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School room: what you can't do without!

Tagged: organization, supplies

This topic has 55 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 3 months ago by sheraz.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 56 total)

Author
Posts
February 21, 2012 at 6:47 pm
simple home
Member
What are some things you as a teacher just can’t do without in your teaching? Also, what would be your wish if you could change something in the room?
(It doesn’t have to be a separate room, just the area where you do school the most)
February 21, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Bookworm
Participant
Bookcases. More bookcases.
February 21, 2012 at 6:55 pm
tonyam196
Participant
SUNLIGHT! I wish we had more windows in our home. I also love having music on while we do school. It seems to calm the crowd.
February 21, 2012 at 8:03 pm
my3boys
Participant
A room….with bookcases.
I know that isn’t any help but bookworm’s comment made me lol, and it’s spot on for me.
February 21, 2012 at 8:53 pm
simple home
Member
More specifically, what about an area for display? For maps or a writing board?
As for bookcases, I agree. But most of us don’t have large library spaces. So how can we, who teach with lots of books, utilize the space we do have? What do you do that works?
I’m trying to gain insight for a friend of mine who is building a home and wants to make wise choices for future school needs.
February 21, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Bookworm
Participant
What works? Squeeze bookcases everywhere. LOL
Seriously, if I knew someone building a home wanting good things for homeschool, I’d pick a couple of rooms and do WALL TO WALL FLOOR TO CEILING built-in bookcases. Really! Single best investment. I’d rate it right after indoor plumbing and electricity. <g>
We put up maps on the hallway walls. We have a rolling center with space for a whiteboard on it. Those things are OK, but the thing I dream about is having enough bookcases that I don’t have to double- and triple-stack my shelves!
February 21, 2012 at 9:49 pm
LindseyD
Participant
My husband bought me a small chalkboard for Valentine’s Day, and I am using it like crazy! I didn’t know I needed a chalkboard until now, and I LOVE it! I suppose a white board serves the same purpose, but there’s something nostalgic and old-fashioned about a black board! I even blogged about it!
February 21, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Evergreen
Member
I second the bookcases, though they don’t all have to be in the same room – we have shelves in a basement room where I have books arranged by time periods or subjects for all the overflow, and keep upstairs only what we use regularly. We keep our history and literature books on shelves beside the fireplaces, and the children have bins for their individual subjects. My teacher’s guides are on a smaller shelf in the dining room. If I were building something in, I’d look at the area I planned to use most, and plan in a few covered storage areas for books, guides, etc, or find some funky old pieces to double as school storage; a giant antique buffet that was likely part of a country store is now a counter/craft/coffee cupboard.
What works for us? Wallspace. We sort of “house-school” rather than having a schoolroom, and don’t mind living with our schooling. If that is an issue, she might want to plan a space more out of sight. Our dining area sports a large, laminated world map, paintings from our picture study artist, and children’s artwork. It is amazing, by the way, the conversation these things have sparked with dinner guests, particularly the world map.
What would I change? I’d love to have a more organized (and out of my way) area to keep the children’s individual school bins – right now they’re in my pantry (a space I could really use for food and appliances!). And I’d sure like more bookcases, LOL…
February 21, 2012 at 10:10 pm
jmac17
Participant
I do wish I had more room for display. We have our school in one end of a large L-shaped room. So we have three walls. The end is completely taken up with shelving (books and craft materials). One wall has a large circular timeline and the last wall has 2 large maps (World and Canada). I’m always thinking of more things I would put on the wall if I could. I’d like to post things such as: A Hundreds Chart for math, Print and Cursive Alphabets, our artist pictures, the scripture verse we are learning this week, Posters of the “Seven Habits of Happy Kids”, etc. We have many things scattered throughout the house, (Spanish vocab words in the kitchen, artist pictures on an easel in the living room, artwork displayed on the bedroom doors, a chalk wall in the toy room, …) but I would love to have more room in the school area, since this is where my kids spend a good portion of their time.
And then, of course, I’d love about 3 or 4 more walls worth of bookshelves, so I could bring all the books, puzzles, and games from the rest of the house into one place. Oh, and more windows, too. Basically I need an octagonal room, with each wall being about 15 feet. I don’t really need the square footage that would produce, as we do everything on a square table in the middle, I just want the wall space. LOL
Joanne
February 21, 2012 at 10:20 pm
crazy4boys
Participant
Amen to bookcases! And yes, I’d LOVE built-in, floor to ceiling bookcases….in every room in the house. Currently I have lots of bookcases stuffed inside closets of rooms we don’t sleep in…then I add bookcases along the walls too. Windows are also a great idea or at least great lights, not dim lights. Possibly a window seat or some sort of reading nook. I’d also include a cabinet of some sort where you can have all your manipulatives, craft stuff, etc that can be closed, as in you don’t have to look at the containers every minute of the day. And where little hands can’t make a mess. Tall and short shelves to organize but a way to close them off.
For wall space I’ve only ever used large maps and one BIG white board. We may or may not turn part of a wall into a chalkboard/magnet board with paint. A place to display artwork would be nice. Usually it’s a piece of twine strung along the wall with clothespins. And I’d REALLY love a cool way to display a timeline, somehow. A more permanent kind that you want to leave up because it looks so dang awesome, and you just add to it every year as you learn new things and go more in-depth.
We’re slowly moving away from a schoolroom that looks like a schoolroom and trying to make the various areas of our house look like a room, a nicely decorated room that might have school stuff in it. Mostly I’m trying to make each room an area where you feel comfortable and want to READ. Every room is getting some sort of chair/couch/beanbag/something to encourage them to sneak off for quiet to read. And we’re trying to find various workspaces all over the house. The boys are getting old enough that they need quiet areas to work on math, Latin, etc and sitting in a room with lots of little brothers is distracting. We’ve been looking at slim desks (not big and bulky, just wide enough to have your books and paper) or built-in desks/counters. We don’t want big clunky desks all over the house so we’re trying to be creative.
I can’t live without a few other little things, but they’re little and would easily go on shelves or bookcases or cabinets.
February 21, 2012 at 11:04 pm
botanicalbecky
Member
I’ve been dreaming about bookcases lately – this post made me laugh. I guess I’m not so crazy after all. At least on this forum!
So I second bookshelves, which also hold puzzles and odd bits we use for school. I love to read on the couch and in the recliner. Its way more comfy than at a table. And since I moved our big square coffeetable upstairs where we school, its been super useful to have. Yes, more wall space would be nice, but I’ve also been using hallways.
BTW, we school in our living room and kitchen. We have a very small spare bedroom that we started out using, but it was too cramped. We weren’t comfortable at all. We are much happier with the current setup. The challenge is trying to have a nice-looking living room/kitchen and school room too! 🙂
I think organization is maybe what I would call what I couldn’t live without as a teacher. And beautiful organization – like built-in shelves and cabinets would be a bonus.
February 21, 2012 at 11:28 pm
Lesley Letson
Participant
Bookworm – we are building a home this year (Lord willing and the creek don’t rise!). We designed it ourselves and my school room will have floor to ceiling bookcases (I am contemplating doing drawers in the lower 2 ft. with a bench-type area that the shelves start with, I don’t like the books on the very bottom shelf getting dust and dirt on them, plus this would eliminate any ugly metal file cabinets), right now I have it drawn with two bookcases 9 ft. long and to the 9 ft. ceilings. I may do more, but this is where we are starting. When the school years are over, this will be our library. There are other areas of the house where I plan to do built in bookcases, but for budget sake, I am focusing on the ones in the school room first. My husband says that every week between Monday and Wednesday I WILL order a book – he thinks I may have a problem Kindred spirits we may be!
I am liking these ideas, I am tucking them away in our construction folder! Thanks!
February 21, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Tukata
Participant
We don’t have a schoolroom, but…
Things I wish I had…
more table space, private little nooks for the kids to go and do individual work
What I love that I have….
a comfy couch for reading together, a school cabinet that closes so I can get away with not being as organized, lots of sunlight, a pretty file cabinet to house papers (I got a wooden one off Craigslist)
February 22, 2012 at 12:00 am
LindseyD
Participant
I guess I should mention that we don’t have a schoolroom either. I like school being a part of life…at the table, in the kitchen, on the couch, laying in bed. Our new chalkboard is in the dining room, which is where the majority of written lessons occur. We are blessed to have lots of bookshelves already and tons of closet storage with built-in shelving. Little reading nooks would be great too.
February 22, 2012 at 12:11 am
Sara B.
Participant
Yes, bookcases! Hubby won’t let me get any more.
And I’d LOVE a place to put their nature finds. Right now it’s on a shelf in a cupboard in an old ice cream bucket.
And more wall space. 4 walls are just not enough (and actually I only have 3 walls, and one of those is mostly closet doors, which I use to hang things on). I unfortunately don’t have much in the way of hallways in this house. Should have thought of that before we bought the house….. Next time…. I like Joanne’s octagonal room with 15 foot sections! LOL That would be PERFECT! Or nearly so…. LOL
And one less guinea pig cage would be helpful……
I still need a filing cabinet to store their papers from year to year. I don’t know where I’d put it right now, but I do need one.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 56 total)

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