Organizing school materials (books, papers, pencils)

[Jennifer132]

My children are 10 and 9. They must use several books throughout the school day. They leave said books on any available surface when they are finished working. They lose their pencils and erasers daily. They do have desks, and sometimes the books end up on them (haphazardly). What's the best way to get them to keep their things organized and in one place day after day. I do make them get it cleaned up and ready at the end of the day. But I don't see why, after math they don't go out the math book away and pull out the next book, and so on. Reminding them doesn't seem to be working. What do you all do?

[Arcadia]

My kids' work area can only accomodate a textbook, notebook, calculator and a pencil box. They have no choice but to put their textbook away after each subject. Pencils still end up on the floor though.

 

We do subject transitions as well for DS9. When he done with a subject, I remind him to clear his work area and get the materials for the next subject he wants to do.

[MerryAtHope]

Two methods that have worked here:

 

Tote: Put all books (and a few common supplies that are used daily like pencils, rulers etc...) in the tote. This could be a file-box style (with hanging files to hold lighter things or divide heavier text books), or a nice canvas-covered one with a design, etc... School is done when everything is back in the tote. Bonus, you can put the tote in a place mom designates, for mom to check all work. If the box isn't in the designated place, school isn't done--no privileges yet. 

 

Workboxes: This worked well for getting my kids to work independently and not get overwhelmed--each subject has a box (or drawer in our case). Do one box, mark it done with a velcro sticker, and then do the next. A box cannot be marked done until the materials are returned to the box. All materials for doing that day's work for that subject are in the box (IE, if it's a history timeline, they'd have the book, sticker, any needed colors or glue etc... If it's math, they'd have a ruler, protractor, calculator for older kids, etc...)  If the boxes aren't marked, school isn't done, no privileges yet.

 

Both greatly reduced the incidence of lost books/supplies here!

[Petrichor]

Mine is a couple years younger than your DC, and not responsible for putting his books away yet, but I have a labeled magazine file for each subject. All of the math books go in one file, all of the english books and notebook goes in one file. We have a couple of subjects that don't merit an entire file, when our material is comprised of just one thin book, so we also have a file labeled "other." When I need all/most of the books from one file, I pull out the entire file and bring it to the desk.

 

We have bins (IKEA trofast) mounted on the wall to hold things like pencils, markers, erasers, calendar pieces, stamps, glue, manipulatives, etc. in their own individual bins.

 

This kind of system fits more to my style than how I can picture workbox-type drawers working for us, but again, my DS isn't working as independently as your DC probably are.

[Kristie in Florida]

I remind over and over, constantly. I even have "put books away" on her checklist.

[Dramorellis]

We use workboxes, so whatever they finish must be put back in the box and the card switched over before moving to the next box. I have the top shelf of our large bookshelf in the living room for anything not in use that day. We usually school at the dining room table which has a lazy susan in the middle. I have a portable caddy that holds most of our supplies (pencils, scissors, markers, dry erase pens and markers etc.) and is available for everyone to use. Everything lives in there and it goes back on my shelves out of reach of the toddler when "school" is over. They do each have a pencil box that houses their own special pencils, erasers and pens and those get put away on top of the workboxes when not in use. The pencil boxes work because they can pick out their own stuff and then I know exactly who left which pencil out. If I have to remind someone too many times to keep their belongings tidy, then it becomes communal property.

[kbutton]

Same problem here. We have had (limited) success with just piling stuff up as we finish it and then putting it away at the end. 

[duckens]

For pencils, etc, we use a pencil case to keep a collection of supplies handy.

Could you set a 5-minute timer between subjects with a short list:
1) Put away your old book.
2) Get your new subject ready.
3) Put away any unnecessary objects from the last subject that you will not need for the next one and put it in the pencil box.

4) Get a drink or go to the bathroom if you need to.

[happypamama]

I have one of these for each of my older two children and one for my middle boys to share. They hold most of their books, notebooks, clipboard, and other essentials. The tiny pocket holds rulers or sometimes a pen, and the largest slot holds a binder with room to spare. http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-mesh-tabletop-organizer-silver/-/A-13429685

 

They each also have a plastic pencil box for their pens, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and erasers, plus the older two each have a second box for their large sets of colored pencils.

 

I have a plastic mesh basket with a laminated card that says "Inbox" on it, and anything they've written on goes in that box for me to review.

 

All reference and shared books, like the Kingfisher Encyclopedias, live on a shelf and get returned there.

 

At the end of the day, each of them is supposed to straighten their spots at our tables, so even if they like a messy desk, there's only so messy it can get during the day.

[T'smom]

I bought a bunch of boxes that are supposed to be used for scrap booking and put everything for each subject/kid in the box. Because they are sized for scrapbook paper, they are big enough to hold a textbook, notebook, manipulatives, flash cards, pencils, dry erase boards/markers, etc. The negative thing about it is that you have to move all the boxes to get to the one you want and you do still have to put everything back after each subject, but it was so great back when the weather was nice because they could grab their "math box" and we could go outside to work and have all of our stuff, without running back and forth.

For pencils, I just have a gazillion everywhere. I stash some in each box and a big pencil container on the school table. Once in awhile, I tell one of them to sharpen all the pencils. You can buy 8 dozen at a time at Costco!

[J&JMom]

We struggle with this daily. Even I am guilty of stacking books on the table as we go through them.  But I have a set of cardboard magazine organizers that have color-coded labels (each boy has their own signature color to track these boxes and notebooks/folders, etc) to hold one subject's materials.  Makes material easy to find and, ideally, to put away. However, they usually end up strewn around and I assign one boy to put them away 'in their boxes' at the end of the day.  My youngest has a tendency to simply stack them on the floor by the shelf where I keep the boxes.   Pencils and pens? I keep a bunch at my computer in an old coffee mug, otherwise who knows.  Pencils are cheap - just buy and sharpen more. Markers and such are kept in an art supply drawer after use so we don't lose that many of those, thankfully.  Here is a picture of what our boxes look like:

Edited November 23, 2015 by J&JMom

[LEK]

I use magazine holders for the kids books and papers etc. They have 3 holders each, language arts, math and the last one is all other subjects (except for subjects done together which is history and science). After they finish they have to put their books back in the right holder. As we work on the dining table they actually have to put everything away before lunch and dinner each day, sometimes they get a bit lazy in the middle of the morning and leave things out after they are finished but they cannot eat until the stuff is away and the table cleared. For lose papers, once they are done I have a pile for each kid (up high!) that I throw everything on and then once a week file those in their binders myself to make sure they are in order and neat as my kids are still young.

For pencils, erasers, scissors and other assorted stationary I got sick of people losing stuff and fighting over the same pencil or claiming someone stole their red etc. I have now color coded everything, and I mean everything. Their scissors, rulers and tape dispensers I bought new this year to match each person's color. Pencils, pens, erasers and so on have all had the ends colored (using a sharpie, dye or paint depending on what worked best for that item) that way if I find a pen on the floor I instantly know who it belongs to and if in the morning there is only one pencil to be found we all know who owns it. Each kid has a small metal bucket to keep their stuff in which makes clean up easy. There is a shelf for the pencil buckets, when not in use they live on the shelf but when working the kids collect their bucket put them in front of them at the table.

[Ellie]

My children are 10 and 9. They must use several books throughout the school day. They leave said books on any available surface when they are finished working. They lose their pencils and erasers daily. They do have desks, and sometimes the books end up on them (haphazardly). What's the best way to get them to keep their things organized and in one place day after day. I do make them get it cleaned up and ready at the end of the day. But I don't see why, after math they don't go out the math book away and pull out the next book, and so on. Reminding them doesn't seem to be working. What do you all do?

 

You have to consistently, repeatedly tell them to put their things away when they are finished. You have to stop them in their tracks when you see them put something where it doesn't belong and require them to put it where it goes. If you don't see them do it, the instant you do notice you must require them to stop what they are doing and go put away the misplaced item.

 

It isn't enough to "remind" them. You must require them to put things away right now, not later, not after dinner, not before bed, right now.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Same problem here. We have had (limited) success with just piling stuff up as we finish it and then putting it away at the end. 

 

This s basically what we do.  I find it motivating to see the *done* stack getting higher and higher.  I have no idea if my kids do, but I do.  :-)

[manicmum81]

I have a shelf with magazine files that I keep all their textbooks and exercise books in. I also have a small plastic basket that I keep all my stationary, rulers, post its, sharpeners etc. Space is limited and I have small ones running around so we don't have a choice but to tidy as we go or someone else with walk off with something important.

[kbutton]

This s basically what we do.  I find it motivating to see the *done* stack getting higher and higher.  I have no idea if my kids do, but I do.  :-)

 

Ah, a kindred spirit.  ;)

 

I think that's exactly why I like to do it this way, but I am not sure I would've realized that. Thanks!