Detailed Planning

It is so geeky to be all happy about something like a note-taking system, especially when it's something I'm already familiar with. I have been spinning my mental wheels trying to think of a tidy way to organize my more detailed notes. For some reason, suddenly remembering the Cornell Note system was a logistical breakthrough for me.

Here is information about Cornell Notes

Here is a Cornell Note-taking Generator

Over on the left is a gif of the notes I started taking yesterday on the Gospel of Mark. You can see that it's very abbreviated so far, which is why I am not going to waste my file space uploading a doc form. It wouldn't be worth seeing.

My idea is to go through the books we are using and jot down key points very briefly. If a "connection" occurs to me I can note it, too. Other related resources, possible conceptual difficulties, memo to search for map, that type of thing.

Another priority is to list writing topics. This is something I wanted to have at the top of my list, as I have mentioned before, because last year it was so difficult to scramble up writing themes. You would think it would be easy when using the Progym -- just grab writing selections from whatever you are reading in order to analyze and imitate -- but it didn't work out that way for me. I needed more thinking time ahead of the moment.

So this format will allow me to revisit and add to my notes as the year progresses. Anyway, this clarified my thinking processes so I wanted to write it down while I was still thinking about it.

Calculations

Hey! I'm 10 % through the academic year! (see sidebar). That went fast.

I made out this little chart to satisfy my OCD tendencies:

• 5 days = 1 week
• 20 days = 1 month
• 3 months = 1 semester
• 3 semesters = 1 academic year.
• 9 months = 36 weeks = 180 days = 1 academic year

I am sure most people don't spend their free time doing these rather useless little calculations, but for me, they are comforting.

The reason I did this is because I was rereading the Kolbe booklet -- Implementation of Ignatian Education in the Home -- probably my all time most thumbed through homeschool book. This year is taking a more Ignatian turn than the past couple of years. Anyway, IIEH discusses review -- this is a very important concept in Ignatian education, and not to be confused with mere kill n drill. There should be a review after each lesson introduction (covering the most crucial concepts), a review of the independent study (reading, working), a review each week, a monthly review which is sort of a "step back and look at the big picture" and then a term-end cumulative review that is associated with exams. You can see some of this in Charlotte Mason's method, too.

Again, the reviews are not meant to be just rote drills -- they are meant to broaden connections, look at the picture from a new angle, consolidate, reinforce.

So I made my little schedule because I want to eventually have a routine for these reviews -- I did this years ago but not with this same set of kids, and not with the materials I am using now. If I get one completed, I will upload it to my sidebar.

(There are some articles I wrote about the Ignatian method over here). ... there are two about repetition.

By the way, there is a nice article on Ignatian classical education here -- including some information on teaching a language arts course that is quite compatible with the progymnasmata. )

In my most recent Lesson Planner, (PDF) I have a space to jot down things that I want to remember to review -- that's something that always used to slip by).

Some Printable Forms I Made

I put a page over at Every Waking Hour called Forms I Am Using.

They are sort of similar to the ones I mentioned here, but are in PDF form.

Blogger doesn't seem to allow for uploading PDFs as Wordpress does, though I'm going to take another look when it's not after midnight : ).

Also, there is a Resource Page over there, though it needs to be updated....various booklists.

Learning Notes Blog LIst

• • Adventure Academy
  • Age Quod Agis
  • Amiable Days
  • AROMO(3 Awesome Kids)
  • Bonny Glen Up Close
  • Bookworm's Diary
  • Cajun Cottage Learning Notes
  • Daily Life and Work
  • Household Diary
    
  • Faithful Over Little Things
  • Just Another Day in Paradise
  • KC's Rambles
  • Mama's Muse
  • Maria (msClavel)
  • Show Your Work
  • Soulful Learning
  • St Therese Academy

Another transplant from my EWH blog. I think it needs to be updated -- here is the running list over here.