Our Updated Schoolroom

I am very excited about our newly painted and decorated schoolroom.  It had been over 8 years since we painted this room and since we spend a large portion of our day in here doing school, crafting and playing it was time to spiffy up the space.  The big inspiration for my room was my friend Jolanthe of Homeschool Creations.  I absolutely love her schoolroom.

I agonized over the color and our walls looked like this for a while.

There was a big mix up with the paint and they store had a hard time matching the color sample.  I have to put a plug in for Lowe’s here, because the person who helped me seriously spent 45 minutes trying to get the color exactly right.  After mixing 3 different gallons of paint I told him not to worry about it, that it was close enough.  He offered me the off color gallons for a discount and I ended up getting 3 galloons of paint for $15.00.  SCORE!  We took it home and mixed up the color in a big paint bucket and I loved the end result.

I was very lucky to find our Ikea Expedit Shelving Unit on Craigslist.  It holds the majority of our books, reference books, some toys and things I want the kids to use on a regular basis, such as the microscope and Draw Write Now books.

We already had the Ikea Trofast System, which are using as a table in front of our futon.   It holds paper, play doh, stamp pads,  stamps, miscellaneous crafting supplies, and our extra school supplies (glue sticks, tape, etc.).

Our one big purchase was this futon, which we LOVE!  Our schoolroom was lacking a comfortable place to snuggle and read together.  The lovely owl pillow came from Etsy.   The quilt draped over the side was made by my grandmother. 

Anther comfy place for the kids to plop down and read.  The beanbag chair came from Walmart and the curtains from here (make sure and check online for coupon codes).

We each have a desk.  My desk has a magnetic white board on the back with our magnetic letters and numbers.  On top of the bookcase are various globes and a human body model.

The bookcase behind my desk contains all of the kids curriculum for the year and things that I use on a regular basis.  More on our curriculum choices this week.

Emily’s desk, Trofast storage system, and rail above her desk all came from Ikea.  I ordered online since I figured the gas and all the extra things I would be sure to find would cost as much, if not more than the shipping.

Aiden’s desk is the same with things we use on a daily basis close by (calendar and world map).

The table is used for craft projects and when we are all working together.  I painted our existing table white and the chairs red.  Just an FYI for you folks, do not spray paint chairs red while wearing flip flops.  My feet still looked sunburned after 3 weeks.

We started school last week and so far the updated space has been perfect for our needs. 

~Cindy

Preschool Corner ~ Changes to our School Room and Learning about China

This weekend I decided that it was time to make some changes to our schoolroom.  We are trying to do more family schooling, but Aiden still needs to be able to entertain himself while I am helping my daughter with certain subjects.  I decided to give Aiden some bookcases that are filled with things he can explore and play with.

I moved the books from two of our small bookcases and filled them with things for Aiden.

His shelves currently have the following items:

• Fall sensory basket
• Apple pie play dough
• Letters to spell his name
• Alphabet box
• Biggie Beads
• Writing box
• Dry erase board and marker
• Rug for floor work
• Books about Fall and the current artist and composer we are learning about.

I plan on changing the items every other week.

China:

This week we had lots of fun learning about Asia and China.

We started out the week talking about the continents and where  Asia is.  He work on his world puzzle.

I traced around our Asia puzzle piece with a marker

then I let Aiden pin punch around it.  He absolutely loved this.  He worked on it for two days!

 

Next we pulled out our Asia Continent Box

and talked about some of the items, such as the abacus, chopsticks, and animals from the continent.  Aiden then matched our tube of Asian animals to the pictures.

We read the book Dragon Dance and I helped Aiden make a handprint dragon.  I traced Aiden’s hand and helped him cut them out ~ he had a few fingers missing on the first set.  I printed the dragon template and cut the pieces out.

Aiden glued the dragon together.

Next he practiced picking up candy with chopsticks.  He was determined to get the candy picked up!  I decided to switch to the easy chopsticks!

       

Letters and Prewriting:

Aiden worked on spelling his name with letters that I purchase at Michaels. 

I pulled out his Kumon Book of Easy Mazes and he probably did half the book.  He didn’t want to work on writing any letters this week so I let him have fun doing as many mazes as he wanted

Fine Motor Skills ~ Locks and Keys:

This was another of Aiden’s favorite activities.  I bought some key locks and put them in a basket.

He has been playing with the since I put them out. 

Next week are going to be talking about Fall, which is my favorite season.  To check out more Preschool ideas and activities visit Preschool Corner!

 

~Cindy

Our Homeschool Room

This is one of my favorite rooms in the house ~ now that it is de-cluttered, organized and clean!  Let me give you a little tour.

Please come on in……

This wall holds all of the items we use on a daily basis.  The small bookcase holds the books we will be using our first six weeks of school, our globe and paper.   The bins on the shelf hold our Math-U-See blocks, play-doh, and Dot paints.  I also have any items that I don’t want Aiden to reach on the shelf such as the pencil sharpener and our All About Spelling cards.  I hung metal tins below the shelves which hold colored pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, all things sticky, and pens for our dry erase board.   Below that I hung our dry erase board and a felt board.  The colored totes in the bookcase holds all of our magnetic and felt board items ~ such as letters, numbers, and felt sets so the kids can easily access them.  

We have a small table where we sit to do most of our school work.  Emily’s workboxes are right beside the table for easy access.  

Next is our pie safe ~ which holds oh so much!  In the containers underneath is fabric Emily and Aiden are allowed to play with, extra school supplies and miscellaneous items (currently it contains pirate items).  On top I have lapbook and notebook pages we will need this year and my manuals.

Inside the pie safe I have all of our manipulatives, flashcards, games, science things and preschool toys.

Beside the pie safe I have a computer the kids are allowed to use ~ NO internet access!

Our entertainment center holds all of our toys, games, puzzles, and movies.  On top I have toys for outside and incentive items for the kids.

The next bookcase holds most of our books.  On top of the bookcase I display our nature items and nature books.  Notice the cute little kitten in the window?    

This is our art and music area.  The bookcase holds all of our art and music books as well as a basket of musical instruments (egg shakers, rhythm sticks and recorder).  The bottom shelf holds easy reader books.   

Lastly on our tour is the kids reading area with two cozy chairs and a basket of books. 

Truthfully the kids are usually bouncing and playing in the chairs instead of sitting.  I hope you enjoyed the tour!

~Cindy