MamaSheep Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Do you have a desk, a shelf, a couple of drawers, an office (ha, wouldn't that be nice) where you keep all your teacher editions, yearly schedules and so forth? Or do you just keep all your school stuff on one set of shelves (or whatever)? I'm trying to figure out how I want to rearrange our school stuff and work area(s) now that I'm going to have two kids home instead of just the one. I found some nice 10-drawer carts on sale the other day and am planning on trying out a workbox type system with them. I may need to get each child some kind of a project box for larger hands-on projects too because the drawers are fairly shallow, though big enough for most of the materials we use. I'm trying to decide if I will just go through their drawers (that just sounds so WRONG) to check their work or if I want to have some kind of tray or bin where they put finished work for me to check. In the past I've just had a school bookcase where I've kept all the school stuff so that the teacher materials and student materials for a given subject were right there together and I could grab them all at once. But I'm going to try hard to have them be more independent this year than ds has been in the past (I think he's ready, he was really getting there toward the end of last year--yay) so I'll be using the teacher materials mostly to check finished work and to fill the drawers for tomorrow. I'm wondering if maybe this year it would work better to have my own workspace with the teacher materials and maybe a shelf for student items not currently in use. Not sure. So, voice of experience, what do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have a desk with a filing box on top and a credenza. I also keep a lot of stuff in the homeschool cupboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have a computer desk that is mine. I also have 3 bookcases for school material, one of which is mainly teacher's material and my own personal stuff. I've always maintained my own office-type space in our home, even before homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Our house has an oversized, walk-in closet upstairs, with built-in shelving on both sides. (Don't turn green with envy about the shelving -- It is shoddily-constructed, and some is falling down.) We use this closet to store old, or not-yet-in-use textbooks and supplies. Otherwise, I guess my "system" resembles what you are trying to move away from. For a current school year, books and supplies are kept in the master bedroom. I have a two-shelf bookcase for this purpose. I also have two large, fabric bins -- one for current-use teacher manuals, the other for current-use student books. (If I had more than one student, I would have separate bins for each child's books.) The bookcases house the most-needed supplemental books for the year, not the core textbooks. (For example, when we used Sonlight, the bevy of readers would be on the bookcase, but the one being read would be in dc's bin.) (Pertinent atlases and encyclopedia-type books also go on the shelves.) How I have fostered independence, is gradually to increase the extent to which I just hand my dd a pile of work-to-be-done, with the accompanying master assignment sheet. We work together on those materials which require that, and she works independently on those materials which don't require my hovering nearby. Independently-done work which I need to check over, dd just includes with her "completed" stack. (Her personal preference, actually, is to ask me to look at work right away -- but sometimes I'm not available to do that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingUnderGrace Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have my own desk. I also have 6 sets of 'cubbies' on my side of our school table, I keep all in use TM's for each child in those cubbies (one cubbie per child). I also have a walk in school 'storage closet' where I keep next years curricula, curricula to save for next child, and games, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have a rolling hs cart for my TE, files and notebooks. I keep the cart next to me at the dining room table during school and store it in the den during the weekends/summer. I keep my desk supplies in a plastic caddy, (I think it is a cleaning supply caddy) on the dining room table. I store it in the den when we aren't schooling. I have a bookcase in the den for all past or future hs curriculum and other hs supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 This is great brainsorm material. Keep 'em coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have an L-shaped desk with mounted cupboards above one side. It's between our kitchen and our school area (used to be a TV room). It's totally awesome!!! When we looked at this house, I instantly claimed it for a teacher's desk. The funny thing is that the previous two homeowners did not homeschool, so I don't know what they used it for--family internet space, maybe. I put my homeschool how-to books and such in the overhead cupboards, my files in the file drawer, and keep my laptop there. It also holds the children's computer and our B&W laser printer. My teacher's editions of books go in a low bookcase just in front of my desk. I hope we stay in this house until I retire from homeschooling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I took an old door, and stuck it out of a bookshelf, creating an L-shaped work area (clear as mud?) On that door, where the "shelf" is, I have a 4-tier box, called the "Correcting Shelves". The kids put their work there when they are done and need reviewing. Next to that organizer, filling the shelf, are all my teacher's manuals and planners. The neatest thing is, the kids can pull chairs up to the other side of the door/desk for meetings or lessons. Do you want me to post a picture, or does this help explain it? It's late, and I'm afraid I"m not making much sense. . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I keep all of my stuff at the top of my billy bookcases, and in the bookcases flanking my desk (if you click on my name you can look at the album with schoolroom pics--it has pics of my office as well). For completed work that needs grading I bought several of those clear boxes with tall sides (I think they are meant for files). They are labeled with each child's initials in big letters, and I have a fifth one with my teacher manuals and answer keys. Don't tell anyone, but I pay my 12 yodd to do the grading for my 4th and 5th graders. ;) She gets $1.00 per day, but to me it's priceless because for some reason I loathe grading. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have an L-shaped desk with mounted cupboards above one side. It's between our kitchen and our school area (used to be a TV room). It's totally awesome!!! When we looked at this house, I instantly claimed it for a teacher's desk. The funny thing is that the previous two homeowners did not homeschool, so I don't know what they used it for--family internet space, maybe. I put my homeschool how-to books and such in the overhead cupboards, my files in the file drawer, and keep my laptop there. It also holds the children's computer and our B&W laser printer. My teacher's editions of books go in a low bookcase just in front of my desk. I hope we stay in this house until I retire from homeschooling! Niiiiiiiiice! Color me jealous! I took an old door, and stuck it out of a bookshelf, creating an L-shaped work area (clear as mud?) On that door, where the "shelf" is, I have a 4-tier box, called the "Correcting Shelves". The kids put their work there when they are done and need reviewing. Next to that organizer, filling the shelf, are all my teacher's manuals and planners. The neatest thing is, the kids can pull chairs up to the other side of the door/desk for meetings or lessons. Do you want me to post a picture, or does this help explain it? It's late, and I'm afraid I"m not making much sense. . . . . Very clever. And I think you're making great sense. Did you bolt the door to the bookcase shelf or anything, or is it just sitting on top of the desk? Is the other end of the door resting on anything? File cabinet or something? I keep all of my stuff at the top of my billy bookcases, and in the bookcases flanking my desk (if you click on my name you can look at the album with schoolroom pics--it has pics of my office as well). For completed work that needs grading I bought several of those clear boxes with tall sides (I think they are meant for files). They are labeled with each child's initials in big letters, and I have a fifth one with my teacher manuals and answer keys. Don't tell anyone, but I pay my 12 yodd to do the grading for my 4th and 5th graders. ;) She gets $1.00 per day, but to me it's priceless because for some reason I loathe grading. :tongue_smilie: Pay the 12yo....hmmmm......I LIIIIKE that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have a desk in the corner of my kitchen. Ostensibly it was going to originally be used for things like paying bills, writing up menus, organizing my (many) personal projects, filing all the stuff that needs filing and so forth. But since I started homeschooling (my then completely out of control ASD, OCD, PTSD, ODD, GAD son--thank goodness we've worked through most of THAT) three years ago I've been horrifically disorganized and it's just been collecting clutter. Maybe it's time to excavate the whole thing and set it up differently. Dh takes care of the bills now anyway and I've mostly learned to only file the truly important stuff and do it as soon as it falls in my hand (mostly). The backed up filing might just have to go in a box labeled "open only as a last resort"...sigh. Pondering possibles... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I think summer is the best time to do these things. It will be harder if you wait until you're schooling again. I clean out my stuff 2 or 3 times a year, and it always feels SOOOO good to see it all tidy and organized. If you free up an afternoon to spend clearing out your desk, you'll have a better idea of where to put all the teacher stuff--and I suggest that when you're done you reward yourself with something cute to store your files/pencils/mail/whatever in. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 A milk crate... everything else is family-community territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I definitely have to have a space. You can see some pics, though my area has changed slightly, in the following pics. on my blog. Scroll down some to see my teacher's area. Learning Room I will take new ones when I get things picked up because right now it is a mess!! However, I have a bookcase behind that keeps all my teacher's manuals. I also have a clear magazine rack with each dc's name so I can easily put TG for things like math, spelling, etc. by student. I also have a metal four shelf organizer I got from Staples. Since I have four dc's it worked perfectly for me. However, one thing that I wish I had was a more mobile system but this works for us. Many times I have them check each other's work, especially if I get behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 I definitely have to have a space. You can see some pics, though my area has changed slightly, in the following pics. on my blog. Scroll down some to see my teacher's area. Learning Room I will take new ones when I get things picked up because right now it is a mess!! However, I have a bookcase behind that keeps all my teacher's manuals. I also have a clear magazine rack with each dc's name so I can easily put TG for things like math, spelling, etc. by student. I also have a metal four shelf organizer I got from Staples. Since I have four dc's it worked perfectly for me. However, one thing that I wish I had was a more mobile system but this works for us. Many times I have them check each other's work, especially if I get behind. That's awesome, thanks for sharing your pictures. I also liked where you said your goal was to have a room where you couldn't enter without learning something. Now you have me pondering some kind of mobile mom-cart....interesting idea. I like it, because then I could drive it over by the couch or in by the table and have everything at hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Thank you to everyone's who's shared. I definitely have to have a space. You can see some pics, though my area has changed slightly, in the following pics. on my blog. Where did you get the presidents' poster? Or is this a common item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Yes, this is absolutely essential for me. I have a U-shaped desk that I share with dd. My space is effectively an "L" and I have 3 drawers and a file drawer under one end. I keep all my files, office supplies, teacher's manuals, ideas, inspirations, and planners in or on my desk area. Try Craig's List! That's where I got mine and I LOVE it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I would love to have a work space of my own but it just isn't possible in this house. The kids have a school room but I have no place to put a desk for me... So I have a chair just out side their room (very cozy) with a footstool, a small table for my laptop and a spot for a drink and a pencil cup. Next to me I have 2 baskets, one for frequently used Teacher Edition/Manual and one for other school related items. I'm still dreaming about something better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Thank you to everyone's who's shared. Where did you get the presidents' poster? Or is this a common item. I actually bought it years ago at our state homeschool convention. They had tons of posters of this sort. Sorry but I can't remember the name of the vendor. They also had tons of games about presidents, elections, etc. so you might try googling. Yep, we love our posters. I have picked up most of them at teacher supply stores, etc. My favorites are the Latin posters I ordered from Memoria Press. This has helped us soooo much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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