Organizing
There are so many ideas out there as to how people organize their home-school material. I've tried different ways to do things and still may not have it just right. Every year I tweak things over and over throughout the year. Some have been brilliant for us and I've kept it that way, while others only lasted a day, if that long.
There are so many ideas out there as to how people organize their home-school material. I've tried different ways to do things and still may not have it just right. Every year I tweak things over and over throughout the year. Some have been brilliant for us and I've kept it that way, while others only lasted a day, if that long.
I was fortunate enough at one time to have a separate classroom. I no longer have that and it's a lot more challenging to have class. We have to use our dining table and I don't like our school items out in the open while school isn't in session. It feels too cluttered for me that way. So, I had to have closed storage where the material was still readily available.
Years ago, Clayton built me a computer armoire. It was a perfect set up for a little home office. My bills had never been so organized. It eventually became a place to put our television before the HDTVs came out. After we bought our first HDTV, I moved the armoire and was determined to get back my mini home office. It never became more than a place to hide the computer and lots of overflowing piles of paper. When we moved into this house a year and a half ago, I didn't do anything with it. It didn't match any of my furniture, so it hid in my craft room until a month or so ago. I refinished it to match my furniture, so now it is being put to use again...for the good.
The bin in the middle at the bottom is a treasure chest that needs to be updated. More on that later.
It's in the dining room, easily accessible to the dining table. I love that it holds our overhead projector perfectly so it's out of the way when not in use.
We started going to the library at the beginning of this school year to have class. I wanted us to have a sense of having to actually have a place to be at a certain time, not just at the dining table. I also wanted a different atmosphere than being at home all the time for school. Of course, we wouldn't always be home, but the library was just a nice quiet, different place to do our studies. We haven't been in a very long time and we can tell. We all find it more thrilling to save home for days when we just have to be here for one reason or another.
Going to "school" at the library requires a little more effort, but not much. I keep this box in my car at all times, so when we need something from it, it's there. I don't bring it in to the library because with all the other books and supplies, well, it's just too much to have to carry around. When we are at home, I simply take out what I need and replace it as soon as possible. This box holds quiz and test books along with the quiz and test keys. Books we don't use on a daily basis, in other words.
Years ago, Clayton built me a computer armoire. It was a perfect set up for a little home office. My bills had never been so organized. It eventually became a place to put our television before the HDTVs came out. After we bought our first HDTV, I moved the armoire and was determined to get back my mini home office. It never became more than a place to hide the computer and lots of overflowing piles of paper. When we moved into this house a year and a half ago, I didn't do anything with it. It didn't match any of my furniture, so it hid in my craft room until a month or so ago. I refinished it to match my furniture, so now it is being put to use again...for the good.
It's in the dining room, easily accessible to the dining table. I love that it holds our overhead projector perfectly so it's out of the way when not in use.
We started going to the library at the beginning of this school year to have class. I wanted us to have a sense of having to actually have a place to be at a certain time, not just at the dining table. I also wanted a different atmosphere than being at home all the time for school. Of course, we wouldn't always be home, but the library was just a nice quiet, different place to do our studies. We haven't been in a very long time and we can tell. We all find it more thrilling to save home for days when we just have to be here for one reason or another.
Going to "school" at the library requires a little more effort, but not much. I keep this box in my car at all times, so when we need something from it, it's there. I don't bring it in to the library because with all the other books and supplies, well, it's just too much to have to carry around. When we are at home, I simply take out what I need and replace it as soon as possible. This box holds quiz and test books along with the quiz and test keys. Books we don't use on a daily basis, in other words.
This is one of my very favorite ways I've organized something. We use Abeka for the most part. With Abeka, the lesson plans are separated with each subject. I love the lesson plans, but with all the books that home-school requires to begin with, having those separate books was just a hassle for me. I finally figured out how to solve that problem last year. I took the spiral binding out of each of those books, punched 3 holes in the sides of the ones that weren't already like that, and bound them in one big binder. It is a wonderful solution!
I used the covers of the lesson plan books as covers and used the pocket tabs to divide each subject. I put in one week's worth of work in the designated pocket each week. It's so simple to have the work right there in front of me as I review what needs to be accomplished that week. As I go over the lesson, I simply hand out whatever work is to be done right at that moment as I'm discussing it. Sadly, this only works for Emily, as Allison's and Morgan's are different. Some are in the teacher's text while others are separate like Emily's are. Bummer.
The girls each have a backpack where they store their textbooks, notebooks and other supplies. They simply bring them into the dining room when it's time for school or bring them with us when we head out to the library. I, too, have a backpack. I use it to carry my teacher's texts and anything else that is needed for the day. It's quite simple for us this way.
Next up:
Schedule
Hi! Thanks for following my blog... you are so organized and you are inspiring me! I also saw your post with your schedule and will be interested to see how much you stick to it - I make schedules like this and (I don't know if it's just me) have a hard time sticking to them. Maybe it's because my kids are younger than yours! I'm following your blog now!
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