I am starting to purchase books for year 1 and am wondering where everyone is keeping their books. Do you have a shelf set aside for the books for year 1? Where do you all store all of these books for the next time around?
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Blessings,
Shelley

I set aside part of a bookshelf just for Tapestry books. I came up with a system of colored dots to put on the spine of each book I purchased. I have one color for each year and then one color for each unit. For example, all year 1 books have a yellow dot. Under that dot, unit one has a blue dot, unit 2 has a green dot, unit 3 has a red dot, and unit 4 has a yellow dot. (Spine books used for more than one unit just get the colored dot for the year, not a second dot for the unit.)

On the dots I write abreviations so I know year, unit, and level (Yr.1, Un. 1, LG) but I can easily see at a glance where the books are that I need for the unit I am working on. I pull just the books I need for the current unit and put those on the shelf where I keep all the
school books/notebooks that we are using at that time.

If you don't have bookshelf space, you might keep the books organized by year and unit in plastic tubs or cardboard file boxes (with lids) stored in a closet or under a bed.

Before storing books though, think about whether you will need those books the next time around. Will you have a student at that level when you do that year again? If not, you can sell the books and use the money to buy what you need for the next year.

Beth

I love your marking system, Beth.

I have been homeschooling for 16 years. I have never sold a book, of course my youngest just finished second grade so I will still need most of them.

I have a floor-to-ceiling bookcase in my room, three in the living room, a smaller one in the family room, two in the school room, each child has a personal bookcase in their room, I have 4 15 foot shelves mounted on the wall in the basement, books on closet shelves, under beds, and in random piles around the house. It is sinful. I keep thinking I will have them for my grandkids someday.

I love the quote from Erasmus - "When I get a little money, I buy books. If there is any left over I buy food and clothes."

I keep everything for the year we are in on one shelf, but as we go throught the material each child has a spot where they can put their current books and workbooks where those books go. So some ongoing books, live the year in that spot.

At the end of the year I have some really high shelves where the year plans and one year only books go, but they could also easily go into a large rubber maid tub and be sent to the attic or basement.

I also have another shelf available for the next year's plan in the spring of the preceeding year. This serves as a place to collect incoming materials.

Bookshelves are on my hubby's "Honey do" list for the future. For now I have the books separated by years in large to extra-large rubbermaid tubs. I pull out books for the first unit and keep them on top of my dresser inside a drawer I pulled out of a desk we no longer use. Then, each Monday I take that week's books downstairs and set them near their school books. Then I would do the same when I am ready to start the next unit, but placing the books we have already used in another empty tub so I don't have to sort through books I have already used.
I have hopes of placing books on bookshelves by year someday. However, I am not sure they would stay sorted with 5 children in the house. So tubs work well for us now. At least I know the book I am looking for is in the tub.....somewhere!!

I would like someone to invent a beeper thing sort of like on the cordless phone so I can find the books when they go wandering. Even with all the shelves I have (and most are designated for specific subjects/years) the books are just as likely to be somewhere else. With 5 kids somebody is always taking them off somewhere. Why do they turn up in the linen closet?

Thank you guys sooooo much! I am rearranging the bookshelves to acomodate all of the new books I am buying I love the coding of the books on the spine. It may help me find the books when they go missing which happens alot in this house! So, I need one of those beeper things too!
Blessings,
Shelley

I just found some neat file folder labels at Dollar Tree - they are sold in a pkg of 240 - 2 sheets of each color. (yellow, red, blue and green) They are comparable to Avery 5266...

I used Word to type up labels for the book spines. I have been able to get 2 labels out of each label.

I used Red for Year 1, Yellow for Year 2, Green for Year 3 and Blue for Year 4. Then, on the label, I note the level (lg, ug, d or r) and the unit - and either history, lit, worldview, etc.

I have one large book shelf for the current year and the rest I have stored in Rubbermaid containers by year.

Amy,

That is a good idea. I just recently discovered that if you use Avery labels you can find a template at their website that you can download for that particular label number and then type your labels and they come out perfect. I have used this to label file folders for each child, each week and I am printing their SAPs to go in them. Now I will look for labels for my books, too.

I am cleaning off some shelves and boxing up all the books that are not going to be used for Year 2 LG, UG, and DI (which are the levels I have this year). I bought Bankers Boxes at Wal-Mart. They are heavy cardboard with lift-off lids and I think the package of ten cost me $6.99. They hold legal size files sideways and letter size the other direction so they are great for books, as it is still possible for me to lift them even when they are full.