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dakotamidnight
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I'm working on setting up my school room area this week, and wondered what others school areas look like. I've seen a few photos on blogs and such, but not much.
Lets share ideas and photos!
We finally have enough bookcases to tame the mountains of books we own, but I'm at a loss for the best ways to sort the books. We do use LibraryThing, so there is a running inventory {if I keep it updated} but when it comes to what books to put together on the shelf I'm clueless.
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CandaceC
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Here are some pictures that I took last year of our school room. :)
Our School Room
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Candace - wife to David since 2000...mommy to Hannah (Feb. 2002), Emily (April 2003) and Caleb (March 2005)
His Mercy Is New
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ALmom
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Dakatomidnight - did you get my PM? I really need to hear back from you. Thanks.
Books, these I organize loosely - science biographies
together, science is seperated loosely into biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, astronomy, experiment/hands on type materials in nature study and other science studies. History, I at least divide by American and other and I try to loosely organize by general time periods. (I don't put textbooks with my other books).
I also have a place for fun math books, science supplies, art books, art supplies, music books, recorders, and listening stuff that we might use regularly if it were convenient, reference materials (dictionaries, thesaurus, MLA handbook type things), foreign languages (grouped by language).
I have one shelf for picture books, one for living religion and lives of the saints, and then a lit shelf that I loosely organize by time period (particularly if it is historical fiction - but a section when something doesn't fall in place).
I do seperate out the picture books and the early reading stuff for my youngest unless it fits really well in a history or science category.
When school starts, I have one shelf where I organize highschoolers materials, my materials, etc. and I use baskets to highlight whatever is our current focus.
I'm in the purge process right now because I just have too much. I've tried traditional spines showing only with some sort of marking on a shelf but my children tend to do better from piles, so I organized by period in those plastic drain bins that any cheap grocery sells. I also tried to think about how my disorganized folks would most likely return things to at least the general areas. I'm thinnking I may need to modify this slightly as my youngers do better with buckets, but one of my children can no longer find what they want. They like traditional shelving (and traditional shelving uses less space - if that is a consideration).
I try to think about where we would use the material - so music and art are near the piano and art supplies. Science - well I pull out books related to our current study and put those in the room where the hands on science stuff is. Others are in the main book room.
I have a lot (too much space) so that makes some things easier, but I'm trying to think ahead for when we do not have as much space.
Janet
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Erin
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library We recently finished setting up our (It is a bit neater than this now)
In regards to sorting books each bookcase houses a subjects(or two). Going around the room; the first bookcase houses Australian books, then nature/science with an overflow of Australian and history titles. The third bookcase contains the history books. The back bookcase is literature, then sets (including twaddle), another bookcase with more sets and lots of reference books and then Faith books including Faith picture books.
Because I don't have enough bookcases I have arranged book bins up the middle for the picture books, they are being used far more this way. Each bin houses a different theme too; Australian, classics/authors, geography/history, letters/numbers, animals, general picture books. I love my bookbins and one day dh will make me timber ones.
 Our computers are in a separate room, the study. This is the room the teenagers use during lesson time (and I have to police strictly at other times  ) This is still pretty rough as we are currently in a state of flux as we build our house.
We currently do the bulk of our lessons in our dining room but as building progresses the dining and the kitchen will become our learning rooms. I have lots of plans percolating for then. 
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Erin
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LLMom
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Erin,
You have such a huge library! I love it!
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Lisa
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homeschooling ideas
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Lori
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WOW...great to see the study areas & library! How do you insert a picture in the replies/posts?
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Mackfam
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Lori wrote:
| WOW...great to see the study areas & library! How do you insert a picture in the replies/posts? |
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Lori,
A moderator can add pictures for you. They need to be less than 100 KB in size. If you have pictures you'd like to share, pm me!
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Jen Mackintosh
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robinhigh
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I don't know how to get them up here, but I have pics of our classroom on my facebook page.
Erin and Candace, yours are so nice. I'm a bit jealous.
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mom2mpr
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This is a great thread. Thank's to those posting photos.
I have finally decided we need the "discipline" of a classroom. We tried to use the basement last year and it worked as far as focus, but not with dd's allergies. So, I decided to have it gutted this summer and repainted and replace the carpet--on the finished side. The unfinished side will get the special basement wall and floor paint--in some pretty color. 
I hope to use the unfinished side for working out and messy projects. The finished I hope to use for school, play and to put the noisy playstation.
I noticed most use an upstairs room. I would love to do that. We really use the basement so little. I figure we'll be busy working and not notice. I hope it will be OK--it is dark and basement-y.
Suggestions on ways to brighten it up? I am hoping to use a happy color like yellow on a few walls-opposite those little basement window's to hopefully bounce some light around. I am struggling with lighting--fluorescent?
Do your kids have their own desks? Mine don't. I figure ds will end up upstairs so he can concentrate as dd needs me to help her a lot. But a desk might be nice some days.
I hope to come back for more ideas and peeks into other classrooms-for ideas
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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Erin
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Robin
I'm jealous of your crucifix dh has wanted a big one for so long.
Anne
I'm not an individual desk person, only my ds16 has a desk and she sometimes works there and sometimes with everyone else. I prefer to have two dining tables, one for the older children and one for the youngers.
For brightening the room what about plants and bright pictures?
for lights we use the big long tubes (I think fluro  ) for big rooms.
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robinhigh
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[QUOTE=Erin] Robin
I'm jealous of your crucifix dh has wanted a big one for so long.
Yep. I wanted one for years, but the ones I've seen in catalogs and shops were soooo expensive. My mom found this one a few years ago from a man who had bought them in Mexico. On my mission trips I've seen them for under $50. Mexico is the place to get some really nice sacramentals for a really good price. If I ever go back I want to get a life size Our Lady of Guadalupe statue. Some are low quality, but if you shop around you can find some really beautiful ones.
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Mackfam
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mom2mpr wrote:
| I hope it will be OK--it is dark and basement-y. |
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Anne,
If you're working in a basement, I'd avoid fluorescent lights if you can! Invest in some nice track lights or something with bulbs that give off a nice natural light. Maybe consider some of that pre-painted bead-board paneling you can find at the hardware store. It's really nice, and painted in a pretty glossy white - it's great for clean-up and the high gloss paint will bounce light everywhere. If all you can do is paint, I'd go with something light and cheery, like a soft yellow, in a semi-gloss...again for the light bouncing potential. If you have anything dark, paint it! Basements suck light like vacuum cleaners! The pretty, bright paint will yield dividends in your mood and will really help if you need to be down there.
Here's another option...just make the basement workable. Nothing spectacular, just clean and tidy, and stocked with shelves and storage spaces. And, set up a small work area for each child upstairs. This could be your kitchen table! All you'd need is a couple of shelves or baskets to contain your current work, everything else could live in your basement as storage and you could get it when needed. Either way - you could definitely work this!
mom2mpr wrote:
| Do your kids have their own desks? |
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Mine don't either. We have some tables that we share.
Here are some pics of mine...though Erin's library puts us all to shame!
If you're interested, you can see more pics and explanations of the learning spaces in this post.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Chris V
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Jen, your learning space is SPECTACULAR!  
My reality isn't quite so impressive, however, as we all know, it's not about what's impressive, it's about using the space that you are blessed with, in the most functional and of course, the most pleasing way - to add beauty with practicality (Jen, you are welcome to come and add beauty and practicality to each room in my home )! .
...now I'm in the mood for refreshing my little learning corner ...(I'm not sure it's big enough to qualify being called a space). 
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LLMom
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I have a few pictures on my blog of my new workboxes for my youngers and some of my book shelves.
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Lisa
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dakotamidnight
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Everyone's ideas and photo's look great!
Erin - your library looks almost exactly like the children's section at my favorite used bookstore {Minus the cats laying around as the bookstore is Nine Lives and run by a cat charity}! They use the book bins in the middle too.
I'm still working on our space - it's improving though!
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JennGM
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Erin, I just want to jump into your library photo and just peruse. Why is it being surrounded by books is so wonderful? I find my sons feel the same way.
I have a few rooms with bookshelves like yours. I'm still trying to coordinate a school room. I have the space to do something similar as Jen has, but I'm reluctant to use up my main floor living space as dedicated school room. Right now I have the materials we currently use in our "mud room" shelves, and pull out daily on our kitchen table. But there are no visuals and no self-starting, so some changes need to happen.
Jen, I think I asked this last year, but I can't remember. Do you have most of your books somewhere else and these are the pertinent ones for the time? For those with large book collections, it seems rotation is key.
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Mackfam
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JennGM wrote:
| Jen, I think I asked this last year, but I can't remember. Do you have most of your books somewhere else and these are the pertinent ones for the time? For those with large book collections, it seems rotation is key. |
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Yes. I bring in books from other shelves in the house on an as needed basis. I try to keep bookshelves focused on one category - all literature, favorite family read-alouds, living history, religion, Christmas, gardening, crafting, etc. I categorize in a way that assists my finding the book, and makes sense with how we live and read.
That sounds funny...let me give you an example...I categorize history in chronological order, by century, and then by setting within that. So I can go right to the 16th century and tell you what I've got. This system works so much better for us in terms of finding what I have because we read by time period.
I recently organized my liturgical year books by month because we read them around the Church year. So, books on St. John Bosco are with the January books. Within my liturgical year books, I cross reference with the period of history the book is associated with because I pull books on the faith to incorporate with our history reading.
So...book collections grouped by subject matter...and within that organized further by how we would approach the book - calendar year, age appropriateness, century/setting, subsets of science. Makes larger book collections more manageable.
Because I plan out each child's year in a booklist which I then subdivide into our 4 terms, I know which books to grab to set out in baskets for the upcoming term. Last year, I took 1 teacher day at the beginning of each month to help with transition times between terms, but I found, while helpful, it wasn't enough concentrated time where I needed it. So this year, I'm taking one week off between terms to give me time to close out the term, wrap up any left-over work, and refresh shelves and baskets by bringing in books which may be on shelves outside the learning room.
Does this answer your question, Jenn? About managing larger book collections which may live on shelves all over the home? I have book shelves in every.single.room.of.the.house...save the bathroom...and I've been thinking about that!
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Jen Mackintosh
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JennGM
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Mackfam wrote:
| Does this answer your question, Jenn? About managing larger book collections which may live on shelves all over the home? I have book shelves in every.single.room.of.the.house...save the bathroom...and I've been thinking about that! |
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Above and beyond, Jen, thank you.. Side question, does your organizing by history mean your period fiction, too? Do you have other books that are cultural and geographical in separate areas of organization?
What a daunting task, but satisfying when it's done! Thanks for the inspiration.
I like bathroom shelves for reading.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Donna Marie
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Mackfam wrote:
That sounds funny...let me give you an example...I categorize history in chronological order, by century, and then by setting within that. So I can go right to the 16th century and tell you what I've got. This system works so much better for us in terms of finding what I have because we read by time period.
I recently organized my liturgical year books by month because we read them around the Church year. So, books on St. John Bosco are with the January books. Within my liturgical year books, I cross reference with the period of history the book is associated with because I pull books on the faith to incorporate with our history reading.
So...book collections grouped by subject matter...and within that organized further by how we would approach the book - calendar year, age appropriateness, century/setting, subsets of science. Makes larger book collections more manageable.
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Oh Jennifer, are you sure you don't want to nest for me?? Where do you get your energy from? What kind of vitamins are you on, anyway?
I am nesting and that is my excuse...and oh, how I love the FREEDOM of sticking with a project until it starts to really work well!
Ok,
question#1:
Do you happen to have a list of topics that you have divided your books into?? Like science topics for example. I am making myself dizzy second guessing that topic in a logical fashion.
I am just starting to delve into our extensive book collection...culling and trying to figure out a logical order for storage and display...they would be stored in boxes under beds when not in use and on certain shelves when in use. Sounds tiresome, and it is, but if I don't...no one will really find anything and the shelves will just be a decoration on my wall with other boxes in front of it blocking access to them!
question #2:
If you are putting John Bosco with the January books, how do you cross reference him with history...a master list or what??
I put all the religious books together and they run alongside of the history shelves..in historical order where appropriate. I would love to know how you do this...
Mackfam wrote:
Because I plan out each child's year in a booklist which I then subdivide into our 4 terms, I know which books to grab to set out in baskets for the upcoming term. Last year, I took 1 teacher day at the beginning of each month to help with transition times between terms, but I found, while helpful, it wasn't enough concentrated time where I needed it. So this year, I'm taking one week off between terms to give me time to close out the term, wrap up any left-over work, and refresh shelves and baskets by bringing in books which may be on shelves outside the learning room.
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question #3: Pacing?
How do you decide how many books your children will cover in a quarter. I understand that age would come into play here, but what helps you make that decision of when and how much?
I HAVE to take at least a week here and there to do this too. It really pays off in time saved later. I am doing this now all in the name of the baby coming in August, which is perfect timing for the beginning of the new year. I am taking all of July to do this and re-organize everything I can in the house so it runs better after B-Day. (baby day)
Mackfam wrote:
Does this answer your question, Jenn? About managing larger book collections which may live on shelves all over the home? I have book shelves in every.single.room.of.the.house...save the bathroom...and I've been thinking about that! |
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ok Lady, slow down...we must protect those books from mold. Just leave a basket in there with a few selections and put the bookshelf outside the door!!
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JennGM
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Donna Marie wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
Does this answer your question, Jenn? About managing larger book collections which may live on shelves all over the home? I have book shelves in every.single.room.of.the.house...save the bathroom...and I've been thinking about that! |
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ok Lady, slow down...we must protect those books from mold. Just leave a basket in there with a few selections and put the bookshelf outside the door!! |
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Well, it's been my experience that if there is a proper place to keep them, so they are standing or stacked, they are less damaged. Plus, having a rotating inventory keeps down the water damage.
I know a mother who had books in every bathroom, but had a policy for every "secular" book there had to be a religious book. Seems when you are a captive audience they get read.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: school room/area - let's share!
