Allow Me, To Help YOU, Be Organized This School Year! (A Give Away)/*WINNER Announcement Update

I have always loved the back to school season.  Growing up, I didn’t like going to school all that much. But I loved everything about the new school year.  Brand school supplies, new clothes, new schedules (well, not getting up early), new classes, and sometimes new schools!  When I was done going to school, I thought that that thrill of a new school year in the air, would go away.  But it didn’t.

Then I had kids of my own.  My first child’s first day of Kindergarten was exactly 5 days after our triplets were born.  I’m going to be honest with you here, Folks.  I was oblivious to any back-to-school spirit in the air that year.  I was swimming in babies, and trying not to walk like it hurt, as much as it still did.  Then there was the other mom, who was also dropping her kid off for the first day of school, who asked me “When are you due, and is it twins?,.. because you are big!” (Nice…huh?) But I hated saying good-bye to my daughter every school morning.  A lot. I wanted her home with us.  I wanted to teach her myself,  I wanted to watch her grow, and learn, and grow to love to learn.  I thought that that feeling….. like I was missing out on it all, would go away.  But it didn’t.

A couple of years later, I brought my oldest home from school, to home school her (and eventually the little ones), forever.  I THOUGHT that that thrill of ‘Back-To-School’  in the air, would now be a thing of the past. Because no one would be going ‘back’, really.  But it wasn’t!  Each year, I still got the same butterflies.  (And they last all year long now!  I DO get to keep them home, or wander our little world, teach them myself, watch them grow, and learn, and love to learn.  It’s the most beautiful thing, to watch.

Now we are  in our 6th year of home schooling.  Somehow, we’ve evolved into year round schooling. Well, we believe we learn in our every day life anyway.  But we have found, we are still drawn to even doing some traditional school work, all summer long as well.  So I thought THAT would mean, for sure, that there would be no feelings of ‘Back-To-School’ excitement.  But I was wrong, AGAIN.  I guess, there is no escaping it!  And that’s really O.K. with me.

Oh, we’ll still turn over into new grade levels in various subjects, and have a good year’s worth of plans for the next school year.  We had a wonderful summer.  I’d have to say, the best yet, as a family.  But, we just kept on schooling!  And we are SO excited, for all we have planned this coming school year.   I have never dreamed, I would LOVE schooling, learning, experimenting, growing knowledge as much as I do now.  AND SO DO MY KIDS!!  I give glory to God for this.

Interestingly (to me), this school year, is less structured than my teaching style has ever been.  I am really loosening up, and grabbing from everywhere. I guess you could say, I am getting extra-comfortable in schooling my kids.  Maybe even brave!  But, I have good reason to have confidence, in the rewards we are reaping.  Interestingly enough, I have never really very formally, laid out the year’s school plans either.  We worked generally with some package curriculum, lots of add-on pieces, living life and lots of ‘unschooling’. (Which of course, is not NOT schooling, as you home schoolers well know.)

Yet this year, a new (former and now new again) home schooling friend of mine (Hi KH!!), shared this planner she had found, with me.  I looked through it, again, and again…..and though I have never really had a ‘PLANNER, persey (<how do you spell that?)…..I HAD TO HAVE THIS ONE.

It’s the 2010 Schoolhouse Planner!

This is MORE than a planner!  It’s SO MUCH MORE. It’s…..it’s….it’s…….it’s like a DREAM!!   Really…..you just have to see for yourself.   Below, is only a PEEK.  When I got the actual (down-loadable) planner, and looked through the pages and forms that you can print out, or edit and use in computer, or keep as reference in any way you want….I could NOT BEE-LIEVE, all they give you.  There is even actual educational lists, charts and timelines (including the life of Jesus Christ) in there. Lots of recipes! And everything you need to manage not only a SCHOOL YEAR, but your HOME and your LIFE!

SO here is the point of my post.   I love this planner SO MUCH, that I really want you all to have one too!!   But don’t get too excited, because I cannot financially do that.  I am, however, willing to buy one, for the winner of this Give-Away. (I will either buy it and sent it to you, or buy it and have it sent directly to you. I haven’t figured the best way to do it yet.)  So go ahead and scroll down and read around, and take a peek at all you get, in this AMAZING PLANNER.  It is generally for home schoolers.  But….parts of it could be helpful for moms with kids in formal school too.  I’m not going to restrict the winners in any way.  If you want it, and you win, it’s yours!! If you love it, just leave a comment of any kind.  Can’t think of anything to say?  You can tell me if you love that Back-To-School feeling, and why.  Or, you can tell me how badly you need a great planner, to be organized.  Or, you can tell me how the other day you burnt your toast 3 times, stubbed your toe, ran over your neighbor’s cat and overflowed the bath water, and it was the worst-day-ever!   It doesn’t matter.  Just leave a comment, and I’ll randomly draw a comment on Wednesday Sept 1, to be announced that day or the next.  Oh, and there’s a bonus gift to this give-away too.  ; )

Customizing your planning needs for both your home and your homeschool in one planner has never been easier . . . especially with all the options you’ll have!

For several years, The Old Schoolhouse® has improved upon the Schoolhouse Planner, and now we are thrilled to introduce . . .

The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner

This planner has all of the many features you have come to love and depend on, as well as improvements you never imagined! Well actually, some of you did imagine them—we listened, and took your advice! Over 120 forms and more than 600 pages!

You’ll enjoy the interactive format with pages including hyperlinks that provide exploration of the resources on the Internet. Forms are all editable so that you can type details and print your own personalized forms. We’ve really made it easy for you!

The new pages found in this year’s planner include:

• Another daily planning page with customizable dates across the top and subjects down the left side.
• An additional week at a glance form—choose the form best suited for your needs.
• A marking period planner using six, 6-week periods with space for all subjects.
• A quarter planner based on four, 9-week quarters—a great fit for your homeschool.
• Homeschool requirements form lets you track laws or better prepare for a move.
• Forms to track unfinished units as well as a unit study brainstorming template!
• Testing forms now cover recording standardized testing and yearly assessments.
• Bible reading takes on new meaning with the new Bible reading highlights form.
• Another Bible reading schedule—this time enjoy the option of a chronological form!
• Even pages to record instrument practice and extracurricular activities are here.

For your household plans, we’ve added great new forms that will allow you to:

• Stay focused on high-priority tasks with a new daily to-do list!
• Keep from losing track of “one of these days” thoughts—record them!
• Expand on the schedule charts with a chore reminder form, another helpful tool.
• Plan crafts easily, note cost of supplies and more with the craft planning form.
• Schedule television viewing with a TV show reminder list—never flip channels again!
• Track important information with the computer information to remember form.
• Record all important car information to remember on a form for each car—easily.
• Gather homeschool research and ancestry records with the family tree form!

How do you turn one great planner into two or three?
Can a single planner fulfill all your needs—all year long?

What? Get two or three planners out of The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner? Yes! First, you start with over 600 pages! We give you plenty of options to meet your needs with forms in several formats. Then add the customizable aspect of typing information right into the form and hundreds of additional pages are possible! And your pages will be your pages! The names of your children, titles for your classes, comments on your curriculum, lists of your books . . . all recorded on forms in line with your schedule! It is fantastic!

Besides, there are the now-standard pages in The Schoolhouse Planner, including:

• Calendar pages for 2010-2013, and weekly and daily schedule pages
• 84 recipes, plus grocery and menu planners
• 24 articles, 2 for each month, and 24 must-know lists + those from previous years
• Alphabet writing charts for copywork—print, cursive, and italic
• Report cards, high school transcript forms, and a high school hours tracking log
• Multi-age journaling, nature journal pages, and a science lab sheet
• Co-op planning forms and an extracurricular activities log
• Assignment and attendance charts, plus twelve-year planning pages
• Book report forms, including elementary pages
• Schedules for two, three, four, or five children to a page, with options for any number
• Party planning form, Christmas card list, and alphabetized address list
• Website login/password reference sheet, budget records,  and home maintenance forms
• Schoolhouse Store resource lists
• And amazingly, there are still plenty more!

Print the forms you need, type in information for your homeschool and household, and print exactly the pages you prefer—customized to fit your family!

Improve your planning for conference season!
New forms have been designed just for convention planning that will keep you organized and ready. Make notes in your planner before you attend conferences or enter your first vendor hall, making you ready for solid purchasing decisions!

Have your year planned out, know your current resources, and recall easily the items you need to make this next school year the best ever. And of course, have your wish list filled out and in hand to make it your best homeschool conference ever!

The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner is so much more than just forms!

There’s so much to learn and get excited about! Each month brings you educational information along with help for your home and homeschool. You’ll find supportive documents, charts and posters to print out, fun activities for the family and themed Schoolhouse Store Resource Lists.

Plus you’ll enjoy two articles every month written by experienced homeschoolers and well known authors, such as:

• Beating Burnout: Don’t Just Survive, THRIVE! by Heidi St. John
• Feed Your Children, Dads! by Clay Clarkson
• Grades & Homeschooling by Meredith Curtis
• What Kind of Homeschooler Are You?—A collection of articles about different homeschooling styles. Authors include Amanda Bennett, Karen Andreola, and Nancy K. Baetz.
• And many others by Ed and Amy Pak, Jeannie Fulbright, Maggie Hogan, Christopher Wright, and more!

The Must-know Lists are fabulous—use them as supplements to your curriculum, study pages, or pages of reference throughout the year. They include facts to know, helps for learning, tips to help in cooking or when choosing books to read, and so much more.

Design truly personalized planners for every family member—a high school Schoolhouse student planner for your teenager, an elementary Schoolhouse student planner for younger children, one for each vehicle, and perhaps a household Schoolhouse planner for your husband. Choose pages important to individual needs and print! Or choose to use it digitally!
An instructional introduction explaining how to save your customized planner is included!

The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner—options, optimized!

Forms in overdrive—for homeschool, household, and everything you need to plan!
Recipes revved up—with 84 recipes in all, an entire cookbook is hidden inside.
Reading revitalized—inside spectacular articles each month from great names you know.
Resources at the ready—hyperlinked to the Schoolhouse Store with always free shipping.
Must-know lists multiplied—enjoy new lists and those from previous years too!
Family fun is fabulous—utilize monthly ideas to enjoy family time together.
Links used lavishly—throughout the Planner click right through to more information!
Personalized planning is powerful—customizable options for your entire family are here.

Keep your entire family and household organized.

One planner for all of your needs . . . a master planner beats strongly at the heart of The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner!

GOOD LUCK!!   LET’S ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL SCHOOL YEAR!

*****************************

So it’s 11 p.m. Sept 1, and I just did the random drawing!  It’s been a busy day, away from the computer for the most part. But also, I was procrastinating drawing, because I wish I could draw all of your random numbers!  I would have loved to get this planner for each and every one of you.   But, we had to draw, and I knew I would be happy for whoever it was, who’s number I pulled.

And that is number…..

FIVE!

ANDREA was commenter number 5, and therefore the lucky winner!

Andrea, I will figure out how to get this planner to you in the next few days, so be on the lookout for it!

CoNgRatULAtIoNs and ENJOY!  Wishing you a very organized and productive school year!