If someone asked me what curriculum I use to homeschool my kids, I might be tempted to answer “PDF.”  I admit, I use alot of resources I find online.  I have dialup, so that rules out video, but it still leaves a whole lot of PDF.  So how do I keep track of all these wonderful things?  It took me awhile to figure out, and you probably all know this, but I’ll share anyway.

I have a flashdrive that I store everything on.  But then there’s the problem of finding it when I need it.  I go exploring and might find something that we won’t need for a year.  The answer is folders, lots of folders.  I have no loose files.  I use the Heart of Wisdom history and science rotation which helps me organize info.

My catergories look like this: (I didn’t include every folder, you get the idea.)
Character
Clipart
Hebrew
History
     Year 1
       Folders: Ancient Israel, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, etc.
     Year 2
     Year 3
     Year 4
Just for fun
Maps
Math
Science
     Year 2
        Weather, Oceanography, Botany, Geology
Preschool
     Alphabet, Shapes, colors
Spelling
Torah Portions
     I have a folder for each torah portion, with a number in front so they stay in order.

With this system, if I stumble across a cool weather coloring page or worksheet, I put it in the weather folder and forget about it.  When I get a couple months away from doing the weather unit study, I go to that folder to see what I have, and then I can wisely decide what I still need.  This has worked great because I subscribe to weekly freebies from several sites.  The topic could be anything from volcanoes to Thomas Edison.  I can put it in the folder and use it a year later.

But what about all the websites that have great photos and info, but can’t be downloaded?

Use the Favorites bar in your browser.  Keep the folder thing going.  I try to use the same catergories as my flashdrive, with some additions like green living, homemaking, shopping, etc.  Then I can check out websites ahead of time, and only put them in the folder if they are acceptable.  Then I can click on the links with the kids and know what I will find at the other end.

I know you guys already know all this, but if your files are a mixed up mess, I hope this will help.  It took me about an hour to set it up from a mess, so you can do it!