Monday, July 21, 2008

Ta Da! It's Done!

Well, it took MUCH longer than I thought it would, but it is FINALLY DONE! The schoolroom is clean and ready to welcome eager learners into it's cozy haven (Yeah, right!). I have to say that I am really proud of how it turned out. I dug deep into the nooks and crannies of every corner and got rid of things that we never use anymore or relocated items that really didn't need to be in the schoolroom. I also went to IKEA and made a few organizational purchases to help keep things AWAY from the three-year-old! If you didn't see the schoolroom before its makeover you can see pictures here. Here is what it looks like now:

Two of my favorite things that I have added to the schoolroom are these bars from IKEA. I do not know why I never thought of them before as we have them in the kids rooms to hold books and magazines. In the schoolroom they will hold pencils, markers, stapler, scissors, etc. All the things I wish my three-year-old NOT to get into! The little basket will hold the current computer program the kids will be allowed to use for that week. They tend to get "stuck" with one or two programs. This will hopefully give them some variety and challenge. This shelf below will be used to house my teachers manuals for the year. The red basket will not be staying there. It is FULL of markers and I have to go through and weed out those that are no longer useful. Then it will be placed HIGH up on a shelf to deter the three-year-old from making pretty designs on my wall!
The two file boxes pictured below are a dream I hope to make work this year. There is one for each child in which I have to create a portfolio. It is my goal to have the kids put their graded work into the proper file and then go through it at the end of the week, picking their favorite pieces and placing them into their portfolio binders. This way I will have the portfolios done by the end of the year and won't be spending HOURS finding things to put in. Plus it will make the portfolio truly theirs as a keepsake from that year. I am hoping to really tackle this and make it work! I'll keep you updated! Please help me by holding me accountable! There it is! I have some other pictures to take and put up, mostly of the shelves below the counter, but I ran out of time tonight and the pictures taken without sunlight look dull! I'll post some more things later in the week! Now to tackle the basement!!!

2 comments:

Trish said...

It looks AMAZING!!!! Makes me want to home school, and I don't even have kids! :)

Brenda said...

WOW!!! I went back and looked at the first pictures....you really cleaned up! OK, I need to do the same. Last year I got down to the wire and left a few piles here and there or just put stuff on a shelf. But how much better would I feel if EVERYTHING had been gone through and organized or tossed?

It looks GREAT! Thanks for the inspiration!