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Part 2 - Organization for a certified pack rat!
My
organizational mantra has become, “Everything is not worth keeping.”
This is just one phrase that runs through my
mind whenever I am faced with organizing our belongings.
There are also other phrases like, “I may need
this someday,” “I could definitely make a craft from these”, “Maybe I should save
this for…”
These are not necessarily bad
thoughts, but they tend to lead to unnecessary hoarding!
I find that if I don’t keep my curriculum and
supplies organized I tend to accumulate more than I need just because I don’t
know what I have.
After staying in one
apartment for five months I gathered all of the bits and pieces together and
decided to get organized.
In one file
box I have a set of hanging file folders labeled from A to Z so that I can
quickly find the necessary materials needed for each week from the “Letter of
the Week” curriculum.
I also have a set
of weekly file folders labeled from 1 to 40 for the pages from our
A Beka
Book 3 year old Nursery curriculum.
Carrying the books around became burdensome as I had them stored in one
place and was continually pulling them out of storage to tear out pages.
After one such moment of frustration I tore
out the remaining pages and collated them (like any good teacher does…before
school begins) and organized them into their respective folders.
Now when I need the materials they are ready
at a moment’s notice.
The other file box
that I have is used to store some extra workbooks and smaller Tupperware
containers of manipulatives.
The file
boxes are great for keeping our curriculum organized, but since they are
perfectly boxed shaped; my husband loves to use them for filling in gaps when
packing the car.
This produces a dilemma
on long trips because we don’t always unpack everything during our stops and I
definitely do not want to repack the car just to get to one worksheet!
My solution thus far has been 3-ringed
binders with page protectors and folders.
I plan out how much work we need, then load up the binders and slip them
into our “school only” backpack.
The
backpack contains binders for the boys, a supply box with the basics, a pencil
bag with dry erase markers and an eraser, and several small dollar store
workbooks to keep little hands busy during non-school times, like during church
services when no nursery is provided.
Two smaller
containers (about half the size of the file boxes) contain my teacher supplies.
One is filled with flashcards and
manipulatives like magnets, and laminated visuals. The other container is filled with arts and
craft supplies for our various projects.
These four containers have helped me stay organized as we travel. They have also helped me control my desire to
accumulate little things along the way, because if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t
fit! Therefore "Everything is not worth keeping! And what you do keep must meet your needs."
Next up...
Part 3 - What to Do with Two Under Four
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