3 Tips On How To Home School and Be Organized

It is more important than ever to be organized when homeschooling. With the children home 24/7 you do want to remain sane. Here are 3 tips for successful home school organization:

Papers:
Designate a cupboard or shelves in a closet for home school supplies. Give each child her/his own shelf. In the beginning it might be a good idea to label the edge with the child's name.
On another shelf contain the books and supplies you the mom/teacher will need for the school year. These can just be stored on the shelf or stored in baskets or bins and labeled. At the beginning of the school year take stock of what supplies and books you will need and purchase them all at one time to save time.

It is ideal to keep supplies where they will be used if you have the space. For instance: science project supplies can be kept in a plastic/portable container that can be kept in the kitchen or carried there when it is time to do science projects.

Keep writing utensils, pens, pencils and crayons in a bucket on the table. If you have a crayon eater give each child their own supplies instead and they can keep them in a pencil pouch.
Keep written assignments in a composition notebook.

Assignments such as handwriting, science, spelling, grammar, language studies can be done in these notebooks. Art can be done in a sketch book. For math provide them with a notebook with grid lines--it will be easier for them to do their math with the lines.

The advantage to doing assignments in bound books is that there are no loose papers flying around and getting lost. Everything is kept together and you know exactly where you are and what you just finished. Just for fun you can see the progression of handwriting skills too!

If you find you are eating up these notebooks way too fast you could use a 3 ring binder and have them put their papers in there.

Buy supplies in the fall when they are on sale, this saves a grundle of money.

Library books have a way of walking off by themselves and getting mixed up with school supplies. Keep them in a basket separate from the other school books.

Time Management:
On Sunday night (or the day of your choice) print off each child's assignments for the week. My friend Becky who has home schooled for over eight (8) years suggests assigning by the number of assignments that need to be done for the week, not giving daily assignments. The reason for this is--if an assignment is missed one day then it can foul up the rest of the week. But when assigned by amount it can even be scrunched up if necessary into fewer days.

IE: Math--assigning Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Instead of doing it this way: Math--1 2 3 4 5 assignments are due this week. You tick them off when completed.

The children get their calendar Monday morning and glue it in their composition notebook so they know exactly what they will be doing that week. This way they aren't waiting for mom to start. By having their calendar they know where they are at, if they have things that need to be caught up or if they have missed anything. This is always checked at the end of the school day by mom/teacher.

This also helps the child to be self directed when they get in the routine or when they get older.

Home/School Organization:
Designate an area for school. This can be as simple as a table set up in some room in the house. This helps them to focus and "separates" them from just being at home and feeling free to do what they want.

It also keeps everything {supplies and books} in one spot. There is no searching to find it. When school is over it is easy to pick up and put away.

Keeping the house organized keeps the mom/teacher from leaving the room during school to 'deal' with another area. Clutter can distract the mom/teacher, and that distracts the children.

Becky finds when she leaves the room there is a bit of whispering and chatter being done. You know how it is in public scho...when the teacher leaves the room for the first 30 seconds there is silence and then they start to whisper and chatter when there is no teacher present.

In the evening, doing a quick pick up throughout the home helps the next day to be distraction free. Don't do it alone, unless you really want to, teach your family to help.
"Being home with the kids all day long does bring in a more 'used' home. There are more dishes, more wear on the floors, spills, crumbs, and projects. Assigning chores to be completed before play time is helpful. Keep the chores brief and age appropriate. The chore could also be printed on their school list so they are aware of what needs to be done that day.

Make the children responsible for cleaning up their school area.
Homeschooling can be a joy, but it can also bring a cluttered home! The most important thing is being consistent. Know the conditions that you expect your home to be in and prepare for it. Allow the children to participate in helping you keep it up. It can sometimes become a little overwhelming, but that usually comes because of lack of organizing. When you aren't prepared, can't find what you need, and feel like there is a mess everywhere it distracts from homeschooling. Keeping on top of these things is key".--- Becky Jorgenson, Mother who home schools four children ages 7 through 14.

If something isn't working for you then try something different. Experiment with different solutions---be flexible. This will help you and your children have a happy and successful home schooling experience.