School Room and Organization

OK, so I don't really have a school room. Like a lot of homeschoolers, we have school in the living room and sometimes the dining room. But, thanks to my wonderful hubby, last weekend we did some major re-arranging and now have a designated school area in the living room. Here are couple pictures:


We just scored the bigger of the two desk at a garage sale this weekend! Although, now Little P thinks he needs one of his own, so I guess I'm on the hunt for another one (sigh)! The drawer thing next to the table holds our math manipulatives, unifex (sp?) cubes and pattern blocks. The tote on top holds all of Munchkins school supplies. Everything in this box is for school use only. This has eliminated the "hunt" for pencils, paper, workbooks, etc. at the beginning of school.

As you can see, wall space is also at a premium in our house. Plus, it's an old house and the walls are lath and plaster, which means attempting to hang anything usually results in large holes in the wall. So, since I didn't have space to hang our map (or the desire to put large holes in the wall, lol) I put it on the table. A year or so ago, I purchased a few yards of clear vinyl on sale at JoAnns (I think between the sales and coupon I got it for $6) which I then put over the map. It makes for great dinner conversation, especially when you have company :o) Here is a picture (sorry it's a little dark!):

In the opposite corner from the desks is my "homeschool cabinet". This is were I keep all of my supplies and teachers manuals and anything I don't want the kids to have constant access to. The top cupboard has my books and such. And the bottom cupboard holds my supplies (extra pencils, pens, glue, scissors, etc.) and bins with my preschool educational activities. Here are a couple pictures of that:




Some friends were discussing how to organize all the "extras" recently. This is how I do it. I've picked up several shoebox sized plastic bins over the years (The Dollar Store!) and have a bin for each item (crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue, etc.) They are all in a cupboard under the built in buffet in the dining room. I also have a similar setup in the cupboard on the other side with games and puzzles. Here is a picture:


This is another benefit of our rearranging. We moved my sewing stuff down to the office in the basement and then brought the recliner and table/lamp to where my sewing stuff was. Our house has some interesting "nooks and crannies" due to a remodel that the previous owners did. They turned one of the bedrooms into a hallway in order to add a master suite on to the house. So this is kinda in the hallway, but it's a large hallway, lol. I love it cause it gives me a place for my morning bible study. Here is a picture:


So there you have a little peak into my home :o) I hope you enjoyed it.

Blessings,

Glennda