PagesandFields Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I feel like this is something I should be able to figure out... but I'm in a bit of a hurry to finally get our schoolroom (read lives) organized. Right now everything is just in one big bin and because my prep time is really limited I end up rifling through looking for certain things... What are ways you all have organized things? The manipulatives are such vastly different sizes and shapes I can't figure out one good way to do it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I just put them in a plastic box. Then I had the ones we needed for the next several lessons in a basket next to the desk we worked at. But I never felt it was a great system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I just keep them in a large bamboo basket with a lid. The books and alabacus are standing up at one end, I have the smaller manipulatives (tiles, coins, weights, place value cards, gard game cards) in a mid-sized Rubbermaid container, each in a separate baggy. The scale, reflector and clock are just set inside. (I don't have the blocks, just use our regular building blocks which work in most cases. I also don't have other manipulatives that we won't need till RS C or D.) It's not especially well organized, but it keeps things in one place and it's easy to find the manips we need for each lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I used a two level plastic bin that snapped together, when I tried to put them all together I ended up with them on top of each other but in a two part container it kept most everything visible and I sorted it by what we were using at the moment in the top box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Another reason I'm till considering Miquon :p. If we go RS then we will have a bookshelf dedicated to it. Anything that won't be used that year will go in the closet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PagesandFields Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 OK... So I'm thinking of at least sorting through what I have and putting everything I won't use this year away somewhere. And I'm considering putting some of the cards, card games, appendices, etc... organized in a binder. Anyone do this? I'm really tempted to get a little plastic drawer thing just for RS... but I've been weaning myself off of those because I'm trying to streamline and keep everything on bookshelves or in bins on bookshelves. Thanks for the ideas! Keep 'em comin! :) Bonus points for pictures. I'm usually really good at organizing but I can't wrap my head around this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 For level A, rubberband the card sets individually, place miscellaneous things each into envelopes with labels, then put them all into a dishpan. I recently went through level A and made a list of the manipulatives used by chunks of the tm. Lessons 1-39 colored 1" tiles tally sticks multiplication cards Card Games book-5th edition geoboards basic # cards dry erase board and marker Lessons 40-88 math balance reflector (small mirror) centimeter cubes place value cards Lessons 89-end Casio SL-450L calculator geometric solids geared clock tangrams fraction chart Don't have more than what you need in that ready access location (for me a dishpan). Everything else can go in a box in the closet to be accessed later. Also, it's really not necessary to be hyper organized with those early cards in level A. You're not going to use them again in B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I've thought of a hole in my idea. The spare manipulatives can be educational or fun even if they aren't used in the current year. It might be better to put them in a box in the play room instead of a closet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I just keep it all, except the balance, the abacus and a jar of tiles, in a plastic box with a lid on a school shelf. things in the bin get rearranged often because I am teaching two levels. Sometimes I have to hunt through the box a bit, but it never takes long to find what we need. Within the box, I have card decks rubber banded and other small things in their ziploc bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I had started and never finished a blog post on how I organized all this, so I went ahead and snapped some pictures. You can see my setup here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I had a hanging shoe organizer (pocket type) on the back of a closet door. One pocket was the cards, one pocket the clock, one pocket the square counter things, etc. I had the abacus with my texts. The big, rarely used, stuff like the balance was in a closet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I attached my picture...I've never done that before on my iPad so hopefully it works. I have all our school stuff in these ikea drawers and all the RightStart stuff (minus the drawing board) fits in these three drawers, with room for a few extra math games to boot. In the drawers, a lot of stuff in in baggies to keep it separate. ETA: I think I got the picture this time...The picture is too little to read the writing, but I essentially wrote the contents of each drawer on the outside, and when we reorganize someday, I will use rubbing alcohol to remove the marker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PagesandFields Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Oh, dear... I just went to visit the rabbit hole that is your beautiful organized pinterest boards. Oh, dear... there goes my house cleaning afternoon. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldilocks Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I use a basket on my bookshelves. If it is used frequently (or is very small) it goes in the basket. If it is only used for certain lessons (like the fraction chart) it stays in a box put away in the basement. The box is easily accessible if I have to run to get something in the middle of a lesson. One thing that really helped is getting a box to hold coins; the small cards that show the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands; and the ones and tens of the place value cards. It is something like a craft organizer box. It is easy to grab and go. Everything else just stays in its original bag or wrapped in a rubberband. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfABunch Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 The best way I've found to organize cards in in a 3 ring binder. Put each set in a ziplock Baggie. Tape one side (not the zipper side) and hole punch through the tape. Put hole punched Baggie into binder. I can't figure out how to post a pic...hope the above made sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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