Having the right homeschool materials available is only half the battle. Having easy access to them when required is the other half. In order for your homeschool students to be easily able to find the materials that they need, you need to organize them in a manner that makes storage and retrieval simple. These are a few suggestions that could make your life a bit easier.
Storage Boxes
For each subject you should have a separate box. These boxes should be stackable so that every subject may be accessible as you wish. The boxes may be labeled by child and subject so that each child can easily find their stuff when required. An additional box may be used for common reference books which may be needed for more than a single subject. The boxes can all be stacked up at the end of the day, leaving your homeschooling work area free for other activities.
Color Coded Files
Within each box you can use different colored files to store the lose pieces of paper that you are using. These could include worksheets, bits of paper that were used during the class, and any reference material that you may have printed out for a specific topic. Use a red file for the pages that you have already worked on, a yellow file for pages that are currently in use, and a green file for those that are yet to be introduced to your homeschool students. Naturally you can use any color you wish, this is simply a suggestion.
Plastic Zipper Pouches
See through plastic zipper pouches are a great way to store manipulatives, jigsaw puzzle pieces and tumbling blocks. You can also use them to store art supplies such as crayons, poster paints or pencil colors. Games, puzzles and toys can also be used as educational aids and should be easily available to you in the homeschool classroom. With a little organization you will be able to teach your children how to follow the system that you have laid out for each subject. This will help in the long run as well, since you will not have to waste time each day when you switch from one subject to the next.
