source: Julia @ The Frugal Find

This week we’re talking about organization for homeschoolers. One of the benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility it affords families to tailor school to fit their lifestyle. Because I’m just starting out on this journey, I’ve asked several people to share their experiences and systems with us. And of course we’d love to hear from you in the comments with your experiences as well!

The following is a guest post from Julia at The Frugal Find:

Where in your home do you homeschool? Do you have different areas for read-alouds, workbooks and/or independent work? Is there anywhere that’s off limits?

We use our kitchen table A LOT, athough for reading (group reading) we usually head to the couch or mommy & daddy’s bed so we can all fit. With 4 kids, all very wiggly, we need room! My daughter, who is 7, does her silent reading on her bed where she can get cozy.

As far as off limits, no room is off limits, but there are time frames where mommy IS off limits. It’s called Mommy’s quiet time. I just tell the kids, “Mommy is going to my room for some quiet time.” My daughter kicks it up and helps her brothers with whatever they may need, water, etc. I usually take a 15 minute break each day and of course a little more at nap time.

Do you have a set schedule for your school days? Do you have a set start time? A set end time?

According to my Google calendar I do, but mostly we play it by ear. Instead of set times, I have found that it works better for us to set project goals for the day. One of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility during the day. We can head to park if we just need to get out, or we can switch up our subjects if something just isn’t flowing well. We try to be done by lunch time everyday, but as they get older we sometimes will have to pick up and finish a few things in the afternoon.

How are your school supplies organized? Do you stock up on extra supplies? How do you organize the extras?

This is my favorite question! I love quality supplies and this is the time to stock up! I absolutely buy as much as we can afford to buy now to get us through the year. It’s insane to pay $3.00 for a 24 pack of Crayola Crayons mid-year if we’ve run out when I can pay $0.25 each now and stock up. We use shoebox-sized tupperware bins, labeled and stored on bookshelves. I have 2 bookshelves (fairly larger) and 1 cabinet designated for homeschool supplies.

What do you use for recordkeeping? Do you store completed work? Do you go above and beyond the recordkeeping requirements of your state?

This is a great question, and I can’t wait to hear what everyone else says. I haven’t figured this out at all yet. For now everything goes into a bin. That’s the extent of my recordkeeping. If I don’t throw it away, we’re good.

What is one area that you wish was more organized about your homeschooling?

Haha, recordkeeping!

Julia and her husband are climbing their way out of debt and hope to be debt free very soon! They have 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl and are a homeschooling family trying to live simply yet abundantly. You can find Julia sharing all her frugal tips at The Frugal Find.