Putting Away Your Books for the Next Child
At the end of this homeschool year, you will find yourself putting away your books for the next child. While it is tempting to just rush through this and rush into your next break, you will be glad you took time to do it right when it is time to get these same books out for your next child. Here are a few tips to help with putting away your books for the next child!
Use your Heart of Dakota catalog to help.
Your Heart of Dakota (HOD) catalog is a great resource to reference when you are putting away your books for the next child. Just flip to the section for the guide(s) you used. Put a sticky note in the catalog at the start of the guide(s) section, and enlist your kiddo(s) to help.
I had my sons put all of their books, CDs, binders, etc. on a table. When I was homeschooling all three, I had them each put their things separate places. One son set his things on the kitchen table, another son on the dining room table, and the last son on the living room floor.
Then, I met with them one at a time. Together, using the HOD catalog as a reference, we piled (in order) each package. We had one Economy Package pile, one Science Package pile, etc. Each pile, we made sure to follow the order of books in the catalog, with the first book in the package on top of the pile, and the last book in the package on the bottom.
Putting away stray papers and projects in their appropriate places.
Usually, as we are going through this process, we find stray papers and projects. This is a great time to file papers in their appropriate places (i.e. in the right section of their 3-ring binders). The kiddos also make decisions about which projects to keep and which to discard. Often times, special projects are kept to adorn their rooms or workspaces in the house. Other times, we snap a picture on our phone of the projects they want to remember that way and then discard them. Or, sometimes, the project is just not kept due to space issues and it not being as special or important to them to keep.
Putting away books for the next child to use and storing binders.
We have a bookshelf that has a book shelf for each son. Each year, we add a binder to the shelf, along with any other special things we want to keep that fit on the shelf. Finally, it is time for putting away the piles of books for the next child. I have about two large plastic tubs for each guide. I labeled the front with the name of the guide (i.e. World Geography). Then, as much as possible, we put the piles we already made in the tubs. We put the lids on, and we stack them in the basement. They are now ready for the next child!
Once my children were in middle school and especially in high school, they did this themselves. I just helped with the stray papers and projects part, as well as with the putting the binders on their shelves in the right order.
Putting away books with the next child in mind makes for a much easier start the next time you need that guide! I hope these simple tips help you start your year off right the next time you need a guide you’ve already used.
In Christ,
Julie
