Memory Totes

When I saw these "Keepsake Boxes" I thought they would be a GREAT idea for my children's memory items as well. I decided to put one together for each of them. I don't have a Cricut cutter machine...so I just used my label maker to put names on the bins. I typically color-code things for my children though anyway (Madelyn gets a purple or pink typically, Xavier gets green and Jaxson is usually blue)...so just by glancing at it, I know which tote belongs to which child even without a large name tag.

I also paid for some hanging file folders. I already had some of the not-so-beautiful green ones (pictured above) and put those to use too...buying the totes and the file folders wasn't all-together cheap when you need three....so I reuse what I have on hand. :)

Because we home school (and are not involved in a bunch of different sports etc.) our sections are different than those of Toni's from A Bowl Full of Lemons. I am not finished with the sections we will use...but what I have so far is:

~ Photos (from our homeschool co-op pictures etc.)
~ Medical (forms and things needed for proof to the school)
~ Home School Completed Portfolio Verification (papers from the school's superintendant saying our portfolios are complete from each year of schooling)
~ Testing (standardized test results)
~ Grade School (drawings/worksheets from through the years...this may need to be changed over time to allow more room for papers...we'll see!)

 I also bought one extra tote for my filing records. I had them in a filing cabinet that was not in the best condition. Now they are safe and secure in one of these totes and give me easy access to my records (A few of the papers need tucked in there better!)...

Stored ~ Safe and sound in the school room...

How do you store your children's records/memories?

Organizing Legos

My daughter and I (mostly her though) went through and sorted all the Legos. I bought inexpensive shoe bins at the dollar store and labeled them with my label maker. 

 We are hoping that will take boxes that look like this...

...and turn them into this (thus making it easier to find the pieces they want)...

In the box marked "extra" we put min-figs, swords, horses, bow/arrows and other miscellaneous items that go along with the Legos!

 With grade-school boys, I'm not sure how this will work for us...but it is worth giving it a try! They both seem to like this new system (but we'll see if it lasts as time wears on). Personally, I love seeing the colors separated and *in their place*...but if it doesn't work out over time, we can find good uses for the plastic shoe boxes and the Legos can all go back into one bin! :)

Do your children play with Legos? I think they are such a *great* learning/playing toy. Imaginations soar, minds work to think and build...Legos are truly one of the best investments (toy-wise) in my opinion. How do you store/organize your Legos? 

Homeschool *or* Office Supply Organization

I want to start this post by saying that whether I used a flash or not with my camera, the boxes do not seem to be very photogenic. They look much better in real life...you'll just have to trust me on that! ;) Also, a few of my labels aren't straight...I have fixed and re-fixed them and sometimes, you just have to leave it be!

Last year, we used these bins to separate all of my children's school workbooks. This year, since we are mostly using Easy Peasy, we will only have math workbooks to keep organized. I couldn't let good storage space go to waste...so I utilized the drawers to store my multitude of supplies. Now, notebooks, paper, dividers, folders, reference charts, page protectors and more have their own drawer!

Anytime someone needs a new folder or blank notebook...they know just where to get them!

Extra supplies (purchased from Staples during their school clearance!)...

The children's workbooks fit perfectly in each drawer!

These drawers can be pricey...but not too bad if you watch for them to go on sale. You can find something similar to the one I have HERE. You can find the exact ones I have HERE.

We have found these drawers to be a great organizing tool to keep in our schoolroom. They would work really well in an office setting too! And again, they look much better in real life than in the photos! The pictures seem to show every flaw!

***You may notice in the first photo, a pair of shoes just inside the door...right now, we have four extra kiddos visiting at our house. I didn't move the shoes...I like just keeping it real! ;)

Back to (Home) School

I was so excited while at the thrift store one day, to find the fantastic binders from Staples there! They are my favorites but are much too expensive to ever buy them. I got each of these for under $1 (and they each had extra paper, dividers, page protectors and such in them)! What a steal! Obviously, they aren't brand new, but they will work terrifically for us!

Also, Staples has their *Back to School* savings (at their stores and online). I picked up some supplies for our homeschooling for some really great, inexpensive prices! I have to admit...I am an office/school supply junkie!!!

I love to have a bin for things....everything in its place...

Homeschooling does *not* have to be expensive. Keep your eyes peeled for sales, clearances and at the thrift stores and you can come home with quite a lot (without spending a lot)!

For our curriculum, we will be using Easy Peasy for most of our subjects. It is a free online homeschooling course for all ages. We are using Christian Light Education for our math, though, because we have been using it for years and I really like how it teaches things, reviews and builds on each other.

How are you saving money this year on back to (home) school needs?

Planning our Homeschooling Days

I have been homeschooling my children for six years. I have tried various methods of keeping track of our days (as Pennsylvania law requires us to keep a running log of our accomplishments). I am a planner and always love a great organizer to keep our info in. I have tried the computer-run planning sites before but I prefer to write each day out (as tedious as it is for three children). I also prefer something pre-made, as printables don't work well for me (I end up spending a fortune on paper and ink with my less-than-awesome printer). 

In previous  years, I had used an already-dated calendar planner to write in our school day plans. I ran into problems with this when I already had things planned for a week and we needed to take a day off due to sickness or unexpected field trip. I would then have to erase and change all our plans. I really wanted something that I could track number of days and then write the date in as we did the work. 

After much looking, I was excited to find something I really liked and thought would work well for us....

I found the planner I loved at URtheMom. The worst part about them is that they were a bit pricey...especially when ordering one for each child. They have everything set up just as I wanted it...plus places to keep track of grades, goals and a folder in the back of the planner.

On each day we do our schoolwork, I write the date on the side...

This way, I can plan ahead as much as I want to without worrying about having to make changes due to missing a day or something changing along the way. In the *notes* section, I write in the dates of our homeschool co-op and what the children participate in on those days. I will add those to our required 180 days at the end of the year.

As you can see here, as we accomplish something from each subject, each day, I mark it with a little X...

I hope to maybe make my own planners for next year. I will have to crunch the numbers and figure out what is most cost-effective for us! For this year though, I am happy with how these planners work for us. If you want to purchase one too...you can find them HERE.

This post was in no way sponsored by URtheMom.com. They are just my personal opinions of what works for us! :)