Scripture Study Caddy
Using a caddy is a really simple way to keep everything you need in an organized spot for scripture study. We’ve been using this handy little set-up for over a year and it’s something I always get a lot of questions on. I keep it on my desk which is right next to our children’s table and so I can just grab it and set it down each time we have our scriptures open for study. Here is the break down of what I keep in it as well as some other ideas to aid in your scripture study.
THE CADDY
Our caddy is from Hobby Lobby. I got this in-store and I am sure I must’ve bought it on one of their 40-50% sales so you may want to check local first. If this isn’t an option for you this one on Amazon is a very similar style and measurement. When shopping, you’ll want to make sure it has a tall back and a wide enough single space to fit standard size papers in the back. I also put a clipboard in mine regularly so keep that in mind. The Hobby Lobby link has dimension sizes.
ACCESSORIES
Highlighters: Zebra Mildliners have been our go-tos all year. My kids love the bright colors and I almost always gravitate to the gold! I may grab a whole package of golds this year (our current one is getting low on ink!) and I’m also going to try these. Keep in mind this is something you only want to use if your scriptures have thicker pages like the Line Upon Line scriptures or the other journaling editions out there.
Colored Pencils: So, Prisma color pencils are our favorite colored pencils because they have a really soft tip. But, when I was looking into Line Upon Line journals I learned we could watercolor on the pages because they’re so thick. I bought these water color pencils and keep them in our caddy, but we’ve actually never watercolored in our scriptures! I think my kids would like it so maybe I’ll be brave and try it out this year. Meanwhile, I just really like the look of these pencils in our caddy and we use these for other homeschool projects.
Washi Tape: I always get asked what I use the tape for and we use it because we have a lot of scripture glue-ins that I prefer to tape in. We use glue-ins from Red Headed Hostess and this year the Don’t Miss This Tip Ins. Any set will work - I bought a few sets on Amazon and quickly learned I could’ve used probably one or two rolls for the whole year, ha! So, don’t think you need as many as I do. Literally just a few would be fine and then share the rest. Or, maybe you’ll want that many if you’re like my kids because they think it’s fun to sort through and choose different styles.
Scissors/Glue: I almost always have scissors around, but we use these to cut our Red Headed Hostess Scripture stickers or other occasional items so if that’s something you utilize-you’ll want those handy and also some glue.
Other Pens: For just your basic pen, my favorites are the Erin Condren pens and I really like this colored set for everything. Those and the Prisma Color 03/05 black pens often end up in our caddy or very near while I am doing my study. I also use both of these to write in my journals and day planner.
STUDY STORAGE IDEAS
Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families and/or Primary: I keep the manuals on my toolbar on my computer desktop and often reference them electronically for my own study. The weeks I do utilize them to teach with my kids I’ll stick the manuals into our caddy.
Gospel Art Book: I think these are a must-have in every home. Mine is in here in my picture above - you just can’t see it because the papers are in front of it. The books can be found in-store or on-line at Deseret Book.
Red Headed Hostess Materials: We store the weekly printouts from the subscription in here. Each week I print out what I need for my kids and stick it in the widest space in the back. I place them in the order that we will most likely work through them so each day I can easily see what is coming up next. (We tend to do a little bit of study each day or every few days instead of one longer study once a week). If you have her guidebook for adults or youth or young children these would also fit really well in here. We have four of these books between all of us so I am just putting those off to the side this year. Also keeping the reward system book from her subscription in here.
Scripture Stickers: Last year we just used the Red Headed Hostess stickers and this year we added some Line Upon Line stickers as well. We’ll keep both in here each week. I’m also slipping the Don’t Miss This Tip-In’s in here this year for myself in the back.
Clipboard: If you print out a lot of papers for any type of subscription - you may want to add a clipboard in the back so they don’t flop over. I’ll occasionally have out printables on it or papers we’re working on related to scripture study.
Scripture Study Stories: If you don’t utilize a subscription that already provide scripture stories then I would recommend using the church’s story book and this would be a great place to store it so you can easily read from it each week. (I linked the Amazon one because I couldn’t quickly find it in the on-line church store but these are generally cheaper if you purchase them through the church’s online store.)
The Old Testament Handwriting and Copywork: I made these for my kid’s this year and it’s available on Etsy. This would be fun to keep in the caddy. We personally keep ours in our handwriting desktop organizer which I keep in another part of my house.
Picture Books: Occasionally, if I know a story or topic that is coming up and there is a picture book to go along side it I’ll stick it into our caddy that week. Most of the time I use our devotional basket for those (see here to learn more about our devotionals).
Plastic Envelopes: I use these to store our scripture study stickers or other items I prep and cut ahead of time that have small pieces.
On a related note, I keep my kids scriptures set out right next to our caddy so they’re always front and center and something we see! This isn’t true for everyone, but it helps us all so much if we can see what we want to work on each week versus keeping it in a cupboard or drawer to be forgotten about.
I hope this helped sparked some ideas for you! If you’re feeling inspired or want to set up something just like this - let me know what you decide to do. I love seeing what works for your family!