school room Archives - Growing In Grace

The Official 2013 Homeschool Tour

September 27, 2013Tracy

Remember just a a few days ago?

This was my school room. But I’m so grateful that I can say (with school set to begin in just a couple of days), that our school space is complete! Voila!

My school space has downsized from a full room to a corner cabinet. But I really love the space, and the lessons the Lord is putting to the test: namely, learning can happen anywhere.

We will be doing a lot of our actual work at the kitchen table. Praise the Lord, I had spent tons of time brainstorming ways to streamline our homeschool to make it ready to move. God knew! Both the kids’ daily lessons and my teacher materials are all ready to go in easy to transport containers.

So, are you ready for the official tour?

Our new home is 2-stories, something the kids were super excited about. Apparently, the stairs are the main attraction at our house. And it just so happens, that this cabinet at the top of the stairs was the perfect spot for homeschooling. Though most of the actual work will happen downstairs, I’m leaving a chair upstairs for when one of them might need just a little more peace and seclusion (i.e. Oldest).

The kids each have their own bin that includes a couple of key workbooks and their week’s worth of lessons. {Read more about how I organized their daily assignments.} The bins are grab-and-go ready; their pencil bags, dry erase boards, and other essentials are stored underneath a handy space saver that I used to use for my dishes. (Totally upcycled!)

On the other side are my teacher files and a basket of books for our year. Again, my file includes daily-use items {read more about my amazing teacher file—I love it!}, and the books we can easily grab out and place back as we need them. But, by storing them in this basket, the books didn’t take nearly as much space as if I’d lined them up library-style.

In the middle is our calendar-time charts. We’ve been using these same charts for about three years now, and the kids still love them. The calendar on the right is an A Beka Book product from their homeschool charts. The chart on the left is totally homemade to teach days of the week, chart the weather and seasons, etc.

Of course, inside the cabinets are manipulatives, curriculums, supplies, flashcards, and other fun activities.

On the wall is my magnet board and a Martha Stewart adhesive pocket. The pocket is where the kids turn in their work to me. We used this system last year, and it worked really well. Plus, it takes up way less space than a paper tray.

We magnetize our mapwork, making our map labels with cut up index cards and adhesive magnet tape. Oldest loved learning his maps this way, so my challenge was finding a magnetic place to put his maps. This was my board last year, but I sacrificed it—for the cause, you know.

Our last feature upstairs is our cork board and posters. Nothing super impressive here, beyond the fact that it is all hung with command hook adhesive. That’s right—no holes.

Oh, and here’s my favorite part of all, folks. This last picture is the view of the upstairs from my couch. Notice what you can see of all of our homeschool stuff.

Nothing! We are totally invisible, flying under the radar. No posters, cork boards, books, nothing. Which means when school is over and stored away for the day, I sink back on my couch with my cup of coffee, look up and say, “Ahhhh.”

The 2013 school year may now happen. I’m ready.

Back-To-Homeschool: School Room 2012

September 18, 2012Tracy

Though I gave you a sneak-preview of the renovations in an earlier post, I thought I’d show you the complete 2012 school room.

That’s our new homeschool name. And I made it into a sign to go on the front of our school room door. It really has added some excitement to our little room, like we are entering a special world, kind of Narnia-ish.

Another new feature is our Map Study Center. I happened upon these cool stick-on borders, letters, and embellishments while wandering the Wal-mart aisles. I bought them with absolutely no idea how I would use them but knowing I absolutely would. As I stood staring around the room with my cute little borders in hand, this idea suddenly came to mind. With our Tapestry of Grace studies, maps are a big part of the learning. Why not feature the maps we will be studying each week? I also wanted an easy way to interchange the maps without laminating everything or risking tearing the maps when I took them down. I used adhesive velcro to adhere sheet protectors to the wall, and then slid the maps inside. I think it’s my new favorite feature, but there are other strong candidates in the running.

Once I finished with the Map Study Center, I had to think of something else for my cool letters. We added these cork boards last year, but just for fun I added the “Show and Tell.” We’ll be using these boards for special papers and projects not necessarily Tapestry related. Oldest’s hanging pockets are merely to organize his flashcards and charts. His books are getting too heavy to put into his pockets, so I’ve had to come up with a new “workbox” system. It’s still in the works, but once we fine-tune the process I’ll post with more details. Middlest will still be using her pockets as a workbox. I’ll be inserting her work to be done in the pockets and allowing her to work her way through each pocket to the end of the day.

Another exciting addition are the new desk tags. I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of a cool desk tag idea to pull in our Tapestry theme of Ancient Egypt—mummies, pyramids, the Sphinx. I finally decided on hieroglyphics! I found a website that provided a few hieroglyphics and translated the kids’ names. No up-close photos for the protection of my children, but suffice it to say that they turned out super-cool!

Learning Centers for phonics and numbers

Our felt board has remained a key part of our school room, complete with letters that my mom, grandma, and friend made for us from cardboard letters with adhesive felt. Previously, our felt board was on top of a couple of wooden TV trays. It created two problems. For one, it was at an awkward height for me and for the kids. Also, there was a lot of wasted space underneath. This year, I picked up these very handy storage crates that take care of both problems. We can sit on the floor together (which is always our favorite place to spend “together” time) and still reach the top of the board; and I can use the space underneath to store our other activities.

Homeschooling with Baby

Even Littlest has his own place, with a basket to store his blanket and toys. The contents of his basket include an activity blanket, soft blocks that crinkle and rattle, and a caterpillar that comes apart (each section rattles, spins, etc.). We’ll probably rotate or add some of his other toys as the months progress, but I would so like to keep his toy selection in the school room to the quieter motor-skill variety. Right now, he’s teething and is pretty happy with anything that chews.

Another renovation that is totally mommy-related is inside my cabinet. I reorganized my not-currently-in-use curriculum to the top shelf and arranged my bottom shelf to hold the kids activities and project-related supplies. Coloring books, Crayola Wonder-markers, play-do sets, geo-shapes and other cool activities are where the kids can retrieve them either by themselves or with a little assistance.

Last but not least, I’ve added a computer-center, since computer programs (including Reflex) continue to be a regular part of our day. I’ve moved the computer to a permanent spot in the corner where it is a little less distracting to the one who’s not using it, and it keeps our little desk area from becoming too crowded. Heaven-forbid the computer sit on top of someone’s paper or name tag, if anyone knows what I mean.

That’s the new spot for our new year of adventures. We’re all pretty excited. Oldest told me the room looked “spectacular.” And as soon as all the flu germs get squelched, we’ll once more enter the magic and adventure of learning.

2012 School Room Renovations

August 14, 2012Tracy

With the demolition of our school room completed, we’ve been working on putting together our new school room and reorganizing for the new year. We decided to take down our old Chicka Boom tree that has graced our wall for over a year, and it left a big empty space begging to be filled.

Finally late one night as I waited to fall asleep, the idea occurred to me (because all the best ideas come before you fall asleep). We needed a skeleton for our anatomy study. I also wanted a Bible verse to center our study and set the theme. I googled, searched pinterest, and finally decided to just make my own. I printed the verse off on a piece of cardstock and got out our paint supplies. Then, we went outside, and the kids decorated our sign with their handprints and fingerprints.

I’ve also been working on organizing my teacher books. I’ve moved my actual curriculum plans to my household planner, but I still had to find a place for all the notebooking pages and activity pages, templates, and collated workbook pages for the year. I picked up some of the new Martha Stewart folders that have tabs on top for storage in a magazine holder (thank you Staples Rewards!).

My other organization problem is that Oldest’s books are getting to heavy for our pocket system. His pockets keep pulling the command hooks off the wall. So I’ve moved his books into a magazine holder on the desk and moved his flashcards into his pockets for convenient storage.

Oldest also has a notebook now with his student planner pages and tabs for filing his notebooking pages (found these at FamilyFun).

notebooking pages dividers

And even Littlest now has a spot, all moved in and ready for his own growing and learning adventures.

The Cozy Corner Makeover

August 30, 2011Tracy

"Cozy Corner" is a space for free reading, flashcard review, and spontaneous distractions for Little One when I've run out of planned activities for her.

I have to say, the “cozy corner” is probably one of my favorite parts of our schoolroom (second only to the workbox hanging files.) So, the thought of having to move my corner was not an overly exciting one. Even when I brainstormed the idea of placing all of our coziness underneath the built-in desk area, I still hesitated. You see, I’m not a seamstress although I ought to be (my grandma is a brilliant seamstress, but something happened to the genes on the way down to me), and I knew my idea required at the very least, some sort of cute curtain entrance.

I knew this because I’ve been occasionally perusing the genius of others on Pinterest. I’d seen the idea incorporated a few different ways, and the hideaway nook always came with at least one curtain and often two. Then came the obstacle of finding fabric that was cute, easy to work with (considering my handicaps), and relatively inexpensive. Low and behold, my local Walmart actually came through on that end. Imagine that! When I spotted the fabric, I finally knew I was ready to try to make a go of this move.

I purchased two yards of fabric (purposely choosing stripes to help me with the cutting); fabric glue (sorry grandma, really. I just can’t figure out my bobbin); an extension rod; and command hooks.

Now, here are my secrets. These will relieve some of you and horrify the rest of you. I measured entirely by holding the fabric up to my space, no measuring tape. I ironed my hem, rather than pinning it. I glued my hem on all sides and glued the space for the extension rod (measuring that by merely placing my extension rod on the fabric). I really turned out fantastically, considering my very unscientific method. And though I initially had intended to tie it back, the whole family voted to leave it just the way it was—a secret hideaway closed off from the rest of the world.

Next, the second innovation was how to hang the curtain. You see, I personally hate extension rods. They never work; and they always fall down on someone’s head. But, I also did not want to drill holes into the sides of our desk, in case someone ever wanted to use that space for the purpose it was intended for. Thus, command hooks seemed like a brilliant option. The extension rod slipped nicely into the hooks. And though it does slip out of place sometimes, it is so easy to slip back into place that the kids can take care of it by themselves.

So, the last step was to move our “cozy corner” items into place. Again, my hanging canvas pocket is attached beneath the desk using command hooks, the basket of books and activities slides nicely into the corner, and eventually I’d like to add a nighlight to stick to the “roof” of the space and a cozy pillow to complete the aura. But for now, our cozy corner/hidey hole just beckons for a visitor.

And in the former “cozy corner”, I now have space for a large filing cabinet! (Yay!)