Glimpses of our Schoolroom

The schoolroom in our home has moved three times.  We first started in a finished room in our basement.  Then we moved upstairs to the bonus room.  And finally we landed in a room on the main floor in our home.

I can remember several years ago searching online for homeschool room ideas and the pickins' were slim, to say the least.  But now we have Pinterest....a place to drool over the dream rooms that are not only impractical for our space, but also unaffordable and yet we will strive to attain them nonetheless.

My measly homeschool room pales in comparison to the beautiful rooms you'll find online these days, but I do have a few special places there that I enjoy...

Oh, organization is just pretty, isn't it?  On the top shelf is workbook curriculum my kids are working through divided by grade.  The red, yellow, and green drawers came from a drawer system that I had that was falling a part. But the drawers were still in perfect shape.  So I use them to house craft supplies and other things and store them on my bookshelf.

A couple weeks ago I shared how to paint word murals after painting in my school room.

And I also shared instructions for making this school room artwork.

My new art display center is one of my favorite spaces now and an idea that came from Pinterest!  Hey, not all of my pins are impractical.  These are just clipboards that I found for $1 each.  Chad and I screwed each on to the wall and now the kids can hang their artwork on the wall...instead of on my refrigerator!

I found something to do with all those empty spaghetti sauce jars.

Gluesticks were on sale for just 10 cents each!  I bought 90 of them!  I just love having a container full of gluesticks.  Yes, that does make me strange.

This picture shows 3 different areas of organization that are really helping to make our homeschool run more smoothly.

~1.  The two blue crates.:  I bought 4 of these a few years ago for kids to keep their individual curricula in, but when we switched rooms they just took up too much space.  However, I really needed more bookshelf space.  So I flipped the crated on their sides and stacked them on top of each other.  I thought I would need to zip tie them together, but they are actually quite stable and very sturdy.

~2. The 6-drawer unit: (Actually, it's two stackable 3-drawer units.)  Each drawer is labeled with a different child's name and is just big enough for their workbooks, notebooks, and readers...also a pencil.  Basically, everything they need to do their individual studies is right there in their drawer. 

~3. The 6 stackable trays on top.:  Their are certain items that we use everyday in our homeschool.  Mostly certain books.  I could keep them on a bookshelf, but often when kids pull things off bookshelves, they don't do so nicely.  Instead, they rip them out, pulling other books with them.  And when kids put books back on bookshelves, they don't usually find the spot where it was, sliding it in right side up, spine facing out.  Instead they toss it on the bookshelf sideways and on top of the fallen-over books they left earlier.  So, I found these trays to be a useful spot to place our daily textbooks.  I have a tray for each of the following: our Biblical Worldview textbook, our history textbook, our history coloring/notebook pages, our science textbooks, our current read-aloud and dictionary, and a "For Mom" tray for kids to place work that needs to be graded.

Finally, who doesn't love a basket of books?  I select books that go along with our current studies for 'book basket' time.

Now for the fun part...seeing everybody else's school rooms!  Check them out at the links below!  Pin It Now!

Word Mural How-To

As mentioned in my last post, I have been attempting to freshen up and add color to our school room.  As I was standing in the room last week, just looking at the walls...you do that too, right?...I got a wild hair to paint some large words on the wall.

This is not that unusual for me.  I co-owned a business painting wall murals for five years, so they are sort of my go-to decorating idea.  So, while murals might be out-of-the-box for most people, it's really not at all for me.  As a matter of fact, I should probably be thinking more out of the box myself when it comes to decorating...

Here are a couple murals I've painted in our home elsewhere...

J1's nursery

Girls' room

So generally, we would start with a sketch, transfer that to an overhead projector, and project the image on the wall as we began a mural.  But for something so simple as a word, I used a much simpler method.

First, I used a level to measure out and draw guidelines on the wall.  It's hard to see them in this picture, but that is EXACTLY what you want!  Draw your lines lightly, because you will be erasing them once you've painted over your word.  I like to draw 3 lines...think like you're back in Kindergarten and you are writing on a writing tablet.  Then I just used my own handwriting (but I took my time and was careful to be pretty and consistent), using my guidelines.  The last thing you will want is a crooked word on your wall!

Next, I thickened up the letters using pencil.

I used this paint straight from the bottle, which made it easy since I didn't have to keep stopping to mix paint.  I use acrylic paint, but when you purchase acrylic paint you will want to take note that it is sold in gloss as well.  If you are not painting on glossy walls, you will probably not want the gloss paint.

This is our new art display center.  I bought these clipboards for $1 each and drilled one screw through the top center into the wall.   Now the kids have a place to hang their artwork in the school room.

This was painted above the doorway, so the kids can read this as they leave the room. :o)

Pin It Now!

School Room Art: A Copycat Tutorial

I recently found the above artwork for sale online for about $130.  I really loved the idea for my school room, but had no intentions of paying quite so hefty a fee for school room artwork.  I decided that I would keep my eyes out for wood materials at craft shops and such to recreate it myself.

Alas, I found myself months later still staring at a blank wall in my school room and having not found the perfect wood material.  I had had enough.  I was going to create the art work.  Today.  With whatever I could find in my house.

 

Here's what I found:

A large piece of white cardboard.  (It was thicker than posterboard but not quite as thick as foam board.)

Acrylic paint.

Paint brushes.

A Pencil.

A level and ruler.

An exacto knife.

I measured and cut nine 10" by 10" squares.

For my first board, I used two colors.  Yellow and grey.

First, I quickly applied the grey brush strokes.

Acrylic paint dries much faster than oil paints, but you will still have some time to apply the yellow paint and blend the colors together until you have the desired effect.  You will want your brush to be slightly wet, but not too wet.  If it is too wet or you apply the paint very thick the cardboard will start to curve.  Don't worry too much about it though.

I like an assembly process, so I then repeated this painting process for the background of each board.  I used the color scheme of the original artwork.

Next use your pencil to write the words.  I think the easiest way to do this is to use your own handwriting for consistency.  But to make sure each board is the same measure out your letters.  For example, on each board I started the first line 2 1/2 inches from the top, but I only wanted my letters to be 2 inches tall.  I placed a ruler at the top and bottom of where I wanted the letters to be and used it as a guide as I was writing the words "teach me".  The words "how to" were also 2 inches tall, but the last word was 4 inches tall.

Once I completed writing the words on each board, I simply went over each word with white paint.  It took a couple coats.

The only thing I actually had to purchase for this project was this Scotch mounting tape.  It cost me about $6 for 2 packages.  Simply peel and stick to the board and then peel and stick to the wall.

You'll definitely want to use your level.  Pre-measure your wall space to decide how far a part you will want to place your boards.  I spaced mine 3 inches apart.

Hope you're inspired!  Be sure to let me know if you complete this project as well!

Pin It Now!

Our New Learning Centers

Oh, have we been busy around here!

We just started our first week of school on Monday...I know what you're thinking - "It's June, Shanna!"

Well, here's the thing. Baby #7 is due to arrive in early September. So, we could take a Summer break now...when it's hot and humid and yucky outside. (My current almost third trimester state has no bearing on the "yucky" status of summer days...I have always thought 95 degrees and humid is yucky.) And then we could break again in September, because we all know I won't be up to homeschooling then. This would put us way behind and totally stress me out...

Or we can get a headstart on the school year now and wait to break until September and October. I'll have a full 2 months to adjust to a household of 9 without the worry of school and my kids can actually enjoy full 75 degree fall days! I pick that one!

So, with the new school year also came the need to tweak our schoolroom a little...actually a lot. We spend about half of our school day in this room. I like to have a space that all the kids can be in at once to do individual studies in the morning. After lunch our school is spent doing art and science experiments around the kitchen table and reading books curled up on the couch.

So this is our updated school room. It's a bonus room/playroom over our garage. Truly it has been greatly improved (I should have taken before pictures), but you have to see my vision because its not quite finished. It's biggest need right now is a fresh coat of paint. Chad has agreed to let me paint the two long low walls with black chalkboard paint...I mean seriously why not just embrace drawing on walls if you can't stop it? The tall walls and ceiling will be pale yellow.


This is the play area for E2 and L1 while we are schooling. Just last week the walls in this room were lined with tubs and tubs of toys. We have now implemented a "toy storage" system that truly deserves a post all its own so I won't go into detail now. But our toys have been reduced to this small area. I simply rotated the tubs in away to give the littles a blocked off place to play without distracting the big kids while they were working.


Our school area is still pretty similar to what is has been. A bookshelf to hold all the curriculum we currently use, white boards, 2 desks in the front for kids that are working with mom, and two desks...one to the left and one to the right (you can only see the black chairs) for students who are working on independent studies.

To explain the rest of the room you should know that things were becoming very chaotic in our morning school. Lots of toys meant lots of mess. The little kids were being very distracting to the older ones (and to me as I was trying to work one on one with the older ones). And then the older kids were finishing their independent studies before I was ready to work with them one on one and were left with nothing constructive to do, so they were becoming distracting as well.

My answer? Learning Centers! I've created 5 small spaces that the kids can go to when they are not working on "school work". Funny thing is, they are being quiet, working diligently at each center (though they think they're playing), and are definitely still learning!

The front right corner of the room has been transformed into our reading nook...

Okay, I know its not very pretty...yet. BUT it's very cozy! G8 curled up here for at least a half an hour today to read in peace. All you really need is a bookshelf with books (turned sideways) and a couple of pillows.


Our art center is just a really small table. (I think revamping this kid's chair needs to be a future art project!) I put a plastic mat underneath the table. And then I just put a few pieces of construction paper, scrapbook paper, and a pencil holder with a pen, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick. Like the rest of the centers, I will change the materials out periodically to keep things interesting.


Learning Center #1 is pretty simple right now, but the kids haven't seemed to notice. I put out a basket of pattern blocks (their favorite math manipulative!) and a scale. I added a few file folder games as well.


So eventually, I'd like the centers to be a little more colorful like this one. I printed off all of these fun activities about plants FREE from Sparklebox ... which is full of ideas for workboxes and learning centers. I also like the idea of having at least one "themed" Learning Center at all times...sort of like a unit study on a table.


Here's a close up of the activities...plant words, dandelion life cycle cards, organize plants by height, coloring and craft sheets, a letter match game, and a wildflower field guide.


Learning Center 3 fits in a box! The rule about this center is the child must sit on the floor in one spot while playing with the box's contents and use the lid as a tray or "table top". I did not fill the box, but instead put only a few things inside...a baggie of magnet letters, a box of magnetic marbles that link together, and a baggie with noodles, yarn, and a timer. Each of these activities have instruction cards with them. For example the baggie with noodles has a card that says, "Can you string the noodles before the time runs out?"

These learning centers have really made our school a more peaceful place the past couple of days. I can finally work one on one with each of the kids while the other ones are occupied and within eyesight! Praise God for small miracles!

Pin It Now!

Our den of Knowledge

I have seen so many lovely school rooms posted in the past couple weeks. I'm afraid ours doesn't compare, but it currently works for us.


Our school room is located in our basement. These pictures were taken at night, but there's actually a lot of natural light that comes through the two windows. The majority of our basement is unfinished, but we have two rooms that are finished. This one and a small playroom located right next door. We really only use this room for language arts and math. Other subjects we do at the kitchen table, on the couch, and outside.


I have a small table next to the door that I keep blank paper (lined, notebook, and drawing), tissues, and paper towels on. I had some sort of kitchen utensil holding thing that I use to hang my scissors from and hold rulers and tape.

Underneath the table we have a LARGE box for keeping library books in (so we know where to find them when it is time to take them back). I also have a box labeled 'Boredom Busters'. I have a ton of workbooks that I've picked up at yardsales and curriculum swaps and such. I cut the binding of all of these books, so that the worksheets were already torn out and then divided them according to grade level. This way, when I'm working with one student, and another needs something to do, I can tell him to pick out any worksheet that he wants to from his grade level.


This is my desk with pencils, markers, colored pencils, paint, etc. As you can see, I never actually sit at my desk as I store my scrapbook supplies underneath it. The Ten Commandments are posted above...Eventually I'll get a nice frame for this.


On the other side of my whiteboards are my wire cubes. I bought these at a yardsale for $5 and they are very sturdy (as long as you don't move them). I keep curriculum, extra binders and notebooks, math manipulatives, and extra "busy" things like puzzles, play-dough, and flashcards.


My bulletin board has the day of the week, weather, letter of the week, a US map, and some favorite artwork. The carts mostly hold craft supplies.


This was a last-minute project. I wanted a backdrop to hang the kids' artwork on, but didn't want to invest in another bulletin board. I had bought a wallpaper sample book for a quarter at a yardsale, and decided to just cut the samples out of the book and tape them together to form my background. (I was actually holding Baby L the entire time I was making this and was ready to just get it over with, so I wasn't picky at all with what patterns I chose...next time I'll pick ones that match better.) I just used pushpins to tack it up to the wall. The rule is each child can only display one 'masterpiece' at a time. I just tape their artwork to the display.


This bookshelf holds all of our picture books and a few reference books and extra curriculum.

Curious how others are setting up their school rooms? Cindy at On Our Journey Westward reorganized her schoolroom just in time this past week. Amy at Hidden Creek Homeschool was inspired to finish hers as well. Don't miss the classroom at Wazley Academy...you'll be totally jealous of all that storage space!

If you've blogged about your school room, I'd love to see it! Leave me a comment to tell me where to find it. Pin It Now!