It’s the last day of the Organizing Your Life posts hosted by The Joyful Keeper! Today’s topic is Organizing Your Homeschool. I’ve written a lot on this topic, but there are a couple of organizing tips I haven’t mentioned much that I think could really benefit your homeschool. They consist of Backpacks & Tubs.
{Disclosure: I was given this backpack by Staples.com. I chose this particular one because I LOVE the colors and my husband and eldest son have met Skip Yowell, the co-owner of JanSport.}
I like backpacks. A lot. I even use a backpack as a diaper bag. The kids take backpacks as “fun bags” on long trips. And my son uses a backpack for his snacks and extra clothes when he goes to work. But, here’s another way to use backpacks – as an organizational tool in your homeschool!
Once upon a time, I had a designated homeschool table. However, I didn’t have any place for supplies, paper, and workbooks. That’s when backpacks became my friend! Each child had his or her supplies and books in a backpack on the back of their designated chair. It kept things neat and tidy and every child was responsible for their own books and supplies.
Lately, we’ve been using this particular backpack to hold the girls’ piano books. But, truth be told, if I get my hands on it, I’ll turn it into a new diaper bag! 😉
Probably my most favorite way to organize our homeschool is plastic tubs! I have 4 large tubs in the living room. I had an extra end table I was able to use to store these tubs. The top left is my Personal Tub. This one includes my Blogging Notebook, my Recipe Binder, as well as extra paper and folders. The top right tub is History and elementary-aged Science. My Tapestry of Grace binder is in there, any books we are currently reading from are in there, and the kids’ notebooking notebooks are there too. The third tub in the photo on the lower shelf of the end table is our Five in a Row tub. I keep the books, project folders, and notebooking notebooks in there. Just peeking out from underneath the end table is a flat tub full of school supplies. The 4th tub is behind my chair and contains all of our Bible and Missions supplies.
Backpacks and tubs are compact, easy to tote from room to room, and keeps things nicely contained. They really are a lifesaver for the organizationally-challenged homeschool mom!
Want to read more about how we have organized our homeschool over the years? Here are a few of my favorite posts:
Organizing the Large Family Homeschool
Homeschool Assignment Binders
Modified Workbox System for the Large Family
And don’t miss other homeschooling mama’s posts on this topic! Visit The Joyful Keeper for more links!
Kelsey says
Right now I’m only using half a bookshelf for my son’s preschool supplies, but I can see how having more children and more school supplies can quickly get overwhelming. I’ll be pinning this for future use. Thanks, Amy!
Caroline Cordle says
Amy, thank you so much for joining in with the blog hop this week. I have really enjoyed reading what you had to share. I love your ideas today, and they would be great for anyone who has space issues. I didn’t realise you did TOG!? 🙂
Amy says
Do you to TOG too? (and it was my pleasure, Caroline! It was a crazy-busy week here, but I will get to the other links to read!)
Jillian says
I forgot about using bookbags! I had started out that why, and I can’t remember why I stopped, but it is very convenient. 🙂 Pinning this as well! 🙂
Vickie says
Love this post! My husband has gotten us several nice backpacks from Goodwill. Now I know a good way to use them!
Jane says
I love using backpacks.
Love this! I have tried using various things for our kids school books and supplies….from bins, to boxes, to cubbies, to a whole dresser drawer for each. What I’ve found is that they were stuffing them full of various items throughout their days. So because of that and because of a small school room, last year I asked my husband to hang five extra heavy hooks from a plain board affixed to the wall, and each one has their own backpack. Now, they have a reasonable amount of space for their school stuff, can’t shove them full (because they must close!). And even better, we can take school with us if we want to go to grandmas, or someplace else to do school.
Katheryn F says
I love this idea and will definitely see how it will fit into our schedule because as we are going I am always willing to make tweaks to make it work smoother. Thank you for sharing.
Renee says
Great post! I still haven’t quite managed to begin our school year yet, but I am aiming for Monday!