Organizing Workspaces for Productivity

A big thank you to Apologia for sponsoring this series…

Our homeschool has evolved quite a bit over the past four years.  We’ve been on quite the journey and I think I’m the one who has learned the most about education, our children, and life.  I’ve also learned much about what does and does not work within our homeschool setting.

One thing I’ve really realized with our little ones is their need for order.

Organization is the key to productivity.  Don’t we all inherently know this truth?  Easier said than done though, I know.  As a Mom trying to cling to the principals of a Charlotte Mason home education, I’m striving to improve the order and good habits of myself, our children, and our homeschool.  (Notice that special word, STRIVING!?)

I’d like to offer a simple tip to help you organize your children’s individual work stations or spaces.

Because we live in a small house, we don’t have a technical ‘homeschool room’.  We have half of the mudroom which functions mostly as storage for books and activities.  Almost all our ‘homeschooling’ happens at the kitchen table, so I can understand the chaos of many homeschools  because ours is possibly among the worst!  On any given day we have at least 20 books, tons of paper, markers, art supplies, plants, little containers of bugs, toys, blocks, etc. all piled on one table.

As we sat down to do unit studies and work together, it was hard to focus.  Even if I cleared the clutter and placed only buckets of the required items (let’s say, glue sticks and scissors in one bucket, pencil crayons in another, and pencils in another) it still seems cluttered.

What I was noticing is our children were getting lost before we even started.  I’d present them with an activity and they’d be overwhelmed by all those buckets of supplies.  They wouldn’t know where to start, even if I was trying to coach them.

This year, I started putting out activities with specific needs placed alongside.  So, if we were coloring a science page and labeling the parts of a flower, I’d give each child a page, ONE pencil, and the exact number of colored pencil crayons they needed right beside their page.  Each ‘work station’ looked beautiful and organized. The children came eager and interested in what was ‘next’.

 

I couldn’t believe how this affected their productivity and ability to focus!

Organizing activities and work spaces in this way makes the space welcoming for the child, visually stimulating, and far less overwhelming than a table crowded with art supplies and writing tools.  It allows them to easily accomplish their task in an orderly, simple manner.

Give it a try!