CTC: Organizing

[Chrissy]

I am preparing to use CTC with my 10yob in the fall and am excited about it. This will be our first time using HOD.

I was thinking about using some kind of magazine files (like these: http://clp.org/product/tidi_files_set_of_20_1751) to put together his books & materials for each "box". His only remotely negative comment about CTC is that it seems to be a lot of books to keep up with!

Has anyone done something similar or have any input about possible pro's & cons?

Thanks!
Chrissy

[Susan]

I use dish pans that you wash dishes in. They are wider than most containers I've seen. I put all read-alouds in one, independent history in another, DITHOR in another, etc. I put all the language arts in one and my daughter knows exactly where everything is. Oh, I forgot science. I have a low bookcase that is wide and I put the tubs in them. There are easy to see and reach. That's one idea!
Susan

[8arrows]

I used a rubberband and placed the books not in use on our bookshelf. That way the children knew not to read them yet, but they didn't have to keep track of them. I also kept the Child's Geog. and Genesis book with my belongings (since they are teacher directed) to cut down on book control.

[Chrissy]

Thanks for the ideas, ladies! I'm still contemplating the best system for this particular child. When I get all of our stuff from this year put away and really start organizing for the fall, I'm sure the plan will come together.

Chrissy
Mom to...
ds 10 (CTC in the fall!)
dd 14
ds 16
ds 18 (homeschool graduate soon!)
ds 20 (homeschool graduate, in college)

[my3sons]

I have 2 tubs for each child. One tub is for only the current books we are using, and the other tub is for the books we'll use later in the year. So, for example, we only have the 1 DITHOR book, the 1 Science book, the 1 Storytime book, the first semester of math, etc. in the tub rather than the full set of them. This may or may not be helpful, but I snapped pics of getting ready for Bigger last year at this link, and it shows the system I described:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5531

I used CTC last year and did this. It worked well for us - HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[Michelle My Bell]

We are using CTC and that is exactly what I use for all of my children. I also make a weekly lesson plan sheet that includes all of their work (HOD and additional subjects) that have little check boxes. I store any worksheets and this lesson planner sheet on a clipboard which goes into one of the boxes. This allows my daughter to work completely independently until she needs me. The lesson planner is customized, but I don't have to add much to it each week. At the end of the week, I file away the worksheets and lesson planner into her binder and add the coming weeks work to the clipboard.

Michelle

[eazbnsmom]

Chrissy,

It all depends on your child. I started using a variation of the workboxes last year with all my children (I used a hanging file with folders instead of the bins). It didn't work for my oldest daughter who needed to see everything at once, so I used a desktop "mail sorter" and put all her books in there where she could see them. The hanging file system worked GREAT for my 2nd daughter who liked having everything labeled in the order she should do them. She would get upset if I told her to do math before history and history was in the 2 file and math was in the 3 file, but she learned just to switch them as necessary. Since I was combining my boys in Beyond I kept most of the books except their reading, handwriting & math books. They too had their own hanging files but I think it would have been easier for them if I just gave them their own "dishpan" like a previous owner mentioned that they could just throw their books into (which is what they did with the file container) So again I think all depends on what works best for your child. I think the important thing is to have all their books in one place where they know where they are and can grab them as needed.

[mamas4loves]

I started out the year with things in magazine files. I liked it and I didn't. My magazine files weren't the most sturdy (I was trying to be frugal!) so my dd got a little frustrated with them. I did combine two boxes/magazine file--usually the two that were scheduled together, ex--reading about History and Independent History were in one magazine file.
I moved to a wicker milk crate and I like that much better.(I am more of a dump and go kind of person than a filer and the milk crate looks nice) It takes up less room on the book shelf. I only keep current books in the milk crate, other books are kept elsewhere on another shelf. So far dd seems to be liking it too.

Have fun deciding what will work best for your family! I love the variety each of our kids have and it's fun to discover what is going to work!

Jess