Before I get to the nitty-gritty planning details, I want to share with you how I gather ideas throughout the year.

Have you ever used LiveBinders?

It is an online organizer. I like to think of it as a virtual file cabinet.

I create a new LiveBinder at the beginning of every school year … for the NEXT year. Then I save any links that I come across that I think we might want to use for the next school year.

Here, take a peek at my 2012-2013 Curriculum Ideas LiveBinder.

I gather all kinds of ideas:

• books I might want to purchase
• free curriculum to print
• lesson plans
• crafts & activities
• holiday fun
• planners/organization
• things I need to make before school starts

You want your planning to be simple, so only save links that you want to consider for your upcoming school year. Don’t save every cute idea you come across – that is what Pinterest is for! 😀 (Or create another LiveBinder to house all those extra links.)

Setting up a LiveBinder is simple!

• Go to LiveBinders and sign up in the top right corner
• Log in and click on the My Binders tab
• Choose Start a Blank Binder from the dashboard on the left
• Add a name, description, and category
• Make your binder Public (everyone can view it) or Private (only you, or those with an access code, can view it)

You can easily save links by installing a bookmarklet in your toolbar. Instructions for this, and for customizing your LiveBinder, are in the Help Section.

Feel free to ask all the questions you want about setting up your LiveBinder!

You can view my 2012-2013 Curriculum Ideas to see what kinds of things I save, or browse my Public Shelf to see the other ways that I use LiveBinders.

More posts in this series:

• Part 1:  Planning with Purpose
• Part 2:  10 Reasons I Create My Own Curriculum
• Part 4:  Mapping Out Your School Year

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This week’s 10 in 10 is reasons why you chose your homeschooling method.

I would describe my method as eclectic with a twist of Charlotte Mason. I am going to share 10 reasons why I put together my own curriculum each year!

1.  It is inexpensive! At least half of our subjects come from free internet resources.

2. I enjoy it! I taught preschool when my oldest were little bitty and discovered I love planning and gathering ideas.

3.  I am easily bored! Just being honest here. I never had ADD issues as a child, but I think I have developed some as an adult LOL. Some people like the routine of doing the same thing year after year. I like the fun of discovering something new. I have, however, learned to create some balance for the sake of my children. It would not be good for them if I were to change up every subject every year.

4.  I can add in a bit of fun!  If I am creating the plan, I can schedule in time for creativity. Things like making a brain hat, or a customized Trace Through the Year book, add bit of cheer to the day. (Some people can followed a purchased curriculum and still fit in the fun stuff on top of it, but I am not one of those people – I am easily overwhelmed and we never ended up having time for anything fun.)

5.  I can cover what I want, how I want! I can tailor our subjects to exactly what my kiddos need to know, or want to know.

6.  I can easily teach multiple ages! With 5 students, I try to do as many subjects together as we can. Planning my own curriculum makes it easy to adjust the activities for the different ages groups. I can teach science on a higher level and let the littles play with some critter cards. I can teach history on a lower lever and assign the older kids to research the culture.

7.  I can pull from different methods! We add in some Charlotte Mason with nature notebooks and Truthquest History. We print out free grammar workbooks. I don’t mess around with math, so we use Saxon & Teaching Textbooks. I can pick & choose according to what fits our needs and our budget.

8.  I can be flexible! Because I am creating my own lesson plans, I can structure them to fit our schedule. I decide exactly how many weeks we are spending on a topic, and fit it in around break weeks and holidays.

9. I can customize! My kids are very different (as most are). What works for one in 6th grade, for example,  doesn’t necessarily work for the next. By using as many free resources as possible, I can change it up for that next child without purchasing yet another expensive book.

10.  We can celebrate!  My family is big on holidays. We love to decorate and make the everyday special. I like to mix in a bit of Holiday Funschool in with our regular studies.

More posts in this series:

• Part 1:  Planning with Purpose
• Part 3:  Planning with LiveBinders
• Part 4:  Mapping Out Your School Year

Follow me on Facebook & Pinterest, or by email!