Two years. That's how long we spent in Exploring Countries and Cultures. We moved between those years and while we didn't gain much in the way of square footage, we did gain a space to homeschool in that isn't also where we dine. We moved mid December 2014 and by January I had everything set up and ready to go. But that was then and over the course of the past year I've tweaked our space several times as we've figured out what works and what doesn't. Now that it's time to start a new school year, I've put away the flag banners and redecorated with Egyptian and Greek artifacts.The way we are managing school papers is probably our biggest change this year. I have given up three ring binders (I'm always behind getting stuff filed in them anyway) in favor of a simple series of manila folders. Get student sheets out of one, put them back into a different one. At the end of the year I'll gather the stack and take it to be spiral bound. No hole punching. No sheet protectors. No bulky binders left laying around. This is either going to be sheer brilliance, or a complete disaster. Time will tell!
Without further ado, photos of our new setup and decor!
If you're thinking the table looks crooked, you are correct. An uneven floor means a sloping table. I usually prop up one end with bits of cardboard until it is level. Keeps verigo at bay!
Seems kind of silly to have two TVs, but the little one is used by Hubby when he runs on the treadmill. It also plays our school CDs without fuss. The big TV is for Hubby's video games and streams Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Did you know that there are TONS of amazing images available free for anyone to download because they are in the public domain? I found some gorgeous images and had them printed up on ledger sized card stock at OfficeMax. Total cost for all four posters? A whopping $4.69. That's a steal!
.jpg){kind=link}
I love this mummy poster! I was worried it would feel spooky to have it staring at us from the door like that, but it doesn't at all. It's bright and colorful and exotic looking. It was the most expensive decor item I splurged on, but I didn't feel bad because of the great deal I got on my other posters! I got it from Amazon.
So that's our basement! It's where we school during the day and hang out together as a family in the evenings. It's not posh or even particularly large, but we love it and we are so thankful for it!
Here's last year's School Room Tour, in case you're curious to compare. :-)
oh how I wish we had a school room like this! I live in an apartment... and its so not fun...
ReplyDeleteJeanetta, we've been in our house for a year. Before that we lived in a duplex and schooled in the kitchen. (And before that we lived in a teeny one-bedroom apartment in California). It's rough! You always just have to do the best you can with what you've got. When its nice out we used to take our books outdoors -- sometimes even pitch a tent and have "tent school." Coffee shops or the library also make good places to expand your environment. For many years the possibility of ever owning our own house seemed so remote as to feel impossible. But with God all things are possible!
DeleteLovely! We have a school area in our basement that is a little like yours. You have given me some great ideas! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love all your stuff! We are about to start CTG and it's nice to have someone ahead of you that you can emulate. Question - - printing those posters at Office Max. Did you print it off at home and then brought the hard copy for them to enlarge or did you submit a file through their website? Or something else? As you can see, I don't have much experience!
ReplyDeleteHi Corey, I submitted the files to Office Max through their website. The quality that way is much nicer than if they were to enlarge a print I made at home. :-)
DeleteYou could also take the files to them on a flash drive and they could print them out for you that way.
Thanks Stephi! Very helpful.
ReplyDelete