Organization is essential for making homeschooling run smoothly, saving you time in your day, and helping everyone feel more focused. But where do you start? Here are five tips for upping your organizational game:
1. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
What’s your go-to organization tool? Items such as clear plastic storage boxes, magazine dividers, wire or wicker baskets, hanging mail sorters, plastic storage carts, and over-the-door shoe hangers work just as well for organizing books and school supplies as they do for organizing your closets.
2. Give everything a designated place.
Establish a place for each child’s books. Do the same thing for your parent materials and all of the materials your children share. Pick a bookshelf, drawer, or part of a closet for those items to live in their specified containers.
3. Label it all.
After you’ve designated a space for everything, begin labeling! You can do this for each child’s books, papers, and school supplies so that putting everything in its place becomes automatic. Label a folder for each child, and/or use a three-ring binder to keep up with work throughout the year.
4. Color code.
Splashes of color add some liveliness to your space, and it’s easier to differentiate between subjects and children’s work. Even filing cabinets can be color-coded with chalkboard paint and then labeled.
5. Think outside the box.
If you have a very small space or travel often, try putting materials into a rolling suitcase! Use binder rings to hold laminated flashcards together. Turn a cleaning-supplies caddy into a school-supplies caddy. Or try organizing files using a wire dish rack.
Remember, your homeschool space is what you make of it. Your dining room table can function just as well as a gorgeous, dedicated homeschool room as it can for meal times. Find the tools that help you stay organized, or create your own! Just like in homeschooling itself, your organization is all about what works for you.
gala:
June 6, 2020I am going try home school for the first time,so any ideas for eight and ten years old children
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Ewelina:
June 11, 2020Hi, I am going to try home school for the first time, so any idea for 6 and 8 years old kids?
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Abeka Admin:
June 18, 2020Hi there! Are you looking for advise on homeschool space or on choosing a homeschool program?
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Eiliana:
June 21, 2020I am homeschooling for the first time, small condo, no extra room for “classroom”. We have to use the living room and rearrange the furniture before we start and after we finish. Any suggestions on how to use small spaces without having to rearrange the living room everyday?
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Bethany:
December 19, 2020Hey! Late to the party, but what about using a storage ottoman or coffee table to double as storage space for your school items? Then when you are done, they'll be out of sight, but still have a place!
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patricia wilburn:
July 30, 2020Thank you very much for sharing
this site with me. I will be involved with virtual/home schooling for the first time this year due to the pandemic. I have a kindergartener and 4th grade. It will be challenging but i am looking forward to it.
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