I’ve been meaning to post a few pictures of our new school room for quite awhile, and just haven’t had a chance until now.
This room has gone through many different stages. When we first purchased our home over 9 years ago, just a few months before our oldest was born, it was to be the room for our children. At one point it belonged to our three oldest just before we added on more bedrooms. At that time, the closet was removed from this room (to add a little extra space to our small living room) and a hallway was built into it to attach the addition making it much smaller than before. With the new bedrooms for the children, it became a storage guest room. After Snuggles was born it then became the nursery. Though, honestly, Snuggles rarely slept in this room. In the winter months it is just too cold at night for a baby, plus being so snugly, he always preferred being close to his daddy and momma! Now with another baby on the way, it was time to shift everyone around to make a little better use of our home. The boys went to the old school room (which also was our old master bedroom when we first bought this home), the girls moved into the boys old room, Snuggles moved into the girls old room for now (he’ll join his brothers in a year or so) with plenty of room for the baby to join him, and that left this room for school. (Our home doesn’t have a dining room, and the kitchen is just too small…)
It is much more cramped cozier than our old school room, but it should work just fine. Plus, trying to figure out just what to do with everything has really helped in making our home a little more organized.
Well enough explaining, I’ll get on with a few pictures! I took these pictures a couple weeks ago (or so) and I am still in the progress of fine-tuning the room, which I am sure will be an ongoing process as we begin using it more often starting tomorrow, our first day of school for the year!
My desk is just inside the door (it is a bit cluttered right now with two computers as I work on transferring everything over), the boys desks are on either side of the window, and the table takes up the rest is in the middle of the room.
Since taking this picture I did give-up on trying to squeeze around the end chair, and it has been moved out for now. We don’t really need it right now anyway. You can also see the beginnings of the girls Madeline Lapbook in the basket on the table… It is still in progress and the girls have been having so much fun with this one.
The desk on the left has a built in bookcase on the end which I use for our CD’s (Glory Stories, Music Masters, Wee Sing, and a few others) as well as all of our Father Lovasik books and other religious books.
The desk on the right didn’t have a bookshelf, but I placed one I already had at the end to use as well, since I never seem to have enough room for all of our books.
The boys also have their shared American History timeline above their desks…
… as well as a basket each for their binders, geography scrapbooks, science lapbook, and Book of Centuries .
I am hoping to paint this someday either brown or green… I will have to take a picture now that it is filled with all of our Feast of the Assumption books and crafts!
There is our United States map… I am still trying to decide whether or not to hang up our World Map, or just stick with the globe. It could go above my desk, but that’s about it… We’ll see.
Our Art Shelf is below the map, on top of some stacking shoe organizers which are now holding puzzles, pattern blocks, lacing shapes, and other school time toys. (Thanks again Jen for the inspiration!)
As you can see, I’ve managed to cram quite a bit into a pretty small area, but right now everything has a place, it is organized, and it seems to be working much better than the old school room…
Now, I do have one area that still needs a little work… It is the shelf on TOP of the hallway, which you can see above the bookcases — just not in any of the above pictures.
Here is a closer look:
It looks kind of funny right now with just the one curtain hanging down in the middle, but what my children don’t know is that behind that curtain are quite a few of their Christmas gifts all wrapped and ready for December.
My plan is to keep items I am not using this year (or season) up and out of the way. I also want to try and find (or perhaps make) a few curtains that would nicely hide it all. The rest of the craft supplies, the ones we use on a frequent basis, are now being stored in my closet — and another work in progress as I try to organize it all, but it is coming along nicely.
So, there you go… A little peek at our School Room. Now I am off to finish getting ready for tomorrow!! I have a few Schultütes to make.
This is all wonderful and inspiring! Did you happen to mention where you got the timeline? I'm looking for something just like that.
Thanks Jennifer!
I guess I didn't… I am always hesitant to recommend Beautiful Feet Books since some of the curriculum is anti-Catholic. However, I do love that they have republished some of the D'Aulaire Books and this timeline was great!
Here is a link directly to their Early American History Timeline.
I hope that helps!
Thank you Jessica. It does look like a great timeline and thanks for the note about their materials. Always good to know before purchasing!
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Oh my – I think this looks like a wonderful place to learn! It kind of reminds me of the small classrooms I grew up in at our little Catholic grade school!
Well done!
very nice!! I have a question. How do you keep the little ones from getting all the art supplies out? I have to keep my art supplies in the kitchen cupboard.
Josette ~ I really don't know… It hasn't been a problem. Snuggles does seem to have a thing for pencils though and has just started writing on things. I think this shelf is just out of his reach. I might be in trouble once he gets just a little bit taller. =)
I would love to learn in that room! You've done an amazing job.
looks great!! i am thinking of starting tomorrow too. good luck to both of us i guess 😉
r
Dear jessica,
Wow it looks really organised.
Is it going to be squashy with everyone in there or do you not spend much time in there with the baby while the'older ones' do their work?
Do you read aloud to your older ones and if you do do you do it in this room?
Perhaps with all the 'school room' posts I might do one as well.
God Bless
I think you'll get a kick out of what happened this morning. I had your post of your school room on my computer screen and my hubby walked by and said "wow! What is that?" So I told him it was a school room and that you were homeschooled too. So he replied "Hey! That's cheating!" No wonder your room looks great and you know what books to get and how to be so organized!!! ha ha! You have such a gift to homeschool, I only wish you lived closer so you could come help me! 🙂 We are newbies with homeschool (well, I have been schooling our children for 5 yrs but I was not nor my hubby was not homeschooled!) so we are trying our best with not much to go from!!!! 🙂 Best for your new school year! God bless!
Gae ~ Yes, it is going to be a little crowded in here, but it isn't too bad. We will not be in here all of the time though, just for projects and some of their school work. We'll be reading outside on the porch while the weather is still nice and then in the living room on the couches during the bad weather. I hope you do post pictures… I would love to see them!
Mary ~ Your comment made me laugh! My mom and I are SO SO SO very different when it comes to how we homeschool. (She still is homeschooling herself, by the way!) In fact, as a child I promised myself that I would "never do this to my children". But then again, I do think that it was my own dislike of being homeschooled that has made me the type of homeschooler I am… I want my children to love being homeschooled.
HI Jessica-I'm glad you laughed b/c we did too!!! ha ha! LOL! I agree with wanting our kids to love being homeschooled too but I have a waaaaaaaaaay to go! 🙂 LOL!
BTW- Do you have a playroom/den/where all the toys are kept? We have one but we're thinking of making it a school room but then what to do w/ the TV and all the toys…what do you think? we have a cellar but not conducive for a playroom-water leaks etc…
What a beautiful and welcoming space. God bless your school year!!
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is offering a free video (VHS) called Teaching Children to Read http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs_details.cfm?from=&pubs_id=251
Jessica,
Your room looks so good; I'd like to be a student again.
I have been knee deep in the reorganizing and decluttering of our own home. Currently our learning space is getting a very needed TLC. Hopefully it will look as lovely as yours.
Great job!
It looks great Jessica!!
+JMJ+
Amazing! =D I wouldn't mind being a child and having to go to school again, if I had a school room like that!
Wow!
It's amazing that you've done all of this so quickly. The room looks so settled and so . . . ready. Those shelves look like they were custom made for this room.
You room looks great. I really like the boys desks and baskets. And all the shelves look so organized.
Your school room is adorable! I love it!
Jessica, I got really confused from the comment Regina left. It just didn't sound like her at all. I clicked to confirm my suspicions–a different Regina. Now all is right in the world again. Hee hee.
I love the ceiling and all the book storage! I think I'll snatch the idea of the shoe racks stacked for storage.
Do you happen to remember where you got your globe? and is it sturdy? Who knew searching for a globe could be such a task?!
Thanks!
I actually purchased our globe at Costco quite a few years ago. It has held up well and is very sturdy.