Getting Organized: An Eclectic Curriculum

This year my goal was to eliminate the weekly Seek and Find, and the forgetting about resources. 

Using curriculums heavy in literature means LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of books, and then with netflix and other videos, it is just hard to keep track of everything. 
Then you add being eclectic into it, and well you just have lots and lots of stuff! 

So this year, I arranged all the books we will be using and put them in ONE place in ORDER of when they will be used.


I then utilized sticky notes!  I put sticky notes with the science and the history to make note of any additional resources I wanted to use (ie videos, lapbooks, additional books to the CORE curriculum).

Then I have a milk crate (I used this system last year as well) with hanging folders numbered 1-36 for each week.  The number system allows for flexibility!  I put the printed lesson plans (from ebooks) and any other printed items I have for that week in these file folders.  I use this for preschool items too.

I used the Schoolhouse Teachers ‘Big Mama’ Planner to personalize a few weekly planner sheets.  This way I can plan what goes in the workboxes each day for the week, and what we will cover in circle time each day.  I can also make note of any supplies I will need for the week, and have it all in ONE place, easy to access.  This sheet will go in that weeks folder.

I use pinterest as a HUGE organization tool.  I pin ideas throughout the year, and then as I plan out the week, I reference my pinterest boards.  I’ll make note of the ideas on the weekly plan sheets, and print off any materials I’ll need, which I store in the weekly folders. I spend Sunday evenings setting up the workboxes for the week, laminating and cutting out printed items, etc. 
What to do with those printables we’ve used in the past?  As you can see on my blog, we use printables each week, especially for preschool.  I laminate them all so that they are reusable, topics are revisited on a normal basis.  To solve the clutter issue, and to make them easy to find in the future…I decided to put them in manila envelopes and store them labeled in a bin.  All easily accessible for future use.

I used milk crates bought at Wal-mart and these magazine holders to organize the books and files:

matching document and cd boxes are also available. 
Now I just need to finish putting my Preschool Curriculum together! 
Linking up at Weekly Wrap Up – Curriculum Edition