

‘That’ Time of Year Again

It’s really easy to forget to make those appointments that only happen once a year:  the dentist, the optometrist, a general check-up.  For me, it is much easier to remember if I think of them as preparation for  each school year just like new clothes and shoes.  It is nice to get them out of the way so that you don’t have to worry about working them into the school schedule, too.

First day project

The first day of school (or sometimes a day or two before the actual start date) we make personal supply boxes for each child.  These boxes give each child a place to keep a pencil, ruler, erasers, and all the little etcetera that they use each week.

Materials You Will Need:

• Shoe box (or other cardboard box with a lid, large enough to hold the items you want to store)
• Self-adhesive Shelf Liner (like Contact Paper, enough to cover the box and lid)
• Scissors
• Clear Packing Tape

I do a ‘dry run’ of covering the box before exposing the sticky side of the liner. It’s very similar to wrapping a present.  Clipping the corners carefully and leaving enough overlap at the edges gives the best result.  Use the packing tape to assure the edges of the liner don’t start to peel up.

Decorate it!  The supply box is a great place to put stickers.  Older kids can make cardboard dividers to further organize their stuff.