School Organization Blessings

Our first week of home school went smoothly, partly because we worked hard to re-establish our school area.  In this blessed matchbox of a home in which we live, there isn’t much room for us to spread out, so we modified and relocated our “school room”. 

Out of the “spare” bedroom we moved {it is used as a playroom, a library, a storage room and, on occasion, a bedroom for any guest willing to sleep on a roll-away bed or in a sleeping bag on the floor}.  Using the room as a school room was difficult - too many distractions.  We are now doing lessons out in the dining room, which is the only dining area we have – so it has to look nice.  Fortunately, there is a bookcase built into the end of the kitchen island on the dining room side of the kitchen.  That bookcase is serving as command central for most of our home school books, curriculum, and supplies.

We pared down our books, binders, folders and supplies so that we had only what we will need for the first six weeks of school. 

To organize Katherine’s six subjects’ worth of textbooks, workbooks and folders, we repurposed three large magazine organizers {that previously held long forgotten coloring books}.

To keep pencils, highlighters, colored pencils, rulers and scissors in one neat spot, we repurposed a large, cardboard “drink” carrier we found in my in-laws’ recycle bin.  Originally, I thought about covering is with scrapbook paper, but it was a pain and I really wanted it to just blend in on the shelf and not stand out too much.  Instead, I spray painted it a neutral ivory and wrapped the handle with jute to keep the cardboard from digging into our fingers when we carry it.  A nifty little jute bow wrapped around the middle finished off our project.

And because I really didn’t get crafty much this summer, I made a fun little wood plaque to display on our school shelves.  It’s so much fun to see what you can make out of a scrap piece of 2x4, some sandpaper, spray paint and left over rustic red scrapbook letters!  And in less than 15 minutes, it satisfied the need to get my craft on – yet still be relevant to keeping our school area organized!

How did you get organized for your first week of school?

Blessings,