Packing Up School

We are done with school! You already knew that though. This week I packed up school. We don't have a classroom because we live in a tiny 2 bedroom condo. Since we use our dining room as a classroom, I had the walls covered in learning posters. It didn't feel like a home, it felt like a classroom. I bought a second book shelf to hold art supplies and some of our manipulatives. I decided to move the posters into the boys bedroom and reclaim my dining room for the grown ups. We will still do our lessons at the dining table but I don't think it has to look like we do.

The biggest change is the buffet. Which was being used as an extension of my desk before. My hubby made a rope decoration to frame the boards. Now they look more beachy. Which is the theme of our living room/dining room area. 

There is the classroom section in the boys room now. In the corner there is a piano bench that someone in our complex was getting rid of. It is a perfect little desk. The top flips up and there is storage underneath that is the perfect size for their dry erase boards. It is a nice little spot to do seat work in peace.

I also organized my art supplies. I have got quite a collection because I taught an art class for my co-op this year. I used to have supplies shoved anywhere they could fit; in the buffet, in drawers, and in my closet. 

We went to Walmart and got me these storage tubs and I filled them with all my art supplies. As I put something into a bucket, I wrote down what it was on a piece of  masking tape.  I  stuck the tape onto the tub. Then I went to my lesson plans and wrote down what the project was. 

Next year I am doing a Letter of the Week curriculum with my 5yo. So an example would be Noah's Ark craft. I put that down on my letter 'N' page. Next year when I get to letter 'N' I will see that I have a Noah's ark craft all ready to go in one of my art buckets. I will go to my closet, find the bucket that has "Noah's Ark" on it and dig out the craft. Then I will pull that tape off so that I don't go looking for it again for children's church or some other reason. 

It looks ridiculous, I'm sure, but it is very helpful. Besides, the buckets are stored in a closet anyway. No one will see them unless they need to or I am dumb enough to publish a picture of it on my blog.