Homeschool Organization 4: Blocks to Construct

Megabloks in use

Over the years, we have bought and sold a few collections.  The collections that I have organized and kept are those that are visited by everyone, including me.  I enjoy building things with my kids.  Sometimes, I go so far as to hog up all of one color of Legos.  Does that make me a bad mother?

Megabloks stacked to fit in a box.

I wanted to keep all of the Megabloks in one container.  We had to stack them together.  It was impossible to keep them in that Office Depot box any longer.  I had to make a decision.  I wanted the kids to have freedom to use the toys.

We acquired more Megabloks.

Our neighbors gave my youngest some more Megabloks.  I was very grateful.  I knew she would be so happy.  She started playing with them right away.  It didn't matter if she played on my bed.

We moved the Megabloks into this bigger, plastic container.

The Megabloks fit much better in this plastic container.  I shopped in my home again.  I had been using that plastic box to house my out of season curtains and sheets.  Since I moved the linens into another location, this box had been freed up.

Closeup reveals a few Megabloks in the container.

Not all of the Megabloks are in the container.  Some are currently in my son's room out in the open.  I think he constructed a mobile home and used up a lot of Megabloks.  This trusty plastic container is waiting patiently to house the pieces once he's done using them.  I like that my youngest ones dug right in and started playing with the Megabloks when I showed them the containerful (yes, that's a word) of Megabloks.

Legos are in blue container and some shoe boxes, too.

Legos are a family favorite, especially mine.  I can actually lose track of time if I start playing with Legos.  In the entertainment center, I have a large blue box that holds red, white, and blue pieces for building houses.  We also have a few of those see-through plastic shoe boxes that contain brown and green pieces.  In another shoebox are other pieces, probably purple and pink pieces.  (Can't check right now; it's the middle of the night and don't want to wake my teenage son.)

Here are some more Legos, by color.

As you can see, I also have some Legos joined together by type and color.  Yellow and orange go together and the black ones are for making cars.  We occasionally have some of our creations on display.  You can see the red, blue and white house.  There is also a pumpkin face on top of it.

We even have wooden blocks in a separate container.

In the entertainment center (pictured above), I have the Lincoln logs way at the top.  I also have some medium size blocks that are plastic.  I'm not sure if they are made by Megabloks.  They are in a see-through box, just like the size of the one for the wooden blocks.  My kids play with all of these different collections.

Well, I have shown here some ideas on how to organize different types of blocks within a homeschool.  Yes, the collections are in different sizes, colors, and shapes of containers.  Since I am on a limited budget, I have had to shop in my own home for the best containers. 

I haven't forgotten the other items that I want to show.  Stay tuned to see how I organize such things as DVDs, audio cassettes, and the Wii games.  When toys are organized, children will want to play with their toys, constructing and using their imagination.

Thanks for reading this blog entry.

How about you, my readers?  How do you organize your blocks?  Do you own Lincoln logs?  Do you own K'NEX toys?  I encourage you to evaluate if you have the right containers to hold your block and/or construction collections.  The collections might need to be moved into new, bigger, and/or sturdier containers.

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

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays. 

Homeschool Organization 3: Music, Poster, & Art Supplies

Old, broken container that served its purpose in our homeschool.

I have many more areas of organization to present you in this third installment of homeschool organization.  I am presenting it to you piecemeal so that I can allow you to digest the ideas slowly.  I have, as a homeschooling mom, seen that some containers are no longer doing their job properly.  That's why I often change out the contents into other containers.  Yes, I like to re-purpose containers.

First up are the musical toys.

Musical instruments fit in this Rubbermaid container.

I went through many containers trying to find the right one that would hold all of the instruments.  I was given this green container by a friend.  It fits lots of toys, including the maracas and two xylophones.

Musical instruments that my children use to worship God.

 

Here is a sampling of some of the toys that fit inside the green box.  I have collected these toys over the years. Some I have found in yard sales.  Some were given to us.  Some we bought.

Next, we have the posters.

A large box that held a disassembled computer chair hold some posters.

Over time, I have also accumulated quite a few posters and charts.  The best containers for posters have been flat boxes like the one above.  You can slide the posters in and out.  The posters remain flat.  I dislike when posters are rolled up and stay curled when you try to hang them up on the wall.

Posters are gathered together in two rings.

Hole-punched the posters and put them in rings.

I used two rings to distribute the weight of carrying the posters.

White rack held my posters by the rings.

Another option is to group them together.  I hole-punched the ends of the posters and put them in rings.  That way, I could hang them on a makeshift wardrobe rolling rack.  My hope is to find a more sturdier rack than the one you see above.  That white one was cheap and cheaply made, as you can see from the legs.

Finally, we deal with the arts and crafts supplies.

This is really two containers-the pink one and the white one.

The containers above held the arts and crafts.  I had joined the two sets of containers with double-sided glued tabs.  The supplies stayed in this setup for a few years.  The bad thing is that the pink drawers were broken.  Also, we had to yank the drawers open just to access the supplies.

The white tower is really two sets of containers.

Again, I used double-sided glue tabs to keep these two sets of white containers together.  It used to hold the girls' doll collection.  Since they decided to get rid of the dolls and their accessories, it freed up the tower.  I decided to re-purpose the tower for the arts and crafts supplies.

Closeup of top of tower.

The top portion holds paints, glues, smocks, and old CDs.

Closeup of bottom of tower

The bottom of the tower holds wood craft, construction paper, and colors.

Well, I hope that I have provided some solid ideas on how to organize arts supplies, posters, and musical instruments within a homeschool.  There are more pictures and themes I want to cover.  Stay tuned to see how I organize such things as DVDs, audiocassettes, and the Wii games.  In order to use the items in your home, we must make the time to organize our teaching aids.

Thanks for reading this blog entry.

How about you, my readers?  Are your posters all in one box?  Are your instruments ready for your kids to use?  Are your arts supplies organized enough for your children to want to use them?  I encourage you to see if you have the right containers to hold these collections.

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

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays. 

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.