Tuesday Tips & Tricks

  Tuesday Tips

     My tip for this week is for school organization. Now, I'm down to only two kids and their approximate grades are 7th & 10th. So, it's not too big a challenge to keep their school stuff organized anymore. But back in the day, when all four were homeschooled (and prehomeschooled) I used a lot of different methods to keep things going as smoothly as it could in a household like ours. (with such a large range of -- stuff is the best word really-- things changed a lot around here)
     One of the best things I tried and was successful at for a few years was having each child have a "school box." I don't mean those little pencil cases, but a box that was 4x the size of those standard ones you can get for $1. Each school aged kid got one, I wrote their name on it with permanent marker, and then they got to decorate it with stickers (I've always been big on the kids "making it their own," Helps the pre (and not so good) readers know who's is who's, and it's just fun to decorate things - especially with stickers.  
     Next, we filled the boxes with all their supplies they needed for the year. Pencils, pens, crayons, rulers, ect. And extras of each as well. I kept them in shelf in our dining room/ school area (at that time ;), and when it was time to work, they just grabbed their boxes and sat down. When they needed to work on their own at different times/ places, they could again just grab the box. Everything they needed was right there. they also grabbed them when they just wanted to color or do crafts. 
     The toughest thing was to make sure they put everything back inside when done. But, even if they forgot something, it wasn't too hard to put it away later. The boxes were easy access. 
     The kids were 14, 12, 6 and 3 at the time. So, each box had something different in it. The high-schooler had a calculator, and the 6 year old had extra glue sticks. The 3 year old didn't have a big box, she had a whole different set up -- Ill talk about that later. We didn't keep work in them, just the supplies. 
     We used those boxes for about 2 &1/2 years. I stopped because we reorganized things (I do that a lot) and I just decided that there wasn't a good way to make them easy to access, so there wasn't much point to them anymore. So, I re-purposed them to hold extra crayons, markers ect for the craft classes I like to teach at our homeschool co-op. Then the kids don't have to worry about their personal stuff getting lost or broke. Still in use that way today. 
     Wish I had more time today, but since we were all so sick the last week and a half, I've got a ton to do. Hope this idea can help you organize your space. Got any suggestions? Comment away. 
blessings,
mamaAthena