Me, Organized?

Welcome back to a second day of the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop!  If you are new to Family, Faith and Fridays, we are thrilled to have you!  We talked about Homeschooling Myths Debunked yesterday. If you have not yet entered the BIG GIVEAWAY with over $1300 in prizes, what are you waiting for?
 Onward we go!
You have ordered the books, bought the supplies, more than you need of course, and even dreamed of what the first day of school will look like.

But organized.  Well, maybe not so much.

THIS is something I can help you with.  I love organized.  I dream organized.  So here we go!

1- Streamline.  This means don't buy every supply in Target and Walmart just because it is there and on sale.  And oh so cute.  I know, I know, it is so hard to resist those office supplies.  I get it.  But we DO NOT need them all.  More stuff equals more clutter. Buy what you anticipate you will use and then move away from that school supply aisle.

2- Find a place for everything.  We cannot expect our children to put things away at the end of the day if they have no idea where things go.  Sounds so simple, but I have seen this be a problem.  "Why did you leave it there?" "I don't know...where does it go?"  Walk your child through your school space and show them where things should go at the end of the day.

3- Color code.  (I told you I love to organize!)  Seriously though, if you have several kids, assign them each a color and stick with it.  Green notebooks and folders and pencils, you name it.  It will help you find their assignments quicker and it will help keep the possession arguments to a minimum.  Plus, it is fun and pretty! ;)

4- Keep teacher's guides in one place.  Away from the kids' stuff.  Make your life easy- keep all the things you need in one place, a basket maybe, and tell the kids it is a hands-off zone.

5- Make a schedule and stick with it.  Yes, we need to be flexible, but we also need a plan.  Even if it is as simple as school after breakfast, then lunch, then school until quiet time, find what works for you and go for it.  Kids thrive on schedules, I promise.  In the past I have had an hour by hour plan, but it just did not work for us.  Instead, we now know a general flow of our day and we move through that plan.  Yes, some days flow better than others, but for the most part we know what to expect.

6.  Make your space work for you, whether it is a beautifully decorated school room, your child's desk or your dining room.  We have had all three in the past.  With our recent move to a smaller rental house, we have a combination of several.  This is my "school central" picture.  Daily supplies are behind the door, the 2nd grader's books are on the top shelf and the 7th grader's books are on the bottom.  Because it is one of the first things you see when you walk in our home, I try hard to keep it neat and organized.  We work mostly at the kitchen table because of proximity, but sometimes the 12-year-old heads to his room and desk for a quieter space and we use our family computer in our basement.  Ideal?  Maybe not, but we are making it work for this season.  Next year and in a new location I guarantee you it will be a different set up!  The highschooler keeps all of her stuff in her own room.

Take a few days before you start hitting the books to get organized.  You will be glad you did!  See you back tomorrow to talk curriculum!

In the meantime, over 50 bloggers are in for the fun this week, but I want to point you to a few of my favorites!  Stop by and tell them I said hi- they are worth your time.

Marcy @ Ben and Me

Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures Jenn @ Treasuring Life's Blessings Dusty @ To the Moon and Back Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning Rebekah @ There Will Be a $5 Charge for Whining  Gena @ I Choose Joy! Blessings,