Organizing Activities

Go online and order some magazine storage boxes. I use them for my magazines and other periodicals.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-8244/Corrugated-Dis...

Can't you just teach her how to pull them out one at a time and put back the ones she doesn't use? Surely she can stack books by now!

Hanging file folders, in a cart with wheels.
Many stores have these.
Here is what they look like:
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=h...

And then, with the tabs on it, label.... it.

Start, categorizing... the activity books, by subject.
A kid, no matter how they are schooled, needs to learn that.
Categories.
You can write the categories on tags, or color code it etc.
Up to you.

And in a plastic bin, or baskets, put the craft supplies & activity books, in it, by category and usage.

Sure you're the Mom and need to organize... but kids need to learn that too. Teach them.
Or have different activity centers. Cluster the type and use of the materials, by type and usage.

I got a great mail-sorter from IKEA : http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70198031/

I use it for sorting mail, bills, school info, interesting articles, current magazines I am reading, etc. I was just thinking about getting another one for the workbooks and kids' paper.

What about the magazine files that hold floppy things vertically?

I use these in my classroom behind my desk to store articles I need to get back to, and workbooks I want to make copies from etc.

These are what I have, but you can find them almost anywhere
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90214426/

HTH
T.

I would just stick them upright in a basket or something similar, where she could flip through them easily, you know, like the way magazines are displayed in the grocery store.
That's also the way our school library displays the most popular books, it makes it easy for young readers to browse and see what looks good to them.
If the "world is your school" then take a field trip, go out and see how retailers, bookstores, libraries, etc. entice their customers to notice their products. I imagine you'll both learn a lot.

For activity books, children's readers, children's magazines, construction paper, large flashcards, etc. : I use the magazine storage boxes similar to what Gamma G recommended below. I also use clear folders inside the magazine storage boxes for the items that are thinner. One clear folder can hold about 3-6 magazines, readers, thinner activity books. I have found that putting them into folders has helped in keeping the number of things out at any one time more managable. I put labels on the files and color code them. I have a color coded index that I have laminated and put in the front of each box.

For smaller cards, games, and art supplies: I use small plastic tupperware containers, pencil cases, and little pouches that can all be labeled and stored in a drawer or larger plastic storage box. I also color code and label these things as well. I laminated an index for these and have it taped on the lid of the box, or put on top of the drawer.

I currently live in Japan. I used to work for an English conversation school, and this sort of filing system worked well for keeping all the supplies easy for each teacher to find within about five minutes between classes. Although at the school, the magazine boxes were actual wooden shelves about the same size.

I also like S.H.'s idea with the movable hanging file folders. That could be very handy if you are moving and teaching in different areas of your home and need to have a lot of things within reach quickly.

I would explain the sorting system to your kids. My son understands where to find the items and how to put them back so he can find them next time as well. He also knows to only have one folder out at a time for readers, magazines and activity books, so that cleanup is quick and easy. For art supplies he has a little plastic basket and empty file that he uses to gather the items he needs from the files in the magazine boxes and storage containers. The basket can hold the art supplies and games. The empty file is for the construction paper he wishes to use and can also fit easily into the basket. The file protects the paper from getting ripped or crumpled.

Sounds like you need a magazine holder.

We keep a small selection of activity books on a low table next to the kids' activity table - upright, in magazine files. There is a drawer in the table (it's actually a child's bedside table from IKEA), where the crayons, pencils, and markers needed to do the activity books are kept.

Also, I keep scrap paper drawers for the "big" stuff - one holds supplies like glue and markers and crayons; one holds lined paper; one is for blank paper (both colored and white); one is for beads and pipe cleaners; one is for smocks and plastic tablecloths for really messy stuff; and one is for activity books that they need help with - usually more advanced activity books that I've bought from the teacher store that are technically designed for much older kids, but that mine find interesting.

Which reminds me, it's time to audit - I know some of the stuff on the little table needs to be replaced or rotated out!