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Homeschool Skedtrack Wins!

HSSTAs a homeschooler of 3, well 4 on some days, I’m always looking for organization and something to keep us all on task. I’m pretty sure that in our 5th year, we’ve finally found it!

Homeschool Skedtrack is a FREE online lesson planner, scheduler, and tracking system rolled into one. The heart of the system is the automated scheduling of activities that frees you from the headache of rescheduling everything once an activity/lesson is missed.

You can put in your “students”, all of their courses, they’re schedule, track grades (if you wish), create report cards and transcripts. I spent a month getting everything put in for the next school year, well, not quite all assignments yet. I knew that having a kindy now, the big kids would need something to track what they need to do each day as I would be too busy with the little ones. This is helping TREMENDOUSLY. Each student gets their own log in. They log in each morning and see what assignments are to be done, they check them off when completed. I log in when I can and approve things. I can edit assignments as needed. Subjects can be scheduled whatever days you want, so they don’t have to be done each day. If something isn’t completed, it shows up the next time that subject is scheduled.

To be honest, it was very confusing to figure out at first, but once I got the hang of it, I love it. The kids do as well. They’re no longer waiting for me to decide what subjects to do or make the necessary copies (did all of that at the beginning as I put the assignments in). They’re pretty much on their own, they just need to make sure they grab me when I’m free for those subjects where they need me. My oldest son, T1, knows what is expected of him and for the most part gets it done! I’m not hounding him to stay busy and stop getting distracted. He knows what he has to complete each day, he can do it in the order that satisfies him and he can see what he’s done and what’s left to do.

To continue my lovely organization attempt, I did my own version of Sue Patrick’s Workbox System. She has a great system, but it required too much of me and too much space in my house so I modified it. I bought each child a 30qt Rubbermaid tote to keep all books, binders, papers, pencils, crayons, everything together. They just grab their box and go. When not in use, the boxes go next to my desk so that as I have time, I can look through completed work. No more searching the house for an hour to find that missing book or pencil (yes, that has happened quite often!) I’m finding though, as we’ve used for a few months now, that T1 is getting a bit lazy with returning his books to his box. It’s still better than before though so that’s a plus.

FREE Kiwi magazine subscription + $5 in Earth’s Best coupons

Kiwi and Earth's BestJoin Mom’s Meet and receive a free subscription to Kiwi magazine and $5 in coupons for Earth’s Best items. Mom’s Meet is an online resource to help moms lead a greener lifestyle. You could even become a Mom’s Meet Ambassador and lead group meetings in your town to help other moms in your local area!

Claim your Carbon Free Day

One Day from Brighter Planet

Brighter Planet will donate 136 pounds of Carbon Offsets for no charge at all. All you need to do is click above and claim your gift. The average American emits 136 pounds of carbon dioxide daily just from every day activities. That’s enough to fill 5000 balloons! There is a limited number of gifts and they’re given out on a first come, first serve basis, so hurry!

My gift to you this holiday season is to have one carbon neutral day! After you claim your gift, click on over to Brighter Planet’s blog and see how you can conserve this holiday season.

Join EcoScene

Everyone wants to be “greener”. Join EcoScene’s weekly email list and have green reviews delivered to your inbox! Ecoscene reviews green products and services so you know what you’re getting before you buy! Ecoscene was recently at the DC Green Festival that I enjoyed visiting!

Who needs a phone book anyway?!

Just a few days ago we recieved a big yellow phone book. That book went straight from the mailbox to the recycle bin. I can’t remember the last time I used a phone book. With the internet, it’s faster and more up to date to just look it up online. There are many informational resources to find phone numbers and addresses.

Today in my inbox, I found an email from a few days ago regarding YellowPagesGoesGreen.org. You can sign up and have yourself removed from receiving phone books! Excellent!

There is no hard data, but it’s estimated that only 10% of these books are recycled. Most end up in landfills, or in some cases, just laying around house gathering dust. Why print the books if they aren’t going to be used or even recycled?!

If you need a phone number, here’s a list of sites you can use:

and many more!

How many Earths do you need?

This Footprint Calculator is a short little animated quiz to determine how many Earths you need to support your lifestyle. It will ask a series of questions to determine your Ecological Footprint, how much productive land and sea is needed to support your activities. Once you finish, you’ll be met with some ideas for reducing your footprint.

As with any calculator, this one doesn’t address everything. It does not mention composting or cloth diapering, buying second hand. But, I think a calculator that does address all issues would be one long quiz to take! Regardless, I came up with needing about 3.9 Earths.

The Earth Day Network website is full of information. Take some time to browse the site and learn. Sign the Climate Petition and see other ways you can become active to save our Earth.