MySchoolYear.com ~ REVIEW

Have you ever felt like you could just remember everything you have to do for the week off the top of your head.  Or maybe your counter is littered with tiny strips of papers and envelops with lists and ideas scribbled out on them.  Do you have 1, 2, 3, 4 datebooks, notebooks and calendars to try and keep your Family on the right track?  Does any of this sound familiar...it does to me!  This is my life of chaos, I'm just trying to make some sense of it all.  I have always been one to write out my daily and weekly plans.  A written account is Golden in my World...I need it to stay semi-sane.  I have tried online calendars and tracking sheets in the past....I know you have probably read the Reviews in the past.  They just don't work for me, they are usually to restrictive and dry.  I need to doodle, underline, highlight and have open space to be creative on a moments notice. 
But, I am a sucker for trying out almost any calendar, organizer, planner at least once.  I was given the opportunity to Review MySchoolYear.com (Homeschool Record Keeping) from MySchoolYear.com and I took it.  I took it because I know deep, deep, deep inside that having everything online would make my life a smidge easier....now to just find the right one!

Quick look at Kaden's Home room with Quick Tabs to get you where you need to be in a snap!

Since we are about to head out for 2+ months on our RV trip I decided to use MySchoolYear.com (HRK) for planning our school time on the road and for the first few months that we are back.

I do get a lot of reminders about Attendance! :)

First thing I did was set it up for the school year I went ahead and made it May 2016- May 2017.  We school all year long, so this works for us.  After plugging in all the major time off and Holidays I added each Kiddo.  Once that was complete the fun began and I was able to add all the subjects.  This is usually where I get annoyed, because there is so much to add.  We do a lot of things that don't require books and paper or curriculum.  So, I was a little less detailed in this area....you could do more though.  For instance we do not have a set time or day normally that we do certain subjects.  I know that may put some people on edge.  But, we may wake up and decide today feels like a park and projects day instead of a Math and Science one.  Our goal is to learn something before lunch, have lunch and then go learn more.  So, time and organization of attendance have never been a priority.  BUT, what is a Priority is the assurance that my Kiddos learn and learn well.  So, I like to track what they have learned and give additional work based on retention or comprehension of what they are learning about.  With this tool I can easily do that, so that was a plus for us.  There is a place for Extra Curricular Activities that we can keep track of Mahala's Softball, volunteer hours and Youth Group activities.  I also put any therapy or appointment for Kaden.  This is nice because I can print out each week what's coming up and tape it to the fridge so the whole Family knows what's going on.  There is a place to log Standardize testing and a tool for Attendance.  In our State that is not required and I have never tracked either, so it's not something we use.  

There are 3 main areas that I got the most use out of and that was the Awards, Events and Reading Log.  It's just nice to have this down in one Spot and you can save it or print it out for keepsake, transcripts or whatever.  We Love the Reading Log, we can track different Book Series, time spent reading and just as a reference for the future.  The Awards section is a place to add huge achievements and even a daily log of noticing behavior improvements, a new learned skill or to just capture a shining moment.  I LOVE This Part!!!  And the Events, I use like a junk drawer....for the months in the RV I have places we are going to see and things to do.  Appointments, date night with the kids, play dates....it all goes here.
So, what did I think?  Well, I feel that this program is not sooooo complicated and frustrating that I couldn't use it.  There are a few things I would never use like testing and attendance.  Too bad I can't rename it as something else.  I Love that it's not all cluttery and overwhelming.  I have found a use for just about everything it offers even though we are not traditional at all with our schooling time.  I will continue to use this to try and make it apart of my daily life.  I have not been willing to do that really with any other program that was like this.  I think this would be totally perfect for a Family that is scheduled/organized with their time.  If you are computer smart or just like things one click or two away.  I think you should head over and see what MySchoolYear.com has going on with Social Media!

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