*FCS = file crate system. :)
So, we're nearing the end of the week - time to pull a new folder out of the file crate and see what's coming up ...
Above you see my current folders, and below is a peek inside next week's folder ...
In last week's folder (1/18-1/24) I have:
- an email from a friend re Haiti donations
- a few emails from this month's Nature Club host
- a printed receipt from a charitable donation
- a letter from my doctor re test results
- coupons printed out from a website
- a printout of Bill's fantasy baseball picks (why it's in here I've no idea)
- a recipe for Jello Poke Cake
- a stack of library books to check out/request (website printouts)
- the itinerary for my inlaws' trip
- a printout with lab registration info for Bookworm
- a recipe for pizzelles (snowflake cookies) attached to a St. Agnes prayer card (feast day 1/21)
- my home education mid-year review notes
- a questionnaire for a potential therapy program for Earlybird
- instructions for making rose potpourri
The items highlighted in blue will remain in the folder once it is filed back in the crate.
As for the rest of the items ...
- The coupons will be used or tossed (recycled).
- The recipe for the jello poke cake will be filed back in the New Year's week folder (so I'll remember it for next year).
- The library print-outs will move along to the next folder. (Once a book is taken out, its sheet stays in that week's folder.)
- The lab registration will go on my clipboard (where I keep action items).
- The mid-year review notes will be moved along until I post about them. (Once I post I will return the notes to the week's folder from which they originated.)
- The questionnaire will be moved to the clipboard.
- The potpourri instructions will be moved along until I complete the project.
In next week's folder (1/25 - 1/31) I have:
- clipped together: a heart doily, snowflake stickers and an index card - a reminder to switch up EB's bulletin board for the new month
- a Family Fun magazine page - an ice craft*
- an email re "Activity Night" - with notes from conversations I've had with potential hosts
- a birthday card for a friend
- a recipe for shortbread (for Robert Burns birthday 1/25)
- a recipe for "snowball ice cream" (using shaved ice)*
- a recipe for "snowball coconut cake"*
- a few ice projects - photocopies from books and printouts from websites*
- a dated library request for The Days of the Blackbird (1/29-31)
- info re Citizen's Energy (our annual heating oil donation)
- a Teen Group invitation for Bookworm - moved to my clipboard so we can be sure to RSVP
- a printout re painting winter trees with EB (using black paint and a straw)
- directions for starting paperwhites (bought the bulbs and dish last weekend)
- an email re an upcoming meeting I need to attend
- a copy of this month's "Ask" magazine (theme: Ice)
*Note: the ice and snow ideas had been stored in the front of the "Winter Season" hanging folder (not in a specific week), because I wasn't sure when we would focus on that theme in our homeschool. Once I decided this coming week would be a great time to explore "cold" (for one thing it is FREEZING here - lots of snow and ice in our midst - and for another the Full Cold Moon is next Saturday) I moved those ideas into next week's folder.
In the following week's folder (2/1-2/7) so far there is:
- a groundhog coloring page for EB
- a candle craft project (for Candlemas)
- a printout re a field trip taking place that week
- an email re February Book Group (which meets that week)
- a tally sheet for the Mass Audubon "Focus on Feeders" weekend (2/6-7)
- as it is the first of the month, I have a blank budget page filed here too
ETA: Just now I printed out an email for an activity (a winter beach bonfire) that will take place next month. I penciled in the activity on my calendar and added the printout to my clipboard because I need to RSVP to the person organizing the activity. Once I've done that, I will place the printout in the appropriate week's folder. And now that we have both Candlemas and a bonfire coming up next month - I'm thinking a little study of the element of fire would be fun ...
I've been giving the FCS a lot of thought lately - I've been using this system for several years now, but I'm always tweaking it and trying to make it work better, especially in light of my proposed book project. Because the file crate system is so central to my seasonal and practical planning, I feel I will include it in/along with my book in some way - and for this reason I'm trying to examine how I use it in hopes of making it a more efficient and convenient system.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you're using the FCS and finding it helpful - or not! And thank you all for stopping by today - Happy Friday! See you all again here sometime soon. :)
