Schoolroom Organization

Well, I am finally about done with organizing my schoolroom...with about 6 days to spare! 

This was quite a feat for me this year as I wanted to go through ALL my teaching supplies!  I had been a classroom teacher for a couple of years before I had children.  And in that short time I had accumulated quite a bit. Of which, were stored in boxes in the basement.  I slowly pulled stuff out when I thought of it, but truly, out of sight - out of mind was the problem here.  And it was so disappointing to come across something that I could have been using.  There is really no point in keeping it, if I'm not going to use it.  This was an overwhelming, time consuming task, to say the least.  But it feels so good to have cleared out some of that clutter!  Homeschoolers tend to be collectors, but even too much of a good thing is still too much!  So I am continuing to work toward simplifying...

But on to our schoolroom!  As I started moving things around, I realized how beneficial this is each year.  With homeschooling, you're not repeating the same subjects at the same grade level each year, like a classroom teacher.  You're constantly moving up!  You're bringing in new things and having to weed out the things you're done with - or at least store for when your next child is ready for them.  Each year means major changes.  And with those changes sometimes your space needs to be adjusted, as well.  Not to mention, how great it feels to change things around a bit to make your space feel "new" and fresh! 

So without further chit chat, here's my before and after pics:

After

Before

Rearranged shelves, cleared out piles, (put away toys), removed timeline, put up world map.  Sounds simple...and what a change!

Before

After

 








Removed the old computer and cumbersome desk, added a student desk, moved shelves in.  But we had to save the kids' art work display!

Before

After

Cleaned up clutter that accumulated over summer and rearranged contents of shelf.  Lookin' good!




Now for a few more details:

I swapped the contents of these 2 shelves.  With a third grader, a first grader and a preschooler, I was in need of more space for my teacher manuals and supplies.  The radio is now in better reach of the kiddos, as they are more on top of changing the cd's than I am! 



I found this great cubbie shelf at an office store that was under re-construction.  It was a floor model on sale for $25 - a great buy!  It now serves as our supply center.  The kids each have a cubbie with their schoolbin.  Plus all our pencils, erasers, rulers, tape, etc. is on top.  And the fourth cubbie is where our puzzles landed.  I know that doesn't fit the theme of this shelf (which I'll try not to let bother me), but it does keep them from tipping or sliding over like on a regular shelf.  Dear friends gave us the awesome desk in the corner.  The perfect getaway spot when My Little Buddy needs to concentrate!  

And my Curly Girlie may occasionally need a getaway spot herself, so she has inherited her big brothers old desk - also a gift from dear friends!  I am so blessed!

And of course, I can't leave out one of our favorite spots in the whole room...the Reading Chair!  We love to snuggle up here with story books from our shelf, or the kids's readers, or even our History or Science books.  I keep telling the kids that they have to stop growing - it's a big reading chair, but it's already getting a bit crowded (especially when the dog tries to join us)!

And just so you know, I didn't shove everything into the closet - I organized that too!  This shelf originally went all the way across the closet, but we didn't need that when my husband put in the bookshelf.  So with a few extra shelving gadgets and my husbands saw, we got two shelves out of one!  Did I mention how amazing he is?!  Don't look too close though, otherwise you'll see that I didn't even give him a chance to mud up the old holes, before I loaded those shelves!

I was able to run some ribbon through the brackets on the top shelf and tie off into loops to hold my dowel rod of ribbon!  The bag hanging from the bottom shelf holds, what else, more bags!  But what I really want to point out are the bins below the bag!  They are file boxes - perfect for a year's supply of schoolwork.  I mark them according to grade level and fill with the core subjects - Reading, Writing, Arithmetic.  So far, I can fit manuals, texts, and extra resources all in one box.  I also use one of the boxes for all of the items in My Father's World for History/Geography, Bible and Science.  Then, I mark the boxes by the year in My Father's World's 5 year cycle.  When I am done with a year, everything that wasn't consumed goes back into it's box to await the next time!  They usually sell for about $10, but I often find them for buy one get one or buy two get one.



Now there's nothing left to do, but start homeschooling! 

6 days and counting!
Happy Homeschooling!