I think it was a few years ago that I began color coding my kids’ school supplies for the upcoming school year. I cannot remember where I first saw the idea, but it appealed to the artsy side of me. You know, the “I really want to be a good mom and teacher and cool in the kids eyes,” but don’t have a creative bone in my body thing. Finding matching notebooks and such, now THAT I could do!

As for impressing the kiddos, well, I am not sure how impressed they were, but hey, they did like the fun colors. That being said, don’t pick hard colors. Not every school supply comes in orange or purple.

So why color code?

It’s fun! If not for the kids, at least for mom! I know that some people stress about finding school supplies. I am pretty sure I would too if I was given a three page list of the things my kids needed. But hey, when you get to decide what your kids will use for the school year, it can be like a treasure hunt. Have a little fun looking for blue scissors or green tape dispensers!

It helps you stay organized. When you are schooling multiple children, finding the right notebook to grade a child’s work can get challenging. Even with just a few kids, the number of notebooks stacked up at the end of the day can be overwhelming. When I can narrow down the potentials by a simple glance of color, I am thrilled. I can further help myself out by making each of the notebooks in one color slightly different. Trust me, by the end of the year you will know that the 4th grader’s math is in the blue Star Wars folder!

It gives kids ownership! I don’t know why, but there is just something about personalizing kids’ things that gives them more ownership and therefore more responsibility for something. It’s like adding their name to an item. All of a sudden it belongs to them and they take better care of it. Finally, that “mine, all mine” attitude is a good thing!

 

Just a quick disclaimer – color coding does not have to break the bank! With back to school sales, you can get notebooks for 17 cents each. Nothing in our piles was more than about $1! For $5 you can have a lot of fun!

So color coding – simple, but effective! Hey, it’s the little things, right?