These quart-size mason jars are just decorative enough for me in addition to being transparent, inexpensive, available in a variety of sizes and ... dangerous. Nothing motivates you to put things away like the potential for broken glass. Right now they hold staples, dry erase markers and eraser, chalk, colored pencils, community crayons, and more.Colored electrical tape--available in a multipack at Staples or singly at Home Depot-- has been a life saver for keeping straight which readers are for which grade level. It also makes it immediately obvious which books are out of place.
The book-tape colors match the syllabi from Mother of Divine Grace , and I've had the homemade lesson plans bound to match too. This year I created a document full of information that the kids needed to memorize but is usually found buried in the syllabus--heights of rivers, state postal abbreviations, Latin prayers, history dates, etc--and added that to the front of their daily lesson plan book. If you look at it closely, you can see my other favorite 3M product, durable colored dividers which work like Post-its. We use these or the more flimsy flags for bookmarks in almost everything.
Here is a view of our bookshelves. Aren't they lovely? They are holding about a third of what they used to (and the basement is a nightmare because of it), and each square has a designation: mine, 5th grade, reference books, Vision readers, board books, etc. Up on top are the glass jars and flash cards in recipe boxes. Each child keeps a pencil and a personally owned crayon set in a color specific pencil box from Staples in their square, and I have one too!
These colored magazine holders keep us from destroying or losing the thin, soft-covered syllabi or other flimsier books, like music. These sturdy ones came from the Container Store. And if you avoid grading, like I am now, could this Peterboro Basket be the spot to keep your work for you? It is for me!
5 comments:
Oh man love it!! I'm getting so many ideas for our basement (which honey please be done way before Christmas)... he's killing himself so I'm being a whiner. Slap.
Love the cube for each kid. We've had canvas baskets. But... the books get bent and it's not easy to see them. LOVE the color coding. Hmmm...
You are SO brave. I collected Mason Jars all summer to do a similar thing... and couldn't do it. We have one big metal pail holding all our colored penciles. Not nearly the effect. But I decided broken glass would PUSH me way over the edge... and maybe make me bleed.
And I have two large gift cards to IKEA that I'm totally saving for the basement and organizers!!! I'll be back to stare some more, but we're cleaning and then starting school. Ahem at 9:23. While I'm reading your post.
Surely a post on school organization is very educational? ;)
Have you thought of getting a bunch of little pails from the Target one spot and hanging them on pegs? I saw that on Martha Stewart once.
The basement! What will it be like?
Oh, and no IKEA or Container Store here. Can you believe it?
thanks for the idea on the magazine holders.
and I can't imagine homeschooling without post-it bookmarks.
Ooo pails on pegs! Interesting! DC spoils you. Every store under the sun -- but not so for the sunflower state, I guess. Ahh the basement is all potential. Lots of potential. So we haven't got our hearts set on exactly how to use it... but I want a school room somewhere.
By the way, the boys were wondering if you are coming to nature study this morning. (Bobby chiefly)... John Paul told him how long it would take you to drive there. But it's raining. Not sure if nature study is going to happen.
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