Hey you! Come here!

[mom2agang]

Can you tell me how you organize your school? Rather it be : work boxes, file folders, crates, lesson planners, loop schedule, block hour schedule , or a 3 mile high pile of books on the floor etc.....

Can you add any links? Or pictures? Or any advice for the organizational lacking people like myself? What have you done to make your school organized?

[Crazyderiver]

IKEA! But I need my husband to help me post a picture:tongue_smilie:

[kalanamak]

I only have a singleton, but I have a Desk Appren on my desk with everything we don't use on a daily basis (like Mind Benders) in it, our pencils and scissors, etc. I've taped up reminders for me on one side (which faces me here at the computer) and a handwriting guide on the other side for him to use (his desk faces that side). My school chair is next to his desk and on the other side of my school chair I have a low bookcase with a tall stack of metal "in boxes" I slide my daily stuff into (a shelf for spelling, a shelf for grammar, etc). One the bottom shelf of the low book case is a plastic storage case, lid off, full of my math. On the tall shelf behind my school chair, is all the books we will use this year, with globes and plastic skeletons along the top. The science supplies are in the closet, and a huge world map up in the hall.

 

HTH

[....]

I organize our school in laundry baskets. I'm IRL friends with another lady on the forums and she knows about my laundry baskets. :lol:

 

I also keep a schedule book, where I plan 4 weeks at a time. Each kid has a 5-subject notebook (where they do notebooking a la WTM). I also have a 3 ring binder for each kid and I keep their worksheets, artwork, etc in those.

 

I'm not very organized. There are probably people on the forum who are much more organized than I am.

[mom2agang]

Lol! I also use laundry baskets. I bought the nice square ones because they were bigger then milk crates.

[kolamum]

We have:

• A bookcase with all the books we'll need for the year on it on the top shelf, notebooks on the bottom shelf, middle shelf has extra books we'll use that go along with what we are doing, & a plastic shoe box of books I want the kids to read throughout the school year
  
• We have another basket where we keep the current books we are using in that sits near where we work
  
• I have a notebook that holds 6 weeks worth of school plans, notebook pages, lapbook bits, etc. It also has TOC of our math programmes, and other tidbits I need to have close at hand
  
• I have a file basket that holds 36 files. In each file is a planner page with our school plans on it, notebook pages, homeschool journal pages, etc. I pull the next six weeks needed and put them in my notebook and remove the former six weeks. That way I don't have to lug 36 weeks around at a time.
  
• I also have a clipboard that tucks inside my notebook, I stash the journaling pages on there so I can jot down what we do whenever/wherever.
  

 

I can post pictures if needed. :)

[JudoMom]

Each of my boys has one large binder (similar to this, but I think ours have 1 1/2 inch rings) with divider tabs for each book they're working on (so instead of having just a math divider, they have a Saxon divider and a Daily Word Problem divider).

 

I place worksheets, photocopies, notebook paper, etc. behind each tab, and include about 4-6 weeks worth of work. This cuts down on my weekend planning & preparation time, because everything is ready for the week's work. It also eliminates the need to reshuffle papers if we get off by a day or a week. After they've completed their work for the day, they remove their completed papers and give them to me, and I check them if needed and either throw them away or file them if I want to keep them.

 

This system also makes school fairly portable--they grab their binder, maybe their math or grammar book, and we're ready to go.

 

I also have some bright yellow sheets that say "_______ needs more ______ (begin on lesson ______)" that I put in each section (I fill out the name, subject, and lesson number first), about 10 days before they run out of what they need for that subject. This gives me several days to gather whatever goes behind that tab, so I'm (theoretically) never scrambling to get what they need at the last minute.

 

Last year, I printed out assignment sheets daily for everyone from HST+. I'm trying something new this year and am making my own Sonlight format lesson plans for the year that I'll print out and bind. I'm pretty visual, and I'm hoping that by having the year's worth of lesson plans staring me down each week will help keep me on track. I love the easy reschedule feature on HST+--a little too much, I think. Without a paper trail, I can't see how off track the rescheduling is getting us, if that makes sense.

 

I'm leaning towards making each boy an assignment book that I'll fill out each week, instead of printing from HST+. I'm still working out those details in my head, but hope to have it finished by tomorrow.

 

I ended last year scheduling by subject blocks, and that was working well so I think that's what we'll start this year with.

[Mom0012]

I use a generic weekly checklist that I created in excel. Every Sunday night, I put an "X" on subjects I don't want my children to do on particular days. Then I print it out and we know everything that needs to be done each day of that week. It helps the kids because they can check things off as they go, so they know how much they have left to do and it helps me to verify that I haven't forgotten to have them do something. It is also very simple.

 

Lisa

[Superfly]

I have a ginormous binder for me that has 36 tabs. I have a checklist at the beginning of each week with a supply list and a list of activities that are not physical(like online videos, games, field trips). I keep all her worksheets in the binder. I also have a workbox system that we use to keep all the texts and workbooks together in order of how we use them. Mostly we use these for quick access, but in the future I hope to keep all her sheets in there so she can work independently. Here is our classroom last winter:

 

http://dcuniversehs.blogspot.com/2010/10/workboxes-and-new-classroom.html

 

I've since redone the room. The workboxes are now horizontal. The cubbies are from Target. I *think* they are closetmaid. And the boxes are from the Container Store. I really like them. They are sturdy and have handles so the kids can move them easily. I also like that they are clear so if a book gets put in the wrong bin I can locate it visually. I made the tags myself. We have a homemade responsibility/reward board that corresponds to the workboxes.

[Lily_Grace]

I just want to start by saying I am a naturally disorganized person and passed that gene on to my son. :D We hit on a method that works well for us - everything out in the open!

 

Here's a sample of our organization:

This is our bookcase for day-to day work. The books don't have to be propped back up or shelved, they're just placed down when they're done being used. A cardboard box stores the science supplies for the week and a tray on top holds pencils, pens, eraser, and sharpener.

 

And for things we don't use every day but are used on his own time or once in a while we do like this:

 

That's our science cabinet. Each subject has its own bookcase and the activities for each are on trays or have a special spot. That way when they're taken out they're still contained and have a home away from home, so to speak.

 

 

 

 

Organizing work...I use those highlighter sticky tabs to mark the next page in the books we're using. It saves us a few minutes from having to search for them when we get started. Each week I make a list of what we'll need for the next week and run off copies or go shopping when I have the time.

 

 

So far having everything REALLY visual works for us. The Kid and I realized early on that neither one of us puts things away if we have to open up drawers or containers to do so.

[Mama2Many4]

You can click on my blog link in my siggy and see what we do. My first blog post is updated with our new year stuff.

 

http://ourlearningjourneyhomeschooling.blogspot.com/2011/07/learning-room-update.html

Edited July 10, 2011 by 3Blessings4Me

[WishboneDawn]

Can you tell me how you organize your school? Rather it be : work boxes, file folders, crates, lesson planners, loop schedule, block hour schedule , or a 3 mile high pile of books on the floor etc.....

Can you add any links? Or pictures? Or any advice for the organizational lacking people like myself? What have you done to make your school organized?

 

Check out the link in my sig. Quite a few people seemed to like it. It's very cheap and very easy.

[profmom]

Right now I'm reorganizing for the new school year, so I'm removing last year's stuff and bringing in the new!

 

~ Bookcase next to my desk -- holds teacher's manuals, binders (see next), and reference materials (Bible, TWTM, etc.)

 

~ Binders for tests, quizzes, and/or loose pages that I will hand out to the kids, with tabs for subjects. After they complete these pages, I store them back in the binders too. I have pink & blue so far (kids' favorite colors), and I need to buy purple for my youngest going into 1st! (Syllabi for online classes go here too.)

 

~ Magazine holders (vertical) on my desk with labels for each child. This is where they place their materials that need graded.

 

~ Older kids keep their books at their desks, with family bookshelves nearby where they can store the ones they don't need just yet (i.e. 2nd semester books). I'm still deciding whether or not to let my 1st grader keep hers. Last year I kept them at my desk.

 

~ Bookcases are organized by subject, with shelf labels, but I haven't quite gotten my little one trained to put things back on the right shelf. I've been happy for her to put them back on the shelves, instead of just continuing to pile around the house. Maybe this will be the summer I scan UPCs and organize the books...maybe.

 

~ Lessons plans...sigh...well, at a minimum, every summer I calculate how many lessons a week to finish each subject both by April 30 (wouldn't that be great!) and by the last Friday in May and keep that info. (We always finish between those dates. :) ) Many of our subjects have been open and go, so this is the main info I needed. (I check our progress a few times during the year and often need to make some adjustments for 2nd semester.)

 

I've tried HST+ many, many times, but I think I'll skip this year. What has worked well for me in the past is to print out blank grids (or type it all in an Excel grid) for each subject to fill in over the summer. The number of columns is the number of lessons per week for that subject, and I number the rows, which helps me stay on-track. These boxes are crossed off as we complete the work, and having a separate sheet per subject means that missing 1 math lessons doesn't through off the schedule for everything else.

 

This year, with a first grader, I'll need to do some extra planning for a few subjects (like FIAR).

 

~ Print outs for the kids -- My ds loves a weekly schedule printed out from...Excel again! I refer to my notes on the number of lessons or the plans I made in the summer (like the grids) as I prepare these. There are little check boxes -- PM me if you want to see one. This year we'll see about transitioning him to his own planner -- he's been doing part of it, but not all yet.

 

My oldest wanted a paperless system, so she'll be using an app called iStudiez on her iPod Touch.

 

For my 1st grader, I may use a laminated check list (or a chart with stickers) that she can check off as we go through her day. Here's a site to make custom charts for little ones (with optional characters -- Hello Kitty, etc.)

 

Ok...so, more than you wanted to know, but maybe something there will help!

 

ETA: This year I was proud of myself for taking the older kids' papers and samples of other work, etc. to Office Depot and having them spiral bound! I'm excited that they'll be able to look back at their writing later.

Edited July 6, 2011 by profmom

[profmom]

You can click on my blog link in my siggy and see what we do. My first blog post is updated with our new year stuff.

 

Mary, I love the drawer system you have with the checkmarks! This may be just the thing for my 1st grader! Thanks!!

[profmom]

Mary, I love the drawer system you have with the checkmarks! This may be just the thing for my 1st grader! Thanks!!

 

Also, Mary, where do you suggest buying the workbox drawers?

 

Thanks!

 

ETA: Silly question, huh? Just Wal-Mart or Target, right?

Edited July 6, 2011 by profmom

[WIS0320]

I can only tell you how I've arranged things for now, we'll see if it ends up working out.

 

I started by printing out a year long calendar from Donna Young and highlighting the weeks we are going to do school. Then I set up binders for History, Science and L/A. I simply got card stock paper and hole punched it and titled the unit and put them in order. Then the card stock has all pertinent information about that unit including:

 

Dates we will study it (will hopefully keep me on track)

Website links written in pencil

Geography tie ins

Science unit tie ins

Library book list

Craft list

Potential vocab to look up or use for copywork

 

Then I filed all the worksheets/maps/coloring pages/recipes/etc. that I've already got printed behind that unit header page in my binder.

 

I've got a huge binder for science set up the same way, just fewer units (9 for the year) and also one for L/A which is basically broken down by week and my card stock weekly lists includes our PR spelling words, Core Knowledge Lit (either poetry or a story/fable) that we will cover that week and First Favorites/Blackbird comprehension read alouds that are scheduled. Behind the card stock is the text for the story/poem, and my notes for PR for the week that I took during my DVD watching and copies of the pages from First Favorites that I want my kid to work through (we are not going to write in the actual workbooks, so I can use them again for the younger children).

 

I have three working binders for each subject that are 1 inch for my child to use and I plan to keep only the unit we are working through in that binder so she doesn't feel overwhelmed. When the unit is finished I will either file the work in hanging files by week or put it all somewhere else, I'm not sure yet.

 

I'm not filing math because it is too hard to know where we will be when. I will still have to do some specific daily planning on the weekend prior to the upcoming school week but I feel like my binders are a road map of sorts that will be flexible. I am using scholaric.com for my weekly lesson planning and I will print out my detailed plans on Sunday night and put them into my teacher binder where I have our yearly schedule.

 

I also have 2 baskets, one for science books and one for history books that I've pulled that match our units that we are working through. I have a bookcase with all our books, notebooks, binders and so on. We'll see how it works out this year, I'm sure I'll have to end up tweaking a bit!

Edited July 6, 2011 by drexel

[Tarreymere]

I have a four shelf bookcase in the kitchen that holds the wireless printer and all of the books I think we will use in the next three months or so. The rest of our book collection is in the living room, and I have all of the books listed in HST+ which helps me pick what we will use and when.

 

The kids have clipboards and I have a daily checklist printed out for them from HST+ with assignments and chores and appointments. Sometimes I pull worksheets and put them on the clipboard, sometimes the child has to do it but the assignments specify what pages need to be done whether they are pulled by me or not. Workbooks stay on the school bookshelf, and eworkbooks are printed only as needed. Finished loose work stays on the clipboard until I look at it. Some work is in other places like binders, but when I collect up the completed checklists (which have to be checked off by me as well as the child) I know where it is and I can get it to check it off.

 

I have a great system of collecting stuff for a portfolio: I just throw all of the loose stuff in a box and pick through it later. One box per child. I take photos and scan stuff in, and I save those in a document file in my computer with each child's name on it. Between the two we have enough stuff.

 

The older kids work with me to arrange permanent binders to organize things the way that works for them for different subjects.

 

I print reports from HST+ for completed assignments, attendence, and anything else that occurs to me.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Rainefox

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

I'm going to provide you with some links to specific blog posts I have made about our organization. I will also be adding a few more into the mix over the next week, so be sure to check back. :D

 

Our Workboxes

Homeschool Skedtrack

Our New & Improved Record-Keeping System

 

I will also add that I have several forms that I have printed from Donna Young. They are very helpful. :001_smile:

 

Good luck!

[amandajh]

Here's how we do it :)

http://teachthemdiligently-amanda.blogspot.com/2011/06/making-workboxes-work.html

[mcconnellboys]

I pull together all my books and materials for the year on multiple books shelves or stored around those. I use a paper and pencil planner to go through all my materials and make an outline of what we'll be doing for the year so that each day I can just flip to it and lay out everything very quickly, even if we're headed out the door (which happens often).

 

I do make up the notebooks with tabs that I'll be using to record our work or file away some or all of our work. For logic stage, I've also been making up other notebooks for my use during the year, mainly for science. I also have printed off some online books and put those in notebooks for use during this time period (Russian Math 6, etc.). I made up a literary elements study notebook that I used during fifth grade.

 

We always end up with a 3 mile high pile of books on the floor by the end of the school year, LOL, as we stack books that we've finished until I can re-organize the shelves over the summer to pull out next year's books.

 

I have a window bench that I sit on while I go over things with my son, grade papers, record info on what he's been doing, etc. I have most of my science kits and supplies for this upcoming year stacked under that bench right now, and those things that won't fit are under the bookshelf right next to it (it's a raised shelf, rather than one that goes to the floor).

 

If you have the room, I'd do at least a small bookcase for each child and try to keep their books, notebooks, and materials all together, there. In that way, everyone can go to their own shelf to pull materials they need, and can return them there when finished.

[Mama2Many4]

Mary, I love the drawer system you have with the checkmarks! This may be just the thing for my 1st grader! Thanks!!

 

Also, Mary, where do you suggest buying the workbox drawers?

 

Thanks!

 

ETA: Silly question, huh? Just Wal-Mart or Target, right?

 

Thanks! LOL, yeah I got them at Walmart. In the section with all of the household storage stuff.

[Tracy]

Last year, I had binders and a big pile of work to be put in them. This year, I have set up crates so I can just drop the assignments in them. I also have "fun" folders in them, including paper dolls, origami, postcards for postcrossing, file folder games, etc. I even have a crate for my 3yo. It is not much to look at, but I can try to post a pic if you want to see one.

[Mrs Twain]

I think the simpler the organization, the better it works. I have the same daily schedule every day so that both the kids and I know the routine and what comes next. I schedule time blocks of 1-1 1/2 hours with breaks in between. We do math, English, spelling, an "extra," reading, memory work, history, and another "extra" every day in that order. The extras are weekly or biweekly subjects like Geography, German, art music, etc. If the subject is in the daily schedule, then it almost always gets done, and the kids are happier because they get used to the flow and know what to expect.

 

The other thing I try to do for my subjects that are not open and go is to count how many chapters or pages I want to cover in the subject per year and divide by the number of days that I am going to teach it. We use a 36-week year, so I divide by 32 or 33 weeks for the weekly subjects or 160 or so for daily subjects. (That gives us about 2-3 extra weeks at the end of the year to finish up in case we get a little behind.) If I need worksheets, I print them all

out before the beginning of the year and just use them in order as we go along. This way, I just keep plugging away at each subject a certain number of pages per day/week in order. If we miss a day here or there for unexpected events, it doesn't matter because I already have the makeup days in the schedule.

 

I find the routine of doing the same basic schedule every day and plugging along doing the next thing in order is the easier way to stay organized and get through the curricula. I also review about every quarter to make sure we are on track to finish by the end of the year.

[Lovedtodeath]

Can you tell me how you organize your school? Rather it be : work boxes, file folders, crates, lesson planners, loop schedule, block hour schedule , or a 3 mile high pile of books on the floor etc.....

Can you add any links? Or pictures? Or any advice for the organizational lacking people like myself? What have you done to make your school organized?

I have ADD and am very organizationally lacking. I use the bulletin board. I put the pages that we need to do out of each subject on the bulletin board at the beginning of the week and label them with the day on which to do them. So I have a week's worth of math on the board, etc. If there is no workbook page for that subject then I will put a blank piece of paper with the instructions on what to do with it. (ie. read pages 60-62 and then pick two sentences to copy).

 

The bulletin board works better for us than other methods that we have tried, like boxes, folders and binders. It also works better than writing the instructions out on the board but leaving the pages in the workbooks.

[prairiegirl]

I have all of the living books and resource books that we will be using this year on a shelf in the living room (we do school all over the house.) Each child has their own rubbermaid container which holds all of their books--curriculum as well as notebooks.

 

We use the file folder system. I have everyone's files in a milk crate. I am going to try to only file one month at a time. Last year, I did the whole year and it was a mass of overwhelming mess. So I am trying to see if I can simplify things. I also have an accordian file for each child. When they go through the week's file of work, I put that work into their accordion file.

 

We tried to use workboxes the year before last. While it was a great success, it was a great deal of work for me to change them daily so we stopped and switched to the file folders. The kids and I had a meeting a few weeks ago. They all agreed that the file folders worked very well but they missed the workboxes, especially the fun stuff that was included. My dd very thoughtfully said, "But it's okay, Mom, we know that it is alot of work for you so we can just stick with the folders." I have been thinking lots about this. I don't know how this is all going to work but I was thinking about having one rubbermaid container with workbox ideas for everyone for the entire week. When they have free time during the day, waiting for teaching time with mom, they can get something from the workbox to fill their time. This way I only have to fill the box once a week which is doable. I'm just not sure how this will all play out. It wil probably take a bit of tweaking before it works smoothly. :001_smile:

[RahRah]

Our dining room serves as our schoolroom, so I picked up five two-shelf bookcases to run along the long wall in there:

 

Shelf 1: Language Arts; Phonics on top, Spelling, Writing and Grammar bottom shelf. On top are readers we'll do throughout the month.

 

Shelf 2: History - first shelf is SOTW with living books we'll do throughout the year; bottom shelf is geography and social studies type books; On top are a box of history flash cards, Professor Noggin Ancients Game, and a small pile of living books we're doing this month.

 

Shelf 3: General reading - lots of books from all genres that are in or just above DS's reading level - I pick and choose from this each month what books we'll read and rotate the books all year. On top of this shelf we keep markers, crayons, a pen-pencil cup, dry-erase lap board, dry erase markers, a cup with scissors and do-dads and the dry-erase eraser.

 

Shelf 4: Math & Science - the bottom shelf is the math books, along with story books about math; first shelf is our science books. On top of this shelf are the books we'll be getting to later as the year progresses that I don't want lost into the shelves!

 

Shelf 5: Kits and supplies - lots of science kits, science supplies, more art supplies, etc. On top of this shelf we keep various things - right now there is a model of a plant cell, a model of an animal cell, a jar of powdered snow, a dissection kit and a model of the solar system.

 

On top of the buffet I keep projects in progress and to one side a pile of reams of paper. Everything inside the buffet is actually for the dining room should we have company and need to eat in there - I can swap that out and swap whatever is on the table into the drawers.

 

My table is huge (seats 12) so that's where we keep what we're working on daily - each subject has a pile toward the end of the table, then the rest of the table is wide open to work on. We also keep a pen-pencil cup on the table, another dry-erase board, cup of markers, eraser, two scissors. To the side of the room I have a huge basket of books for the month that we pick and choose from throughout the month for storytime. I keep four chairs at the table, two others are to the side of the room.

 

I'm placing a small desk by the windows so DS can move his computer into the room this year (it's in the kitchen at the built-in desk currently) and he'll inherit my old printer in there too. In my office I'll have the modem to allow access (or deny) access to the internet since we're still closely monitoring his internet ventures!

 

My office, which is across the foyer from the dining room, has more books, my desk & computer, a printer in there for me to use and filing cabinets to store work from previous years. I also have a supply cabinet in there for arts & craft supplies, more science supplies and manipulatives (that we now don't use, but when baby-DS is ready, I'll have them for him). In the office I also keep my books about homeschooling, teacher's manuals (if I have them), DVD's and other general items.

 

In the laundry room we have a huge shelf with games that we play, some educational, some general play.

 

Downstairs we have a fairly large shelving unit that we bring books down to when we're done with them (out-grown usually) and another cabinet where I move textbooks and workbooks that we're done with that I can use for baby-DS when he gets older.

 

Even with all that - we still wind up with HS all over the house and generally take an hour or so each week to go find everything that should be in the dining room and get it back in there!

Edited July 9, 2011 by RahRah

[Irishmommy]

Thanks! LOL, yeah I got them at Walmart. In the section with all of the household storage stuff.

 

Mary, I am totally stealing your chart! I also love those rolling things. Getting some of those too!

[birchbark]

Check out the link in my sig. Quite a few people seemed to like it. It's very cheap and very easy.

 

These are some awesome ideas!

 

 

I think the simpler the organization, the better it works.

 

Very true.

[Ritsumei]

I have a binder that I use to keep track of lesson plans. I keep the notebooking binders together on the bookshelf, and the history books are in one place, science on another shelf, etc. We don't actually have a lot of other stuff. Books, mostly, at this point. Some of my mental organizing is done on my blog.

[sagira]

Thanks so much for posting this! I'm in the middle of organizing our school year for next year, and I, like you, prefer things where I can see them. I'm going to use most of your ideas :)

 

I just want to start by saying I am a naturally disorganized person and passed that gene on to my son. :D We hit on a method that works well for us - everything out in the open!

 

Here's a sample of our organization:

This is our bookcase for day-to day work. The books don't have to be propped back up or shelved, they're just placed down when they're done being used. A cardboard box stores the science supplies for the week and a tray on top holds pencils, pens, eraser, and sharpener.

 

And for things we don't use every day but are used on his own time or once in a while we do like this:

 

That's our science cabinet. Each subject has its own bookcase and the activities for each are on trays or have a special spot. That way when they're taken out they're still contained and have a home away from home, so to speak.

 

 

 

 

Organizing work...I use those highlighter sticky tabs to mark the next page in the books we're using. It saves us a few minutes from having to search for them when we get started. Each week I make a list of what we'll need for the next week and run off copies or go shopping when I have the time.

 

 

So far having everything REALLY visual works for us. The Kid and I realized early on that neither one of us puts things away if we have to open up drawers or containers to do so.

[baybedaul]

I blame this forum for nearly every dime I've given OfficeDepot and OfficeMax. :D

 

Last year we did workboxes, or our version anyway:

 

http://candelions.com/2011/05/our-first-year-of-school-workboxes/

 

They worked so well for us and we'll definitely continue to use them.

 

And I drank the filebox kool-aid this year - ha! Just bought my box, folders, etc yesterday. Still working out the details, trying to stay away from that thread lest I get more ideas in my head. ;)

[Mama2Many4]

Mary, I am totally stealing your chart! I also love those rolling things. Getting some of those too!

 

Go right ahead! :tongue_smilie:

[woolybear]

How do you make it so you can post pictures or or an image of a schedule if it says they are too big? I want to share (without it being a huge time consuming hassle :)) but I can't figure out how. I have been working out lots of new things and tweaking some old things (ie. workboxes).

Edited July 10, 2011 by woolybear
forgot something