High School Literature: Things I Wish I Had Done

Douglas Iris from our Oregon Trip - Read more HERE.

1. I wish I would have kept a master list of every piece of literature that we have read. This would also include poetry and Shakespeare. I am having a hard time remembering which child has read which books in their high school years. A master list would have been helpful, perhaps a column with the title, one for the author, and then a column to check for each child when they finish. (I think I could have done this on Homeschool Tracker so if you use that program check into how you could do that automatically.)

2. For each book we read, I wish we would have kept a short one paragraph summary of the plot, high points, or list of characters. I am especially bad about remembering which Shakespeare story is which as I look back over the list we have read.

3. I wish we had kept a notebook page for EVERY author we read, organized alphabetically in a binder. This would be such a great reference. I also would like to have a list of the books we read for each author, perhaps on the back of the page. Which books by Dickens have we read? Which books by Jane Austen? This would have been helpful.

4. I use LibraryThing to keep track of our home library but I am finding that I have not kept it up-to-date. I really wish I had kept on top of all the ins and outs of books so I could easily find out if I already own a book and it is tucked away on a shelf somewhere. I ended up with duplicate copies of several books this year, what a waste!

I am so sure there are other things but those are the ones that are glaring at me as I plan Mr. B's school year. He is the last of four homeschooling children and by this point things are beginning to blur a little and better records would absolutely have made my job easier.

Hope this helps you in your homeschool planning for the future.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom