My "borrowed" idea...

I was getting really tired of the kids saying, "Mom, where's a pencil and the pencil sharpener" etc. when it was time for homework. And although I have a designated spot in a drawer for all that stuff, it never seemed to get put away when they were done, and then they were nowhere to be found. So, in the Family Fun magazine I saw this idea they used to organize stuff for thank you notes. I thought it would be perfect for homework time! It really worked! My kids are never missing anything now!

I just went out and bought a binder for each of them, got out some sandwich bags (I would suggest using duct tape on the bottom and punching a hole for a more sturdy design, I was too lazy to do it the right way and there are holes that the pencils slip through) poked holes so they could stay in the binders and added the stuff they need for homework. Crayons, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, glue stick, scissors, etc. Also, they keep their spelling words, notebooks and math pages in here until Friday when they need to return them to school. It is the best thing ever!