Sometimes we all need a helping hand! When the kids are home around the clock, homeschooling is happening and there is still a house to clean, mouths to feed, a babybird to rescue and return to its nest and a lawn to mow... Well, our good intentions to get organized are systematically flushed down the toilet. Can you relate? Indeed, it is the battle cry of many homeschool families!
Need ideas getting started? Get the kids involved. You don't have to do this alone. Kids are idea factories! (Who knew that oranges could be so much fun!) Encourage them to put their creative energy into finding solutions that everyone can live with for keeping the 'school zone' uncluttered and organized. After all, it is the space they will be using for multiple hours a day. If they are old enough, ask for their opinions! Brainstorm together! Let them have a say in what is needed, how to configure the room and what colors should be used!
2. Determine what is truly needed for teaching and learning. Consider the fact that kids learn best in environments that are easy on the eyes, free of clutter with plenty of empty 'negative' space on surrounding walls. The days of messy bulletin boards and artwork filling every open space are over. The distraction clutters the brain making it more difficult to stay focused on the task at hand.
3. Move the big items into the school area first... desks, chairs, cupboard or shelving, file cabinet, etc.
4. Last step: Add the details. Decorate sparingly.
Desk areas and classrooms for homeschoolers tend to be on the 'smallish' side. Small spaces have to be incredibly versatile & highly functional. A small area can feel larger when vertical spaces are used well. If you can't expand outward... think upward! No closet available for supplies? No worries! Consider cubby shelves, a tall file cabinet or two, tall book shelves with bins & baskets labelled for easy access, an armoir or floor to ceiling shelves.
Re-purpose. Take a walk through the house, look carefully at furniture already in your possession. You might find a piece or two that could be re-purposed to the school room. Is there a spare dresser, entertainment center or armoir that could become a storage file? A kitchen table can be converted into a desk. A flat surface, like a spare door can become a large desk top supported by a two-drawer file cabinet on each end. Bonus: The file drawers create abundant underneath! An exercise ball (35cm or 45cm) makes an excellent 'bouncy' desk chair for wiggly, energetic children of all ages. Are there pallets, crates or spare wood available that could become a desktop or a book & supply cupboard?
We could go on and on, but the ideas that follow speak more loudly than words! Maybe this is a good place to pause and show off other people's marvelous organizational ideas. We invite you to browse through the gallery; stop & study the photos that interest you. Borrow & adapt ideas that might work for your needs and put them to good use in your own home. Be creative and enjoy the challenge of finding a place for everything!
Photo Gallery of Ideas...
Editor's note: Photos are courtesy of Pinterest and Google.