Tuesday, August 12, 2008

What my Homeschool Office Looks Like

 


I thought I'd post some pictures of where I sit and research curriculum, organize, talk to other homeschoolers and play solitaire when the kids are off playing on their own.

First picture:


This is what I look at. It looks so tidy...Know that not one of those nifty things was put up when I was not on Ritalin. Ritalin is an essential component to my homeschool planning. When I'm on it things are well-planned, comfortably flexible and I follow through. When I'm not on it I'm disorganized and anxious about the disorganization. Remember, drugs are good.

Next:


My space. MINE. The side of the tower is off because my computer's case design doesn't provide sufficient airflow for cooling in the summer so things start to freeze and act wonky otherwise. Cheap $%^% Compaq. There's a plastic baggie between my monitor and the abacus. It's my secret weapon and I'll reveal it in the last picture.

Next:


To the left of my computer is the curriculum and odd office supplies.  We also feed the cat there which is a really bad idea because his food is one short step away from my keyboard. But if the food is on the floor then the dog inhales it so there it must stay. It's sitting on top of my drawing box (the link has better pictures) which I finally pulled out because I've been putting off my drawing for too long. Which essentially means I've been putting myself off for too long.

Next:


Ta da! A real homeschooling organizational binder! This is mostly thanks to the printable made available by that homeschooling Goddess Donna Young. That collection of fluorescent stickies is cool. Fits in my binder and gives me dividers within the divided sections. Whoo hoo!



 Inside the binder are things like resources lists, a journal and this section - Catherine's Course of Study and lessons broken down by day. How did I manage that? Ritalin of course! It just wouldn't happened without it. Of course all the forms make me seem anal but they're not there for strict adherence. They're there so I can have a foundation. So my tendencies to panic about curriculum are put to rest between to covers of my binder. this is what I didn't get before when I thought scheduling equaled blind devotion to the directions inserted into rows and columns. No. It just means I have a comfortable path mapped out. I can deviate as I see fit but I know where we're going and for someone prone to chaos that's very comforting. 

I love my Ritalin.

I also love my secret weapon. Remember the plastic baggie?



Yum.

Okay, this stuff is bitter and takes some getting used to but damn, it's good. And it has caffeine which, in addition to my Ritalin and morning coffee makes my mood even and my day ordered (my day is run by stimulants!). This bar will probably take a few weeks to work through. I'm generally a chocoholic and can scarf down a chocolate bar in a matter of seconds but the 85% cocoa stuff needs to be savoured and keeps me away, sometimes, from the cheaper kinds.

 

13 comments:

Jacqueline said...

Oh! I love the chocolate stash! I need to get me one. :)

molytail said...

Hey, I think we have the same computer! It looks like it...except mine isn't showing its innards LOL...(I tried blowing the pictures up but they weren't clear bigger..sure looks the same)

Cool organization :-) - I'm terrible at organizing, blergh.

Anonymous said...

I'm partial to the PC Organics dark chocolate myself, I savour it too :-) Just a few squares and it's heaven on earth. I put them on my tongue and let them melt, mmmmmmmm. Everyone knows if they find the PC Organics bar in the cupboard then it's hands off!

Dawn said...

molytail - Sorry! I don't know why you can't click on my pictures to enlarge them in this post. To me, that's always the fun part...Peeking into the depths of people photos. I'll check the settings and see if I can fix that for the next photo post!

But my computer is a Compaq Presario SR1620NX. :D

Anonymous said...

Nice space. But is this a Ritalin advert or something? I loved your blog until all the Ritalin worship.

Dawn said...

*shrug* Ritalin is a part of my life. I blog about my life.

Dealt with in a post.

Anonymous said...

Between your color-coded organizers and Doc's Stephen Covey calendars, I feel like such a sloth!

Maybe if I sent my daughter to school, she could score me some Ritalin. Would that help? I hear Ritalin runs second only to Xanax as a drug-of-choice in our area schools. Not sure why that is.

Seriously, I know Ritalin works wonders for so many people. I wish my son were taking his right now :(

Lindt 70 is my favorite, btw.

Dawn said...

70? Woman, you have GOT to hit the hard stuff. It has to be 85 or you're just playin' around. And, when you score that Ritalin, 85 makes an excellent chaser. :D

Anonymous said...

Aaack! Whenever I organize, it just makes me more disorganized. Or maybe it just makes it easier to see what we are NOT accomplishing.

My chocolate stash is in the bottom left drawer of the desk. If it were visible, I'd never get any of it.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, maybe Ritalin is what I need, I have terrible follow through.

Recently I had been going through chocolate awful quickly. I finally caught on that my 13 year old DD had discovered the joys of eating chocolate to soothe PMS.

molytail said...

But my computer is a Compaq Presario SR1620NX.

K, they're not identical then but darn near close... ours is the Compaq Presario SR1500NX :-) ....I'm not sure if that means ours is older or yours is or what. :-P

ChristineMM said...

Wow that HS schedule and the binder. I've never pulled off something like that. Suddenly feeling very disorganized....

Next step up for the cacao health benefits and caffiene jolt is to try the cacao nibs, organic Dagoba brand is one. However it takes getting used to the not-sweetened natural taste of the cacao itself. I can't handle it and do need the sugar. But some people I know love those nibs and eat them by the handful.

Anonymous said...

Chocolate should be in every mom's stash. :)

I've got the huge binder full of Donna Young printouts too. I feel like an over-organized weirdo with it, but it's mostly so when I feel like a failure I can open it up and see that we're fine. Then I sigh, eat another piece of chocolate, and get back to the fun. Hehe