Today, I started working on the storage totes of homeschool supplies. What a task this will be! A few years ago, I had purchased a heavy wire shelving unit to hold the 18 gallon totes as well as other homeschool materials. This afternoon, I finally got a chance to start making space for the new curriculum. My organizational method for homeschool supplies is pretty basic. Here is a quick description of how I store everything.
On the bottom of the 3 shelves, I store the following:
Art Tote – this is a 10 gallon tote that holds any art/craft supplies that are not used on a regular basis. This includes things like air-dry clay, chenille stems, beads, ribbon, feathers, construction paper, and much more.
File Folder Games tote – a large Sterilite “show-offs” file tote in which I place any file folders games that I have put together for Pookie. I categorize them by subject to make them easier to find when needed.
The middle shelf contains:
Pookie’s Curriculum – For curriculum, I use a large plastic tote typically used for hanging file storage. It is about the same size as an 18-gallon tote. In this, I store lapbooks and unit studies that are printed and ready to use, extra practice workbooks, and a file for the activities in the Letter of the Week curriculum he will be using.
Little Miss’ Curriculum – Her materials are also kept in the same type of tote as Pookie’s curriculum. For her, the tote holds not only the workbooks, but unit studies and teacher’s manuals.
The top shelf of the unit has smaller, flat locking totes to store general office supplies. I have these sorted by category. For example, one contains items that are only used occasionally such as brads, binding rings, and circle punches. I also have a comb binding machine that is stored on the shelf as it is used at least once every couple of weeks. A small 3-drawer container holds extra pens, pencils, and such that I use on a daily basis.
I have plans to add a couple of shelving units to the homeschool area as soon as we are able to. One will be a 9-cubby unit to be used as Pookie’s workboxes. I love the idea of how Montessori uses the cubbies with trays or baskets holding the individual activities. This may make it easier on Pookie to transition from one to the next. For him, if something is out of his sight, then he doesn’t look for it. So, having his activities in the drawers/workboxes didn’t work too well overall. This method should, in theory, work far better with him.
The second shelving unit will be one of those tall narrow ones that looks like a series of cubbies stacked into a column. This will make a great place to store notebooking binders and readers that Little Miss will need regularly. Pookie will have a shelf for storing a few extra supplies as well. For him, there will be favorite books that he enjoys looking through or puzzles. Additional shelves will be used for storing their pattern blocks, cuisenaire rods, and other manipulatives that are used throughout the term.
The 10-drawer unit that was set up this past term for Pookie’s workboxes will be turned into a supply cart for the most often used school and art supplies. This will make it far more convenient for Little Miss as well. As any homeschooling family can tell you, it takes time to find what works best for your family. Whether it be curriculum, teaching methods, or organization techniques, it all is a process of evolving. What works for a while, may need to be tweaked as the kids get older or circumstances change. It is a fun journey of discovery on all levels.
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