Homeschool Preschool Organization

Me? Organized? It's almost an oxymoron, but I have been researching and discovering that I am a lazy *cough* macro organizer. Basically, I don't need detailed file folders, because I would never have find the time to keep it up. I need a basket that says "Art stuff" so I can throw everything in it and not think about it. I would like to make 'finding my organizing style' a whole other post, but for now I am saying this to say-I've kept it pretty simple. And where I haven't kept it simple, it hasn't worked (and I'll tell you that too!). So here are the categories I've Organized:

The Preschool Corner

Some have a whole room designated for homeschool, while others simply use the kitchen table. However, you'll normally have to have a place to store all your preschool things. I have a little corner of my big front room that I've set aside as the 'school room'. 

 I bought the chalk table at a garage sale several years ago, My husband had the bulletin board in his room a long time ago, the bookshelf was at the house, and the magnet board (now art display) was a gift from my wedding shower. Little Man got the piano from his grandmother for Christmas, and I leave it in the preschool room, because the front room is also where I have my piano. The cubby shelf, the easel, and the chairs were from the private school closeout. I absolutely love the little space, and it feels very fun...which, if you remember, is my #1 goal! It was also very inexpensive, which was another goal!

Believe it or not, this space has stayed relatively the same. I think it's because it's pretty macro-organized (and yes, there is stuff spilling from the boxes, but I know what's in there, and I know WHERE it is, so that's organized for me! ). It's good to have things in one location, so that you can easily get ready for preschool each day (or the day before...if you are THAT kind of person). Speaking of getting things ready ahead of time, that brings me to what didn't work with this system. At our homeschool group meeting a lady talked about how she organized her kids subjects into little drawers and that helped her kids know how much more they had to accomplish. I tried a version of that, and I will say that it lasted almost 3 months. Now that I'm discovering that I'm a macro-organizer, I now keep bible things we do during the lesson in one cubby box, and all the preschool things we are going to do in a lesson. It might change to everything in one box, but it's all about finding what works for you. Remember, if it doesn't work, you can always change it! don't get discouraged if you are having a hard time keeping things in one place. Change things up until you figure out what works for your family. 

Unit Studies Week by Week

If you read my previous blog post you know I'm doing unit studies by Simply Learning. During the course of the study, she has each day as a focus for different things. She breaks it up into different cattegories and you do a couple of those a day (or at times, just one). Because I knew that I would be supplementing my own units along with hers, I decided adopt a similar model, and organize each unit study accordingly. Here is how our week looks:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Read Theme book (STEM)	Read Theme Book Worksheet Arts and crafts	Read Theme Book Motor skill activity (STEM)	Read Theme book Worksheets Arts and crafts	Free day

At times I change up and read a related book a couple of days a week, or out of the nature anatomy books that she recommends (she has the pages laid out in her downloads). I also make Friday a free day. Throughout the year we have field trips, days Daddy is home (He is a teacher), sick days, etc. I am a person that gets discouraged if I get behind, so I set up a free day for those times where we just need to do something else. If the free day lands on a Tuesday, you would just do your Tuesday on a Friday.  I try to plan an activity for that day, if I know we should be home; It's normally something like watching something related to what we are talking about (Magic School Bus or something on PBS are great options) or do puzzles, playdoh, etc. 

Since I do other units besides Simply Learning and also because I don't always do every activity she suggests,  I needed a planner to put all the activities we would do. I looked at some really cute ones, but wound up getting a plain school year calendar from the Dollar Tree, and making it look sort of cute with washi tape. Whatever works!

My Day

Here is where things get a little fuzzy. I've tried to have a more detailed day, but things don't normally go the way I plan. Instead, right now, I have a 'flow' to the day. We do things in a kind of order, and I try to do preschool after we do certain things that get us ready for the day. Mornings work best for my little preschooler, but things might work differently for you. Find out for yourself if I detailed planned day works best for you, or if you work better with doing things in a certain order. Just make sure that you are making time for the important things in your day. And it's okay if the day isn't going well and you just make it a free day. Just make sure that free days don't start being everyday :) 

I hope this helps you start the planning process. I think it was about this time of year when I started researching what I wanted my year to look like, and hopefully this has helped you figure out yours. Leave me a comment and let me know how you organize your day. I need some inspiration! :) Also, if you missed last time's blog post, here is the link.