Don’t judge me by that photo – I’ll explain the chaos in a minute.

Over the past few years I have developed a system of  getting ready for the coming school year that is a bit wacky.  I thought I’d share it with you hoping that I’m not the only goofball out there who revels in a good mess.

Last week I discussed Step 1, which is to re-analyze my teaching philosophy.  I look specifically at how I can best help my children to learn, and tailor my general teaching style to their needs.

For many people Step 2 would be to set goals, but that doesn’t work well for me (it comes later, don’t worry).  I make a mess.  A big one.  Now I know that doesn’t make sense, but the reasoning is simple.  Kids will talk about what they can see and touch.  In order to get them to open up, I give them free reign of our storage space.

Step 2: Get Messy
What worked? What didn’t? What are your students passionate about?

Messy Materials

Notebook in hand, I start moving materials off of their neatly appointed shelves, and as I do so I am able to look at our school in detail.    I have written before about making room for the mess, but this takes it to a whole new extreme.  Everything gets moved.

While I don’t actually advocate tossing books around willy nilly, I have become a bit won over by the chaos.  I love seeing my kids enamored with learning, and they make some amazing connections that i would not otherwise have made.  Hearing things like “Mom, could we use this crochet  book when we study history next year?” gets my creative juices flowing, and my notebook begins to fill up.

A tidy space leads to missed opportunities.  If our students can’t reach a book, they can’t learn from it.  If they don’t have the opportunity to handle supplies, their curiosity will never be piqued.  In the craziest way, my effort to be an organized mom is one of the unseen barriers to my kids’ education.  So, for a short time every year, I intentionally become the messy mom.  Things from the top shelf come down, projects are strewn about, and we giggle and revel in the chaos as we re-organize.

Messy Conversations

Being a good educator requires a lot of emotional strength.  My students don’t always say what I want to hear, but I can’t improve without their input.

As we sort through our materials my kids begin to jabber.  They thumb through books and are very open about what they hate (“Can we donate this one?”) and what they love (“Ooh!  I can’t wait for *youngest* to be old enough to do that!”), play with unfamiliar supplies, and flip through their old portfolios.

Some of those materials that they want to donate are expensive, well researched, and have a lot of Mommy-emotional-strings attached.  It is hard to admit that I was wrong.

On the positive side, I fully believe in the power of interest-led learning, and this is a perfect time for collecting ideas about the subjects that will resonate best with them.

While we are shifting things around, I like to ask lots of questions:

• What did you like best about school this year?
• What did you learn in that book?
• If you could pick anything to study, what would it be?
• What is the hardest subject? Why?
• If you could keep only one thing the same, what would it be?

To be clear, I don’t make spur of the moment decisions based only on their opinions, but I do write down what they say so that I can mull it over.  Giving my kids the freedom to tell me when they hate my favorite supplies is just one piece of the puzzle.  I try to be honest with myself  as I consider all of my observations in preparation the the coming year.

Making Sense of the Mess

Out with the old

Organizing my space after the free-for-all isn’t as bad as it sounds.  I start with old projects.    The process of getting rid of old creations allows me the joy of seeing how far we have progressed.  A few are keepers, but most are simply photographed and discarded.

A bit harder is to evaluate all of the curriculum I  just used.  As I re-shelve  the past year’s materials I consider what worked and what didn’t.  Then I try to process why. I keep a tiny notebook in my back pocket to record any observations.  Anything we are obviously not going to use again I box up for either donation to our local library or selling online.

Sorting the Keep

Next, I make sure that everything is put away in a sensible order so that I can find what I need.  Books are grouped by topic, art supplies are sorted into their appropriate drawers, and science materials are re-shelved.  That handy notebook comes into play again as I notice which materials we are running low on or need to replace.

In with the new

While sorting, I look through what we already have and determine what I can use for the coming year. (Sometimes this is a welcome surprise, as I occasionally forget what I have previously purchased.)  These materials are all moved to a separate area of the room and organized by topic, with specific emphasis placed on grouping items that I think would work for our Unit Studies.  This gives me a starting point for when I begin planning.  I can see at a glance what materials I will need, and what I already own.

As I fill up our shelves I intentionally leave space for materials that will be coming in as I purchase materials for the coming year.  I also designate a place for incoming papers and another for projects.

Are you missing out on this important learning opportunity?  I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I encourage you to try getting messy – it will not only help you to get you more organized, but it will allow you the opportunity to view a window into your student’s perception of your school.  Let me know if you try (it is nice to have support among the goofballs of the world)!

Next week: Homeschool Planning – How to Set Goals and Reach Them.  I promise this will be a less crazy, more organized post.  I have some great tips to share!