Share your bookshelf organization!

[Rebecca]

If you are using a complete HOD program (or more than one!) do you have your shelves organized in a certain way?

We are using Bigger next year/ or this summer... I have Bigger history, science, DITHOR(for the rising third grader), Storytime, Extension packand the emerging reader set(for the rising second grader). I also have Beyond as a back- up plan for the rising second second grader. I am planning on using the Beyond manual for math and language arts at the minimum.

Anyone want to share your tips?

Rebecca

[joyfulheart]

The stuff we are currently using goes ina basket in our dining room.

Everything else (read and unread) goes on a shelf in the office.

If I had it all "together" and son sees it he gets overwhelmed. I have to bring out only what we need at the moment.

[netpea]

well.... about once a month I put it all back on the bookshelf, then it slowly works its way back into 2 or more piles on the floor, dining room table, or kitchen counter.

[Kathleen]

Great question Rebecca.    I need to think about this, too.  My main concern is not losing any of the books I need for my oldest to my busy younger 2!    Their current favorite thing to do is find some gift bags in the closet and go around the house "bagging" things up while my attention is with my oldest doing school.  I have found things in the strangest places!  I want a place to keep the books...(maybe a really high bookshelf?)...where they're usable but won't migrate!
Seriously, I do put limits on my kids. They don't get to do anything they want to, but I'd love some advice from someone with experience as to how they organized things so that they're easy to use and the kids could easily tell which books were free to read or take anywhere and which were "off limits" to keep for school.
Kathleen

[inHistiming]

Our 'school' books are on a higher shelf in what we call the school room, though we don't have school in there ; manuals, books for later, etc. Those are the ones we are not currently using. There are many shelves in this room, so it also holds all children's books (not school related) and any science-type books we have, our encyclopedias, extra dictionaries, hubby's books, and some of my books. I have two desks in there that I hope to use soon, but so far it works out better to do our work in the dining room.

I have our current binders in a separate book case that is in the dining room, where we do our school work. This also holds our bibles, LHTH, and the books for Bigger... because we will move right into that when we finish this school year, and a few devotional and poetry books we sometimes use. There is another book case that holds all of our games that sits in the dining room as well. On the top shelf, I have 3 small tubs that hold each of dc books we use every day. They can go to that tub and find the appropriate math or reading book, get it out, and start. I'm sure there is probably a better way, but it works for us for now. My only problem is I don't have enough space for everything and much of our 'stuff' ends up getting placed on top of our piano. I need to figure out a way to fit more shelving into our home...or get rid of some things!

[water2wine]

Ok here is what I have And this is for easy access and survival because I am only organized in a weird way that is kind of not the normal standard. I want to have everything at my hands but I do not want to see it. And since the library doesn't carry most of the stuff I want my kids to read I have a lot on hand. It makes sense when you can recycle it to the next.

-We do read alouds so I have all read alouds and the manuals near the couch. We use a wire mesh basket. It comes out during school and back in the coffee table chest after school. Also have some other read alouds in a separate smaller wire basket. BHFHG has a basket and LFFHG has a basket. When we do school they come out and when we are done they go back in. This allows us to start our morning without a mad hunt for some book.

- I have another cabinet that has our DITHR and Emerging readers also in the family room. That is because I do not want to find them scattered all over the school room and who knows where. Also in there are future books that go with BHFHG and things from the appendix of LHFHG just to keep them away from everything else. There is a plastic box that contains all the Emerging readers that are not currently being read or have been read.

I put stickers on the spine that color coded the program they go to and then if I could put the reading level and the genre on it in case I wanted to use it for DITHR at some point. I coded all the DITHR books that are not part of the main HOD green with reading level and genre. It's kind of like a mini library system for all the books I want to use with DITHR and what goes in the actual HOD program. I will keep doing this so I can easily reuse the higher programs with my younger two. My plan is each level goes in a plastic tub to pull out in a few years after we are done.

- Most people have a coat closest, I have a book closest with shelves. In there are books I want to use next year, their notebooks, books we use for certain things but I don't want beat up. And I have a plastic container for games.

- There math LA and anything they do independent are on a shelf in my dining room which is our actual school room. That is where all my paper and school supplies are as well and all our art. Everything there is in a cabinet, a basket or on our one small book shelf that is openly accessible. I also have future levels of Math LA that we use next because we school year round.

- Other thing that I have that is really helpful is the phonics basket. It is a basket that has all the phonics tools I have for my dd that struggles with reading and that I pull out sometimes with my other kids.

I am sure that is more than you wanted to know.