I love getting organized for the new school year, and one of my favorite things to do is to rearrange our school room for something a little different. This year is no exception as we actually did a little more than normal. You’ll see what I mean in a minute as you will see several before and after pics.
While we loved our learning space last year we came across a few problems that made the need for change. I’ll try to share those along as I share before and after pics.
Things we loved:
- The book baskets for picture books.
- Our windows–we love being able to see the birds outside while we work
- Easy to access to toys
Things we didn’t:
- The bistro table was just too tall for the girls. While it was bigger than our toddler table in work space, it was so hard to get up and down that it was proving to be more of a safety hazard than a help.
- The workboxes. We loved them in Preschool, and they were even helpful in Pre-K, but they ended up taking up valuable wall space that we needed for other things.
- Toys and books for Peanut and her friends were on the lower shelves. While this made the books and toys easy to reach, it also made for a wonderful disaster whenever we had littles over for Bible study each week.
What We Decided to Do Instead:
- First we found a table on Craigslist for $10 which was adjustable in height (meaning: they can use it for many years to come). It’s bigger working surface makes it perfect for doing joint projects and crafts too.
- We got several wire cubes at Aldi for $15 each. This made it possible to arrange books and toys so that the younger kids won’t be able to reach the older kids’ books each week in Bible study. It also made it so that books placed on end didn’t fall over when one was taken out thanks to the cube dividers.
Another problem we had was our mud room corner by the back door. It was always a mess and the peg shelf was actually falling apart. Inspired by this post, we turned our white bookshelf into a mud room, and we LOVE it! We are not renters, but in a room that is solid brick and windows you have to be creative, and this did the trick. We used command hooks on the back and sides for all sorts of hanging space and placed all the adjustable shelves on the lower portion for a shoe rack. It works great.
Our craft boxes are now easily visible on our wire cube shelving, games are still visible too but accessible only by an adult (meaning: no more little pieces strung all over the house from a little culprit dumping all the boxes at once), and there is even a bin for our outdoor balls which the girls are super excited about having available now.
My corner holds our school calendar, lesson plans, our supplies list, and this really cool Bible Family Tree poster for when we study different biblical characters.
The girls are also digging this artwork showcase as it doesn’t involve pushpins (which always ended up under foot or poking holes in artwork that they didn’t want holes in), and our new sitting balls from Wal-mart (great for sensory kids who are always on the move).
And that’s it! Now for the real learning to begin!
Interested in Our Homeschool Space in Years Past?
Then check these out:
Update: What Happened After This Post
Want to learn what happened after this post? Well let’s just say what looked beautiful and organized in this article, didn’t stay that way. Check it out!
