Finding a table for HS

[brownie]

A rather basic question but I could use some direction. We are going to HS starting in the fall and our dining room will be our school room, as it essentially goes unused right now. We have no real furniture in it, nor do I want to spend the money or have the boys carve up wood with their writing and color it with their markers.

 

I am hoping to find a large plastic table. I thought I had found a nice 6ft collapsible table at home depot for just $50 until my 8 year old pointed out that it is slightly bumpy and will cause their handwriting to be 'textured'. Does anyone have thoughts of where to look for another table? My older 2 will be working together alot and we need somewhere we can spread out but be together.

 

Brownie

[Amber in AUS]

Could you not get that table and glue a thin piece of board to the top? I have done that with my children's small table which also has a textured surface. Or you could get them a writing mat, like a desk top pad thing, can't remember the name, people in offices have them, a jotter? Sorry, like 'who am i?'

[Julie in MN]

Could you cover the table with a sturdy tablecloth?

 

We use clipboards here and rarely sit at a table.

 

Also remember to be sure kids have the right height of seating when they are doing table writing. Younger ones may not be able to write properly at a dining table & chair.

 

Have fun starting out!

Julie

[Karen sn]

My dd uses a clipboard.

[MrsMe]

I have one of these (the walnut top). They're heavy, but fold up; from Officemax with smooth tops

 

http://www.officemax.com/catalog/search.jsp?freeText=folding+table

[Amy+2]

I think I saw one on sale in the Target flyer this morning! Not sure if it has a smooth top though. :)

[yvonne]

We have one of these.

 

http://tinyurl.com/daqvhg

 

It's a great table, but it's not collapsible. It has a smooth surface. It's heavy, so it doesn't jiggle when three kids are working at it at the same time. (Maybe this doesn't matter as much for older children, but mine can simulate a small earthquake when they erase.)

 

We also have a plastic, collapsible table from Costco. It's light, so it really jiggles. It has the textured surface so we were always having to put a piece of cardboard under anything the children are writing.

 

If I had it to do again, I wouldn't bother with the plastic table. Now we just use our dining room table with a Stokke chair for each child. We've never had any problem with the kids writing or marking on it. (We use the DiscountSchoolSupply table for all art projects.) A Stokke can be raised to the correct, comfortable height for the child which I think is important for decent handwriting & posture.

 

Stokkes are too pricey for me to buy new, but I've been able to pick up three used ones, in excellent condition, for $50 each off craigslist.

 

yvonne

[mcconnellboys]

Now that they're making most of these in that plastic, I'm not sure if they still make the heavier ones. Years ago, I found a smooth, laminate topped one that actually folds in half and fastens together so that you can move it more easily (although it's heavier). It even has handles that pull out for carrying. I think I got it at Bed, Bath, Beyond - but it was years ago so I'm a little fuzzy. You might check places such as Hobby Lobby and Michaels, as well as office supply places, Wal-mart, etc.

 

I also just got folding chairs that are padded. Ours have held up to cleaning and boys for ten years now. I put the chairs across from each other at opposite ends, so it works like a partners' desk.

[melissel]

Here's a link to a recent thread about tables (mainly from Ikea). A few recommended the same items:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75542

 

If I needed something like this, I'd probably go straight to Ikea too. They have options in every price range, really. As it is, we do messy stuff at our Freecycle-acquired kitchen table, sit-down work at desks or the wood dining room table, and everything else on the floor :lol:

[SusanNN]

We got one of those plastic tables from Staples - good price, good quality.

 

To solve the "bumpiness" thing --- my kids use laminate "lap boards" under their papers when they need a smooth surface.

 

Both my kids are avid drawers and the boards are portable - bigger than a clipboard (approx 12 X 14 inches) but the same idea (no clip though - just a flat smooth surface). They use them while I'm reading aloud, on the coach or on their beds, on the carpet..... they are sturdy and easy to clean. I think you can use dry erase markers on them if you want to actually write directly on them. We use these boards ALL day EVERY day!!

 

We purchased them years ago from Rainbow Resource for like $3 or $4. We also have one that is recycled from one of those breakfast in bed trays (it was wooden with laminate top - we just removed the laminate tray part).

 

:001_smile:

[joannqn]

We use tables from Ikea. Right now one is a computer desk and the other is for doing school work. They are laminate. The tops are super smooth. Because they were cheap ($35) I don't care if they get marked on. They are also easy to wipe down.

 

This is the table we have.

[Strawberry Queen]

I'm not sure if you have your heart set on a collapsible table, but what about a used table from your local area. Our kitchen table which we use for hs is wonderful. It is laminate wood and it cleans like a dream. We have used this since the kids were small and everything comes off(markers, glue, playdough, clay, etc). I like it because I can relax about messes. I would dearly love a real wood table that looks nicer, especially as our living room and kitchen are attached. However the ease of use and the lack of worry are priceless.

[mom4him]

If this has been suggested by someone else please forgive me. I haven't read all of the posts.

For us having a VERY sturdy table is a must. What I did was hunted the second hand shops until I found a table that was the size I wanted and my dh then put a peace of sheat plastic(in our area it is called 'dairy barn panels) on it with the smooth side up. We got the table for around $40 and we had the plastic but it sells I think for about $15. I had dh skrew it down so it doesn't slip all over but gave a nice smooth surface.

[kalanamak]

We have one of these.

 

http://tinyurl.com/daqvhg

 

e

 

I have this for an art table and it is quite resistant to kid-damage.

[Shelly in the Country]

We re-purposed our old breakfast nook for the schoolroom. We used to have an eat-in kitchen at our old house, but now we have a separate dining room. I figured we would just junk the old breakfast nook, but my husband suggested using it in the schoolroom. Fantastic! It's old and the finish is boogered up anyway, so I don't worry about the kids marking it up. The bench style seating is nice when my 5yo needs me to slide up next to him to help out with an assignment. And since it's a solid oak table, my dh mounted our pencil sharpener right to the tabletop on the far corner.

 

You can get really, really good deals on old dining sets at used furniture stores. I've seen full sets complete with chairs for less than $100. They are sometimes.....well, less than beautiful, but really with all the assorted school supplies, art projects, overflowing bookcases, etc., are any of us really worried about schoolroom decor? :tongue_smilie:

[Tree House Academy]

The jiggling of the collapsible tables is what made me go with a CHERRY wood table. Have you considered a dark colored wooden table? Or even one painted black?

[tinkgumby]

I don't know how many kids you have or how old they are, but for my sons (7 and coming up on 9), this Kidcraft table is perfect:

 

http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-Avalon-Table-Chair-Set/dp/B0001XAHHM

 

(I found it much cheaper than that elsewhere - it's just the first link I found to the product!)

 

What's nice about this is that the kids can sit together or at either end, and they are able to sit correctly with their feet on the floor for handwriting and such; it's a beautiful piece of furniture that does not look out of place in our living room; it has a nice big drawer; it is STURDY (I am not a light person, and I've sat on those chairs), and it moves back and forth very easily, so we can pull it to the middle of the room or back against the wall.

 

Good luck! :001_smile:

[Mama2Three]

If you go with a regular-sized dining table and are concerned about the height of the chairs being too short for proper seatwork, then you might consider keekaroo chairs. A pp mentioned Stokke -- keekaroo is just like Stokke but about half the price (144.95 including shipping). Excellent quality, and I think the weight limit is 250 lbs now, so DC can use them forever (table chair now, desk chair at college later :)). The chairs have adjustable seats and footrests, which have been critical for our wiggly DS who needs to have his feet planted. It's been one of our best purchases for him. We ended up buying one for all of our DC and LOVE them!

[brownie]

Thanks for all the great ideas! These are some wonderful leads that will keep me busy for awhile! I'm not set on collapsible...just smooth, sturdy and big enough for 3 kids and mom to spread out. Our dining room is rather long...I should easily be able to accomodate a 6 foot table. Brownie

[stripe]

BTW Japanese people use a thin piece of plastic, a bit smaller than the size of a regular 8.5x11 paper, under nearly everything they write (it's often decorated with some cartoonish creature or something) -- you can find things like this easily at Asian stationery stores, if there's such a thing near you. The point of it is to keep the indentation from going to the next page, but it could work for your kids by the reverse -- eliminate the bumps from the table. Or improvise with another piece of plastic (you might find in a quilt store for making templates) or another thin, firm substance.