Phonogram "-OLD" Lesson

An "oldie" (pun intended) but still a goodie in my book. This is a lesson I put together some years ago to teach the -old phonogram.  It includes worksheets and other activities.

-OLD Phonogram Learning Packet



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Another (Quick) Google Spreadsheet Homeschool Planner Example

In another post I explained how we use Google Spreadsheets for our homeschool planner. I thought I would show another simpler example of one of our planners.

The one below is for my 6th grader. We are coming to the close of the year and in our homeschool program (through a charter school) and there were lots of projects that needed to be completed earlier than we had expected as our supervising teacher is moving and we need to get the projects in earlier than the end of the year.



Here, I have made the planner look like a calendar layout with the subjects in the first column vertically.  In our previous planner, I used all kinds of neat tricks like drop downs to track the work flow (corrected, graded, finished, etc).  Here,  we just go with a simple color background change to indicate the status of work (e.g. the green background means I have corrected the work. My daughter can change it to yellow to show that she has finished it, and I would change it to red to show that corrections were needed).

When all the work for a given subject has been completed for the week, that row can be hidden. The math row has disappeared from the first week, below:



As I said in the previous post, there are limitations of using Google Spreadsheets, it's not quite as savvy as Microsoft Excel, especially when it comes to formatting cells. But, we have been using Google Spreadsheets this entire year and it's worked very well. The thing I like most about it is the digital aspect of it.  I can make changes to it on my computer or phone and the kids can mark their progress at their computers and at any time of the day, I can look and see what's been completed and what  hasn't. Before, when our planner wasn't web based, I'd have to drag around papers, folders, or binders  to whichever room I was in if I wasn't working at my desk.

One More Neat Thing You Can Do - Link to Documents or Websites

If you have a site that you want your kids to visit as part of an assignment, or say, you've made up a test that you have stored in your Google Drive, you can link to it in Google Spreadsheets to save time.

Clink on the icon that looks like a chain in the top menu area and a pop up comes up where you can enter a link:

You can type whatever you want the link to say and your child simply has to click on the link in their planner.....


My high schoolers do most of their non math work on the computer in Google Docs, so they could give me the link to a page that they have completed and that way, when I go to correct the work, I just have to click on the link and it takes me to the document (instead of me having to search my Google Drive--I have a shared folder with each of the kids, but I typically just do a general search for a page number and anything that matches will pop up, it's often faster than browsing our shared folder as I can search from the main google drive window without having to go into a specific folder).

So anyway, just wanted to share a few more tips for using Google Spreadsheets/Google Drive in your homeschool because it has really helped us be more organized and efficient.

Do you use Google Drive/Docs/Spreadsheets in your homeschool? If so, do you have any tips to share? 





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Place Value Learning Chart

A little helper to teach how to identify place value and how to read and write numbers in words.

Place Value Learning Chart


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What Does Clean the Bathroom (or Kitchen) Really Mean?

Well, it's time for us to revisit the answer to this question.  My kids' standard of clean unfortunately does not match mine or my husband's, so we are focusing more heavily on retraining efforts.




My husband was unhappy with my older son's efforts in cleaning the kitchen on his day so he went off schedule and added on extra days to his kitchen chore until he got satisfactory results.

It worked.

By the end of the week, the kitchen was the cleanest it had ever been when he did the job. So, in shaa Allah, we'll be trying to hold the rest of the kids to the same standard. It's time to get "tough" again and by tough, I mean more diligent in checking their work and requiring that they keep at a job until it's done correctly.

To help with that, I made up a list of daily and weekly expectations and printed them out for the kitchen and bathroom:


Bathroom

Daily

  • Clean sink (and wipe/dry faucet fixtures)
  • Straighten/wipe counters
  • replace toilet paper roll if necessary
  • fill istinja bottle
  • Pick up trash/empty trash can as needed; sweep if needed
  • Make sure bath rugs/mats are neatly placed/wash and replace when super wet or really dirty
  • Mop floor as needed

Weekly

Sinks, Cabinets & Mirrors
  • Clean sink and straighten and wipe counters
  • Wipe cabinets (side, front, and doors)
  • Windex all sink fixtures and mirrors (main, door, and medicine cabinet)
  • Straighten medicine cabinet
  • clean toothbrush holders (inside and out)

Walls & Doors
  • Wipe both sides of door,  door handles and door frames
  • Carefully wipe light switch plates and switches
  • Wipe walls, including baseboards

Shower/Tub
  • Scrub tub and shower walls/doors including outside of tub and doors
  • Windex faucet fixtures

Toilet
ALL toilet surfaces
  • Toilet bowl (inside and out)
  • Tank top and sides
  • Toilet bowl tank connector (area where seat is bolted down)
  • Wipe handle
  • Toilet pedestal/base

Floors
  • Empty trash and replace bag
  • Sweep floor 
  • Mop floor (all the floor including behind toilet and around sides of toilet and under cabinets)
  • Wash AND replace rugs and mats


Kitchen

Daily

  • Wash dishes
  • Dry and put up dishes
  • Wipe counters and stove (including counter near clean dishes)
  • Clean sink (clean out drains, wipe sides and around faucet and backsplash wall
  • Sweep floor
  • Mop as needed

Weekly

  • Sanitize counters
  • Clean out microwave (inside and out)
  • Wipe down appliances and clean under them
  • Toss out old food and clean out refrigerator (inside and out)
  • Straighten, wipe down spice racks/pantry area
  • Wipe cabinets


Trash

Daily

  • Empty trash can
  • Replace trash bag
  • Sweep up any mess you make from collecting the trash

Weekly

  • Clean out/sanitize trash can (outside and inside)
  • Wipe the wall/cabinet near the trash can




What about Rotations?

I also made up a new schedule. In this schedule, the kids do each chore by the week. Over the years, the rotation has fluctuated between rotating daily chores, weekly chores, or picking a chore card each day.  I have seen some parents rotate chores on a monthly basis. I think for us, I've found that the weekly chore rotation seems to work the best. Daily rotation is easier on the kids but harder for me to "police" and I'd get "Do I have to clean this, so and so didn't clean this from yesterday...." The weekly rotation is more forgiving for me (if I don't check a chore on a given day, there are more days to check.) Plus, the weekly rotation (or even a monthly one) gives you more time to ensure that the kids really know how to do a particular cleaning job or room. A weekly rotation also makes it easier to remember whose chore it is. When we went day by day, I was always having to look at the chore chart each day until we memorized whose day was what.


It's About More Than Chores

So, I'm trying to gear up myself up to be more diligent in checking their work as well as making them go back if the job's not done satisfactorily. As my husband and I discussed, it's not about making the kids do chores; it's not just about a clean house. It's about building a strong work ethic, learning to take pride in your work, and learning how to see a job all the way through to the end. In shaa Allah, these efforts don't just result in a cleaner house, but also children more prepared for their adult lives on their own.

What type of chore rotation do you use? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Something else?
Have you recently stepped up efforts like me to ensure chores are being done correctly?




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