If you have ANY children homeschooling, (or five, like I do) you know that organization becomes a chore at best and a nightmare at worst. We are constantly trying new tools, and arrangements of the stuff and looking for tips to keep it all under control. Today, I'd like to share with you our
Best Tips & Favorite Tools For Organizing our Homeschool.
My Best Homeschool Organization Tips
1. Have a designated spot for each child's stuff.
This seems to help us keep the chaos to a minimum. Each child has a bin or drawer that is “their area” to keep their books, notebooks, pencils, etc. in, kind of like a school locker idea. And they are responsible to keep their area neat. If they get out a book, or a notebook, it goes back into their bin when they finish.
2. Use colors to plan.
Each of our kids has their own color. Butterfly's is green, Flower's is pink, Sir's is blue, Taz's is red, and Sunshine's is yellow. I use those colors in my planner when planing out their individual work, and if we have matching notebooks, they get a colored sticker to distinguish their owners. We even have plastic tableware and towels in their colors to cut down on washing. That may be a bit too OCD for you, but it works well for us.
3. Store photos of work.
If we do a project or they have a really great assignment, we display it for a while, and when we're done, I'll take a photo and add it to their school file for this year on the computer, as proof of their work. This cuts down on paper storage, but still preserves their work, the memory and something to show off to grandparents if needed. Those files are on my computer during the year, and then I can move them to an external harddrive or to Google docs files for permanent storage once the school year ends. I used to save all the papers for the year in a file, and then at the end of the year we would go through them together and decide which ones were the best show of their accomplishments and we'd spiral bind them all, along with attendance sheet, reading log, extra-activities list, etc. into a spiral bound book and file that away. It's another option if you don't like digital.
4. Keep a list of curriculum.
I have a spreadsheet list of curriculum I own, another for digital curriculum, and a third for what we're using this year. This makes it easy to sort and search by title, author, publisher, topic, grade level, etc. if I need to see what I have on hand for the following year, for a special reinforcement to a certain subject, or if a child shows interest in a certain topic or project.
This is also how I organize the digital curriculum I purchase at up to 96% off each year at the Build Your Bundle Homeschool Sale (May 16-23, 2016). If you'd like to use this idea, you can see my template here. Just copy/paste it into your own spreadsheet and start filling it in. You'll notice the 3 different tabs on the bottom for the three different sheets. If you prefer a paper copy, see this post for a printable sheet.
My Favorite Tools for Homeschool Organization
1. Color coded bins or drawers
I have several favorite tools to organize. The first is a set of drawers or bins, One or two for each child and preferably color coded to their color. You can get these on amazon.
2. Colored folders
Again using colors is helpful for organizing the work for today, or for the week. Assignments, worksheets, etc, can be held in folders (like the one pictured below) for your more independent kids to grab and go and return when they're done, keeping it all together. Additionally, you can use it to store work that you want to keep for their permanent homeschool record, like I mentioned in #3 above. Then, just clean it out monthly and add to the permanent file or take photos and file them.
3. Homeschool planner
When I sit down to write things out (and have a record to keep of what we've done) I like to use a planner and colored pens. This planner, of the several I've tried, is one of my all-time favorites. I love that I can fit our together subjects and then all of the kids individual work on the weekly spread. Click the image for details or to purchase on amazon.
This Giveaway has ended.
Congrats to Robyn K and Joy S for winning!
I want to bless our readers with a little fun. Several of you in the Facebook Group mentioned how much you'd enjoy a rolling cart with drawers, so here we go!
- First Prize: Seville Classics 10-Drawer Organizer Cart, Multi Color ($36 value)
- Second Prize: Smead Cascading Wall Organizer, 6 Pockets, Letter Size, Gray/Bright ($19 value)
- Dates: Giveaway is sponsored solely by ParadisePraises.com and is open through 5/23/16. Daily entries allowed.
- Terms: Must be 18 and have USA shipping address to win. Winner will be chosen via random.org, entries verified and winner notified on 5/24/16. Winner will have 24 hrs to claim the prize and provide shipping information or they will forfeit the prize and another winner will be chosen. Once the winners are selected, they will be posted to this page. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Seville, Smead, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are subscribing to ParadisePraises praiseworthy emails and providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information.
Danielle says
So I’m just staring our joruney but so far my frustration is figuring out what homeschool will look like for our family and how much curriculum I need verses play learning.
Tracy Roberts says
I have 2.
1. Which curriculum in the sea of curriculum I should use so I don’t waste money
2. How to get the kids to stop procrastinating on their work.
Courtney says
Biggest frustrating is just making a choice on curriculum. There are just so many options and be new makes it very overwhelming.
Darcy says
My biggest homeschool frustration is organization so I am really praying I win!
Yvie says
My biggest frustration is getting organized…
Barb S. says
My biggest frustration is deciding between too many wonderful resources. There isn’t time to cover everything I want to cover!
Marina G says
Frustration homeschooling with a toddler.
Carrie R. says
My biggest frustration is having no room or storage space. This is one of the many reasons we bare looking to buy a house.
Gena says
My biggest frustration is not having enough time to do all I want to do with the kids.
DBo says
Staying on schedule!
T. Buchfelder says
What a great giveaway! Thanks for offering this.
Katie Hornor says
You are certainly welcome T!
Karleen says
Keeping things organized! We have a small part of a room designated as a ‘school area’ so many times we are doing school in the living room or the kitchen — which is also one of the great things about homeschooling! But sometimes we get in a hurry and just don’t put things away where we should!
Deborah says
Keeping up with all of our books, and digital curriculum.
Susie says
While I no longer homeschool because my children are grown, my biggest issue was working around my husband’s schedule as his hours regularly changed. We spent 3 weeks organizing the house and our schoolwork hours but it still took a long time to get into a rhythm.
Now that we’re empty nesters, I’m still struggling for that balance between working from home, spending fun time with hubby and spending time without hubby. I really want to spend all my time WITH him. LOL But, he doesn’t like to color.
Laura Bolin says
I want to teach my children everything, using multiple approaches! Lol.
Jessica says
My biggest frustration is trying to homeschool with a little one.
Cindi N says
My buggest frustration is finding the right cirriculum. Just when I think I have it figured out I read about another new one.
Jen H. says
The biggest homeschool frustration for me is when we get shiny new curricula that we think will be excellent for our children, but it turns out to not be a good fit at all and we have to find something else!
Lindsey says
My biggest frustration is organization. Lots of homeschool stuff, tiny apartment.
Tracy says
Staying organized!
Lyn says
My biggest frustration is finding the right curriculum for my daughter that has Asperger’s.
jennifer mathesz says
greatest frustration is keeping myself calm
Joy says
My biggest frustration is my own forgetfulness and disorganization. :p
Joy says
This is my first year of homeschooling and the rolling drawers is at the top of my list. Thanks for the opportunity to win it! What a blessing it would be!
Katie Hornor says
Joy, You are welcome. And how exciting to be starting your first year! Be sure to check out our homeschool categories and printables from the dropdown menu for lots of other great tips, or email me if you need something specific. katie @ paradisepraises dot com.
Alannah Linton says
My ADHD child is my biggest aggravation. I love him, but it takes him 4xs longer to do anything than it should. After that the most frustrating thing to me is having lots of school books and supplies with no organising system so I forget what I have.
Katie Hornor says
ALannah, be sure to check out the spreadsheet template I linked to in #4 above. That will help you remember and be able to sort what you have and where it is stored 🙂
Kristen says
My biggest frustration is probably figuring out the best curriculum to use for each of our 5 children every year. They are all different and the same curriculum doesn’t always work for them all!!
Molly says
My biggest frustration: when I fail to plan and get things laid out for the following day.
Susan says
Staying organized
MDJMom says
My reoccurring homeschool frustration is keeping all of our curriculum and papers organized. We don’t have a dedicated homeschool room so everything is all spread out.
TJSY says
Homeschooling is a blessing and I’m so grateful to be able to do it! My biggest frustration is keeping a good balance in our homeschool life. Staying organized is right up there, too!
Glenda B. says
Biggest frustration–hmmm. where di I begin? For me I think it would be the limited space to teach multiple kids, coming up with creative ideas for organization & storage for the vast amount of stuff you need, all on a very strict budget. The storage cart with drawers would hold a lot of supplies neatly organized. Both prizes are great storage/organizers. Thank you for the great giveaway!
Katie Hornor says
You are welcome Glenda. Limited space is something we all face, I think.
valerie fletcher says
Where to put all the teacher’s manuals. 🙁
Melanie Ireland says
The most frustrating thing I have in homeschooling us not having enough time to be able to do all the things we want to do.
Tanya says
My biggest frustration is organizing in a small space.
Sarah H says
I have several right now, but think my biggest one would be how to organize all the stuff so that I what I have, it’s easy to get to, and it didn’t take over the house!
Jessica Medina says
My biggest frustration is when the kids nitpick at each other.
M.J. says
I find my biggest frustration is probably not being able to keep my little ones productively occupied while I work with my older ones.
Brittney says
My biggest frustration is lack of motivation on both parts, myself and my daughter. We have times where we’re both ready to get things done and other days, or even weeks, where it all just feels like a chore. I’m switching up our schedule and curriculum next year in hopes of getting us more motivated to learn together.
Hollie says
My biggest frustration is getting my kids all to the table to start in the mornings along with them not keeping their bins I have for them tidy. We’ve tried so many things but whew so far some are at the table doing their independent work on time and others are not. On the flip side some are immaculately organized and then others are not. After 16 years of homeschooling I’m still working on things but we get by.
Darlene says
Getting my kids to make the best use of their time is a huge challenge. They know that whether it take 5 hrs or 8 to get the work do e, we are still going to do what we have to do for that day. I have one who hates math, one who despises language and neither of them can stand the thought of the other one doing better than they do on anything. I would love help with organising…that would free a lot of my time and cut down on the chaos!
Justine L says
I may sound like a broken record after all the other commenters, but as I look to officially start homeschooling a kindergartner this upcoming school year, selecting curriculum is my biggest frustration. In large part because there are so many good options – especially free and discounted ones like in th bundle – that it’s hard to know which ones to actually use. Saving 90% is only worth it if you use some of the material, so organization is closely linked to this as I have no way to know what I already have. I need to look at your spreadsheet when I get to my computer!
Tina says
My biggest frustration is getting my daughter to focus on a lesson and not her iPad.
Adelaida says
My biggest homeschooling frustration is making it through those “bad days” where no one wants to do school, including me. It just becomes one of those “let’s get it over with” type of days. But at least they happen far and few between.
Carmen says
I don’t have a frustration yet as this next school year will be our first. I imagine it’ll be scheduling or staying organized
Kathleen P. says
My biggest frustration is organizing curriculum, both physical and digital.
Dcatherine13 says
Right now my biggest frustration is worrying whether or not I can go through with homeschooling my daughter. I know with God’s help and perseverance I can do it and I’m going to do my very best.
Paula says
My biggest frustration is a lack of funds to supply the manipulatives that my kids need to match their learning style, plus the room to store the items that I do manage to secure. Yes, I know that homeschool is possible using library books and all sorts of digital curriculum. But I know from experience that my kids learn best when we do hands-on activities.
jeani b says
my biggest frustration is shared space with the rest of our house. i’d like to have a dedicated space for materials, work, etc.
Ashley C says
I do not home school. However, I’m quite terrible when it comes to keeping paperwork in my household organized. The drawers would be perfect for my office/computer room!
Della Miller says
Just keeping things interesting and fun yet learning for teens we have a 5 YR old Autistic boy and a 14 yr old boy with learning disabilities and a 16 YR old girl that has problems also
Lisa says
My biggest frustration is character issues in my wonderful children. It’s so hard to see them being so nice to each other some days and so cruel others. Also, motivation is hard to come by, especially in a couple of my kiddos.
AnaMaree says
Nothing really frustrates me, I could be more organized, and better at utilizing space. We homeschool in our used bookstore so I could be more creative with space.
Jolene says
Staying up on grading!
Katrina Morgan says
My biggest frustration is getting all 4 children would be the fact they seem to think its okay to spend more time playing games on the computer than doing the actual school work.
Laura A says
Biggest home school frustration: when science experiments/demonstrations flop! I follow directions from the book and it doesn’t work, I feel like giving up on science.
C. Webb says
My biggest frustration is distractions — the phone rings, someone tells a joke, I have to run an errand, etc.
Sharon N says
My biggest frustration is keeping organized. I try to organize, exploration occurs, then nothing gets put back in it’s proper ‘organized’ place.
zekesmom10 says
Finding the balance between fun and really educational.
Jenni says
My biggest frustration is how many of my kids need my personal attention all the time 🙂 No time left.
JennieT says
My biggest frustration is loose papers, but reading threw the comments I was changing my frustration and agreeing with many others, like time to do all you want, time with each kid, organizing , destructions. I can relate to many of them. But I would say having piles of Loose paper is a big one that overwelmes me lol
Wanda says
My biggest frustration is keeping up with workbook stuff..I am great with teaching life skills…cooking, gardening, animal chores etc etc but the daily bookwork we could accomplish is challenging:)
Tracy A says
Keeping organized. Moving stacks of papers.
Tabatha M. N. says
I just finished my first year of homeschooling. We live in a small apartment, and I do not have a designated area for homeschooling. We try to make it work with what we have. So organization is an ongoing issue. Wether it be with school work and papers, to being organized as a mother and wife with my own daily affairs.
Maria says
My biggest issue is keeping everyone (I have 7 children) on task while I am trying to work one on one with a particular child.
Rachel says
Not sure how to homeschool my 8 and 6 yr olds with a 4 and almost 2 yr old climbing on me while pregnant and not always being able to stay motivated, much less struggling to motivate my older children and with this exhaustion being disciplined enough to keep papers where they need to be so everything can stay organized. Everything feels a little jumbled right now but I know these organizers will be a blessing whether to me or someone else. Thanks!
Gina Ledlow says
My biggest frustration currently is getting everything done! With classes and kids who have activities, but can’t drive yet, and having 5 different learners, it feels like learning is chaotic. And dare I say it, almost not fun anymore. 🙁 Hoping that with kid #1 getting her drivers license in the next 6 months, we will overcome some of the frustration!
Sherri O says
My biggest frustrations are finding the right curriculum, not being organized, not enough time in the day, chronic illness/fatigue, autoimmune disorders….. would love to win the drawer organizer!
Julie M says
My biggest frustration is seeing all the different choices in curriculum and not knowing which one will work the best for my children. I am new to homeschooling and it can be overwhelming with all the choices out there today!
Sherry says
I have a few frustrations! My biggest one is probably always second guessing everything – whether I’m doing the right thing for my kids, which curriculum is the best, etc.
Sally Chancellor says
My biggest frustration right now is not having enough time to dive into everything they are interested in 🙂
Kristi Allen says
My biggest frustration is when my children choose not to cooperate with me and each other….like they are doing right now. Seriously, really?!
Amy says
My main frustration is feeling pulled in many directions while teaching different grade levels and keeping up with a toddler. Organization and choosing curriculum are also a challenge.
Angela says
My biggest frustration has been teaching our two children who are in two different grade levels and keeping everything organized while working two jobs. This is our first year homeschooling, so I’m sure next year will be much better
Rachel B says
My biggest frustrations are keeping our supplies organized and deciding on the right curriculum.
Julie says
Homeschooling 5 different ages and keeping them all on track
Katie Hornor says
I completely identify with your challenge, Julie.
Lee says
Sometimes I hang on too long to something that isn’t working for our Homeschool or organization.
Lulu says
My biggest frustration is having the kids keep the crayons, color pencils and markers in their place.
Alena Ibrahim says
My major homeschool frustration is not being prepared enough for challenges arising during our lessons. Especially managing my all 3 kids 1,5 yo 4 yo 6 yo and keeping them busy without disturbing each other Keeping their attention and multitasking to have smooth educational pre planned day. Sometimes it’s perfect but there are crazy moments….
Leslie says
My kids were not homeschooled but the state of Public Schools is getting scary to send your children to school so I probably would home-school if I could have!
Sherry R says
My health is my biggest frustration! I love teaching and homeschooling, but my health hinders us.
Amber Hurd says
This is my second year homeschooling and three of my kids were in school already. My oldest is a freshman so we decided together with him that he could continue in school. Anyway the first year we stuck to a schedule. It was a battle for my 8 year old son to want to begin. I realized I was suppose to De-school first. So, this year we did and we are leaning toward Un-schooling. The biggest battle I faced was letting go of my expectations and making sure my kids read, read, read 🙂
Katie Hornor says
letting go of expectations is huge! I am sure you’ll do well.
Christina says
My biggest frustration is instilling a love of WRITING into my 2 boys. I do not think they will ever enjoy it, though.
That is OK…I know there are plenty of other things they love and work hard at 🙂
Candice R says
Keeping on task!
Faye Gates says
My little day dreamer.
Jennifer Shaffer says
My biggest is staying organized and second is choosing curriculum.
Crystal Sell says
I feel like it is trying to stay organized.
Leah says
Like a lot of other commenters, I struggle with too many choices. We try to keep it simple, but often that means things are used for multiple children or are not textbooks and it’s hard to keep track of what is school for the week.
Renae B says
Getting my Kindergartener to do school with a willing and happy heart.
Jen M says
This is our first year homeschooling. My biggest frustration was just figuring it all out. We almost have a complete school year under our belts, so we’re feeling pretty good here now!
April says
So far my biggest frustration is getting my kids to do school without fighting me and complaining constantly, and without my son just refusing to do what I ask.
Julie Murphy says
finding good works that I like
Karen says
Sorry no frustrations as I haven’t had school age children for 40 years. Thanks.
Katie Hornor says
Thanks for reading and entering anyway Karen. 🙂
Susan Kramer says
Finding an organizing system that works for our family is a huge challenge right now.
Kelley says
My biggest frustration right now is knowing how to prep one for high school and balance three littles while working with the older. The age gap is both a blessing and a curse.
Elizabeth B says
My biggest frustration with homeschooling is not have enough finances to get the curriculum I really want.. My second would have to be not enough organizing items!!
Charissa Rice says
My biggest frustration, other than lack of space, would have to be keeping up with grades. This year has been particularly rough due to health issues that constantly kept throwing off our schedule.
Karen says
Trying to keep up with my grand plans. We get busy and then get behind from where my lesson plans say we are, frustrating everyone.
Kia S. says
Glad to see I’m not alone in organization being my biggest frustration.
Angela Klompien says
Biggest frustration? Figuring out the maze of best curriculum to fit our needs at different ages and stages. One size does not fit all.
Katie Hornor says
That is so true! That’s why I love the homeschool digital bundles, because at such a great price they include so many different things, I don’t mind switching it up if something isn’t working for one child.
Rosanna says
Too much stuff. I keep so many manipulative and accessory items and my living room always feels cluttered. And then I have to dig and hunt to find things when I need them or I forget I have something and miss my chance to use it.
Lisette says
My biggest homeschool frustration is to organize all materials from books to digital books.
Judith Martinez says
My biggest frustration is the constantly changing schedule in our household that makes it really hard to establish routines.
Faith says
Curriculum is our biggest frustration.
Marrina Heinrichs says
My biggest frustration is the un-known. This fall will be my first year as a homeschool teacher ??
Jenn P says
Trying to stay organized & lesson plan.
Erin says
Keeping a jealous toddler occupied and out of trouble.
CJ says
My biggest frustration is figuring out what motivates my kids. None seem to have a particular interest in anything outside of pokemon and video games. 🙁
Anne says
We’re just starting out, so I’m just learning about curriculums and planning, and keeping it all organized & neat.
Kristi Burton says
My biggest struggle is staying disciplined with day to day routine and getting school work done and not getting sucked in to house stuff or FB.
Stephanie says
I don’t fully homeschool. We do extras after school. I’m also trying to teach my almost 2 year old basics like shapes, colors, numbers, etc. My frustration is that none of my school aged children seem truly challenged with the things I have found online so they don’t want to do anything. And my 2 year old does not want to do anything at all, no matter how I try to teach him.
Rhonda says
Planning. So many options, so many things we want to do, and supplies/resources all over the place…getting a plan made that I feel confident in being able to (mostly) adhere to is tough for me. But we’re young and just starting, so it’s not critical yet. I consider these young years to be practice for when it really matters that we cover certain topics. I’ll be able to find what works and what doesn’t before we really have to settle in.
Kristin says
My biggest frustration is not having the time to do all the cool projects and activities with my kids that I would like to do.
Lesley F says
Not having enough space to store things
Jennifer says
We have tons of homeschool supplies and I struggle all the time with finding ways to organize it best. Thanks so much for these ideas! 🙂
Jennifer V says
What curriculum out of the vast array of choices will work best for my kiddos? -and- How in the world do I get everything done well?!
Jennifer V says
Also, another frustration is, how do I organize it all so I don’t feel like I’m living in a warehouse?
Lynne B says
Keeping folks attention on the subject at hand–mine included. Seems like every time we concentrate on one part of life, others fall by the wayside, so a successful focus & balance is what would relieve my frustrations.
Lori says
Convincing one of my boys that school is not “boring”
Heather McCully says
My biggest frustration is teaching the same subjects to everyone individually because they will not cooperate or be quiet in a group setting. I have 4 very independent learners. Which for the most part is good but lacks seriously whenever the need for teamwork comes up.
Crystal C says
My biggest frustration in homeschooling is my own self discipline to do it!
Melanie says
Next year will be our first year homeschooling. The frustration I have now is in deciding how much is enough and not doing too much……
Rebecca Walters says
I’m still working on trying to figure out how to do a schedule or routine with a baby who does not have a schedule or routine. Life has been crazy this past year.