In this post, I am going to show you our history nook/seasonal table and answer some questions you’ve asked me.
History Nook/Seasonal Table
Across from our loft is this lovely little area. Like our school room, this area is a work-in-progress. The cabinets underneath hold our board games and videos. See the big, blank walls there? I’ve measured and they are the perfect size to hold all four wall timelines that I hope to be able to purchase this summer.
On the top is our globe, a little tray that usually has some little flower, leaf, or seed found outside. Today, though it is sad and empty. The lantern is a cool housewarming gift that goes with our old world vibe here.
This basket holds crafts or projects from our history studies, or sometimes seasonal objects. We’ve been slacking on collecting seasonal items lately. Right now, our rag doll and corn husk doll are taking a rest here.
I’ve placed our Little House Books here since they are central to our studies this year. I hope to add more historical stuff as the years go by, in addition to our history crafts. Things that will spark a memory of fun places we’ve visited in our studies.
Table vs. Desks
When I asked on Facebook what questions you had about homeschool rooms, Lindsay said:
“Work space! Rec’s for tables vs. Individual desks. Trying to decide how to make it work better for next year.”
When we lived in our old house, we did school at our dining room table. When we moved, I really struggled with whether or not to buy desks. I liked us all at one table, but I also knew that separate work spaces would come in handy.
I found these desks at Ikea, for $20 each. They are super simple to move around, which we do often. It’s the best of both worlds: Separate spaces when we need it and we can group them together like a table when we want to work together, too.
We can also push them all up against one wall in a line and have the whole room open for sleepovers or parties.
Storing Workbook Pages
Lauren asked:
“If you have a child that does workbooks and you tear out the pages…what do you do with them? They are everywhere!”
When I taught preschool, our kids used Abeka workbooks, and I had fourteen four year olds with four or five workbooks each. The teachers met during the summer and we pulled every single workbook page for every single student for the entire year. We stacked the ready to use pages in cupboards and sent home a packet of completed work each week with the students. However, at that point, it was the parent’s problem what to do with the papers! I remember because my Coco was in pre-k that year and I kept. Every.Single. Page.
I’ve since learned to let go. I am not a big workbook person, so the only workbook pages I actually have are the second grade math ones, and our high school Spanish worksheets. I pulled all the pages at the beginning of the year and store them in the magazine files on my shelf. Other options would be to store them in a binder, or an in/out tray on a shelf.
After the sheets are complete, my seven year old files hers in her Math binder. Up until a couple of weeks ago, we had all her work in one binder, but she outgrew it so we separated the subjects. My high schooler files her Spanish sheets in a binder, too. At the end of the year, I make one file for each of them with several samples of each subject and toss the rest. If you have several children, you could store the worksheets by subject or grade. I like magazine files because they take up the least amount of room and are easy to access.
A couple of you asked about portfolios. Our state does not require portfolios, though I almost wish it did so I would be more motivated to make some. Here is a great post on assembling homeschool portfolios.
Where We Got Our Stuff
These are Ikea’s Expedit shelves. I stalked Craigslist for weeks and found 2 sets used for half of what they usually cost. They almost fit perfectly, but one of the shelves was blocking our light switch. We simply left a shelf out, and since I park my desk there I put my teacher supply box in the extra-large space.
The desks are also Ikea, the Vika Amon Tabletop and legs.
Our whiteboard, custom made by my husband to fit perfectly on our shelves, is held up by velcro.
Our magazine files and white boxes are also from Ikea.
Little red trash can? Ikea.
No, I am not a spokesperson for Ikea.
But maybe I should be.
I’m curious, do any of you have a seasonal table?
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Tomorrow, you’ll have the opportunity to link-up with a post about sprucing up some area of your home! The Link-Up will show on all of the participating blogs.
Be sure to check out all of the great ideas for sprucing up around your house:
Sprucing Up the Laundry Room | Mama’s Laundry Talk
Sprucing Up the School Room | Homegrown Mom
Sprucing Up the Craft Room | Many Little Blessings
Sprucing Up the Bathroom | Feels Like Home
Sprucing Up the Playroom | …Life’s About a Dream
Sprucing Up the Garage/Storage Space | A Slob Comes Clean
Sprucing Up the Master Bedroom | Raising Arrows
Sprucing Up Your Homeschool | Jimmie’s Collage
Sprucing Up the Kitchen | So Happy Together
Sprucing Up the Garden | An Oregon Cottage
Sprucing Up the Backyard | Successful Homeschooling
Emy says
Oh, I just love IKEA, it kinda comes with being swedish I guess. 🙂 I love the expedit shelves. I am buying one for my youngest room, but I am gonna leave it lying down on the side. My plan is that I am gonna use it to store her toys and that way she will be able to reach everything on her own (and hopefully put everything back on her own as well. 😉 Maybe I am being a bit optimistic here). I love reading about your homeschooling tips. Here in Sweden we can’t homeschool, unfortunately, but I still find your posts very rewarding and a lot of the things you write about is applicable to me anyways since I work as a kindergarten teacher! 🙂
Sam @TheKelleyEight says
We spruced up AKA moved our school room around Thanksgiving. I will share my post- which shows first where we TRIED to do school- and then our perfect room. I only need a space for a whiteboard now! https://www.thekelleyeight.com/2010/12/place-for-everything.html
Sam @TheKelleyEight says
P.S. I love all of the IKEA stuff. Good thing there are non anywhere near us!
Tanya Taylor says
What a wonderful homeschool space you’ve created! I love your ideas, and can’t wait to get to setting up our new separate homeschool room!
Elissa says
That is the same table I bought at Ikea for my sewing area. They are so sturdy. I’m going back when I spring clean to get them for the kid’s rooms for a homework/art area. I really need to channel some of your organizing skills :p
AprilS says
What a great homeschool room! IKEA is a great resource for inexpensive furniture and really great bookcases. You room is so nicely organized and inviting. I really like the idea of having desks that can be pushed together to make one bigger desk or separated for individual desks. It really makes the space easily arrangeable for any possible purpose.
I love how worn your Little House books are. They’ve definitely seen lots of love. 🙂
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
I love what you’ve done here- so functional and nice to look at- i bet it’s a great place to get some studying done!
Jamie @ See Jamie blog says
I think I might should be a spokesperson for IKEA, too! 🙂
Rambling Heather says
Your house looks lovely! I wish that there were an IKEA closer to us.
Maxwell says
Hello Homegrown mom, thanks for your wonderful post. And I must say, you got a pretty good taste in decorating and picking stuff for your house. The Computer Desks For Home you got there is pretty handy too. Very sturdy looking and its accessibility and mobility is another good thing worth seeing! Thanks!
Ellen says
I love your school room- especially the shelves, tables, and history nook! Found you through the Homeschool Village and look forward to reading more of your posts and panes discussions. I homeschool 4 teenagers and blog at http://www.aseasonforallthings.blogspot.com. ~ Ellen
Linzey says
I love your school room!! This is my first year home schooling (my oldest is in Kindergarten) and we’re trying to get a room ready! It was very helpful looking at what you’ve done! I look forward to reading more of your blog!
Thanks!
Christy says
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your room. I just showed it to my husband and said “I WANT THIS ROOM!” Ours is a total disaster right now. I desperately need some help!!!
Kristina says
Could you explain what you used for the white board? I love this room. 🙂
Meredith Hall says
Hi. I love the built in dry erase board. How did your husband pull that off?
Jessica says
I too would love to know how the whiteboard was done 🙂
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Tina Pizor says
Do you know the name of the desks from Ikea? I am looking all over their site but cannot locate them. Thank you