We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding," Four Quartets
We are quickly approaching the start of our first "official" homeschool year, and that means we spent some time starting to get our school room organized. However, we still have a lot to do (as you will see from the pictures).
We have an actual school room, which used to be the dining room we never dined in. We converted it to an office a couple of years ago, and it has been a great space for us to do school in (albeit sporadically up to this point). However, there are a few drawbacks to this room.
First, one whole side is open to the entry way, which means there are only 3 walls of open space. Second, one of the other walls is mostly covered by the front window.
The other drawbacks to this room are self-created, as I have covered the back wall and other side wall with bookshelves, which were mostly full before we moved school into the room, and are very full now.
We purchased a mobile stand-up whiteboard/bulletin board last year, and while expensive, it has been something we use daily for school. Last year we had it as a separator between the room and the entry way, but it really was in the way of the front door, so I moved it in front of some of the bookshelves that are just holding all my old college books, and it is much more user friendly there.
SC has a little desk in the middle of the room, and we started using an exercise ball at the end of last spring, though right now the desk is covered with her summer art projects and supplies, and I have no idea where the ball went.
I have one bookshelf dedicated to the things we will be using this year, and it is mostly full, so I have no idea how I will organize for next year (because I tend to keep EVERYTHING).
I have a few shelves dedicated to art supplies, some of which are purposely out of SC's reach, and some that she has easy access to. I also have some of last year's curriculum, my graduate work books, and all the books and notebooks from my one year of teaching mixed in.
Finally, I got some Command picture clips and turned our pantry doors into a calendar and artwork display area. I started doing that last spring after I turned the whiteboard so the bulletin board side was not viewable 100% of the time, but I was using tape. I got tired of going through so much tape, and honestly, I didn't want tape on some of SC's art that I want to save, so this is the solution I have come up with.
I really like these clips, and they are very easy to use.
So, I still have quite a bit of organizing to do; mostly just going through the things that have piled up, finding a place for them, cleaning off my desk and finding a place for all that stuff, but you should have seen it a few days ago. The floor was littered with paper that SC had taken out and cut up, there were stacks of mail on her desk from when we were out of town that I had just dumped in a box to go through later. I had MORE bags from Target/Hobby Lobby/Michaels/Mardel of supplies to start this year. I had all of the curriculum I had purchased in a box on the floor in the living room. I still have a few weeks before we start our year (the first week of September), so I am not worried!
Where do you do school (or homework) at your house? Leave a comment, then check out other homeschool rooms at the 5th Annual "Not Back To School" Blog Hop.
My organization tip? If you don't foresee needing it within the next year, get it out of your school room/office. Boxed, in the garage, attic, under a bed, wherever, it'll give you space and space can make all the difference in a room.
ReplyDeleteYour room looks like such a good place. Organizing probably seems like a big job, but I always enjoy the process when I get in the thick of it. Have fun with it.
Anyway, thanks for sharing on the NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop.