Almost immediately following the decision to homeschool,
began a thought process about WHERE
all of this homeschooling might take place.
We had already been "doing school" at the kitchen table a bit.
However, Joe and I thought we would probably want more space for this journey.
At first, we had envisioned using one of the rooms in our basement.
After a few warnings from Moms who had tried, I realized
that natural lighting would be important for a space you're learning in.
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| The first steps... |
Our thoughts moved to our loft.
Our amazing neighbor helped us move our piano out of this space.
Then, with a clear (generation 1) vision, we began our ikea trips!
We bought a desk for Joe and I to share, and two smaller desks and chairs for the girls.
After finding a rug (from AFW) that fit some of the ikea colors, we bought
a pink chair for our girlie girl and a green for our baby girl (her choice of course).
Almost immediately, we LOVED having desks in this space.
The girls woke up asking for school daily
(weekends included - my husband was stunned).
The loft was clearly the perfect choice.
It was so close to the girls' living space (rooms) that proximity fueled motivation.
We thought the desks could be on the wall, and we would put a whiteboard on the big wall in front of them. However, I was still a little uneasy about the limited storage chest that we had planned under the window.
Then I found this mom's blog with SUCH a similar space to ours and she solved it for me :)
http://homegrownmom.com/domestically-challenged/3642/3642
She used a storage cube system from ikea (Expedit).
Then, she hung a whiteboard on the front of it with velcro.
BRILLIANT!
I would have never thought of it myself.
Generation 2 vision.
So, we moved the girls desks under the window, which works pretty well!
Another pro to this setup is that we still have a TON of open space in the middle of the room.
The blogger above used plexiglass for hers.
However, plexiglass is pretty expensive and scratches fairly easily.
Instead, we went to home depot and got some
It's $13 for a huge piece.
I had the whole thing cut into 3 different boards (for free).
Panelboard is really sharp and will peel on the edges if left raw.
So, I found some patterned duct tape at Hobby Lobby that we used to edge it.
We cut it in half, then edged the board to make a really thin border.
This is our mostly finished room! I bought some storage from the Container Store.
Plus, we added 5 pink doors that are add-ons to the Expedit system.
The plastic containers on the bottom are for activities that the girls can get themselves.
The first 3 levels are built for them to be able to access.
The top 2 are too high for them to reach.
There is still room for our calendar near the desks, which is perfect.
We are pretty happy with our workspace so far.
We love having a place for the laptop and I love having a place for my work textbooks, materials, etc.
The whiteboard is already being loved for pictionary :)
The Stuva Benches that we're using as desks are the perfect height for chairs or kneeling.
This is perfect for this age!
I was hesitant about the chairs, but the colors are great.
The desk caddies are also from the container store.
The whiteboard is already being used for writing, activities (wikki stix), etc.
I especially LOVE that we still have a great amount of carpet space for crafts and learning at the primary level since these girls will be little for awhile.
There are still cork boards, etc to be added and hung.
I have chests and baskets that must be unloaded and reorganized into this space.
However, the major items are done and the room is fully functional.
We are loving it so far.
What is a priority in your room?
How did you make it happen?
Share, please :)
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