Homeschool Organization

People assume with seven kids I'm organized.  It is generally true but it is more that we have systems that work although they are always being tweaked and updated.  Last year we used a file cabinet for our school materials but it is way too easy to fill a drawer with bits and things that don't belong there.  So this year we tried something new.  It's a work in progress based on the needs of the year, the number of students and what materials we need to be able to access quickly.  Here is how this year looks...

This cabinet is in our dining room and holds all of our home school supplies fairly well.  We use the top and bottom shelf mainly although there is a hole punch hiding behind that picture of my Grandfather.

On the top shelf we have little plastic containers that I bought at dollar tree.  The lids are attached (win!) and they stack well.  These hold all our pencils, art supplies, flash cards, manipulatives, glue, tape...all the little things we need frequently.  Next to that is the art tool box that we get out when we are just drawing for fun and don't need the "nice" colored pencils, crayons, etc...which really means this is the container we allow the younger crowd to use.


The bottom shelf holds the bulk of the materials.

On the left are two 3in binders with the girls' names on them.  This holds all their worksheets for the year that they are not currently working on.  I send our materials to a local printer who gives me an excellent price.  When I get them back I just pop everything into a binder to keep it organized and ready to go.  There is a section for math, science, English and history in them.  So for example, I'll put the current math chapter they are working on in their daily binders (more on that later) and the rest of the workbook stays in the big binder.

Next to the white binders are our magazine organizer boxes, also a dollar tree purchase.  They hold our group curriculums - history, science, art (including the special watercolor and drawing paper), and then we also have two that have lined paper and construction paper.

The next four binders are portfolios.  I am required to have a certified teacher sign off on my kids' portfolios at the end of every year.  These have a section for each subject and when I change out their weekly checklists, I file those and any "keep" papers in here.  Having them easily accessible helps me to stay current with them and keeps them organized!

The next binder is mine.  It keeps my planning sheet (yep, one sheet...for all the kids), my checklist of how many of the boys' lessons I've prepped and the girls' Bible sheets for church.  It also has a pencil holder so people stop stealing my purple pen!  :)

The next two binders are the boys daily binders.  They do about three worksheets for each Math Seeds or Reading Eggs lesson that they complete.  There are usually 3-4 lessons for each in here at any given time.  When they are completed, they move to their portfolio binders and the fresh worksheets go in.

The last two binders are the girls' daily binders.  It has a pencil pouch, a weekly checklist and then under each tab is the next set of lessons or worksheets they need.  Again, this way papers stay neat and organized and they don't have multiple binders or folders to work from.  (We tend to lose things if it gets too complicated).

Last we have Abi's Bible for our God Time.  The yellow container has some twistable crayons and colored pencils just for easy access.  It also has the flash cards that Abi is currently using.  Then against the wall there is a clip board so if someone needs a hard surface we have one and two dry erase boards (Dollar tree boards are not very good usually, just as a tip).

And that folks, is our homeschool organization.  I may post more about their daily binders and portfolios in the future! :)