Organizing Your Children's Math Library

After reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller I felt inspired to update the organization of my math library. When I had a fewer books, this technique worked, but in this past year I've been using books less--only because I couldn't find them--and knew something had to change.

In her classroom Miller uses small tubs to hold books on the bookshelves. As the number of books grow, it's simple to add more labeled tubs. With the labels, it's easy  to put your hands on the topic you need. I used the concept headings on my Math in Children's Literature list to label bins. Since my bins taper a bit, I lose a little shelf space, a sacrifice that's worth it when I can locate the book I need. When I bring a new book home, the book first goes on a spreadsheet, and then straight into the appropriate concept bin, where books are then alphabetized by title.

This is a great summer project! If you're looking for some summer reading, check out the current or past Math Monday Blog Hop(s). During the summer, hops will remain open for 2 weeks. Happy Summer!