Tempt Your Tummy.               Things I Think About.               Project Time.              

06 July 2011

It's finally (almost) done!

I've been a little quiet on the old blog lately because my real life has been pretty hectic.  Using that same great judgement that I'm so well known for, I decided to move the entire upstairs around in the same week that I was working two extra shifts.  That's right...I'm smart like that. 

Good news is... it's basically done.  All three boys are back to sharing the largest room (which used to be our school room).  The school room is now in Josh's old room, mostly because it has the door that locks and I can keep little hands out of my teaching stuff.  And finally (imagine a trumpet sound here), we have a playroom again.  I love having a playroom.  Not that I don't still step on rogue Legos in the living room, but at least the majority of the toys are upstairs. 

Today I'm giving you a peek into the school room.  I still need to finish hanging my big sticker maps on the pitched ceilings and my Aunt Lynn is coming over next week to help me organize the kids books.  I'm a little embarrassed to show you how many books we have.  I pick up books at flea markets and yard sales all the time.  I think I'll hold off on showing you those for now - you'll think I'm odd enough when you see my teaching tools.  Some women buy shoes, I buy manipulatives.


This is my teaching tools closet.  Puzzles, science kits, games, books, manipulatives.  You name it, I can now find it.  Most of this came from (you guessed it) yard sales and thrift shops.  One of the best lessons I have learned with trying to teach three  boys close in age is to keep them busy and change it up frequently.  Hopefully, my plan keeps working this school year.


Next is the boys desk area.  It's a marked down laminate counter top from Lowes on top of two filing cabinets.  The bench is a dual purpose piece that I use at my dining room table also when we have guests over.


This is an old dresser given to us by friends.  I have re purposed it to hold all my supplies - paper, folders, craft supplies.  I initially wanted to to buy the Trofast system from IKEA, but my cheapness  frugality kicked in and I decided to use what I had on hand.  I also like that I'll have a large flat surface to keep projects on.


Next comes my little area.  A bookshelf with books that I want to keep, but don't use that often, is in the corner.  My current curriculum is stored under the printer.  I have a TV with DVD & VCR for educational movies in the other corner.  The only thing I can't find a good spot for is my plastic bins that I use to put completed work and projects in.  I have one drawer for each boy and that way I don't lose their work.  It makes it easier to work on the portfolio.


In my dream world, I would have had time to paint the room.  This is not my dream world.  We'll make due with what we have.  I don't know it the pictures are showing it, but we also have a lot of open floor room. 

I think this should be a good setup for this school year.  I'm planning on starting our new school year in a couple of weeks.  I like to start early since I work one day a week.  It makes for a less harried pace through out the year. 

I can't wait to show you my workbox system, but that will have to wait for another day. 

Hope you liked the school room.

* I finally wrote about our workboxes.  Interested?  Check it out here.
I'm linking up today.  Check out these sites for more organization tips.
Tackle It Tuesday and Homeschool Creations

13 comments:

Marsha Cooper said...

I love love love this post!! You really have it going on with your school room. I so miss having 3 or 4 children to home school. I'm just left with one at home and she will be in 9th grade this year. I so want to homeschool my grandchildren....and now 5 of them are living with me. My daughter doesn't work right now and is doing college online so she could help and I sure have enough books!
I am always also picking up books at yard sale, thrift stores, and the public library book sale.
Now I don't have a closet full of manipulatives like you do, but I do have a lot. Hands on learning is the best.
I'm going to have to follow you.

Charli said...

Marsha, I hit the jackpot every spring with the Literacy volunteers book sale. I leave with bags and bags of books and teaching aids for under $20 usually. Thanks for the feedback. I love homeschooling (most days). :)

sara d. said...

wow! great school room!

Charli said...

Thanks! It's making me excited to start back again.

Rachel E. said...

I'm new to your site, but I like your school room. If there is one thing I have learned from my years homeschooling, it is much easier to do in a school room. Having them spread out is much more difficult.

Charli said...

Rachel,
Thanks for stopping by. We tried the kitchen table last year, but it was really distracting (for me as well). I think this is going to work better. And the play room is across the hall for my little one to keep better entertained, hopefully.

swissarmymama said...

It looks cute and functional! I love the idea of marked-down counter-top. Also, if you want to pretty-up the dresser a bit, you could always just replace the drawer pulls! My sister and I redecorated a dresser once by replacing all the pulls with loops of sturdy ribbon in colors that we liked. :)

Charli said...

Audrey, I'm going to need more details about that on Monday. I didn't even notice my crooked drawer pull until after my post went up. :)

Rachel E. said...

Oh, I totally agree. The kitchen table is not the place. You end up with such a mess and have to eat there. School rooms rock!

Christina said...

What a great inspiring room! We are using a small bedroom ourselves, it's amazing how much you can fit into a room when you get organized:) Thanks for sharing! Visiting from WLW.

Tracy @ Hall of Fame Moms said...

Love the idea about the counter-top, very resourceful! And that slanted ceiling might make for a great spot to hang maps. Did you think of that? The kids could lay on the floor and look at them.

Found you at WLW and I have homeschool pics/posts at my blog too. We are just entering our 2nd yr of homeschooling (2nd grader and a kinderg.).

I am thinking about using a modified work box system so I'd love to see your post on your workboxes.

Charli said...

Thanks for stopping by. I'm still tweaking my workboxes this year, but I'll post as soon as I have it working well for us.

Jolanthe Erb said...

Kids books are the hardest to organize, aren't they? We have them everywhere too! Love the countertop idea too!!