New to HOD and Have At Least One Question!

[glperky]

Hi, I am new to HOD. I will start using it this Fall with my 6yo and 4 yo DSs. I am so excited. I have a question, that may sound a little strange, but... I have to be very organized throughout my day or I don't do well and I just keep thinking about having my big TM out so that I know what to do. Is there an easier way? Do you use your book throughout the day or do you write you plans out, or...? Thanks for the help.

[edsnyder]

Hi! Welcome to HOD!!!

I just started with HOD this last fall and we are loving it!

on the guide: I had asked about how people keep their guide in good shape and I got several responses - the guide is really pretty durable - I just didn't want spills or writing on it - so I am by no means knocking the way the guide is. But after the responses I saw one person had said she unbinds hers and puts it in sheet protectors and puts it in a binder; then she pulls out the pages she needs for the week - so I decided to do this and it is working really well - however I will say unbound in a binder it takes up LOTS more room (it fits in a 3inch binder).

I know some write their plans out and I was doing that; just that all the directions are in the guide and it seemed silly to me to copy them all down so I was still referring back to my guide. The guide itself is not really all that big and bulky itself if you leave it in its original form. So some just use stickies to mark their place in it.

And honestly having the guide out the whole time doesn't seem that big of deal after you use other curriculum where you have to have a teacher's manual per subject on top of the lesson plans for the day.

Hope this helps!
I'm sure others will chime in too!
Elisa

[mom23]

I have the first two guides unbound and hole punched in a binder. The year that I was using those two guides it was easy to pull out only the week that I needed in each, and put them together in a smaller binder, along with that week's poem and spelling lists...I did find, though that by the end of the year my holes were starting to rip out, and I thought I'd try keeping a guide the way HOD made them. So far, I like that better.

As far as keeping it handy for referring back to, it works really well in the younger guides-up through Beyond-for us. I'm right there for the whole time, just keep it open on one corner of the table, and it's handy to refer back to it. The problem I'm having starts when the kids get some independent work. They carry the guide to another room, then I have to chase it down when I need to look at something, then they carry it with them when they do art or science experiments, and I about go crazy when I see droplets of paint or water strewn across the page of this guide that needs to last me for 4 children...I suppose page protectors would save this scenerio, but so far I'm too cheap/lazy to convince myself that's the best route to go.

[glperky]

Hi! Welcome to HOD!!!

I just started with HOD this last fall and we are loving it!

on the guide: I had asked about how people keep their guide in good shape and I got several responses - the guide is really pretty durable -Elisa

Thank you for your welcome and ideas. Do you happen to have a link to your question? Thanks for the help.

[troodlesn]

I believe this is the link:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11433#p82929

It was helpful for me to think through these ideas too, as HOD will be new for us this year.

Trudy

[glperky]

I believe this is the link:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11433#p82929

It was helpful for me to think through these ideas too, as HOD will be new for us this year.

Trudy

Thanks Trudy! I think that's the one. What a huge help.

[edsnyder]

Yep that is the one.

I can't figure out how to post links like that. LOL

[lissiejo]

I just wanted to chime in because I'm totally the same as you! I'm not bound by the clock, but I definitely need order and structure to my day!

I have a table I created in Word. I made a box for each subject and I write down the page numbers of the books, a word or two saying the activity, and a spot to check it off. I still keep the guide open, but i feel more ordered this way. I don't like to mark in my books because I know I'll be using them multiple times and I don't always go in the same order as the book. I also created a 1 page sheet for all of my girls who will be in 3 different guides next year. Just having a checklist on one page for everyone makes more sense for me.

Melissa

[Samuel'sMommy]

I like routine and structure too. I found it very easy to just work from the HOD guide. I thought about making a different list to work through, but it seemed crazy to do all that extra work when part of the reason I love HOD is that it is open and go. But, at the beginning of the year, I do sit down and come up with a basic order of how I want our day to go. I make a list of all the HOD boxes and any extra subjects we have in the order I want to do them. I just printed them up on a half sheet of paper and used it for my bookmark. That way I had my HOD guide with all my info, but I had a guideline to also make sure I didn't leave anything out. If you wanted, you could print it on a full sheet of paper and slide it in a page protector and then check things off each day as you completed them. If you use a dry erase marker on the page protector, it will wipe right off at the end of the day and you can use the same sheet all year.

[glperky]

I like routine and structure too. I found it very easy to just work from the HOD guide. I thought about making a different list to work through, but it seemed crazy to do all that extra work when part of the reason I love HOD is that it is open and go. But, at the beginning of the year, I do sit down and come up with a basic order of how I want our day to go. I make a list of all the HOD boxes and any extra subjects we have in the order I want to do them. I just printed them up on a half sheet of paper and used it for my bookmark. That way I had my HOD guide with all my info, but I had a guideline to also make sure I didn't leave anything out. If you wanted, you could print it on a full sheet of paper and slide it in a page protector and then check things off each day as you completed them. If you use a dry erase marker on the page protector, it will wipe right off at the end of the day and you can use the same sheet all year.

Oh, I am liking this idea! Thanks for sharing.

[raceNzanesmom]

I've had one guide left bound, one unbound and in sheet protectors. I *much* prefer to leave it alone. I use a binder clip to mark our spot and those little Post-it flags to mark other places (poems, spelling, etc).

Welcome to HOD! I hope you love it as much as we do!

[glperky]

I've had one guide left bound, one unbound and in sheet protectors. I *much* prefer to leave it alone. I use a binder clip to mark our spot and those little Post-it flags to mark other places (poems, spelling, etc).

Welcome to HOD! I hope you love it as much as we do!

Thank you for your welcome. Can you tell me why do you prefer the one you left alone?