Slowly but surely.

So we set our school start date as August 26 and we started that day, though the week before we had had a crazy busy week and we did not feel like starting.  We sat down, made a few plans and did a few things.  It turns out that the kids really enjoyed the world history book that I had gotten them and read several chapters in it.  They did not do math because my husband was at work and he wasn't here to get them started.  They did chores. They did PE.   We worked on the schedule a bit.  Then yesterday we babysat and after that, we worked on the schedule some more and did a few more things on the list.  Now it seems that we have it all in place for today, except that the spelling book hasn't arrived yet.  It should get here tomorrow.  I like to think our method this year is similar to a new teacher being hired at the last minute. (Although I have no excuse but lethargy for not having it all in place sooner!)   It takes a little while to pull together a plan but we'll get there.  It's a collaborative effort between the 4 of us.   I have to go over Kentucky's graduation requirements.  These are technically, legally optional for homeschoolers here, if they are not attending college, but if the kids do attend college, then their high school transcripts will be looked at with more scrutiny by the colleges, so we are following the recommendations.  Then, I make a list of subjects.  Then we choose books or DVDs or Youtube videos or digital curriculum or whatever.  Then, we divide what they need to do by the number of days they have to do it in, roughly 180 and then we come up with a number of lessons that need to be completed each week.  Then, the kids make a post it note with each one, for example there are 5 Algebra 2 post it notes for my son.  Each lesson of Algebra he does that week (Teaching Textbooks), he will move 1 note from the wall to the schedule paper they have taped to the wall.  It's their system for the last few years and it works.  At the end of the week, all the post it notes need to have migrated from the wall to the paper.  Then, Monday, we start it all over again.

In this picture (excuse the mess), you can see the post-it-note system in the lower right corner.

It's our weird little organizational system, but it works.  Every now and then I update my attendance and grade records and at the end, I pull it together into a transcript, also using the Donna Young site which I cannot praise/recommend enough.  She's put together a wonderful resource for homeschoolers.