Organizing a New Homeschool Year

Yes, I know, this Blog is late. Is anyone else scrambling to get all their ducks in a row for the new school year? I'm putting the finishing touches on our homeschool program for our high schooler, as well as our first grade homeschooler with special needs.

This has been a week of high learning curves...we took the leap and enrolled our oldest, a homeschool graduate (John Morgan, Malex Media Network Consultant, http://news.mnet-media.com/ ) in Park University, http://www.park.edu . Park has students at forty-one campus centers, as well as on-line. In twenty states, Park University offers learning options to fit the needs of a very mobile student population--including homeschoolers.

Organizing is essential to a successful homeschool. To learn more about the art of organizing, read books by Bonnie McCullough such as 401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home, and Totally Organized. I also recommend Sandra Felton's book, The Messies Manual. In addition, try out these frugal resources:

*Free Homeschool Planner and Organizer, includes Month View Calendar, Weekly Planner, Weekly Assignment page, Unschooling Record Keeper, Unit Study Planner, www.thehomeschoolmom.com/planner.html.
*Eclectic Homeschool, www.eho.org , offers free downloadable homeschool planners, schedulers, reading lists, chores charts, etc.
*Education Plus offers an inexpensive ($15) kit with 2 audiocassettes and a 24-page booklet. The kit will help you identify 14 basic areas where every home needs an organization plan and step-by-step checklist to survive the demands of family life, http://www.edplus.com/.
*Free Homeschool Tracker software, www.tghomesoft.com.