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How do YOU store math manips and the like?


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I have so many cool manips: linking cubes, Cuisenaire rods, pentominoes, peg boards, wooden 3D shapes, etc etc etc. Some are large and some are small. I have shelf space, or I could carve out drawer space. But... I want it to be "pretty". Ok, not gorgeous, but not a jumble of ziplock bags either, ykwim? I started with some decorative shoebox type things like you can get at Michael's for photo storage, but the take up lots of space, some things don't fill the boxes, others [like the pegboards] won't even fit in them. I have some clear plastic shoeboxes, but similar problems with those.

 

Plastic hanging bags and a tension rod?

 

Organizer drawers?

 

Something else I'm not thinking of?

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I have one of these. Actually, two, I guess. They are stackable.

 

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/elfa/bestSellingSolutions/kitchen?productId=10014856&N=73671&Nao=20

 

I have one large (deep) drawer, three medium, and five small drawers. The one pictured here only has the small and medium drawers.

 

One drawer is for math manipulatives and supplies (rulers, flashcards, etc.) Two drawers have smaller, plastic containers with pencils, crayons, markers, pencil crayons, pens, erasers, glue, etc.

 

Another couple hold printer paper, construction paper.

 

The deepest drawer holds cookie cutters and playdough/clay cutting and shaping supplies along with DD's little weaving loom and other crafty type things.

 

One for office supplies (envelopes, stamps, etc.)

 

It wasn't very cheap, but IMO it is worth every penny. :001_smile:

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I have the smaller things in pockets of a shoe organizer that hangs over the closet door. That same shoe organizer has glue, paint pens, scissors, etc. too so it's not just for math. The daily stuff is stored with the math itself in a drawer. I have the bigger/less used things in boxes on a bookshelf. I'm more about organized and easy to find/use than pretty but I think decorative boxes on shelves look nice. The stuff in boxes on shelves, though, I don't have to get to day in and out.

Edited by sbgrace
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I have plastic totes w/lids inside an old computer armoire. (One tub of base-10, one tub of c-rods, one tub of flashcards & math card games, one tub of other math games, one big tub of random other math items, divided into smaller bags.) We don't have a homeschool room, so I like to keep my manipulative mess hidden as well as I can.

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I bought sterlite shoe boxes, and they get stacked on a shelf in the front entrance(only available shelf). I have 1 with wooden beads, 1 with base 10 blocks, 1 with pegs etc. The manips that came in their own containers (like the animal counters) are stored in the top drawer of the dresser that is in the front entrance. I need to get some more shoeboxes this weekend as some of the containers kept in the drawer have started to crack due to a ton of usage so those things will be transferred to the shoeboxes.

 

Bigger items like the geo boards, peg boards, bucket balance, and MUS blocks are stored on a shelf in my bedroom (we have things stored all over due to space restrictions). And then is the flash cards, dice games etc. They are stored in rolling sterilite 5 drawer carts.

 

We have an over abundance of math manips.

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So, am I the only one who read this thread title and wondered what kind of exotic vegetable a "manip" is?

 

Sorry, I just had to ask . . .

 

LOL, well and my auto-correct kept wanting to change it to "manias" or "manics". Um, no really, that totally changes the subject here! :lol:

 

Ok, so I think what I gotta do is clear off the school table, get out all the math stuff so I can see it all, and then find the appropriate containers. I've got the plastic shoeboxes, and zippy bags of all sizes, something's gotta work.

 

Thanks all!!!

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