Keeping things organized while homeschooling?

[justmeandmybrood]

Is this possible?  This is our first year homeschooling (3rd, 1st, and a crawling 12-mo old) and I am forever feeling like my main floor (LR, DR, kitch, front door area) is crazy!  The DR is our school room and I have a buffet-height large cabinet in there where I keep school supplies, which seem to be spilling out (thank goodness there are glass doors to keep it all in there).  I do clear the table of each subject as we complete them, but always have materials out for the next project I am trying to plan, or books we are going to use from the library, etc.  We just have so many materials, which I try to organize according to the shelf (1 shelf has reference books, 1 has art supplies, 1 has math manipulatives and supplies, etc.).

In addition to the crazed DR, our living area is filled with "stuff," which is typically tidy, except of course infant/toddler toys everywhere, which I have to house there since we spend so much time schooling and he needs to be with me, of course.  

Anyone have any experience or words of wisdom?  I feel like all I do is move piles at this point, and the inside of our school cabinet is a mess!

[mamaupupup]

I'm wondering the same thing!!!  I have stacks of learning themes in the garage...  Here are a few things I seem to do decently:

- Keep library books together in one canvas bag after kids read them.  They're welcome to take them out--but they can't put them in the bookshelf!!!

- Downloaded most of the books on tape and music to my laptop, recycled jewel cases, keep CDs handy for kids in CD case (it's ok if they scratch them since I can re-burn the cd from my laptop)

- Cycle toys/manipulatives, etc. between the "Kidzone" and our laundry room shelves.

There is a lot I can improve on!!!

[justmeandmybrood]

Yay!  Someone else in the same boat!  We have our buffet-style cabinet with doors (wide and about as high as chest-level, if that) - I tried to make each shelf a different subject, yet things still keep migrating, or a door is kept unlatched so baby gets into it and there go the unifix cubes for math, or the place value counters all over the floor, lol!  I need to keep it all in there so I can latch it all in away from the baby, but I need a little more space, egads!  

I do the same as you basically with the books - we keep them in the library bag under our easel in the DR to have them handy and easy to find to turn back in.  

I guess I need to get a little time alone to try and see how do organize it better...or maybe just wait until the baby is older, tee hee!

[mamaupupup]

I'm not sure how to cross-post, but this sure would be a good one to cross post in the homeschooling thread!

[justmeandmybrood]

Thanks for the suggestion  :)