Studio and Schoolroom redo

I showed you how it looked while we were in the process of the redo of our studio and school room so here's how it looks now that it's cleaned up. On the right side of the room we've placed all of the desks, the kids have some shelves to keep their desks isolated for ease of concentration and focus. As before, when we need to work together the center table is available.  My studio is on the left.  It now extends further down the room and is more functional.  

At the far end of the room we have our whiteboards and under the window the clickclack. It's great for reading time, there is storage underneath for board games and it folds into a double bed for guests.

The center table how holds the kids sewing machine (on loan from my mom) and our globe.



As I mentioned above there are bookcases/shelves between the desks to aid in the kids focusing.  On the shelves between Zuri and Mardie's desks we keep the daily use supplies like pencils, markers and colored pencils on top. Below are many of our classroom non math manipulatives and puzzles. Between Charmie and Mardie's desks I keep our greatly reduced workboxes. For this space, and where we are in our work, this simplifies things. I also keep the boys text books here. It's much simpler than keeping them with the other classroom materials. There's a lot less hunting and frustration this way.



To the right of Charmie's desk is a shelving unit that is an extension of my studio. My spinning wheels, some fiber, some yarn, some works in progress and related fiber tools are housed here in baskets.



The left side of the room (right side in this photo as viewed from Zuri's desk) has my studio. My sewing table setup hasn't changed. This was the best placement and allows for me to be able to work and keep an eye out on the kids simultaneously. Rocky and I share the desk.  As before, we work facing each other.  When I'm good and don't collect things on my desk it's plenty of space for both of us.



I cleaned out  the credenza that came with the desk and now store some of my office supplies and teacher's materials in it.  We were able to find IKEA office chairs in the "as is" room for well under 1/2 price!  Nothing is wrong with them, they were just no longer in the box.  They are very comfortable and well built.  They do not match.  We weren't trying to match them.  Rocky and I are built differently so it makes sense that we would be most comfortable in differently shaped chairs.  My chair is a wool version of the leather one we bought for the living room desk.  IKEA doesn't make it anymore sadly, but it's the most comfortable office chair I've ever used. Rocky's is green and black.



In the middle of the studio wall is my cutting/pinning/ironing table.  I've had to have one side folded down since we moved it up here.  This new configuration of the room allows me to have it all of the way open.  I have had ironing/pinning mats for a long time for this table, but the size didn't fit and they overlapped.  I finally cut and sewed them together to make one large fitted mat, vs. two ill fitting ones. Under it I have storage drawers that hold our math manipulatives, our school craft supplies, my mailing supplies and scale, as well as my cutting instruments. I'm going to be adding one more set of drawers in a few weeks and our science materials should then fit here as well.



Beyond the cutting table is a short bookcase of school resource books and a second with unused school supplies. I try to get supplies when they are affordable which isn't exactly when I need them.  I have to store them somewhere. Having them in one place allows me to keep an inventory of what we have and also itemize what we need for future sales.



The closet also got a redo.  It was full of videos/ DVD and VHS (yes we still have a VHS player), Wii games, board games (now under the clickclack), and over flow toys that we had temporarily taken out of rotation.  There was little useful organization, though Rocky had made multiple attempts.  It was a clusterscrew because it wasn't kid friendly and when opened almost always vomited its contents all over the walkway into the room.  I hated it because it was never tidy.  The solution; after we removed the items to more kid friendly storage areas was to move the remaining plastic drawers with fabric and yarn into it.  These drawers were previously on the landing at the top of the stairs and an eyesore.



I know it's A LOT to have it all in one room, optimally this would be in two separate and large rooms.  This is the modest space we do have and it all works. I feel so blessed to have this space to be used for a studio and school.  The space is very conducive to us working together. Everybody has their own space if needed yet we can come together for games or projects that require our combined efforts.  After some time, the room is becoming what I envisioned it being when we bought this home.

the storm before the calm

the storm before the calm, a photo by mom2rays on Flickr.

This past weekend Rocky and I needed to redo the school. We had to put the click clack (the black sleeper couch) back into this room. The chairs we had up here needed to be integrated elsewhere into our home. They ended up in the living room. Many things were taken out and shipped off to charity. And the space got a lot worse before it got better. You see we had gotten our school room where we thought it needed to be here.  But as I learn, I realize that no thing that I design or use is constant.  It's always changing, always in need of improvement. Always needing to be modified because I change and my needs change.  That's what has happened in this room.

The Desks are done!

We finally have finished the desks!!!  Well the tops may possibly have another step to finish them, but they are useable and I love them! Zuri decided to do some school today to try them out! I think she approves of her pink ultrasuede desk topper. Here's Zuri's desk unoccupied:
The boy's desks are also done. Here they are side by side:
And here's a closer view of Mardie's:
and Charmie's:

Details on the project:
After we bought the desks, clean and disassemble them.
repaint all painted surfaces
measure tops for template and discard
buy birch plywood and have cut into 24"x19" pieces at Lowes
Rocky routes the edges to round them Sand with 180 then 300 grit sandpaper all wood surfaces Reassemble desks

For the toppers since I chose to leave the wood unfinished
cut 24.25"x19.25" piece of clear urethane
cut a 24.25"x8.5" piece of fabric that for the most part is hardly seen
1 package of binding for the boys, 1" strip of ultrasuede for Z's desk
2-3.5" pieces of 1/4" elastic


turn lengthwise (long side) of fabric under twice and hem
attach walking foot to sewing machine
lay out lengthwise section of fabric on urethane
touching one edge with he hem towards the center
lay elastic in other two corners bind you will have to lift the urethane off of the sewing deck or use tissue paper as it will stick to the deck. These toppers protect the desks and are easy to clean. If I decide on a permanent solution in the future the desks tops will have been protected, and ready to go! It feels good to get the school "in order".

Hard at work

Hard at work, a photo by mom2rays on Flickr.

Studio and School preview

Studio and School preview, a photo by mom2rays on Flickr.

Rocky and I decided we needed to change some things around drastically in our home. Some of that meant spaces we had used needed to go away, some of it meant other spaces had room to grow!
We decided that using the bonus room for 3 purposes was too crowded and that we could enjoy TV/video games could happen just as well in our great room as it could up here, the difference being that we could all be a part of it.
We also decided that since we were homeschooling, a dedicated space would work the best for us all.
Finally, unlike the TV, I have no other place to put my sewing area, so that could stay, but the area is spread out more than it was before.
The result, a "real" classroom has blossomed out of the space. It has come together with items that we already had elsewhere for the most part. Few were purchased new, many items were thrifted and purchased 2nd hand some time before.
We finally have room to both work individually and together. The student desks from my previous post are finished being painted, but the tops await final routing and a clear coat to make them more durable.
My Levenger desk is the wooden one in the foreground, facing the window.  It was a garage sale steal a few years ago and I have a matching credenza that I use currently to hold my coverhem and embroidery machines and various fiber art items . My anti-gravity and Rocky's massage chairs (black) were purchased shortly after we were married, admittedly, 10+ years of use, especially with the kids have taken their toll, but they are still the most comfortable seats in our home. Continuing from my desk on the left side, Z's desk will be closest to mine, between the bookcases and my chair. These bookcases are actually strong but light weight, unfinished, wooden collapsible display shelves I got for $25 each when my local yarn shop closed a few years ago. They house almost all of my teaching materials, resource books, some manipulatives and displays.
The back wall under the window has plastic drawers with more manipulatives and craft supplies.
The central table is "just right" for all of us to comfortably sit and work together. The height is not so much that it dwarfs the kids, yet I can easily sit at it and my knees fit underneath. We had a full sized dining table in this room originally for the school and it was WAY too oversized, both in height and in girth for the space. This table is sturdy, with solid oak legs and skirting and a formica top, it's 30"x60" size is perfect. I was ecstatic to find it at a Habitat re-store for donated from somebody else's classroom for $10.
Continuing around the room C's desk will sit in the far corner to the left of the workboxes. M's desk will be to the right with Rocky's chair and my cutting table finishing out the space.
We can all be in here at once with separate areas to work and "be". Rocky can use this room for sermon preparation and church business since it will be relatively quiet when we aren't schooling.
This room has had so many "roles" since we moved into this house almost 7 years ago. I am glad we have transitioned to it being used to further our family growth and development!
Look what our new creative space has already yielded! Z decided to write her name and draw a picture of me! This is our 2nd week of school! I'm loving it!

The search for the perfect school desks

School desks, a photo by mom2rays on Flickr.

We are just about ready to start back schooling. We admittedly took a summer break, though when opportunities arose we schooled in this summer.

My homeschool "space" has been a big frustration to me. I haven't figured out how to find a niche in my home that fits all of the HS stuff I have, and I haven't figured out yet how to cull things down and let things go. So we have cluttered resources and very little space.

Last year I switched from our little "desks", we were repurposing our Babee Tenda Feeding tables, to a table that we could all sit at.

First I had a little one from an old school room. It fit my space, but not my knees (though the kids fit it just fine). Then Rocky found for me a larger table, but we had not accurately measured the dimensions we needed so this table is WAY too big. The space we had is now crowded and not functional for what we need to do. That wasn't the only problem. The kids are all at such different levels, and Mardie and Zuri still need quite a bit of instruction from me, so time at the table all together meant that at least one person was being distracted almost all of the time. I decided we needed to go back to desks and if we want to use a table the kitchen table or bar will work just fine.

My dilemma was that I didn't feel the feeding tables were the best choice. They are sturdy and adjustable, but the lip around the edge kept the kids from having proper ergonomics and they just didn't feel right.

I was very fortunate to find these donated desks at the Habitat for Humanity restore. They evidently had served their purpose at the local community college, and were not going to continue to be used. The original donation was reportedly large, but when I looked, only these 3 desks remained. American Seating, adjustable height, industrial strength that would withstand daily use and grow with the kids through graduation. . .they were EXACTLY what I was looking for! And at $8 each I could not beat the price anywhere!

We are almost finished with repainting the metal parts and just need to figure out the material we will use for the replacement tops. I asked the kids what colors they wanted their desks to be. I will post pictures of them when they are all done and put back together.

This small step will hopefully help our small homeschool space to be maximized again for our use :)

Not Another Legwarmer

Today was a weird day. Well not weird really, we've had this kind of day before, but not for a while. Today we repurposed several things around our home, rearranged some major spaces and did some long needed cleaning and de-cluttering. It's hard to explain without going into details so here's the short:
1. removed tv, vcr, dvd, stereo from armiore to make room for Zuri's things
2. put stereo into boy's room for nite nite music and play music
3. move vcr to bonus room
4. remove old tape eating vcr from bonus room, get stereo in bonus to work w/o over heating, re set up all componets in bonus to run w/o having to unplug anything and store videos and toys in existing storage areas to eliminate extra pieces in room
5. dust everything that got emptied, moved, rearranged, etc. and surrounding areas.
At times it felt like a lot of piddling around. But the finished product at the end of the day left Rocky and I both pleased with our efforts. We either gained better functionality of an item or use of space and did it all with no cost other than our time and brain power.
On a completely different note for the first time Charmie wrote his name all by himself today. I'm so proud of him. Way to go son!

Also my kids use bibs. . . for messy times and times when they are wearing clothing I don't want stained they still do. I know many of my friends say that their lo's no longer use them, or no longer will use them, or they have never bothered with them, but my kids still use them at home and when we are out often they get a napkin kerchief to protect their clothes and save my sanity.
Sometimes though bibs aren't handy. Sometimes I only have a napkin that is too small to make a kerchief. That's where the below item comes into play. It's a ribbon with a clip on both ends. It's for Zuri, it works like the clips the dentist uses to hold the paper bib on you when you get your teeth cleaned. This one is a little longer than it needed to be so I'll just tie a knot into one side of it to shorten it. I have clips and ribbon to make more. . . I just have to find the ribbon.