THE BEST TIPS FOR PREPPING ALL ABOUT READING | How to Set Up All About Reading | Homeschool Reading

[@simplycece]

I prepped levels 1 and 2. I’m so happy I prepped them because my friend was able to use level 1 with her triplets and I’ll use it again with my second son one day, so 4 and eventually 5 kids will have used it! We’re on level 3 right now and I dreaded prepping it so I didn’t. Turns out I really can’t stand daily prep 😂 I’ll spend my weekend prepping the rest of level 3. But wow, that’s a LOT of laminating. I’d say a couple of things for next time…you might notice this as you go.. 1) the word flippers need to be stapled together to do the activity as intended and be truly open and go. 2) for next time, you could keep the word lists in its own sheet protector and never remove it. You could save the a couple of steps, but it would still have plastic protection. 3) after a lesson, the word and phonogram cards will need to be filed as mastered or review”, so they’ll leave the binder anyway… halfway through level 1 my kid usually had cards mastered after one attempt so I didn’t need the cards at all,… he just read the words straight out of the book, but most kids do need more review. 4) I only laminated or made copies of selected items. This might not be helpful for your purposes, but in case it is, I’ll share… I made photocopies of the word flippers and cut and stapled the copies together and kept the originals in the sheet protector. If they destroy it I have a master copy. Plus AAR usually is good about emailing people one or two damaged or lost pages. I only laminated high touch items if a kid is supposed to pretend to chop or cut or flip or build something… the words they’re just reading and putting into a pile have been just fine because they’re doing it side by side with me then it goes right back into the sheet protector 45 seconds later. I also laminated pages where you’re supposed to cut a slot and slide something through it…And only the sheet protectors from the applicable lessons come to the table. I don’t bring out the whole binder ever, just the sheet protectors for the current lessons. This system has worked will doing it with 4 and 2 year olds around and also for my friend with the triplets who also had a toddler underfoot. My level 1 used a 1.5 inch binder, level 2 used a 2 inch binder… I have a 2.5 inch binder for level 3, but I guess I’ll see if that’s sufficient or not this weekend 😆

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

I love that so many kids will get to use your set! Seriously, I’m the same way. I can’t stand daily prep. I love open and go! I definitely found that out about the word flippers 🤣 you are genius for copying things and having the master set! I think I’m going to do that with those books so she can actually flip them. I’ve been moving the flashcards into an index card box with those dividers as she makes her way through them but I definitely agree that it would save binder space by not having them in there. Loved all your tips! Thank you so much for sharing.

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

Also LOVE that you included the binder size for each level! It speaks happiness to my type A heart haha

[@thriftyminia]

0:47 I haven’t watched the entire video, but I also use a regular poly folder w/brads & house 5 lessons at a time. This way I only pull out the small, poly folder & Teacher’s Manual daily, versus the humongous binder. I pull out the huge binder probably every week & half to rotate & replenish the 5 lessons. It took me a lil over 2hrs to prep a whole level. We just popped in a movie, I cut & paper-clipped all the cutouts, put in sleeves, I had my husband staple the lil flipper booklets. I did not laminate anything but I did have the Teacher’s Manual spiral-bounded at Office Depot for like $7.

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

Ohhhh that’s a great price! I thought about having it bound but wasn’t sure how much that would cost.

[@elizabethlehman7375]

I love being able to reuse the student activities, but I really don't think you need to laminate. I've used them with multiple kids and they have been fine. I just keep them in the page protectors. ❤

[@CVoid20]

I truly appreciate your advice

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

Thank you 💕

[@RockSimmer-gal4God]

I did this with older kids and they helped me prep!!! I got why are we prepping? I said it be worth it!!!

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

🤣 SOOO worth it! I love that you had them help. I may just do that with level 2. I keep telling them when I graduate the last child they are all responsible for throwing me a retirement party due to all the researching and prep work I do, lol

[@joidavis5210]

Good tips here, thanks for sharing!!

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

Thank you! I hope they help ❤️

[@trainthemup]

Holy moly, girl! That’s one big binder! I have 4 - 3” binders for Madelyn’s LA program. It was about 900 pages 😳 But thankfully I basically just printed everything, made tabs for each week, and was good to go. You deserve the best homeschool mom award for this! So much time, effort and love went into it! I think it’s a great that you laminated everything. That will definitely give it the longevity you need to last throughout the years. I do love to prep curriculum and laminate and organize all the things while jamming to some tunes or binge watching my favorite KZbinrs.

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

What LA are you all using? 900 pages sounds intense! 🤣 but I love that you’re organized with it. Haha after I prepped that I told them all they are responsible for throwing me a retirement party when they’re all graduated 🤣

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Hi there, question- Could I just keep the student workbook in tact and prep the cut out elements? I’d like to be able to keep her work together.

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

I don’t really see a way to keep the book intact because it’s all fluency sheets and mostly cut out pieces for the games. I think the only way it would truly stay intact is if you make photo copies of the cut out pieces. You’d be photocopying almost the whole book though so it just depends on how much you want spend on ink and time for that.

[@brookeshoevlin]

This made my little passionate organizer heart so happy and excited to start homeschooling😂Is that binder for the entire year? And for all the kiddos?? *me going to go watch the unboxing now too* lol

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

Haha it’s prep for the entire year! It’s only for my daughter though since my son is already a strong reader

[@munamohamed3264]

Thank you so much. I appreciate the advice.

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

I’m glad it helped 💕

[@joidavis5210]

This was super helpful!

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

I’m so glad!

[@DanielaNoel143]

This definitely takes a long time to prep😂❤

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

So long 🤣

[@megankoch3113]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy a second student pack than laminating the whole thing? I don't know where you buy your laminating pouches, but they aren't cheap. I also feel like it's rather unnecessary since the materials are literally used for one lesson and then you're done with them. They're not pieces you're going to be pulling out daily (aside from the flash cards) and that will be getting wear and tear. I'm just confused on why you thought this was necessary, seems like a huge waste of time and money to me...

[@HomegrownHomeschool]

Totally understand why you’d think that but we have a large family and at least three kids will be using this set over the years, maybe more if we continue growing our family, and some of my kids are rough on their items. Since the program is kinda pricey I thought it would be better for us to do it this way so we can use it over and over again over the years and keep it in good condition. Not to mention being able to hopefully resell later when we are done using it. I got my laminating sheets for a pretty good deal. I want to say they were the Amazon basics ones. It might have been on sale but I don’t remember them being too pricey.