getting a rhythm going.....

So our first day of me teaching out of the teacher manuals was a little rough...it took us only like 5-10 minutes but I was stopping and starting and reading the directions as I went...Emily was funny..she just waited so patiently!  But now I think I have a rhythm and a rhyme to it...at least with the English and Math.  You just have to get use to the way the book wants you to teach or read something...I like to figure out how the book wants me to do it and then I add my own spin...

I also wasn't sure where or how all the pieces would fit together and where you put everything, etc.  I've got it down now..

First, I have two bins that our "Today's lesson" stuff goes in.  That way I fill it the night before and its all there to pick up and take to the table...that way I don't have to keep running to the bookshelf in my bedroom..(oh to have a school room!!!)  Anyhow, I have a folder for "teacher materials"...stuff to have ready..flashcards, things written out for us to do together (I write things out on paper that teachers would write on a chalkboard).  That way I can grab it out of the folder quickly.  I have a folder for work that needs to be "graded" by me.  When she completes a work sheet or math sheet, she puts in in there for me to grade, punch holes, and file.  I also have a folder for unfinished work or work that needs to be corrected.  I put all of our books, readers, teacher's manuals, worksheets, etc into the daily bins and bring them out for school time.  They usually sit on the table during the day and when we know we are done, they get taken back to my bedroom where I have my home school shelf.  I am trying desperately to keep kids OUT of our bedroom.  It IS our office as well but also Mommy and Daddy's space!  Can you tell I like everything to have its own home?  I'm a freak!  I admit it!  Emily also has a nature/science journal that is ongoing and today we started a vocabulary notebook.  For instance, she read a story today out of a reader and there were three hard words.  I had her write them down and look them up in the dictionary and write out the definition...(got that idea from my friend Ann!).  The vocab notebook will be ongoing.  When work as been checked and hole punched and we are done with it, I have two HUGE binders that everything will go into for the year...divided into language arts, math, science, history, Bible and geography.  This is the work we will show our evaluator in the end...These are our files!  I also date stamp everything!  The pioneer woman gave me this idea...she said she loved a date stamp and so do I!!!!  Everything we do is then stamped with a date...saves some time and writing!  I also have weekly plan logs (not sure I will keep this up but I like it right now)...because I am using someone else's teacher's books..I cannot write in them so I have written weekly plans...basically which lessons or chapters we do do everyday and when we don't do any...I leave it blank and when we go to sewing class, I write sewing class!  I found the weekly planner on the Internet...just saved it to my desktop and print one every week!  I think that is it right now!  I love being a teacher so far!