The Question: Do you separate your school area from your home area? How do you keep from having your school materials from spreading out all over your home?
I'm participating once again in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Crew's Blog Crew, and I'm proud to say I've done them all but the one on babies~couldn't contribute a bit to that one~so here we go~
HSing materials over running your home or do you have them contained in your life? In ten years I've been both. Of course in these years there's been all kinds of seasons from moves to illness, and so has the storage methods and even the styles/methods our homeschooling has taken on. Our materials have been well organized at times and at others they've taken over our home! But in whatever our state of living, we have persevered onward! It has been good and bad...
But how did I reign it in~or keep it reigned in~and what were the circumstances that I had to work through to get it BACK under management? Whenever we've moved has presented some challenges such as trying to function either packing or unpacking or setting up or organizing. Not always fun, but it's necessitated some processes such as having huge book shelves and open storage that we've kept around the last seven years or so...First our bookcases were the press board fake wood grain type that began to sag in the middle with the weight of our materials and we progressed to a rough hewn lumber painted one to then one what my father in law built out of some scrap that looks so nice it has made it's way to stay in the family and is now in my daughter's bedroom. Then about two years ago my hub built a fine set of bookcases which I brag on anytime I can b/c they are unique in that they are two large single depth cases the width of the wall in which they set PLUS as tall as about 7 foot and have three narrower as tall cases that slide back and two horizontally to reveal the back cases and provide double the storage of one bookcase in the same space. I love them! They are massive and look huge in the room in which they live, but they hold tons of books. The shelves are adjustable too. I hve another book case, not nearly as nice~that is single depth which has baskets on it to hold small stuff and a single set of books as well. I like to use baskets that match to hold all the junky small stuff...I've used pencil boxes to hold crayons/markers/scissors/erasers,...that kind of stuff...even held manipulatives when my kiddos were young~no more! But you get the idea. We had no toy boxes, but shelves so stuff was seen and orderly~neatly (HOPEFULLY) placed and in view for easy access...I started out with a toy box for them when they were tiny, but soon discovered all the confusion that a toy box created along with the mess it made. I've worked at organization since almost day ONE...and it's a continual job!
We've had hsing all over the house too. In fact, I've loved it in our kitchen and in the early days stored their schooling materials in our pantry/laundry room and kitchen hutch~progressed to a school room which quickly was moved to our den and stayed there until this semester which is all pretty much located now between our den and a small nook type space really in a back hallway with two individual workstations designed for high schoolers who are doing internet computer based lessons each day. They have a computer work station with shelving over my son's area and daughter has a bookcase (part of the father in law piece) behind her for their storage. Loads of our books from YEARS of hsing and even a little bit of future planned hsing is in those big double layer book cases...BUT~
I'm gearing up for a sale to divest of all the materials of the past~we no longer need them and hope to pass them on as so many were so wonderful. (Be on the lookout~join my site to get the announcement of my NAME YOUR OWN PRICE SALE) coming soon! I'm still digging OUT...LOL
Yes, my materials have taken over at times and at others they have been quite nicely contained. With planning this sale, you can guess where I am right now, right?? LOL...It's EVERYWHERE~and I'm hoping to send it all out of here to your homes for your children to enjoy~;-))
But be sure to ck out the CREW to hear their ideas on this topic~and keep at it~homeschooling IMHO is a home/life event and if it mixes into the house, so be it~schooling IS LIFE!
Thanks for stopping and please don't forget my sale~
My contest for a Ken Ham kiddo book (hardcover) ENDS tonight! HERE!
hugs
SisterT
I'm participating once again in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Crew's Blog Crew, and I'm proud to say I've done them all but the one on babies~couldn't contribute a bit to that one~so here we go~
HSing materials over running your home or do you have them contained in your life? In ten years I've been both. Of course in these years there's been all kinds of seasons from moves to illness, and so has the storage methods and even the styles/methods our homeschooling has taken on. Our materials have been well organized at times and at others they've taken over our home! But in whatever our state of living, we have persevered onward! It has been good and bad...
But how did I reign it in~or keep it reigned in~and what were the circumstances that I had to work through to get it BACK under management? Whenever we've moved has presented some challenges such as trying to function either packing or unpacking or setting up or organizing. Not always fun, but it's necessitated some processes such as having huge book shelves and open storage that we've kept around the last seven years or so...First our bookcases were the press board fake wood grain type that began to sag in the middle with the weight of our materials and we progressed to a rough hewn lumber painted one to then one what my father in law built out of some scrap that looks so nice it has made it's way to stay in the family and is now in my daughter's bedroom. Then about two years ago my hub built a fine set of bookcases which I brag on anytime I can b/c they are unique in that they are two large single depth cases the width of the wall in which they set PLUS as tall as about 7 foot and have three narrower as tall cases that slide back and two horizontally to reveal the back cases and provide double the storage of one bookcase in the same space. I love them! They are massive and look huge in the room in which they live, but they hold tons of books. The shelves are adjustable too. I hve another book case, not nearly as nice~that is single depth which has baskets on it to hold small stuff and a single set of books as well. I like to use baskets that match to hold all the junky small stuff...I've used pencil boxes to hold crayons/markers/scissors/erasers,...that kind of stuff...even held manipulatives when my kiddos were young~no more! But you get the idea. We had no toy boxes, but shelves so stuff was seen and orderly~neatly (HOPEFULLY) placed and in view for easy access...I started out with a toy box for them when they were tiny, but soon discovered all the confusion that a toy box created along with the mess it made. I've worked at organization since almost day ONE...and it's a continual job!
We've had hsing all over the house too. In fact, I've loved it in our kitchen and in the early days stored their schooling materials in our pantry/laundry room and kitchen hutch~progressed to a school room which quickly was moved to our den and stayed there until this semester which is all pretty much located now between our den and a small nook type space really in a back hallway with two individual workstations designed for high schoolers who are doing internet computer based lessons each day. They have a computer work station with shelving over my son's area and daughter has a bookcase (part of the father in law piece) behind her for their storage. Loads of our books from YEARS of hsing and even a little bit of future planned hsing is in those big double layer book cases...BUT~
I'm gearing up for a sale to divest of all the materials of the past~we no longer need them and hope to pass them on as so many were so wonderful. (Be on the lookout~join my site to get the announcement of my NAME YOUR OWN PRICE SALE) coming soon! I'm still digging OUT...LOL
Yes, my materials have taken over at times and at others they have been quite nicely contained. With planning this sale, you can guess where I am right now, right?? LOL...It's EVERYWHERE~and I'm hoping to send it all out of here to your homes for your children to enjoy~;-))
But be sure to ck out the CREW to hear their ideas on this topic~and keep at it~homeschooling IMHO is a home/life event and if it mixes into the house, so be it~schooling IS LIFE!
Thanks for stopping and please don't forget my sale~
My contest for a Ken Ham kiddo book (hardcover) ENDS tonight! HERE!
hugs
SisterT
2 comments:
I love it! My house sometimes looks/feels like the "bookcase house" but I don't care. We homeschool. That's who we are and it certainly shows when you walk in my house. Thanks for sharing this week!
I remember you mentioning those awesome sliding bookcases! I'd still like my dh to do that to ours. I have a hard time parting with books because "what-if we need them in the future".
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