Organizing a homeschool library

Colorful sticker dots are perfect for organizing homeschool libraries

Lot of families love books, but there is just something about homeschooling that makes books multiply!  Although many resources are now available in electronic format, homeschoolers are still well-known for having books in almost every corner of the house.

How to store books is another story.  Obviously, there are many different storage solutions ranging from totes and baskets, closets and drawers, bedside tables and — a favorite when my children were young – under beds!

At some point, however, as the number of books scattered throughout the house grows out of control, it makes sense to corral them and start a library.  What to put in your library is up to you, but you can get some ideas HERE.

Organizing a homeschool library is key.  It’s easy at first when the library is very small.  But as it grows, you’ll appreciate having a general system of classification to make finding books easier.  At-home classification systems do not have to be very sophisticated, or can be as complex as you wish.  Some families even adopt the Dewey Decimal system at home!

What I suggest is taking a good, long look at all of the books in the library.  Get a general sense for what’s in there.  Should your family own many biographies, consider creating a classification called “Biographies” for the library.  If mysteries are what your children love, create a “Mystery” section.  And so on.  In our home, we have lots of what we call “Literature” books;  they’re coded with green dots:

Most libraries have reference materials, so consider a “Reference” section.  Perhaps a “Cookbook” section is needed if cooking is practiced in your home.  Do “Hobbies” also need a section in your library? Perhaps you have enough books for an entire “Poetry” shelf, a whole “Nature” shelf, or a section devoted to “Animals” in your homeschool library.

Place stickers on the spine of every book, or simply place books on labeled shelves.  Or both.

Grade-level materials can be handled one of two ways.  Some families place individual resources on shelves where every subject belongs (i.e., a “Math” shelf and an “English” shelf).  Others prefer to label books using stickers, and keep all books for each grade together.  Sticker dots are perfect for this application, as they can be used either for color-coding, or writing on, or both:

No matter how your family decides to classify and organize books, make sure it works well for everyone in the home.  Systems should be as easy for young children as it is for teens and adults.  Then, sit back and enjoy the rewards of having your very own homeschool library!

[Images: Moreau]