How do you organize HS supplies & texts, etc?

[Runningmom80]

How do you organize your HS supplies, books, etc? Do you have a room or designated area? Pics would be awesome too!

 

 

(if there is a thread like this already, you can direct me to that. :))

[Satori]

A couple Desk Apprentices come in handy. Here's an old picture of one of ours:

 

[Runningmom80]

That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for, thanks!

 

 

 

I feel like I'm going to need more book shelves. :)

[JudoMom]

That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for, thanks!

 

 

 

I feel like I'm going to need more book shelves. :)

 

 

Just a warning--the Desk Apprentice is HUGE! I've been tempted by it several times, but when I tape together paper so it measures the same size as the dimensions on Staples.com, I'm reminded why I don't have one right now. There was a time when it would've been great for us, but I just like to throw this warning out there :001_smile:.

 

I have a school room. Here are old pictures. I now have an additional 5 shelf bookshelf in there, so I should take updated pictures.

[veggiegal]

I use IKEA sorting bins--I think they are called Trofast, and are intended for kids' toys. Work great for workbooks, math manipulatives, etc.

[Satori]

I have a bunch of lime Trofast bins (the flat/small ones), but the exact day I planned to order the Trofast shelf online, they went to store-only. Now I'm waiting until Ikea Denver opens up in a few months. I originally wanted to use these as a workbox system, but now I'll just use them for normal homeschool storage.

[Lady Dove]

We live in a tiny duplex 3 bedroom apartment, so no school room for us. We set up a table in our kitchen, and I've converted part of my bedroom into storage for school books and supplies. I have three bookshelves, a plastic cabinet with different size drawers, and a desk in my bedroom. I also have this neat nylon collapsible organizer that has six small removable compartments and a very large compartment. I keep all of our math manipulatives organized with this. So far this works for us, and I have plenty of room for everything. Our kitchen is the classroom, the living room is our media room, and my room is everything else :lol:

[Runningmom80]

Just a warning--the Desk Apprentice is HUGE! I've been tempted by it several times, but when I tape together paper so it measures the same size as the dimensions on Staples.com, I'm reminded why I don't have one right now. There was a time when it would've been great for us, but I just like to throw this warning out there :001_smile:.

 

I have a school room. Here are old pictures. I now have an additional 5 shelf bookshelf in there, so I should take updated pictures.

 

I like your school room!

[Runningmom80]

We live in a tiny duplex 3 bedroom apartment, so no school room for us. We set up a table in our kitchen, and I've converted part of my bedroom into storage for school books and supplies. I have three bookshelves, a plastic cabinet with different size drawers, and a desk in my bedroom. I also have this neat nylon collapsible organizer that has six small removable compartments and a very large compartment. I keep all of our math manipulatives organized with this. So far this works for us, and I have plenty of room for everything. Our kitchen is the classroom, the living room is our media room, and my room is everything else :lol:

 

We will be using this system in the fall, I'm glad to hear it can work! :tongue_smilie:

[KellyT01]

We use our kitchen table...a lot! I have the scratches all over the table to prove it LOL! We also have 2 bookshelves, a rolling plastic file cabinet which is great for storing pens, pencils, paper, art supplies, unfinished projects, etc. I also store some of the larger things like my dry erase board and manipulative stuff in a small closet off the kitchen (which dd organizes once every couple of months).

[Teaching_Three]

We primarily use the the kitchen table for schoolwork and I have a white board on the wall by the table and a few charts. We also use the living room, we sit on the sofas to read, the computer is in the living room as well and the children have a book shelf and bins for their flashcards, manipulative's etc.

 

We used to have a whole classroom, but it was never used, it was more like a pretty storage room:lol:. I would like to organize some more and perhaps get a nice new set of bookshelves but for right now it is working!

[Tonia]

Kitchen table for us too. We keep a map on the table covered with a clear plastic tablecloth. I have a small bookshelf that holds a bin for dd's books and a bin for mine. The second shelf holds 2 boxes - one for math manipulatives and the other for science supplies. The bottom shelf holds resources/books that we'll need throughout the year. I also have a tall bookshelf that holds more resources and binders for completed work.

[Runningmom80]

Anyone else? :lurk5:

[MandJsMama]

We use our formal dining room as a homeschool/art room. We've been house shopping and a homeschool room was a necessity for me. We use an old kitchen table and then a smaller ikea table as our work areas (Craigslist is a great place to buy these!). To organize, we use a lot of THESE. I usually use one or two bins per subject, per child. So, math workbooks for oldest is in one, youngest has her handwriting and phonics in another, etc. I can easily grab them off the shelf and bring them to the table as needed.

 

We also use THESE. I hang these on either side of the table and they fit workbooks really well and the kids can just grab and go. And you don't need a lot of shelf space.

 

You can see pics of our old homeschool room HERE. We moved and our new room is set up very similarly.

[janainaz]

I have a hall linen closet that I call my 'dirty little secret'. That space is the only evidence that I homeschool. I don't want to look at school (nor do my kids) when we're done. For me, our house is our 'home' - not a classroom. But that is just me - to each his own!

[mommyto4]

We have a schoolroom with four bookshelves -- all filled! We also use the Trofast systems from Ikea, and the bins are labeled to hold the boys' books/work.

[Runningmom80]

We use our formal dining room as a homeschool/art room. We've been house shopping and a homeschool room was a necessity for me. We use an old kitchen table and then a smaller ikea table as our work areas (Craigslist is a great place to buy these!). To organize, we use a lot of THESE. I usually use one or two bins per subject, per child. So, math workbooks for oldest is in one, youngest has her handwriting and phonics in another, etc. I can easily grab them off the shelf and bring them to the table as needed.

 

We also use THESE. I hang these on either side of the table and they fit workbooks really well and the kids can just grab and go. And you don't need a lot of shelf space.

 

You can see pics of our old homeschool room HERE. We moved and our new room is set up very similarly.

 

 

Ooooh, I love all of that stuff! Cool ideas, thank you! (And I like your room!)

[hmlentz]

I have a double door closet in my basement where we homeschool that I put all books we are not currently using. I have a small, old bookcase that sites beside my worktable that I keep all current year books, etc. in. My kids use workboxes so their daily materials are in boxes on their shoe rack. I then have a milk crate that I have file folders for each of my kids papers. At the end of a 6 week "session" I file completed work in a folder and put it in the closet. This was a GREAT organizational tool I picked up on a website- http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/2010/04/organizing-school-paperwork.html

 

Good luck!

[HomesteadMommy]

We don't have a school room, but if we ever move again it's a must! We use the kitchen table mostly.

I have 2 large book shelves in the living room that are packed tight. lol It holds reference books, novels, my FIAR books, general history, science etc.

 

Our curriculum books are stored in a large pantry cupboard in the laundry room. I have 1 for books and another for activities etc. the 2nd one also stores my cookbooks.

 

I'm still trying to find a good way to store all our art and craft things. This house has NO storage space. :001_huh:

[Heidi]

I have an armoire that my husband built shelves in. We also have four bookcases.

[mom31257]

Here is a link to the school area by our table. This picture is a couple of years old and I'm not home to take a current one. It really hasn't changed much, though.

 

Basically the left shelf is for my stuff (teacher's manuals, manipulatives, etc.) and the right shelf is for theirs and all school supplies.

 

We also have 2 very big bookcases in our garage. These shelves are arranged by topic (all the history together, all the science together, etc.). There are also shelves for curricula that I've saved to use with my younger.

 

I have a linen closet in the hallway that I store art supplies, science equipment, catalogs, and folders, paper, spiral notebooks, etc. The linens are stored in the bathrooms and bedroom closets.

[Classically Minded]

Here is our homeschool room, we updated it over the past few months but still trying to find solutions for different things. We are bookshelf addicts - we have them all through the house, I even have one in my kitchen but I don't use them just for cookbooks - they are great for crockpots, bread box, etc! Being just $29, they are an affordable storage solution that utilizes space up to the ceiling.

 

I also like the sliding paper trays from IKEA here. We like orange, but they do have them in white and silver. We have 2 and they come in so handy to sort different things we may still be working on - I like to keep the table free of clutter, since we also eat dinner there and I do my sewing, etc there as well. I also like how you can just slide a tray completely out to bring to the table without bringing the whole thing.

 

Here is one of our homeschool shelves and how I organized it last fall. I got the green trays at the dollar store and then the white holders at IKEA. Here is another small shelf that we use for the globe, cd player and other items as you can see. I got all the shelves at Wal-mart, the large ones being $29 and the small one just $19 and they have held up really well.

[dm379]

I don't organize. Things get thrown wherever and I spend half the day looking for things. :tongue_smilie:

 

Each kid has their own bookcase. Plus they have boxes. Any books they need to read or something that gets used daily goes in the box so it can be easily grabbed. Our formal dining room has been turned into our homeschooling room and usually the mess is contained in there.

 

At least in theory that's how it works. The reality is things are a mess.

[NittanyJen]

I don't organize. Things get thrown wherever and I spend half the day looking for things. :tongue_smilie:

 

Each kid has their own bookcase. Plus they have boxes. Any books they need to read or something that gets used daily goes in the box so it can be easily grabbed. Our formal dining room has been turned into our homeschooling room and usually the mess is contained in there.

 

At least in theory that's how it works. The reality is things are a mess.

 

Wish WTM had a "Like" button :D :D.

[woolybear]

I don't organize. Things get thrown wherever and I spend half the day looking for things. :tongue_smilie:

 

Each kid has their own bookcase. Plus they have boxes. Any books they need to read or something that gets used daily goes in the box so it can be easily grabbed. Our formal dining room has been turned into our homeschooling room and usually the mess is contained in there.

 

At least in theory that's how it works. The reality is things are a mess.

:lol:

[kolamum]

Bookcase in the dining room for all the books that go with our year long study; I can do this only because we are using a WP unit study this year.

 

We have another book shelf in the same room that has a bucket of crayons, bucket of colored pencils, bucket of markers. Math manipulatives, and then a nifty little carry basket that holds an assortment of items {staples, glue, etc.}

[kclopez]

bumping this because it's such a great thread... I'm off to container store for the fabric wall pockets! Looking for other new ideas to give my school room (and me!) a shot in the arm!

[laughing lioness]

This is my plan but our bed is still in the living room so it hasn't shaped up yet.

For now:

We have a desk in our central area loaded with supplies- paper, pencils, hole punch, etc.

We have built in bookshelves and each kids gets a shelf. We also have a shelf for memory work (using shoebox bins) - VP and flashcards. And a shelf for activities we are doing together.

We have a basket for the CD's we are doing at the time.

We have shoebox bins for scissors, glue sticks, colored pencils and markers with a shelf just for art supplies and drawing pads. This also houses the Draw WRite now books, Drawting Textook, Mark Kistler's books,etc.

At the main T.V. (we also have a portable DVD/CD player) we have educational DVD's. I store the ones we are currently using together (Moody Science).

Library books/DVD's are kept in our large Land's End canvas bag by a chair in the living room and returned as soon as they are finished.

My 16 yo has his own desk by his bed (we still have a bunk house situation in our basement for the kids) and he has his own library books/ texts there as well as some on his shelf upstairs.

I have a Mom Management notebook that I keep on the desk and over plan the year so that I have a really clear idea of what I'm doing, regardless of what I've misplaced or what disruptions occur ;)

Edited June 12, 2011 by laughing lioness

[DawnL]

I use IKEA sorting bins--I think they are called Trofast, and are intended for kids' toys. Work great for workbooks, math manipulatives, etc.

 

 

I have been considering these, as well. We have a couple that we do use for kids' toys. But I thought they would make a nice workbox system. however, we don't have room for 3 big workbox stations, so we will likely just get one tall one and improvise.

[desertmum]

We live in a tiny flat with very high ceilings so the only way to storage things is "up". I have two tall bookshelves from Ikea in our living room. Lower shelves are filled with textbooks, regular reading books, and cardboard boxes (again from Ikea) to keep manipulatives. I use food plastic containers for markers, glue, and craft materials. Upper shelves are for puzzles and science kits, and art supplies.

 

Until last week I had a children's table from Ikea but I found it was making my back hurt too much so I got ds a junior chair so he can do his work at the dinner table with me.

[DianneR]

When we originally began to home school, we had cabinetry built for our guest bedroom with bookshelves, storage cabinets, computer desks, CD pull-out storage and file storage. We also had a wall bed made so we could still accomodate overnight guests. Our daughter used the set-up for her first six years, but she kept migrating to our kitchen desk/hutch. Two years ago I moved her supplies to the desk/hutch which also stores her extensive art supply collection and my husband has taken over the office area for his hobby (photoshop). The kitchen desk/hutch serves as her base, but she often studies on a window bench in our family room, on the back deck or a sofa in our living room. She has no official study area as she enjoys the flexibility of moving around. I do have IKEA desk protectors which I pull out for study groups for our dining room table or for a table in the living room she uses with her geometry instructor. My organizational standards have relaxed over the years - and I often play catch-up after a clean sweep -- shoving all the kitchen island junk into a bin preparing for the biology lab instructor and students.

[Classically Minded]

A couple Desk Apprentices come in handy. Here's an old picture of one of ours:

 

 

This is so awesome, never even heard of these till this post, thanks! :lol:

[LunaLee]

We don't have a desginated room for homeschooling, so our hs stuff is in the dining area. If you click on the link to my blog there are pictures under the "Our Homeschool" page. Ikea has been my best friend in trying to keep things organized and stylish.

[MrsMe]

The Desk Apprentice is really handy. I have one but go back and forth with it. It is huge. And because it rotates, you need a pretty good area for it.

[kathkath]

The Desk Apprentice is really handy. I have one but go back and forth with it. It is huge. And because it rotates, you need a pretty good area for it.

 

My dh made me get rid of ours. He could.not.stand.it. There is very little in life he can't stand so it had to go.

[Classically Minded]

Well, more to add - after reading this post and seeing the Desk Apprentice, I had to go get one! I was able to fit all the teacher's manuals, books, pencils, pens, scissors, eraser, clips, and more in there with room left to spare. Only downside so far is the size - its huge but well worth the $25! :D Sorry if these come through big - wasn't sure how to resize the photos for this post.

 

 

 

[Momma4Boys]

I have a very handy friend (whom I LOVE) that made me some of these books shelves (the blue ones on the wall in the photo). I have 1 for each child and a very long, 4 story one in the family room for library books.

 

SUPPOSEDLY these are easy to make and I assume they are because my friend had never made anything out of wood before. I am not handy so I will take her word for it! ha!

 

They are very similar to a pottery barn design but wayyyyy cheaper ;)

 

http://www.ana-white.com/2011/06/love-these-shelves

 

Nicole

[FloAla1975]

We have bookshelves in the dining room organized by subject, as well as computer files containing all of our materials (and intended use).

[KatDilan]

Kitchen table for us too. We keep a map on the table covered with a clear plastic tablecloth. I have a small bookshelf that holds a bin for dd's books and a bin for mine. The second shelf holds 2 boxes - one for math manipulatives and the other for science supplies. The bottom shelf holds resources/books that we'll need throughout the year. I also have a tall bookshelf that holds more resources and binders for completed work.

 

Love the map under a clear tablecloth! :001_smile:

[cjgrubbs]

We have a bookshelf that is full to the brim and everything else is crammed in my closet. We school in the dining room but our floorplan is open so I see it ALL DAY LONG and I hate that - we have our house on the market and looking to move somewhere with more land and a better designed (read easy to close the door and forget it) school room! ha.

 

But I've been thinking of buying one of these for each of my kids to use as workboxes.

http://www.staples.com/Staples-6-Drawer-Organizer/product_809574?cmArea=SEARCH

[Annie Laurie]

We have a school room but I still stink at organizing and figuring out where to keep things.

 

I don't have current pics (I redo it a couple of times a year, hoping one of these times I'll hit on the perfect system), and keep meaning to take some so I can update my school room page, but right now I have:

 

An Expedit case (turned upright now) with each child's books organized into a different cubby, and my stuff in another cubby, and our current books for history and science in the others. We did have them in Trofast bins, but I now have a very mobile baby who would eat the workbooks and get into everything. So I have their stuff in the higher Expedit cubbies so baby can't reach them. I'm afraid I'm going to have to move the stuff out of the lower cubbies though.

 

File boxes in the closet so I can file their paperwork as we go along- not sure how frequently to do this or where to keep unfiled papers in the meantime though.

 

I keep extra school supplies in the closet.

 

We have shelving devoted to art supplies.

 

I guess that's it.

[Penny from Tenny]

We have a living room and dining room that we use for my husband's home office (ha! that is a generous term!), our school room, and a small area for playing, piano, watching DVD's for Latin, etc., and a chair for reading. We use every square inch of that space including the foyer. While I like the setup currently and it works fairly well, I am always on the lookout for better ideas but they always tend to be expensive....oh, well. Right now I am on the lookout for something to put between my windows that would be more practical for storage/books than my antique sewing cabinet as much as I love it.

 

If you want to see a small space that isn't fancy but just manageable you can click on my name and you should be able to see some pictures on my profile. I am currently at the hospital with my son and don't have pictures to link from this computer or at least I don't know how.

BTW, I always love these kind of threads! I love seeing and hearing how folks manage to tame the homeschool monster!

Blessings,

Penny

[Penny from Tenny]

We have a school room but I still stink at organizing and figuring out where to keep things.

 

I guess that's it.

 

Wow! If you stink at organizing, can you come to my house? I'm thinking you have a gift and your children have an awesome mom to make their learning environment so inviting.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Blessings,

Penny

[Momma4Boys]

Attachedto4 - that is the most beautiful school room I have ever seen!! I agree that you have a real talent for decorating and organizing!! WOW!! Wanna come to my house?? ;)

[Annie Laurie]

Wow! If you stink at organizing, can you come to my house? I'm thinking you have a gift and your children have an awesome mom to make their learning environment so inviting.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Blessings,

Penny

 

Attachedto4 - that is the most beautiful school room I have ever seen!! I agree that you have a real talent for decorating and organizing!! WOW!! Wanna come to my house?? ;)

 

Thanks for the nice compliments! It is really nice to read an encouragement as I sit here feeling cranky, nursing a baby who suddenly woke up after being asleep, got hiccups, and would not go back to sleep. :)

[Runningmom80]

We have a school room but I still stink at organizing and figuring out where to keep things.

 

I don't have current pics (I redo it a couple of times a year, hoping one of these times I'll hit on the perfect system), and keep meaning to take some so I can update my school room page, but right now I have:

 

An Expedit case (turned upright now) with each child's books organized into a different cubby, and my stuff in another cubby, and our current books for history and science in the others. We did have them in Trofast bins, but I now have a very mobile baby who would eat the workbooks and get into everything. So I have their stuff in the higher Expedit cubbies so baby can't reach them. I'm afraid I'm going to have to move the stuff out of the lower cubbies though.

 

File boxes in the closet so I can file their paperwork as we go along- not sure how frequently to do this or where to keep unfiled papers in the meantime though.

 

I keep extra school supplies in the closet.

 

We have shelving devoted to art supplies.

 

I guess that's it.

 

 

Um, WOW! That room is perfection! Did I see those book shelves on ohdeedoh? You have quite a talent girlfriend!

[woolybear]

Attachedto4, can you tell me where you got the desks by the windows?

 

And I agree with the others, that room is beautiful and it looks like you are a very good organizer. Perhaps you have to visit my house to see what "stinks at organizing" really looks like.:)

[Annie Laurie]

Um, WOW! That room is perfection! Did I see those book shelves on ohdeedoh? You have quite a talent girlfriend!

 

I don't know what Ohdeedoh is, but I'll google it.

 

I've seen lots of rain gutter shelves in different rooms, they're so inexpensive and easy to install! The idea originated with Jim Trelease and then I had some friends on an online mom's group who installed some and shared pics and I loved it! But I lived in a tiny house at the time and we were getting ready to move, so when we moved into this house in 2006, the very first thing I did was paint the game room which was to be a play/school room and put up rain gutter shelves. Who cares about the kitchen or living areas when you have a new school room to be play with, right?! ;) :D

 

I think it was impractical of me to take up that entire long wall with bookshelves but I liked how it looked, as opposed to having shorter sections on that wall. I could definitely use the wall space now though.

 

So, more than you wanted to know on the history of my gutter shelves. :tongue_smilie: Thanks for the nice compliment!

 

Attachedto4, can you tell me where you got the desks by the windows?

 

And I agree with the others, that room is beautiful and it looks like you are a very good organizer. Perhaps you have to visit my house to see what "stinks at organizing" really looks like.:)

 

They're small wooden kitchen tables from Ikea. I looked and don't see them on the website right now and can't remember what they were called, but they were cheap.

 

I promise I'm not trying to be falsely modest, I really am organizationally challenged. :001_smile: Thank you though! The room has a place for most things, but when I get down to the day to day, I never know where to keep things, or things get lost in the tiny closet in there, and I'm constantly searching for an instructor's guide or the stapler, etc.

[Runningmom80]

I don't know what Ohdeedoh is, but I'll google it.

 

 

 

 

.

 

Oops, sorry, it's a design blog for kids, http://www.ohdeedoh.com :001_smile:

[Annie Laurie]

Oops, sorry, it's a design blog for kids, www.ohdeedoh.com :001_smile:

 

Oh cool! I'm going to have fun perusing, thanks!