The Hunting and Gathering Stage

Moving on now to gathering and purchasing materials for the coming school year.  To keep things organized, I create a table in Word with the following column headings:

Item

Subject/ Storage Location

For Whom

Purchase, gather or organize

Source

Price

Notes

Remember, this is after I have already done the research and chosen what books and materials I will use for each child.  This table helps me in the "hunting and gathering" of all those materials I want to use. 

The Item column is self explanatory - just the name of the resource.

  The Subject/Storage/Location column is where I will jot down not only the subject but where I will keep the books and where we will use the books.  For instance, we do Math at the dining room table but history read alouds are done in the living room.  I store the books as close as possible to the place they are used.  I note this on my sheet, so as I gather books I can easily remember where to put them as we await the new school year.

For Whom is self explanatory. I write the name of the child the item is for.

Purchase, Gather, Organize  is where I note whether this book is already on our shelves or if I have to buy it.  I also note here if something requires organization.  An example of that would be a lap book of some sort, or even something like All About Spelling.  I try to get things set up ahead of time so that things run smoothly during the year.  This column is sort of a"to do list".

Source is where I note the company I will purchase from.  If I already have the item I can just put "home" here, or something like that.  Notations in this column might change if I find the resource at a cheaper price.

Price helps me stay in my budget. 

Notes is where I put anything I want to remember while I'm preparing to use this item.

Once this table is filled out I write up my shopping lists.  I have done this with paper and pen and also at the computer.  I guess it just depends on the mood I'm in.  I usually have several lists.  Emmanuel Books and Rainbow Resources appear every year.  I also purchase from other companies though so those will each have their own list. 

When everything on my Gathering and Purchasing list has been noted, I take my lists and start ordering, or pulling items off of our shelves. I have to admit I enjoy buying new books, but there is a certain satisfaction that comes from using resources that I already own.