An Organized Homeschool

By nature I am not an organized person. Generally I am ok with things out of place and as a Mom of many this has helped preserve my sanity more than a few times. Having said that though, I think our homeschooling runs more smoothly and efficiently when I take the time to get organized and stay organized. Because I am not a natural organizer it has taken me some time to discover an organization method that works best for our family. I have found that organizing each area so that it flows smoothly with another area is easiest for my personality and family.

Here is what I do in our school area:

1. Start with a bookshelf. The top is for the books my boys are currently using or will use in the near future. The bottom I use for my teacher manuals, workbooks the boys aren't using currently, and the various binders I use to organize paperwork (more about that below). Ideally all of my binders should have labeled spines, that is something still on my to-do list. On top of the book shelf is a 3 drawer mini Sterilite in which I store the colored pencils, crayons, and glue sticks. Also on top is our automatic pencil sharpener, 3-hole punch, tape dispenser, and a mini paper cuter. All of the books and supplies in the book shelf feed our workboxes.


2. Binders for every subject. I have binders for all of our subjects as well as a binder for Holiday activities.  Over time I have accumulated various e-books from well known curriculum companies. The e-books are great if they get used. My problem is that I would download them but never print them and file them so that we could use them and enjoy them at the appropriate time of the year. Now, I have a convenient place to file all the wonderful downloads I get for subjects such as Bible, science, and all the fun Holidays.

3. 6-drawer system and hanging folders for storage and filing. Next to the book shelf are two 3-drawer sterilite systems stacked on top of each other and a 2 drawer filing system. The sterilite drawers hold flash cards and various other school supplies. The filing cart on the bottom I use for storing printer ink cartridges and other supplies that generally only I use and need. The hanging file part of the cart is used to organize my kindergarten curriculum by letter of the alphabet. I also store cardstock and overflow paper supplies in that large drawer.

4.Workboxes, Workboxes, Workboxes!! I am so thankful that I discovered this system of organizing daily school work early in our homeschool journey. Sue Patrick details her method of organization in her book Sue Patrick's Workbox System A User's Guide. I have not read her book but have taken the general idea of the system and made it our own. Not only have the workboxes forced me to be organized and prepared for each school day but it has also added an element of responsibility and self-motivation for my boys. They can choose any box to work on so long as they don't take too long choosing. If they take too long staring at the boxes trying to decide then they know that I might make them do their work in numerical box order. They don't want this so dodling in front of the boxes has not been a problem. My Sterilite 5 drawer system fits nicely under an old computer desk we no longer used.

 5. A completed work basket is a must! When my boys are done they know exactly where to put their completed assignments. This helps keep loose papers from disappearing and gives the boys a distinct place to put their work as they finish. No longer do I hear "What do you want me to do with this when I am finished", now they know it ALL goes in the basket. The basket also serves as a reminder to me of the grading and checking I need to complete.  



 

6. Kindergarten work box. This year I am using My Father's World (MFW) Kindergarten with my young 5 year old son (aka Wee Man).  MFW has a few accessories that are required on a weekly basis to teach the lessons. For instance, I had a tub of flour that Wee Man enjoys writing his letters in once or twice a week. I also keep the picture sort cards in an old recipe box I painted and decorated. I also have another tub with capital and lower case letter cards and another tub with beans and number cards for more practice with adding and subtracting. If you add all that together along with the books for each week that relate to our letter of the week and my "Master" planning folder it equals a lot of stuff. To keep it all together and orderly I hold it all in a small storage bin.

 Old recipe box decorated for MFW picture cards





 
7. Lastly, "Moms Resource Binder". My binder is grand central station for our homeschool. In it I keep my weekly/yearly lesson planner and all the worksheets/copies/paperwork that I need on a regular basis. I use tabs to divide the binder into sections according to subject. For instance, I have Wee Man MFW worksheets behind one tab, history worksheets and tests behind another tab, spelling word lists in another section, etc. This has helped tremendously because now I know where everything is at and I am not scurrying around last minute to find a copy or worksheet I printed for that day's lesson.


Of course your homeschool and organizational preferences will look different than mine. However, hopefully this will give you an idea or two that you can incorporate into your own homeschool to help it run more efficiently. As a side note, I do not keep overflow or completed workbooks or topic reading books in our school area. To reduce clutter I keep those elsewhere in the house in a special cabinet.

Homeschool resource website

If you are looking for cute calendar numbers or other fun resources for your homeschool check out Teacher View. I know this is a dry time of the year when many of us are questioning our decision to homeschool or the daily routine of school is a bit boring for all involved. Teacher View is a great site to add some color to your classroom walls.

Have a blessed day!

Today Only: Free $5 Gift Card from Babies 'R' Us

If you join Babies 'R' Us fan page on Facebook today then you will receive a FREE $5 gift card via e-mail. I signed up this morning but have not received my e-mail yet. In this economy, every free dollar is a blessing. $5 off diapers sounds like a deal to me!!

Free Hullabaloo "Best Of" CD - Childrens Music

A local group called Hullabaloo is celebrating their 6th anniversary. Hullabaloo is a wonderful 2 man group here in San Diego that performs children's songs and puts on a fun show at local parks and other kid friendly venues. As a gift to all of their fans they are offering their "Best Of" CD for free for a limited time. I have all of their CDs and my kids love listening to them in the car when we aren't listening to Veggie Tales.

I am enjoying my free download, I hope you enjoy it also. Best of Hullabaloo CD FREE

Everlasting Life

The topic of everlasting life has been on my heart a lot since this weekend. On our way to visit my Mom, my 5 year old asked a lot of questions about good and bad people and even surprised me by remembering the gist of a verse we learned a few weeks ago about Godly people having two lives and wicked people only having one life. This morning I was led to verses on this subject.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him  from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10

And that is what God has testified; He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life. 1John 5:11-12

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth anoyone who believes has eternal life" John 6:47

Today I would like to encourage you to believe on the Lord as your Savior. He died for our sins and so that we can have eternal life with our Holy Father, God Almighty. Simply believing is not enough however, scripture tells us that we must also walk in the way of the Lord.

In prayer:
Our Lord in heaven I give you praise on this blessed day you have given me. Thank you Heavenly Father for sending your only Son to die for my sins and wash me clean of all my insecurities. Blessed Lord you gave your life to save mine, through you I have been given eternal life in heaven with my Heavenly Father. Please grant me the strength and wisdom to find my way here on Earth and walk the path you have set before me before I was even born. In your name I pray, Amen.

Seek Him with all your heart

 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

What did you do this week to seek God? Have you spent time in the Word praying and giving thanks? I urge you to give up your struggles to Him. Give Him praise for all of the wonderful blessings in your life. Seek Him everyday day with all of your heart, with all of your words, and with all of your actions. 

Family Friendly Friday #2

So sorry that I didn't post a tip last Friday, the week got away from me before I knew it. This week's family friendly tip is inspired by our weather this past week. We have been stuck inside because of rain, rain, and more rain. Oh and don't forget hail, lightning, wind, and brutally cold temperatures. All the time inside has forced me to confront the piles I have laying around the house. I really only have 2 areas that needed serious help; an area just off our kitchen and my desk.

My piles are something I have battled for quite some time and have never found a solution that works for me and my family. So this week instead of the usual "clean up" I decided to wipe the slates clean and start fresh.

My solution to clutter that contains stuff you really need:
Grab a large box
Transfer all of your clutter into the box
Clean/dust the area
Take the box to a trash can. Quickly throw away everything that is trash in the box.
Sort the items left in the box into "zone" piles (i.e. garage, kitchen, bedroom, kids, etc)
Now that you have your piles, take each of your piles to their appropriate homes. Now don't just set them down somewhere in their new home. Put them where they belong so you aren't creating more clutter elsewhere in your house.

I cleaned my desk off using this method 2 weeks ago and as I write this it is still clean and clutter free. It is so refreshing to have neatness surround me rather than the ever frustrating clutter. I always stressed about my piles and the messiness they portrayed to my guests. Now I don't have to worry, my house is clutter free.

Blessings for a wonderful weekend!