Binders

We use a lot of binders in our house. I have binders for recipes, crafts, important household info, travel info & games, song lyrics, home school info, etc. I’ve also got my daughter using binders for most schoolwork. Any topics that she’s very interested in or will take a long time to cover, has a binder. She has binders for the Human Body, Animals, and American Indians. These binders have worksheets, notes she has taken, pages of info, and other things dealing with those topics. She can look through them at any time to refresh her memory. She can continue to add to them whenever she wants. Best of all, they’re organized. Tons of info on each topic, in it’s own binder, easy to find, and not scattered all over the house.

One ongoing thing we’re learning about is the States and Presidents & First Ladies. She has a binder for each of these. I made worksheets, one for the states & one for the presidents. I made copies so that each state & each president has their own page. Whenever she learns about a new state or pres., she fills out a page in her binder for it. She can also add other things to the binders. If she gets a postcard from another state, photos from a trip, maps, pictures of a president, or anything else relating to a state or president, she can put it in a page protector & into the binder.

We have a large D-ring binder for history. When learning about a new point in history, she takes notes, draws pictures, compares ancient cultures, etc. All of this goes into the History binder. She can continue to add to it throughout her entire home school education. She can add photos of projects we did, reports she’s written, info she’s found, and anything else related to the times in history we study.

We also have what we call the Research/Resource binder. This binder, right now, is mainly filled with laminated pages of info that I’ve purchased. It contains info on chess, different math topics, science, foreign languages, sign language, religions, grammar, music, and first aid. It also contains a world & U.S. map, and examples of cursive & manuscript writing. It’s far from being a comprehensive resource for doing research, but it’s an easy way for the kids to look up some info on certain topics. I try to add to it as often as I can, so it is always growing.

This year we also started using binders for many other subjects as well. We now have binders for Foreign Language, Language Arts, Music & Musicians, Math, Science, Nature Studies, Scientists & Inventors, Geography, Art & Artists, Reading Log, Timeline, and Home Ec, as well as the others previously mentioned. These binders will contain penmanship pages, notebooking pages, worksheets, notes, important information for reference, drawings, etc. They will be added to constantly, with each new study. At the end of the year, most of these pages (the new binders we’ve started) will be moved to file folders in a file box, and she will have plenty of room for next year’s work. Some of the binders will not have any work removed: the history binder, Timeline binder, States, Presidents & First Ladies, American Indians, Human Body, Animals and of course the Research binder among others.

We use binders for a lot of stuff in our home. They’re a relatively inexpensive way to organize information, and they’re easy to store. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day we had an entire bookcase filled with only binders. There are so many things binders can be used for. I know that I will continue to use them for many things and many years.

I hope this has helped at least give you ideas of ways to help organize your own home, school, or children. Sometimes, when trying to organize our lives, we overlook the simple things. Organizing does not have to be complicated. Start simple and work your way up to the more complicated things, like organizing your child’s bedroom.