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Schoolroom set-up?
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Hi Gals,
If you have a separate schoolroom, can you share how you set it up? We’re moving our room to the main level, which I’m excited about. My kids are 12 and 9 and need to do their independent work mostly in separate rooms…so I don’t disturb when I’m working with one. I’d like everything stored in this room….my kitchen gets over-run with art supply, etc. clutter!
So I’m thinking about a table instead of the 2 small desks I have. Needs to be cherry colored. I’d like a spot for them to draw, etc. while I read together stuff. And one can work in there at a time (independent work). My concern is that when they get a bit older and are more and more independent that they’ll want more privacy and the table won’t be used much….so don’t want to spend much. Or maybe 2 writing desks butted up together? If you have kids this age and older, how do you store things? Where do you do school? Thanks for any insight into your daily routine:) Blessings, Gina
We haven’t done much yet…. but I do know of some people that buy the big project display boards with 3 panels (for science projects etc…) and cut them in half so they are half the height…. and then they use it for a little desk-wall for each child….
Yikes
My kids would think they were being punished if we did that
We all hang out around the table and counter. Of course there is lots of noise and life going on– with 7 kids.
But they learn how to focus and deal with it— just like in a public school room full of kids and disruptions.
I have tried to put them in thier rooms to do school–they all just keep coming out. They are mostly extroverts– and hate being cut off like that.
So – i would suggest taking your childrens personlity into account when setting up for school.
We have used bookshelves, baskets , workboxes, magazine holdres— all to store each childs work in.
HTH
Mrs.B
We have a ‘schoolroom’ slash office slash spare room! The kids books share it with Dads office phone/desk. The best thing about it is the Ikea bookshelf which I am now in the process of thinning out and setting up for next year. I do have a big storage shelf also for games, science materials etc, and a desk for me,and dad to share, also a table for science experiments etc. The kids like to sit on the futon in the room with pillows etc for comfy 🙂 They don’t ‘sit’ at the table much anymore, but we use it a lot for experiments, set up, maps, etc. I think you would be better off with a table rather than desks, its more versatile later when they don’t want to sit, and get a bookshelf with baskets that fit so they can keep their own personal ‘stuff’ in there. My kids baskets follow them around the house often but its nice to have a home they can return to when necessary. Have fun setting up- do involve them, as they get older they like to have input.
Thanks, everyone. I don’t know why I’m having such a hard time figuring out how to organize this. Not my gift!!! Thanks for the ideas…deskwall idea sounds interesting. And I hadn’t really thought to include the kids and really should. Maybe that’s why we rarely used our old room:) Thanks!!! Gina
Chiming in a little late….I have four boys, ages 11, 10, 7 and 5. Our “schoolroom” is in the smallest of the bedrooms. We have a large table with 5 chairs (the table is height adjustable). It’s used for math and spelling lessons….and for building Legos and drawing and such. We do most of our schooling in the living room. However, math is upstairs. They also do their “independent” work at the table in the schoolroom. If someone REALLY needs to get away from their brothers they use the desk in our bedroom or the dining room table.
In the room I have 2 large bookshelves, 5 shelves each. All have books except for one shelf which has their nature study/drawing books and 3 boxes of art supplies. There is one plastic shelving unit (like you’d have in your garage) for their big boxes of Legos, K’nex, etc. all labeled and in separate tubs. On the top shelf of this is the microscope, globe and a few other “accessible to big boys but not little visitors” type things.
In the closet is “my” stuff. A big metal shelving unit (again, think garage) with all the math books and manipulatives, phonics/reading games/letters, pre-school type activities, a 3 drawer organizer with scissors, tape, markers, etc. Basically it’s all the stuff I need to teach and the door can be shut so little friends can’t get to it.
We’ve pretty much had this set-up in every house we’ve lived in for the last 5 years. The layout changes a bit so does the size of the room and what’s hanging on the walls. But it definitely gets used. More than the “play room” does!
Heather
I’m chiming in late too:) I love to hear how others do school! We have a desk for each child were they store their books and things. I have them sit at it quite a bit. But I have a big couch that we all can fit on, Mom’s computer and desk, several bookshelves and an old kitchen table that we do projects and crafts on. I plan on doing more “couch time” this year as I read somewhere that kids learn better if they are comfortable. (duh) And maybe eventually we might get rid of the desks and go to beanbag chairs while storing their books in milk crates and using the table for math and whatever else we need to. Our school room use to be our old nursery, but Dad took it over as his office and now we moved upstairs to a big extra room we have. (our upstairs once was a seperate apartment, so has it’s own kitchen and living space that we took over). We thought about the basement but it’s to dark down there for my tastes.
Also, as an added note and a neat idea; we put a big map on our kitchen table and put clear vinyl tablecloth over it, then we change the map from U.S. to World and next I’m going to dig out my old National Geographic maps I saved over the years and put something else down. (I love maps).
Kristen
We have a large table upstairs where our family room/playroom is. Then we keep all our books on bookshelves. It does get noisy but they are use to it. If we need more silence we just wait until nap time. We 2 large bean bag couches up there for reading and we do art down stairs at the table so we are not doing that on the carpet.
Kristen I love that map idea!
We did not use a school room, I had a room which had all the books and supplies in it, and a large table – it is actually my craft room/office as well – but from about 12 onwards they wanted to do school in their own rooms, so that is what we did. For family stuff we had the dining room table and the couch. They always knew where the paper and books were and I agree with the personality thing, my daughters, like quiet to work in, not always practical especially in big families, but they preferred to be in their own rooms at their own tables doing their own studies. Linda
Thanks for the additional insights! Also love the map/vinyl tablecloth idea. I used to do that with their artwork at the kitchen table, but hadn’t thought about maps!! I wish I had room in their bedrooms for a desk. When both kids were young, we bought ‘large’ bedroom furniture for each to hopefully last as long as they’re at home….but it’s pretty bulky and no room for other furniture! I’d love to set them up in their own rooms for independent work and keep those books there and have the schoolroom just for together stuff, artsy stuff, etc.
I will have 5 bookshelves, so thanks for some of the ideas of all you store. I won’t have a closet, so will have to work at neatly storing all this stuff! Thanks:) Gina
I used labeled see through plastic bins for all the extra stuff for school, when they were little, and also for all the arty crafty stuff. Linda
We only have 2 children and this is how I set it up (few details still missing). On the long desk is also room for another laptop so both children can do computer work at the same time.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1517500555879.57765.1785461908
We never used our dining room so now it is our school room/diniing room if we are having company and we can use the table for eating/playing games as well. We LOVE it! The room has so much life now. Mind you, we don’t all hang out in it to do our school work, but it houses everything at the end of the day and at any given time, one or two or more children are working in here. I also have our computer in here (and an old one in the kitchen). I like having them in wide open spaces!
Everyone has a shelf/rolling cart/workboxes (depends on which child) for their stuff. With 5 children, it is nice to have a spot to call your own! I did a blog post about it awhile back. Oh and our dining room is right next to the kitchen which makes it convenient. We started our first year with school upstairs and this NEVER worked. We were toting books and things up and down stairs all day. Now it is just where we need it–centrally located.
Here’s the link to my post with photos and a RARE photo of me on the blog
http://roomforatleastonemore.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/a-peek-into/
HTH and I LOVE organizing (maybe a bit too much)!
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