Homeschool organization

I am constantly reorganizing our homeschooling stuff. (And by "homeschooling stuff," I mean books, toys, games, curriculum, etc.)

My hubby's always saying, "You're moving stuff around AGAIN?"

"YES!" I answer. There's no one perfect way to organize when your needs keep changing; it takes regular effort!

Part of our spring cleaning in April was to sift through the things in the boys' bedroom. Because the three boys share a room, I've tried to simplify what we keep in there.

They each have a drawer or two for miscellaneous treasured objects. The fish tank and hamster cage sit on the dresser. One small bookcase holds chapter books and science books they like to read to themselves.

Legos, Nerf guns, Hot Wheels tracks, and stuffed animals are the only toys in the bedroom -- just their favorites.  I prefer to keep Legos separate from most of the other toys -- they're easier to clean up that way! They also have the biggest floor space in their bedroom.

We reorganized their books, and gave away a few, so the rest fit better on the shelves. I moved the puzzles and games that were being ignored into the cabinet in the playroom. Eldest spent several hours sorting the Legos from one giant tub into smaller ones, and now they fit on the shelves where the floor puzzles used to be.

I've tried to arrange things around the house according to how and where we like to use them. Right now I've got most of our books in the living room, plus some puzzles and games. I moved the game table and four chairs by the front window. The boys have loved that spot for playing chess, cards and Dinopoly, and there's room on the floor for puzzles. Library books are in their own basket in a corner.

The rest of the games are in the cabinet in the schoolroom, arranged by age level from bottom to top, so Littlest can easily reach things he might like. His toys are all at that far end of the play/schoolroom around his rug, which has been working AWESOMELY since I moved everything!  He goes in there to play by himself when no one's available to join him, and he's spent a lot less time on computer games.

Most of my education books, curriculum we're not currently using, and future history literature, are in my little office (currently a giant mess) off our bedroom. The older boys have their Math/Latin/History binders on their desks in the play/schoolroom, which they can easily bring to the dining table if we want.

Science kits, Bible and history books (except ones we're not using yet) are on the dining room shelves, because we usually read Bible and history while snacking. Unfortunately, I'm going to lose those shelves in the remodel, so my next project is to find a new place for them!

What I plan to do is see what I can pull out of the dining room closet, and put the science stuff that's on the dining room shelves into that closet, but make it accessible somehow.  I also want to get a book basket for each boy that can be kept in the closet and brought out for school on the dining room table.


Fyi, while I like to organize, I am not the best at daily housekeeping. Things usually get pretty messy around here during the week, and then we have a big tidying-up on Saturdays. But since everything has a place, it doesn't take very long, and the boys can all help!

I really like the Thomas Jefferson Education idea of The Closet as a means of inspiring learning. I just happen to spread our Closet all over the house!

How do you organize for homeschooling and indoor play?