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Fall Planning Nitty-Gritty: Organization
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So, we are rolling with our light summer school schedule and I have our new school year (which for our family will start in August) planned. The books for purchase have mostly been ordered, just waiting for my packages and saving for my last couple of items……
So now we get to the final step of preparation…….planning where to put all of the new stuff and how to organize everything to be neat yet accessible throughout the school year……what systems and ideas do you all have for the nitty-gritty of organization?
A few specifics I’m thinking about:
-How do you store all of your RS manipulatives so that it is easy to grab what you need everyday?
-How do you organize/store art&crafts supplies?
-Do you keep a bin/magazine holder/shelf for each child’s individual books/stuff?
-Where/How do you store non-book school items. For instance, a flag, coonskin cap and craft kit you know you will use in an upcoming history study……do you keep a bin/box designated for upcoming terms?
-Do you have a system for organizing timeline figures?
Any tips appreciated :o)
I am organizationally challenged!
We have a “homeschool shelf” (basically a broom closet with a couple of shelves in it). The last year and some we did a modified workbox system with each child having a small filebox with the work for the day in it. Near the end of this last year it stopped really being a workbox system… and so the books they used generally sat in there. I have a larger filebox with the supplies I keep away from the kids (books we are going to be using soon, the good colouring pencils (as opposed to the every-day ones…) etc. We have a “colouring box” with scrap paper, colouring books, etc… it is generally a mess.
I do think I need a better system… especially as we move to a lot more family study…. but it was nice the few times we needed to go somewhere unexpectedly (ie, a doctors office or car repair waiting room) as we just grabbed their work file box and went.
Anyway, depending on the room for the RS manipulatives, a filebox with a handle might be good?
maybe someone else has ideas?
This would be a great blog carnival topic…anyone know of one already published?
I don’t know if RS manipulatives are anything like MUS blocks, but we use an old thread organizing box for ours. Something like this http://www.amazon.com/Darice-Floss-Caddy-17-Compartment-7×10-5×1-5/dp/B000ZDME1A, but ours has moveable dividers. I’m not sure if this one does. I’ve seen ones like mine at WalMart.
I have my cuisinaire rods in a plastic pencil box….
RS has a LOT of manipulatives though, an abacus, a math scale, a teaching clock, and more (if I remember right from a couple of years ago when I was looking at it… and probably cards or something for the games, etc….
I need to do a lot of organzing of an amazingly huge pile of stuff…
however, I do have three things organized for now, until I find a better system I like.
I use RS, God’s Design for Science with experiments and all that entails, and Tapestry of Grace which also has a lot of materials needed in the way of projects.
So I went to walmart and bought three large totes w/lids –white was on sale so white it was.
I came home and labeled them. I easily walked over and put all the RS manipulatves in the RS tote, except for the scale–it sits on top of the bookcase or piano…don’t need it every day and it is big enough i won’t lose it! up to keep out of reach of littles.
i then took my science curr. and ran around the house collecting EVERYTHING i needed for about 16 wks (arbitrary #)…flashlights, paint, cookie sheet, you name it its in there. Now science time is not running around looking for things. if i didn’t have it i wrote it on the sci get list…AND when i purchased the items (very few for that program) i immediately put it in so it is complete.
i did the same for TOG…even the materials needed for a sewing project, Egyptian paddle doll, snake stick, etc. The only things that didn’t fit were the cereal boxes for the ziggarat…
definitely simplified things for me. i found a place to stack those three totes…and as i use them i rotate them..
sorry it’s simple and not really elegant…
now the books…i have labeled the shelves of the bookcases…by subject…and keep my books and notebooks sorted in that fashion
jo
Jo- love the idea of a science supplies tote – I think I’m gonna use that! As for the other stuff, Walmart had some magazine holders and medium size boxes (sort of the size of a men’s shoe box, maybe a little bigger) that you could get in matching colors. So the RS manipulatives go in the box, though the math balance stays on a top shelf. So far its been easy-peasy to use. I use 3 magazine holders for ds’s stuff. One is for the books we use everyday and I also put the abacus in there bc it fits nicely, then one holder is for MWF, another holder for T Th. My preschooler has one too with his coloring “school” books. I’m working on adding some manipulatives for him, but there’s lots of room left. For arts and crafts supplies, we have a closet that I took the doors off and I have stacks of those 3 drawer units that scrapbookers use – I like them bc the drawers are like 13×13 or something and fit odd sized stuff. That way we separate the crayons, markers, stickers, paper, etc. and the kids can pull the drawer out and bring it to the table. I have a larger 3 drawer unit (like you would use for clothing) to store Lego kits, playdough, etc. The closet is pretty big so I keep my craft supplies in there too using the same kind of units. I’m pretty psyched to have everything in one place finally!
Hope you get some ideas! 🙂
Becky
btw, my timeline figures haven’t arrived in the mail yet (I can’t wait!), and I hadn’t thought about organizing them. Maybe in a file box with files by century or something would work (we have our own business so file folders and whatnot are easy to come by). I’ll be interested to see how others organize theirs!
We have plastic boxes for each person. They are ones that could potentially be stacked if place on atop the other. However, I place each child’s books in a box so that they are all contained in one spot and then placed on shelves on one of our bookshelves. I have my own box with the RA items that we use. All Teacher Keys/ Guides are on a shelf of their own so that I don’t have to search for them, either.
Each child has their own pencils. We started using Cadzoodles because they are the right size for each of my girls and all have different patterns. This means that I know at a glance who has left their pencils out. These are also stored in their box so there is not running hither and yon “looking for a pencil”. All craft supplies are in a drawer of the build-in china cabinet. Previous to living in this house, we used totes. I’m still not satisfied with this as there is some shuffling of items, and my organized little heart would prefer even more ability to separate more fully, but for the time being, there are smaller containers/ bins in the drawer holding scissors, glue, etc. Each thing has its own area, but my paper is all together, and I would like to be able to separate it out – card stock, sketch paper, colored paper, etc.
All of the coloring books that are related to current studies are in a portable plastic file holder box. It’s the perfect size for coloring books, paper dolls, etc.
I have several things that we use.
I have a wheeled, plastic 7 drawer stacker in the corner of the kitchen that has a drawer for things…we have our “crafty” things in there that the kids can get to and use any time they want (besides school and chores) that contains beads and thread, craft foam, stamps and ink pads, paper, coloring pages/books, etc. On the top of that I have a medium sized rubbermaid container that holds our good school supplies. I used old 1/2 gallon milk cartons with the tops cut off (sides level with the rubbermaid container – you can also use old 28 oz cans). The container holds six of these. We have colored pencils in one; pencils and pens in one; markers in one; glue, glue sticks, and tape in one; scissors in one; and rulers, drawing pencils, and a pencil sharpener in the last one. The advantage of this to me is that I can move all of it to the table for a craft moment, or I can choose which medium we are using to finish our pages. It is easily accessable and yet out of reach of the littles. The whole stacker and box cost me less than $17.00 and stopped a ton of clutter and mess. I got the idea from this website:http://notebookingpages.com/notebooking/supply-list I did tweak it to fit my needs.
In my “homeschool closet” I measured my books and containers, then went to Lowes and had them cut me a couple of 1x12x12″s to length. I brought home about 5 shelves and the side boards to set them on. (doing a shelf this way lets me move it when I need to, not worry about hitting a stud for the proper support and I can customize my shelf height). I have all my science supplies in a contianer, my amth manipulatives in a container, I have a shelf dedicated to the art supplies – brushes, paper, paint tubes, trays, books, etc. I have seperated all the modules into sections and all the additional things that do with a module (dvds, books, photos) go in a magazine divider. I also have the things collecting in tubs for the projects for each module. All tubs are labels clearly for convenience.
I have a very small house and lots of stuff, mostly things that can go on shelves when not in use. Above our desks, I had my husband hang some adjustable shelf tracks to the studs. I put the brackets in those and have placed the things that I use alot or often close to hand on there. Cardstock, printer paper, scrapbooks & papers, family history, laminator and lamination, cd’s and player, home organizing book, and all school subject books I am currently using so have quick access to while on the computer.
We just put all four girls in one room to sleep and made the other bedroom a “playroom” with their desks and toys in there. I made shelves in that closet the same way I did my other closet and all the toy tubs have a home. The girls are thrilled. I needed more bookcase space after I got 8 boxes of books from the Friends of the Library, so I took out all the little pre-made bookcases and built a floor to ceiling wall book case frame with 4 1x12x12’s screwed into a box frame. Then I screwed the frame to the wall stud at the top so it can’t fall. Then I did the same kind of shelves in it. I filled it up with my books sorted by subject and divided with magazine dividers that are labeled with the subject it is for. Our audio books, the girls books, puzzles, instruments, school related things and some of their big things like doll house and barn are on these shelves. It has really helped. =) The “Homeschool Closet” has now become my closet for my stamping, scrapbooking, “MOM” things. =)
The extra little bookcases I pulled out of their room is now in the kitchen by my seven drawer stacker under our wall map. They are now holding their notebooks and reading books. It has the 2 & 3 yr olds “school” stuff on it as well. =) (They didn’t want to be left out.)
Everyone is loving this so far. The beauty of the “dismantable” bookcase is that I can easily move it as needed without having wait for Dad or as our needs change. =) The bad thing is that now I want to rush out and buy books and things to fill the holes. I left those knowing that I will be adding to them as I collect the addtional books needed for upcoming modules.
Sorry I got carried away. I love to organize and, sometimes, if I am not “organized” feel that I can’t “do school”…I am working on that…=) Admission is the first step, I hear. hehehe
Great ideas I can use, too. Thanks. This is a challenge area for me. Piles of books and supplies are laying around looking for a home. I like the idea of the 12″ X 12″ drawers that come out. I hate it when I can’t get an oversize item to fit. I like the idea of reusing the milk jugs. For small houses, vertical storage space must be used.
This is a topic close to heart right now. I did some changes this past year that helped alot so I am going to invest in this area again to help learning flow more.
Joanna, your gathering of science supplies was probably a huge blessing I bet! I did the same thing for science as we used Artyfacts books. I compiled a list of things needed and put them in a basket so as each project came along, it was all in one spot. It was SO nice to have it at hand while interest was peaked!
I have found the most usefull student tool has been getting each child a craft tote from Micheals. These beauties hold their pencils, crayons, felts, glue, scissors (childs & decorative), rulers, flash cards, note pads, erasers, pencil sharpeners, glitter glues, chalk & mini chalk boards (used in math figuring, spelling practice, and language arts), current small projects being made, nature sketch book and current book being read!!! (no searching the house high & low) These are worth gold, especially when school has to go on the road or beside the lake lol. NOTE , NOT MY PHOTO but pic what I bought for my children.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyrebecca/298853746/
The second thing I recommend is the shoe box photo boxes that you can slip a label into the end with. I have Math Manipulatives, Yarn Crafts ( embroidery needles, floss, small hoops, crochet hooks, knitting needles, a couple of yarn skeins) Painting (brushes, little paint palletes, water colour pencils, paints) Clay Art (fimo, clay tools, cookie cutters, small rolling pin), Educational CDs & tapes that came with curriculum or on own, and Reward box ( stickers, stamps and special pencils and treats for giving).
I know that one of the helpful improvements has been a book shelf from IKEA, It is an Expidit 8 block unit ($80cdn). We have their books for the year in a baskets in the bottom 2 slots, the currently being used and refference books (note books, library books, dictionaries, bibles, curriculum, larger drawing books….)on the slots above those. The craft caddies of their supplies fit nicely in the slots above that. The top 2 slots are teachers guides, Mama culture books, my planner, home school catalogs, home school mags, stationary, secret chocolate stash)
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50103086
Our art supplies, home school library (our own living books), science kits, educational board games, teaching aids, and any other school miscellaneous is all on one bookshelf downstairs. We have a small home and this has been how we can manage the space. I did have this book shelf unstairs beside the IKEA expidit shelf but we had to make room for a computer desk.
All art suplies are in baskets on the shelves.
I have 2 end labelled 13x16x4″ storage boxes to put completed works for that term in so I can find them easy come portfolio time (3x a year).
The addition to our school this year will be actual desks and chairs. The children need to use a desk to write at so they are able to have the correct posture and table height for arm angle at. I can not tell you how much squirming this has eliminated and how it encourages more focus because they are COMFORTABLE. My 6 y.o. was finding it so difficult to get comfy at the kitchen table or on a stool at the counter. Grandma gifted them LAIVA desks ($24.99) and JULES jr. office chairs ($39.99) from IKEA this summer. I never thought I would be pro-desk lol. But here I am!
So that’s what I know thus far and has made the business of getting to learning MUCH easier for me. I hope you find what works for you and savour the sweet benefits of working on your home school logistics and atmosphere. Many blessing on your search and discovery!
Thanks Ladies, great ideas and fodder for more thought……!
Jo, love the idea of gathering all supplies for a certain subject upfront. Putting in the time and thought at the beginning would make the daily flow so much smoother. Think I’ll run with that idea as my books arrive and I can see supply lists.
Botanical Becky, I have been eyeing those storage items at Wal-mart as well…..pretty and very functional. In fact I was looking last night and I think the one shoebox size will work for storing the timeline figures. I have mine cut out and put in envelopes alphabetically and think that box is the perfect size to hold all the envelopes.
BlueJ, I love the idea of different pencil colors, that would be so helpful in habit training :o)
Sheraz, the wheeled storage drawers in the kitchen is a real keeper. My kids are so into art/crafting right now that the supplies are pretty much constantly out on the kitchen table anyway…..so having the put-away place so close at hand would be very helpful come clean up time. Love all of your other ideas as well!
Cedar girl, I like the art tote idea for the not in common supplies. I particularly think my little organized first born would flip for one of these :o) I hadn’t really considered desks and I’m not sure I have room for them but I think your realizing that it may not be fair to expect best effort if they can’t get physically comfortable is very insightful, I’m going to be giving that more thought….
cedargirl – secret chocolate stash??? lol – does everyone have one of these? I know I do! 🙂 Those art totes are adorable, too. My guys aren’t that into their crafts though (a blessing in a way). This was a fun topic!
botanicalbecky, ah secret chocolate stash, the sweeeeeet reward & somedays, motivation and fuel one needs. Every HS mom should have one
so, the totes are really our mini portable classrooms. Pick up the handles, grab your books, and off we go. We can get by with the supplies in them to do school where ever. And somedays I feel like doing that jus to mix it up. When packing to go on a trip these are fantastic in the van beside them. I put their books needed in my scrapbooking tote on wheels thingy that had a telecopic handle (from Michaels too).
Sheraz, I love the bedroom and then other playroom idea!
Ladyof the house, this has been a great idea thread, thank you!
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