Organization, Organization, Organization

Organization is the buzz word of the month as many mamas, including me, try to figure out what in the world we're going to do this school year! I've mentioned before that I'm a planner, so I've been gathering Cycle 1 ideas and what-nots for over a month now. This is how I'm organizing all the CC Cycle 1 information so far. (If you're not sure what CC is or would like to know more about it, click here and here.)

First, I find most of my ideas online from other blogs or Pinterest boards. The absolute best CC blog is Brandy's at Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood. I'm on her site so much that I just call her by her first name now and pretend we're good friends (y'all do that too, right?). ;) Be sure to check out her site if you're a CC mama!

When I find things that I'd like to do, I write a description and paste the link into my CC Cycle 1 spreadsheet.

My wonderful, smart, handsome hubs set this up for me online with Google Docs, and it's my favorite planning tool. At the bottom I have tabs for each week, so I've been able to keep up with things I like for all 24 weeks of CC. Then I print out the week's list of resources and put that list in a page protector in my Cycle 1 binder (no picture, sorry, it's just a plain ol' binder). Then I go through each lesson plan, idea, resource, etc., and put a mark next to the ones that I definitely want to do this year. I've found lots of stuff that would appeal to older kids (my oldest will be in the K4 class), so I've made a column for that, too. Afterall, we'll be going through this cycle again in a couple years, so I'll already have most of my resources in one place with this spreadsheet. I keep thinking how much easier planning will be when we start repeating cycles!

For my binder, I'm using Brandy's (my pretend-friend, remember) one page planner, and it's awesome! I've got tabs for each week with a lesson planning page and my spreadsheet printout. Next, I keep already-printed items in a file box, which seems to be getting the job done, although I think I need a bigger box.

Then each week, I plan to move that week's stuff from the box to the wall.

Sounds good, right? Well, keep in mind that I've never done this before. I'm new to homeschooling and new to CC. I'm expecting lots of hits and misses, but I learn best from my own mistakes, so there's my silver lining. And I'm so thankful for the whole CC community, in real life and online. It's so encouraging to know that there are other mamas out there to help when the going gets tough and to also share in the joys. That's one of the main reasons I felt a calling to start this blog - community. I want it. I need it. And even blogging this little bit has helped me feel connected to other CC mamas.

On my organization to-do list is to make a tri-fold board like Brandy's. I'm waiting to complete that project until closer to the first day of school, but I can't wait!

That's about all I've got for planning and organization right now. I'll keep you updated, and thanks again for checking out the blog!