Homeschool Organization 2: Science, Play Dough, Soldiers, & Pipes

This old entertainment center was found in someone's trash.

A week ago I discussed homeschool organization.  I want to continue on that thread.  I want to present you with some closeups of what the entertainment center holds.  Just remember that when I say manipulatives, I mean hands on materials.  Manipulatives is a term that some teachers use.

Boxes obtained from Office Depot.

Above are boxes holding hands on material for such subjects as math, science, and language arts/reading.  The subjects are in separate boxes.  It makes it easier to lug the materials around during our homeschooling.  I had the manipulatives previously in baskets but the stuff ended up with dust bunnies.  This way, I reduce the need to dust the materials before they are used. 

Closeup of science box

This box holds such things as educational toys that we have accumulated over the years.  Anything I consider science has gone in here.  I have placed similar items in one gallon-size baggies.  Things that aid the eyes like a telescope and binoculars, and 3D glasses are in one baggie.

Baggie of magnets is housed in the science box.

Here is another gallon-sized baggie.  This baggie holds gear-like magnets that can go on the refrigerator.  I have that available in case the children would like to play with them.  Sometimes the magnets annoy me because of the clutter they create.  That's why I will let the kids play with the magnets every once in a while; however, I want the kids to put them away when guests come over.

This is a shoebox that holds another set of manipulatives.

Shoe boxes are a great way to divide collections.  Sometimes, the collections are fragile.  I have some hands on materials that are hollow cubes.  They have been squashed before.  These boxes are ideal because they are stackable.

Shoe boxes are perfect for small collections.

I had the original box of these 3D shapes for a long time.  The box finally gave out.  I moved the shapes into this much sturdier box.  I'm not afraid to adapt to change.  Things break; containers break.

A dishpan is a perfect container for some collections.

I love it when the kids play with their pipes and marbles.  I bought a few dishpans to use around the house.  I grabbed a dishpan for the pipes and marbles.  Then, I used an index card to label the container.  This dishpan is placed up at the top of the entertainment center because marbles are a choking hazard for young children.

I utilize white baskets as containers.

That is one basketful of soldiers, little workers, animals, and terrain pieces.  This collection has gotten larger over the years, and I weed out what I can.  The kids role play with these toys so I decided to place them together in the basket.  I used to split the pieces by type into separate baggies, but I see that it is not worth it.  The kids would mix up the items so I quite sweating this small detail.

Closeup of basket reveals soldiers, Indians, and bushes.

 This is a deep basket, but it fits perfectly in the entertainment center.

2.5 Gallon-size baggie--yes, they make them this big!

Jumbo size baggies are wonderful for larger collections.  The one above is holding farm buildings, animals, and road signals--very bulky items.  This baggie actually fits inside the big basket above.

Tin container and a smaller basket hold other collections.

The Play-Doh tin can originally held some molds and small containers of play dough.  I removed the molds and threw them together with plastic cookie cutters in the basket.  Now, the tin can only holds the small containers of play dough. 

Well, I hope that I have given some ideas of how to organize collections of manipulatives.  There are more pictures and themes I want to cover.  Stay tuned to see how I organize such things as Legos, Megabloks, and art supplies.  These are such things I deem worthy of keeping in my homeschool.  That's why I take the time to organize them.

Thanks for reading this blog entry.

How about you, my readers?  Are your hands on materials organized in some way?  Is your home optimized for learning?  I encourage you to see if you have the right containers to hold your teaching tools.

I pray that God bless you all, my dear readers, with His wisdom and peace.

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays.