Homeschool Organization

Back when my oldest was starting to do preschool activities, I bought some 16 qt sterilite bins to hold art supplies, school supplies, and actual school books (at that point, BOB books).  Over the years, that system has worked really well to contain school mess.  At this point, each of my kids has their own bin (so this year, there’s an 8th grade, 6th grade, 4th grade, and 2nd grade bin) that has all of their grade-specific books, their personal school supplies, and their lesson planner. 

When it’s time to start school, we pull out our school bins, and no one has the excuse that they can’t find their math book.  As they complete a subject and I have checked their work, they put the relevant books/folders/notebooks back in the bin. When we finish schoolwork for the day, we put everything else back in our bins, with the planner on top, so clean-up is fast and easy.  It’s a very clear delineation of when school starts and stops.

I also have a bin of general art supplies, a bin of nicer-quality painting supplies that we only get out when the toddler is napping, a couple bins of general school supplies like flashcards for the in-between math years that we’re not using, a bin of math manipulatives (cuisinaire rods, linking cubes, beads for patterns, etc), and a bin of busy-bags for my 3 year old (accumulated at a busy bag exchange party with a bunch of other moms of toddlers several years ago and used for all my preschoolers ever since).