Today I will share how I organize our "back to school supplies" for my daughters. Both of my girls have been in school since nursery school. They both attended a wonderful Christian nursery school for ages 3-5. Once they were 5 they began kindergarten in our public school system. We are fortunate to be living in the top academic school district for our area. The district is very large, with 6 elementary schools, a junior high, a high school. Each grade in elementary school hands out a supply list with the last report card in June. This is great because parents can shop the sales all summer and be prepared on the first day back! I have been buying school supplies since 1994! (my oldest was in toddler day care as I returned to my classroom when she was 1 year old until age 2. I then stopped teaching full time to be at home with her, but the next year she began nursery school!)
SO.....how do we organize supplies for daughters who are 5 1/2 years apart and in 2 different schools now? It really is very easy. I have a cardboard box for my oldest as she needed many supplies for junior high. The box has her name on it and is on a shelf in our basement. In junior high, each different course was color-coded to help teach the students to stay organized. This was very beneficial for students who still struggled with organizational skills after 6th grade. Now that she is in high school, there are no specific color folders/notebooks needed and the supply list will not be handed out until the first day back. Knowing my 14 year old, she will color-code her own courses as she loves to stay organized. I think it is because she is a high achiever...either that or she is just like me! So, in Courtney's box we just have a package of pencils for Math, pens, a folder and aspiral notebook, plus the calculator for math. She will add the "Oliver Twist" novel once she is done as she will need it for Honors English. She also will be adding 4 packages ofindex cards for French class and she will need to stock up on Art Supplies for Studio Art. Her violin and music folder are in our music area of the living room all set for the first day of Orchestra. Her gym clothes are washed and set aside in her closet to be brought to school for the gym locker once she knows where it is. Bookbags are all cleaned and in her closet waiting for her to decide what is "in"....hm...will it be the LLBean bookbag (highly unlikely for a 9th grader!), the Vera Bradley bag or the AE bag? She has about 6 weeks to decide!
I have a rubbermaid container with lid that fits under my bed near my desk for supplies that the girls may need throughout the school year. It contains things like pencils, erasers, index cards, post-it notes, pens, highlighters, scissors, glue sticks, loose leaf paper.
Claire has a list from her 3rd grade team and I have purchased most of the items on it when Target had their sale last week. I will go to Staples to purchase the rest before we leave for the beach house. I have her things in a pile under my desk as I need to get another box for her. This year she needed folders in red, purple, yellow, green and blue. In 3rd grade they begin organizational skills even more than in 1st and 2nd so each color folder will be a different subject. She also needed 3 composition books for creative writing/language arts,math and science. She needed 3 laminiated folders with pockets for various writing assignments and "go-home" folders. In our district each grade gets a school district planner(for writing down assignments) They are free until junior high, but the cost is minimal. Beginning in 3rd grade, the students start cursive handwriting and it is graded. I believe the teacher will be supplying the paper for that. For the small things she has a plastic supply box that stays in her desk at school. It contains: small bottle of glue, pencils, eraser, small pair of scissors, small box of crayons, dry erase markers, (they practice handwriting and review printing on a dry erase board so as not to waste paper...isn't that a great idea? they also practice math facts on it and spelling words until test day when they use paper),fine point washable markers & post it notes. Every item must be labeled so I buy address labels for both girls and put them on everything including any books we buy for reading. One parent asked me how I labeled pencils and pens and I shared with her my tip: simply take your child's address label, place it horizontally on the pencil and "wrap" it. EASY!
SO: in summary: use plastic bins or a cardboard box! You can re-use them every year and keep things stocked as they go on sale. And that is how we stay organized for school around our house.
Next tip will be about the calendar I keep on the fridge for all those after school actiivities, church events/meetings, lessons, etc.
How do YOU organize your back to school items? I would love to hear your ideas!
SO.....how do we organize supplies for daughters who are 5 1/2 years apart and in 2 different schools now? It really is very easy. I have a cardboard box for my oldest as she needed many supplies for junior high. The box has her name on it and is on a shelf in our basement. In junior high, each different course was color-coded to help teach the students to stay organized. This was very beneficial for students who still struggled with organizational skills after 6th grade. Now that she is in high school, there are no specific color folders/notebooks needed and the supply list will not be handed out until the first day back. Knowing my 14 year old, she will color-code her own courses as she loves to stay organized. I think it is because she is a high achiever...either that or she is just like me! So, in Courtney's box we just have a package of pencils for Math, pens, a folder and aspiral notebook, plus the calculator for math. She will add the "Oliver Twist" novel once she is done as she will need it for Honors English. She also will be adding 4 packages ofindex cards for French class and she will need to stock up on Art Supplies for Studio Art. Her violin and music folder are in our music area of the living room all set for the first day of Orchestra. Her gym clothes are washed and set aside in her closet to be brought to school for the gym locker once she knows where it is. Bookbags are all cleaned and in her closet waiting for her to decide what is "in"....hm...will it be the LLBean bookbag (highly unlikely for a 9th grader!), the Vera Bradley bag or the AE bag? She has about 6 weeks to decide!
I have a rubbermaid container with lid that fits under my bed near my desk for supplies that the girls may need throughout the school year. It contains things like pencils, erasers, index cards, post-it notes, pens, highlighters, scissors, glue sticks, loose leaf paper.
Claire has a list from her 3rd grade team and I have purchased most of the items on it when Target had their sale last week. I will go to Staples to purchase the rest before we leave for the beach house. I have her things in a pile under my desk as I need to get another box for her. This year she needed folders in red, purple, yellow, green and blue. In 3rd grade they begin organizational skills even more than in 1st and 2nd so each color folder will be a different subject. She also needed 3 composition books for creative writing/language arts,math and science. She needed 3 laminiated folders with pockets for various writing assignments and "go-home" folders. In our district each grade gets a school district planner(for writing down assignments) They are free until junior high, but the cost is minimal. Beginning in 3rd grade, the students start cursive handwriting and it is graded. I believe the teacher will be supplying the paper for that. For the small things she has a plastic supply box that stays in her desk at school. It contains: small bottle of glue, pencils, eraser, small pair of scissors, small box of crayons, dry erase markers, (they practice handwriting and review printing on a dry erase board so as not to waste paper...isn't that a great idea? they also practice math facts on it and spelling words until test day when they use paper),fine point washable markers & post it notes. Every item must be labeled so I buy address labels for both girls and put them on everything including any books we buy for reading. One parent asked me how I labeled pencils and pens and I shared with her my tip: simply take your child's address label, place it horizontally on the pencil and "wrap" it. EASY!
SO: in summary: use plastic bins or a cardboard box! You can re-use them every year and keep things stocked as they go on sale. And that is how we stay organized for school around our house.
Next tip will be about the calendar I keep on the fridge for all those after school actiivities, church events/meetings, lessons, etc.
How do YOU organize your back to school items? I would love to hear your ideas!
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