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Bookswithtea
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Inspired by the simplicity thread, I am overhauling my sagging school shelves. The vast majority are living literature...picture books etc, a ton of Sonlight readers/read alouds K through the 10th grade, and other books on various topics that have been recommended here over the years.  This isn't where I keep any reference materials, manuals or Mom encouragement type books. There are no bookshelves in my kids rooms. I move the books we are planning on using for several months to our diningroom shelves and use this as the main storage area. My kids treat it like the library.
The problem is, I need new categories for the shelves (please don't suggest the dewey decimal system???  ). They have been organized for years by Sonlight core (oldest ds was mostly taught with SL), but over the years, my girls have used more FIAR and Serendipity type plans. It doesn't make sense to organize them by core anymore, even though I still use most of these books. I also have a shelf for everything related to the Alphabet Path, one for FIAR books, 2 for religion that have mostly Catholic Mosaic type books through high school level living books, two for science books, and one that has poetry, art, etc. I look at them and get a headache. My system has broken down because I don't school the way I used to, but my shelves are still organized by my old system.
Because I tend to group my kids according to learning teams each year, I cannot organize them by grade level. They are so heavy on historical literature that if I labeled a section "history" it would take 12 shelves and I wouldn't be able to find a thing. The only reason I can find anything now is because over the years I've pretty much memorized the Sonlight catalogue. Is that pathetic, or what??? 
Please help me! Tell me how you have your shelves organized so that you can find what you are looking for and can be inspired by them, rather than feeling  ?
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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JodieLyn
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I prefer categories.. for History I would break it down into time periods but don't get carried away with that either.. unless you need to for the sheer amount. Use the largest grouping you can and still find the books. So you might have 20th century but seperate categories for WWI and WWII.. but everything else would be in the general category for that century.
Then within categories I dont' worry about order so that it's easy for everyone to get the books back. They're much easier to find if it gets back vs being unable to refile a book or overwhelmed by trying to keep books in perfect order.
The kids books that aren't for any particular study area I tend to just do a general harder books on the top shelf working down to the picture books on the bottom.. so that the little kids can tend to reach the books you want them to have and the ones that they need to be older for are higher.
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Donna Marie
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I would LOVE to learn more about this too. We live in a shoe...and I have more of a cosmic library vision of a limited space...sheesh! What is wrong with me? I can't make up my mind as to how to handle this. Maybe I should just climatize the attic and make it one big library/walk-in-closet and get it over with...sure that will work, but...for..how...long...Spock..Ok,ok< I digress...
I did start to take all of the science-type books we had (all levels) and place them in egg boxes. I am trying to come up with categories under that and thin out from there. But it bothers me that one book that might work well for one child, might not do anything interest-wise for another.
I love garage sales and thrift stores and library sales and I love OOP books. arg! Book clutter here is worse than toy clutter...which is surprising to me. Don't know when that happened...but then again...I have an up and coming toddler...*reality check*
I need things neat or I will go bonkers I am so not a neat-nick, but I know that familial harmony depends on me corralling this stuff better. Too bad you can't store books in an attic or basement....sigh!
I don't have visions of grandeur right now. I am waaay too green and will be for at least 5 more weeks. I have plenty of time to plan or...better yet...delegate!
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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Bookswithtea
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JodieLyn wrote:
| I prefer categories.. for History I would break it down into time periods but don't get carried away with that either.. unless you need to for the sheer amount. Use the largest grouping you can and still find the books. So you might have 20th century but seperate categories for WWI and WWII.. but everything else would be in the general category for that century. |
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Not to sound neurotic or anything , but if I do this, then do I put an elementary aged WWI book on the same shelf with one a high schooler would use? Its the age along with the category thing that is stumping me.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Donna Marie
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Books, I have the same questions...I have such a wide age range here, it seems that everything needs to be out...but what should that LOOK LIKE? dunno...
I just polled my highschoolers. They said they like to find the other younger books on the subject they are studying shelved with their books. They say that it makes slogging though the harder books a little more appealing and it refreshes their memory....hmmm
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PDyer
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| Not to sound neurotic or anything , but if I do this, then do I put an elementary aged WWI book on the same shelf with one a high schooler would use? Its the age along with the category thing that is stumping me. |
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I don't think you sound neurotic, because you sound like me and I'm not neurotic. I think.  Anyway, I would classify history by time period, without regard to age, if you have multiple kids covering the same time period at any given time. That way you can see what age groups you have covered for each time period. I do this with history and by topic for science, but I have a lot fewer books than you do, I bet!
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Tami
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I know I don't have the volume of books that you do, but I basically group things the way Jodie does: categories. All of the history is by time period, regardless of age level. That way it's all in one place.
I have a shelf for math, Saxon grouped together in order of level, followed by Teaching Textbooks, then Key To, then misc. books.
I have a separate literature shelf, for books that aren't keyed to my ususal curriculum, books we read aloud for fun, like Little House or Beatrix Potter, Boxcar Children or joke books.
Science books are grouped by topic. Language arts split out between English grammar/writing, and foreign language.
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When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. (Nouwen)
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JodieLyn
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I would Books.. put the ages together in the History section.. for several reasons..
1) you'll still be able to find a particular book that way
2) you can coordinate better.. you can see that you can study a particular topic with the whole family or if you need another book for younger or older.
3) If something is difficult to understand you can see if there's another book that would be easier to understand, or if something isn't challenging enough as well.
To me it makes more sense to go by category.. if it's about WWII it's about WWII. If it's for ages 5-7 a 10 yr old might find it a good intro or a 4 yr old a good read aloud etc. So the ages to me are much more flexible so they don't make as good of categories.. and then I don't have to hunt several places for the above reasons.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Tami
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JodieLyn wrote:
To me it makes more sense to go by category.. if it's about WWII it's about WWII. If it's for ages 5-7 a 10 yr old might find it a good intro or a 4 yr old a good read aloud etc. So the ages to me are much more flexible so they don't make as good of categories.. and then I don't have to hunt several places for the above reasons. |
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Yes! That's why I did mine that way!
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Tami
When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. (Nouwen)
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JodieLyn
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If that would absolutely drive you crazy.. arrange by age within the categories if you must.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Paula in MN
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I do it in much the same way as Jodie. Math has its own shelf, Science has two shelves. Art and Music are shelved together, Language Arts are together. History and Geography are on three shelves, and Faith is on four shelves. I also try to keep movies in the same general categories, and if they fit I put them with the associated books.
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Mackfam
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This is quite a process, isn't it? Book organization.
Here's how I started doing this a few years ago and I have to say it has been working for us very, very well.
** I organize by genre. So, history gets 2 entire bookshelves within the living room since it is by far my biggest collection. Science/Nature Study is my next biggest. Other genre's: Arts, Language Arts, Religion, Geography, Catholic picture books, general picture books, Catholic Mosaic collection, classic/family favorite read alouds, Catholic reference, general reference, and I get my own shelf!
** Within each genre, I further organize by category. So, within Science/Nature Study, there are Bird collections, Paleontology collections, tree collections, etc.
** Within each category, I further group. I group according to how we search for books...for Catholic Mosaic I group by month the picture book is read, for history, I group according to period. I once grouped according to author's last name, but that didn't work well and I couldn't find what I needed when I was searching. For history, since I search within a time period, I group that way as well. I do group all books together (from early reader to high school) but I generally start from left to right with easier reading to the left progressing from there to the right.
** I have shelves that are WAAAAAYYY up high on the wall. I make use of these for storing particular books that aren't being used by a child during that year. Mostly, these include Latin books we aren't in for the year, Saxon, Language Arts. I also keep collections of favorite magazines on the up-way-high shelves...we don't keep many of these: Nature Friend, Mater et Magistra. I like that these are accessible (I occasionally grab one for reference), but not in the normal traffic pattern. Makes good use of ALL wall space.
** I try to make spaces work efficiently, so book groupings are placed on shelves in an area that makes the most sense. I realize this is a luxury for me. I'm able to do this in a learning room, but still, if you have a little nature study area set up in a corner of the kitchen, consider keeping your science/nature study books grouped and organized near that area. I keep my own shelf near my desk so I can grab a book of poetry, answer key, songbook, catechism, Handbook of Nature Study from my desk for planning or teaching.
Does this make sense? Genre --> Category --> Groups 
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Mackfam
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Ooh! **rubbing my hands together**
I was cross posting with so many of you! Apparently this is a delicious topic! I'm off to read what you wrote and see if I can glean anything further from you all! 
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Jen Mackintosh
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I'm eerily like Jodie!
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Erin
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I would go by topics and then sub-topics.
ie. History - American History - Civil War.
It would really depend on how many books you had on a topic as to how many sub-topics you would need.
If you only had a small amount of Greek History you would only need one sub, but if you had lots you might have to sub-topic say Greek Myths within Greek History.
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Mackfam
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Erin wrote:
I would go by topics and then sub-topics.
ie. History - American History - Civil War.
It would really depend on how many books you had on a topic as to how many sub-topics you would need.
If you only had a small amount of Greek History you would only need one sub, but if you had lots you might have to sub-topic say Greek Myths within Greek History. |
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Oh, that's a great point, Erin! I need to tidy up some of my sub-topic shelving too! Perfect reminder!
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Jen Mackintosh
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TxTrish
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I organize like most of the other ladies here, by category, and then broken down within by subject, time period or whatever. Mostly, I keep all books together by subject. From picture books through high school and beyond.
I group entire series together (like all the Picturesque Tales of Progress together, and so on)
Before my parents moved in, I had most everything bookwise in our schoolroom. The schoolroom is now their bedroom/sitting room - it is 30 x 30.
Previously, all our bedrooms had 1 shelf unit for a few personal favorites (or ones I want to become favorites). Now, my books are largely in my room (7 floor to ceiling shelves and 3 shorter ones we do school in here) and the rest spread through out the house.
Some are in the attic in crates (Saxon, Apologia Science, and a lot of school supplies). No way around it, but I hate it, we are in FL.
I do have an enormous amount of books, too. We have moved frequently through the years and with a large family it is just easier to own them. (we are moved by our company - I don't actually pack and tote my own books) THis way I don't need to count on my library system or if I use the library, our ability to identify which of the library books actually go back to the library and which library books are ones we purchased at library sales and own.
I generally do not struggle with finding things. I suppose I am lucky that I have a pretty good recall for what is where. I pull whatever we are studying that year in history and science and keep it all together on our "current" shelves. I have a pretty good memory for what we have, and seldom repeat purchase. But, I find that regardless of how I organize - and I still tweek my system when a new idea comes along that I think will improve my organization - my children still ask me "where is _____________"when they are looking for something and it doesn't jump off the shelf and into their hands.
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Paula in MN
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TxTrish wrote:
But, I find that regardless of how I organize - and I still tweek my system when a new idea comes along that I think will improve my organization - my children still ask me "where is _____________"when they are looking for something and it doesn't jump off the shelf and into their hands.
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Hey, that happens here, too!!
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amyable
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TxTrish wrote:
But, I find that regardless of how I organize - and I still tweek my system when a new idea comes along that I think will improve my organization - my children still ask me "where is _____________"when they are looking or something and it doesn't jump off the shelf and into their hands.
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LOL! Here too.
But this brings up a good point - a system is only as good as it's weakest link (i.e. the kids ) - it either needs to be simple enough that your kids can maintain it, or you have to be OK with being the one *constantly* keeping up with it.
Which brings us back to the whole simplicity thread.
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Bookswithtea
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OK...so
1--group according to category/genre
2--within that, left to right increase in age level
3--certain shelves can be specific to a program (like CM or FIAR)
I'm planning on weeding out at the same time. Its long overdue...Read: Trading Post offers likely to ensue when I'm done!
I do tend to rely on my shelves rather than the library, which is close to 30 minutes away. Between that and the age of my oldest, it does equate to a lot of books.
This is going to be very different for me. I'm used to having a year's worth of readers for, say, early American history, all appropriate for a certain level of reading proficiency, rather than by time period.
Its going to be A LOT of re-organizing.
You know...I keep trying to imagine this, but for history, my brain thinks in terms of
Elem. Am. history
Elem. World history
Middle School American history
Middle School World History.
High School Am. history
High School World history
Would it be weird to group my history this way???
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Topic: Book organization
