How I Organize

I recently read Emily Ley’s book Simplified Life. I loved it! She is like minded to me. Y’all, less really is MORE! 

A common question I get is about how to organize all the preschool things. First of all I want you to know you don’t need lots of stuff to do preschool well! Household items work just as well as the tools you’d find in the school supply section or in a traditional classroom. Counting bears are GREAT! (I love them!) but rotelle noodles work just as well! …and you can dye them too! 😉

Here’s my basic break down of everything preschool related in our house:

Binder: All lessons, printouts, artifacts (I have a post coming next week all about the artifacts we keep and the projects we toss)

Baskets: one for paper materials (construction paper, sentence strips, cardstock) one for randoms (stickers, yarn, beads, buttons, popsicle sticks, extra glue) one for paint supplies (paints, paint cups, brushes, smocks) and one for Play-Doh and accessories. [For inquiring minds, the baskets are from IKEA and the piece of furniture, also from IKEA, is the Kallax.]

Books: We, admittedly, do have a lot of books around the house. We keep some on the same shelf with the supply baskets, some in a basket in the girls’ room, and the books specific to the unit we’re studying are on a shelf in our den. Pretty much all of the books we have are borrowed from the local library. I have a few classics from my classroom and we’ve gotten some books as gifts but for the most part we borrow lots and lots of books. I rotate them often and keep a steady flow of new material to read/look through. 

Calendar: Simple $2 calendar from Target’s One Spot and cute covers from my resource page. 

Pocket Chart: Anchors like alphabet cards, sight words, numbers, etc. 

Easel: Clips to display daily work (mostly so we remember to show Daddy when he gets home!)

We keep some paper activities and art projects but not most. A lot of what we keep goes in the girls composition notebooks because they are (in my mind) the artifact that will last longest. 🙂 My sentimental heart imagines going through them with my adolescent children and smiling at the beginning of their educational careers. 🙂 

As you sort through your school supplies and resources try to keep in mind, less is more! The beauty of using the Little Learner curriculum is that it’s a digital file saved on your computer. Print as many pages as you desire and feel freedom as you toss activities as you complete them. Tuck a few into that composition notebook or frame an art project here or there but don’t feel compelled to keep it all. Supply-wise, I’d keep a few staples on hand (construction paper, glue, yarn, play-doh, etc) but for the most part you don’t need a lot of stuff. I’ll continue to keep the curriculum simple and resources minimal!