(spin off from workboxes) What unique ways do you organize your kid's daily work?

[Ann@thebeach]

All this talk about the workbox system ( http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86460&highlight=workbox )

got me thinking that I really need something better for my own kid's daily work. Things have gotten too lax lately and I'm tired of hearing "I can't find my math book!" for the 5th time this week! :glare:

 

With a new one on the way and busy 4 yr old I NEED something to get us better organized.

 

The above mentioned system sounds good but 12 boxes is way to much for us.

And I'd be setting something up for all 3 kids so the idea of a ton of boxes taking up space is not appealing to me.

 

I'm just curious what others have done to keep their kid's work organized by day or week and any pics you might have.

Do you have binders/boxes/folders/files? Please share! :001_smile:

 

Thanks!

[Sasharowan]

This year (finally) we have desks for them. My dh built floor to ceiling bookshelves and placed 3 drop down desks so that they can close their books up out of sight when not schooling. They keep their books in there and they also each have a binder that I put a weekly checklist and any worksheets they need. They tend to wander the house with schoolwork trying to find a quiet place to work, but are supposed to return books to the desk when done. We had an issue a couple of weeks ago with dd not putting her assigned reading book away and then claiming she couldn't find it. Getting assigned another reading book to do soon unearthed the missing one. Also they have a second binder that finished work goes into and I use this for their end of the year portfolio.

[Evergreen State Sue]

I use a cart with drawers I bought at Costco probably 5 or 6 years ago. Wish I could take a picture of it, but I'll do my best at describing it. I have one of these for each of my kids.

 

The cart is chrome and about 36" tall and maybe 12" wide, on casters, and has 10 different colored sliding plastic drawers. The drawers are 2 each of orange, blue, green, red, and purple. The size of the drawers are maybe 11" wide x 12" deep x 2-3" high. I labeled each drawer with a different subject - science, history, English, spelling, math, Latin, Awana, paper, etc. Each drawer fits their text book, workbooks, and completed papers. It will not fit a 3-ringed binder. At the end of the year or when needed, the drawers get cleaned out, and put in binders if needed.

 

Since I bought mine, I have only seen them in a wider style - 2 columns of 5 drawers side by side instead of one tall column of 10 drawers.

 

I really like it. The kids easily keep their books and papers together. I have this organizational cart right next to their desks. There is also a spot on top that fits our pencil sharpener or other stuff that needs to be handy.

[Amy in TX]

with three drawers each and wheels. I got them from Target. In our old house, with less space, they migrated around the house and could be pushed out of sight when necessary. In our current house, with a dedicated schoolroom, they stay in a row along the wall.

 

Each child has a cart. All their textbooks, binders, and spirals (all their work) is kept in their cart. When they finish something, if it's something I need to go over, they leave it on top of the cart. If I don't need to see it, it goes back in the cart when finished.

 

At night, I take whatever is on top of each cart and read/check/correct/comment on it. If there is nothing they need to redo or fix, it goes back in the cart. If they need to correct something, I leave it on top of the cart.

 

In the morning, if something is still on top of the cart, they know they need to attend to it before doing the new work for the day.

 

I also use teacher's lesson plan books, one for each child. I write out each child's schedule for the week in these on Sunday night. They use it to keep track of what they need to do each day, checking things off as completed. These stay in the kitchen where I can see them at all times.

 

HTH!

Amy

[Reya]

A backpack. DS likes to move around the house--reading in front of the woodstove, math in the kitchen, etc. (Oh, don't we sound Abe Lincoln???) It's compact and portable. You can do one for each kid.

[usetoschool]

Each has a basket that holds the books they use daily. Also in the basket is a clipboard with a compartment for pencils, crayons, rulers, glue etc. I have a desk apprentice with all of my books and supplies and a folder for each day of the week. I have a master list of individual and combined schoolwork in the order we do it and each kid gets a list of their work, just by title of curriculum or topic, not a specific explanation, mine has specifics penciled in. Their lists change sometimes but for the most part they stay the same and I print out a pile of them at once. They get their baskets out, we all sit around our dining room table and work together. I pass out the lists and pull out my folder with that days copies and we are off. They love crossing things off the list and they seem to like the routine of it and being able to work a little bit independantly. I have them doing things in a particular order so they don't all need me at once but they know what requires help and what doesn't and within that can pick what they want to do next to some degree. The only time I am up and down is if we need a large manipulative or game of somekind and everyone has all their things in one place, nothing ever lost. The kids range in age from 7 to 11. When they were younger the stuff was in their basket in order and I was the only one with a list and we worked together more.

[Laura Corin]

All the English and maths book live in a Desk Apprentice on the main table. In addition, there is a basket on shelves for each subject.

 

Laura

[kalanamak]

All the English and maths book live in a Desk Apprentice on the main table. In addition, there is a basket on shelves for each subject.

 

Laura

DA used here. I also have a "school desk" with his pencils etc., an art supply shelf with tote trays, a small bookshelf and a rubbermaid bucket full of math manipulatives.

[Pink Fairy]

We have an awesome desk system that we bought at IKEA, and each kid gets a cupboard and two drawers (f you click on my name, I have a picture album with pics and info). Inside the cupboard part is where we keep their books and folders, pencils and other supplies go in the drawers.

[joannqn]

I use a combination of a plastic file box and notebooks that keep everything organized and in one place. This is my first year using it and it works wonderfully so I'll be continuing with this method.

 

First, I have a large, plastic file box that's 18 inches deep. In the file box, I have hanging file folders for each month of the year. I put August in the front since that is the beginning of our school year. In each month, I put a file folder for each week of that month. In the folders, I put their work for that week. I pull apart all their consumables so I can divide it up. While I haven't done this, you could easily add in an assignment sheet for non-consumables as well. Each child has a different color of folders; the file box holds the work for two children. In the back of the box, I place their non-consumable texts.

 

Then each child has a three ring binder; each child with a different color so it's easy to tell whose binder it is. I keep the binder colors and folder colors similar so I don't have to think. Each binder has plastic pocket dividers, one for each subject. Each divider has a pocket on each side. One side can be the "to do" side and the other side can be the "done" side. I didn't do it this way this year (I did 2 subjects per divider) but will next year.

 

On the weekend, I pull the folders for the upcoming week and place each paper in the proper pocket divider. Spelling sheets go in the spelling divider, math in the math divider, and so on. If I did assignment sheets for the non-consumable subjects, I'd have a separate sheet for each subject so that it could go in that subjects divider with any other pages (ie. worksheets, notebooking pages) to with it. My kids know how much is expected each day in each subject in order to get it done by the end of the week. They can work ahead if they want.

 

On Friday evening/Saturday morning, I remove their finished work from their dividers for grading. Anything not finished must be done Saturday or Sunday (depending on our schedule) all in one sitting without breaks. It keeps them on task during the week because they don't want to spend their Saturday doing school.

[TengoFive]

I actually just posted a pic and description on my blog of what we do. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Victoria/669070/

[Peela]

The kids havea decent sized desk each with enough shelving to put their books. I frequently go through their shelves and cull anything they are not using presently, to keep them as uncluttered as possible.

Our "together" books and work- poetry, read alouds, history- go in drawers under a coffe table near teh sofas where we do our together work.

It doesnt stop things getting lost, but I try and keep things really simple so there is less to lose. I have a folder for all their writing assignments whoch I print out when they have done them. I try and minimise loose papers though, and if there are any I tend to use the stapler freely to try and keep them together and not jsut floating around.