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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 9:09am | IP Logged
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Can we discuss this a bit further?
CrunchyMom wrote:
I'm really battling organization lately and keep flip-flopping between making things available (being out of sight, out of mind myself) and getting annoyed by visual clutter.
Boy, I'd love to make my entire home one big school area and fight mightily having my home look like one big school area.  |
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Mackfam wrote:
CrunchyMom wrote:
| Boy, I'd love to make my entire home one big school area and fight mightily having my home look like one big school area. |
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I know what you mean with this, Lindsay! And at some point (only in the last few years, I think), I made peace with it because we DO learn all the time, all over our home. I found that home = learning and organization starting meshing more with my design/visual sensibilities when I began organizing with real stuff in every room, so that learning opportunities can be embraced when they spontaneously present themselves and tools are at hand. I avoid organizing tools in primary colors/kitschy/schoolish design...like you'd find in an elementary classroom, and just organize in ways that make sense, are workable, and work with our own *eclectic-traditional-farmhouse-charm* personal sense of style.
Having one room as a learning space certainly helps us, but it isn't exclusive in terms of it being the only room in which learning happens, nor is it the only room I make tools available (if that makes sense?). And, our learning room is in the center of our home and is totally open, so everyone sees it. It functions more like a cenral hub, and learning radiates out from every spoke. And of course....I LIKE  seeing pretty art supplies set out!!! |
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__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 9:37am | IP Logged
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One challenge I face with this is that I have a very small, non-eat-in kitchen. So, all our meals must be served in the dining room, and while the dining room table seems most obvious for doing projects and spreading out schooling, it is not possible for us.
I tried having our old dining room table (a drop leaf) in the living room, but it really made the space cramped what with trying to fit seating and the piano. My vision had been to give the living room more of a "library" or "Victorian study" (not necessarily Victorian decor so much as that unique blending of form and function you see in old pictures of Victorian naturalists homes). But it has been difficult to realize this vision with what I have without making the room too cold and uninviting as a "library."
I have considered dividing my library and putting fiction in the family room (currently under construction but where we will have lots of cozy floor pillows picked up for a steal). The boys already enjoy taking books down there and cozying up in front of the new windows while watching Dad work on the space.
So, I wonder if I shouldn't put part of our library down there. Maybe divide fiction and non-fiction????
Or, maybe invest in more baskets for storing collections on shelves so that each collection is mobile? My boys have no interest in reading A Beatrix Potter/Brambly Hedge/Golden Book/Crinkleroot Guide/Billy and Blaze, etc... They must take the entire stack that we own and sit and pour through each one (even the non-readers). When my oldest was a toddler, he NEEDED the entire set of Beatrix Potter to sleep  At least the individual baskets would mean that the "Stacks" could be contained somewhat and put back in an "orderly" fashion.
The ambitious side of me has even considered making custom sized storage (maybe canvas) to save money over baskets (which might not fit the books), but with a very high needs 8 month old, I fear this is unrealistic.
But it isn't just books, though that is HUGE when it comes to living learning.
I find myself, too, in this vicious cycle where my art supplies aren't "pretty" because they don't have a nice home because they aren't pretty, etc...
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 9:52am | IP Logged
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I do divide up my books in different rooms, Lindsay. We've got historical fiction in shelves on the living room. How-to resources (crafting/sewing) in shelves in my little workroom/artroom/creativity room. More Catholic/faith books on other shelves in my bedroom. Kids favorite series grouped on an upstairs shelf, etc.
Love the idea of grouping book series'! My kids read that way, too...which is one reason we have themed baskets of books (usually with a series of books, or around another theme they're enjoying) always set out where they are most likely to frequent them. Keeps the organization intuitive, functional and pretty.
When it comes to having a mix of littlers and biggers, I just keep different resources at different heights...so having baskets of special things for the 8 month old at low heights and then baskets of book series for the boys - that type of organization really works in my home.
Lindsay wrote:
| My vision had been to give the living room more of a "library" or "Victorian study" (not necessarily Victorian decor so much as that unique blending of form and function you see in old pictures of Victorian naturalists homes). But it has been difficult to realize this vision with what I have without making the room too cold and uninviting as a "library." |
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This vision sounds lovely to me! I'm betting you can really pull something together with it, given enough time to find frugal resources at thrift/flea markets. Wondering about a rolling cart with your art supplies that can have a lovely skirt sewn on it to match your decor. It could be rolled out of the way for meals, but rolled next to the dining room table for projects. Sort of like an art cart? One time I saw an old, wooden one of these rolling carts in a flea market and I'm STILL kicking myself for not grabbing it.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 10:20am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
| Wondering about a rolling cart with your art supplies that can have a lovely skirt sewn on it to match your decor. It could be rolled out of the way for meals, but rolled next to the dining room table for projects. Sort of like an art cart? |
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Oh....I just remembered how handy and talented a woodworker your husband is! If you liked this idea, you could ask him to build you a simple/sturdy wooden cart and put some industrial casters on it. Not sure how functional that would be for you though depending on the multi-levels of your home. I think a wooden rolling cart (with locking casters!!!) could be such a useful piece of organizational furniture - and so versatile! It could roll to function wherever you happen to be sitting. It can contain art supplies, daily work, project work, it could function as a portable writing/language arts center, it could contain a few baskets of favorite reading selections, or themed science picture books....or...or...or. And, what I love about a rolling cart is that it rolls out of *front and center* if you're opening your home to guests, but could move with the family during the day.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 10:40am | IP Logged
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We have an extended kitchen area with an island. This is the bulk of our education space. So I've put groups of books like our science, arts (art, poetry, music), nature study/field guides and some religion/saint books on one shelf unit. This unit has a middle covered section meant for a TV, so this is where my arts supplies, paper, etc goes. It is always covered, the mess stays in there. The other shelf unit has all our young children's picture books and some classical series like Narnia. Both have covered bottom space so I use this for teacher/mom references or manuals and some for toddler/preschool materials like wood puzzles & manipulatives.
Now, for that vision of a living room library. We were very fortunate to move into a house that has built in tall shelves. I have put many of our classics and OOP nice looking books in these spaces. It gives a more mature look and blends in well with our warm color walls, natural or dark rustic wood furniture, and usually warm rustic accesories. I do have a few book baskets spread around like one chocolate leather like crate near the fire place, and a few baskets on top of a decorative chest. I think you can accomplish your vision with the right colors and accesories to blend your books.
The girls room holds all the series that are really just meant for free reading or just meant for them like Percy Jackson or American Girl.
The big boys have a shelf with lots of picture books like Dr. Seuss or dinosaur/animal books. The little boys have a few crate/baskets which hold all the toddler board books.
And last I do store in the garage books I know we'll only touch on for a specific period like I put lots of our early american history books away, all our Christmas/Lent/Easter books are away too.
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Jenny
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 10:44am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| One challenge I face with this is that I have a very small, non-eat-in kitchen. So, all our meals must be served in the dining room, and while the dining room table seems most obvious for doing projects and spreading out schooling, it is not possible for us. |
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Lindsay, I have this problem too and I *think* I have solved it. We have a big family that lives in a shoe. I am getting better at this. I think. anyhoo...
We have a bungalow style home that is all on one floor. It runs from kitchen in the back to dining room in the middle and living room in the front. I switched that around. The only inconvenience is carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room but that seems to be almost a non-issue at this point.
I opened up the dining room table all of the way and it is in front of a fireplace with built in shelving and I even use a little over 1/2 of my china cabinet for stowing school supplies. We do have to clean the table off all of the time, but in a pinch we can eat at one end of the table if we have to keep a project out.
The living room is now in the center of the house with bookcases behind the couch and computer/tv on a long table that can double as a workspace. Since we often watch things on the computer, it works out well and as a bonus I can see the computer screen all of the time so I know who is doing what on it. I do keep file cabinets under this table for office supplies and my files of school things and I have some other shelving here and there that also hold school things. It looks cozy and not crowded. We do have to clean a few times a day to make it look nice, but I do a huge reclamation clean between fri/sat so it looks nice for those "I just want to drop by" crowds that inevitably come.
I do use wooden crates (like you find at Michaels or some such crafty store)for some storage. They are squared off(as opposed to round or tapered) so you can line them up nicely next to each other and they hold lots of books. It doesn't seem crowded with stuff because of the uniform size and color. I use this up high...I even have 3 of them stacked on top of our old upright piano holding important books/projects. It makes for a nice display because I have one stacked on top of two and the kids will use the little space on each side for some kind of display. I leave them natural, but they can be painted. I have also found sturdy baskets at the thrift store and garage sales for baskets of simple toys (like the wooden train set, lincoln logs, wooden building blocks) that the little ones can enjoy (they don't make NOISE  ) while we do school.
Oh, and the wooden crates we purchased using the 50%off coupons for Michaels and dh went in and purchased them one at a time until we had what we needed (it is on his way home from work). That AND we had a small bookseller that was using them for storage in his store and he was going out of business. I had to use up gift certificates and there were barely any books left. So guess what I bought with my balance? I almost had enough for the wooden bench he had in the center of the store, but I am getting off topic...lol
School is spread out all over and it looks good. I was looking for as much order as I could muster and since we really USE this house I might as well use every corner.
HTH some!
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 10:50am | IP Logged
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Lindsay, I just wanted to link you to that entertainment unit turned shelf/school space. BTW the two filing cabinets hold all the kids current notebooks or soft bound books/copy books etc. 
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 11:19am | IP Logged
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Thanks ladies for helping to brainstorm.
I like the idea of the rolling cart, but we are in a split level, and the main living area is just the living room, foyer (with one closet), teeny kitchen, and dining room. Even the pantry for the kitchen is down a level, and the office is up a level. I like having a separate office, and since it is at the top of the stairs, I treat it sort of like the "eagle's nest" looking down on the main area or listening up to the second level of bedrooms (the boy floor).
But, a cart would only be able to make its way around the main living area without much option for hiding places. BUT, that makes me think that some sort of caddy system might work if organized similarly to Erin's Method
I like your entertainment center, Jenny. We have a simple set of built-ins that came with the house. They aren't terribly efficient, but they are better than nothing. I took off the cabinet doors below because they were UGLY. But, I think I will put some curtains up for some pretty and warmth in the room, and maybe I can hide some things there. They are two units wide apart with a long shelf connecting, probably intended to border a couch, but we have our piano there currently. They were clearly designed to exhibit knick knacks and not books, but I am slowly making them work for our needs until dh is able to tackle the built-in bookcases we envision for the space.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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Donna Marie wrote:
I switched that around. The only inconvenience is carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room but that seems to be almost a non-issue at this point.
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I have pondered this. Do you have issues with little ones taking food into the living area? I've had to institute a strict "we only eat at the table or outside" rule, and I'm afraid putting the living area in the dining room might just be inviting a mess.
On the other hand, I can see how school books and art supplies would be more easily blended in the dining room. The dining room library is very popular right now in home design, even outside of homeschooling circles!
And we have a half dozen Michael's crates that I configure often for storage of all types. They are very useful and flexible!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 11:40am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Donna Marie wrote:
I switched that around. The only inconvenience is carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room but that seems to be almost a non-issue at this point.
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I have pondered this. Do you have issues with little ones taking food into the living area? I've had to institute a strict "we only eat at the table or outside" rule, and I'm afraid putting the living area in the dining room might just be inviting a mess. |
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I have been either making the little ones sit on the kitchen floor for a snack or they have to be in their chair at the table. For the most part it works. I had more mess when it was the other way around...dunno why. I have to think on that one. We have hardwood floors and area rugs. I really don't want the kids mucking up the rugs so I am trying to be careful. I keep their mugs on a melamine tray (with handles) when they are not in use. I keep it on the table with a pitcher of something or on the kitchen counter.
The tray is big enough to have all of the mugs and a pitcher on it. We call it assigned parking. That has cut down on messes a lot too...
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: Oct 28 2011 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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Okay, Lindsay--I feel like you're reading my mind because I have been going through these same kinds of questions since we moved into our new home a couple months ago. We also started homeschooling this year (my two oldest are now in K), so decorating/organizing our home comfortably for long-term schooling and living has been constantly in my thoughts. We have a similar issue to yours: uncertainty about what to keep where.
We have what most would consider an eat-in kitchen, but it is not large enough for our family table, so our actual eating is in the dining room, which is adjacent to the kitchen. (I would prefer to have used that as a schoolroom/library, but that just won't work for us.) Attached to the eat-in kitchen is the family room, and attached to the dining room is the living room. We also have an office downstairs. My quandary right now is trying to figure out where to keep books, where to keep art supplies, where we will likely do our schooling, etc. Right now, my plan is to split our library: bookshelves lining the family room walls for adult and religious books, bookshelves lining the dining room walls for more school-y books and resources. We will be doing most of our schooling in the dining room since that's where the "big" table is, so I want to have most of our stuff there, easily accessible. However, in the eat-in kitchen, I have plans to have a large children's table (our current dining table with the legs cut down) and a set of school chairs that our at the children's height (my MIL picked up a set of four from us from a school that was getting rid of them). I'm thinking that will be a good place for art projects, so I'm planning to keep the materials there.
Within those plans, I'm trying to figure out how to keep my dining room looking like a dining room and not a classroom--I really like a more subtle aesthetic when it comes to school supplies. We have a very large Expedit in there right now, and I bought some of the Kassett boxes to use on the lowest shelves to store school items that aren't in constant use. But I have lots of stuff that *is* in constant use but isn't exactly "pretty" to my eye, you know? And even for those things that *are* pretty, clutter really bothers me, so I really want it either to look uniform enough that it doesn't hit the eye as clutter, or to store it behind closed doors. I'd love to find a narrow armoire in there for the smallish, non-book items to be stored in. Really, it's a matter of wanting things accessible but not wanting them necessarily visible.
All that to say that I feel your pain and will be reading this thread with interest. 
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Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Angel
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| Posted: Nov 03 2011 at 1:07pm | IP Logged
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Oh, I missed this thread last week! I'm excited about coming back to it once my crazy, hectic day is over! 
It sounds like you and I have a lot of the same problems with organization/school/visual clutter, Lindsay, although I don't like in a split level and one of my biggest problems is that we DON'T have a dining room... just a large eat-in kitchen area. I REALLY dislike having all the school stuff effectively in the kitchen! It is so distracting! We are planning on remodeling -- although I'm not sure how long that will take or how much we'll be able to do because of cost -- but I need to learn how to live with my space better *right now*.
I'm hoping to use a nearby closet space (in the hallway) to have things set up for the kids to take at will, but first I need my busy dh to build shelves. 
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CrunchyMom
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Angel wrote:
| although I don't like in a split level and one of my biggest problems is that we DON'T have a dining room... just a large eat-in kitchen area. |
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I never cared very much for split-levels, but ours is a little different than most I've been in, and people are always surprised by it. There are things I don't like about it, but then, there are other things I prefer, so I feel like I just need to figure out how to make the space work.
BUT, I think the REAL solution to both our problems is to have an eat-in kitchen AND a dining room
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Angel
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| Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 9:11am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Angel wrote:
| although I don't like in a split level and one of my biggest problems is that we DON'T have a dining room... just a large eat-in kitchen area. |
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I never cared very much for split-levels, but ours is a little different than most I've been in, and people are always surprised by it. There are things I don't like about it, but then, there are other things I prefer, so I feel like I just need to figure out how to make the space work.
BUT, I think the REAL solution to both our problems is to have an eat-in kitchen AND a dining room |
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You know, Lindsay, I just noticed I typo-ed up there: what I meant was I don't *live* in a split level!!!  Sorry! I like many split levels just fine! (this is what you get for trying to write a post in the five minutes in which you are also trying to eat lunch before sticking your kids in the van for a therapy appointment.)
Anyway... I think you are right. My biggest problem with our new house is that the space is flipped. It is actually a one story with a finished attic. (Someone told me that it's called " a story and a half"?) Upstairs is one large bedroom and a giant room. Downstairs is one small great room, a medium size kitchen with a decent sized eating area, and 3 bedrooms right beside it (I mean literally, feet from my kitchen). The stairs are not in the entryway, but on one end of the house in a small "bonus" room which we are using as a computer room/book storage/microscope area. (This room would hold more books if we installed track shelving.) The computer area actually works better than I expected it to and holds more books than I thought possible. We have my homeschooling and curriculum books out there, plus our homesteading/gardening/cookbooks (which won't fit in my kitchen). The one problem is, you have to walk through the laundry room to get to it and the stairs.
When we bought the house, we kind of thought we would put all the little boys upstairs in the big room and use it as a bedroom. But then I realized that with the placement of the stairs and the lack of a bathroom up there, I wouldn't be able to hear anybody throw up, have a bad dream, etc. (Considering that I had 2 5 year olds and a 3 year old at the time we moved in, plus a 7 year old who was supposed to be sharing a bedroom with his older brother upstairs but instead slept downstairs in a sleeping bag every night.) Then, if the upstairs was a giant bedroom, we could use the free bedroom downstairs off the kitchen as a schoolroom/library, and I might actually be able to use some of my Montessori materials. This still might work, as the boys are getting older now... although my dh just got done putting together the warren of beds that allows 4 boys to sleep in one smallish bedroom...
In our old house, we did not have an eat in kitchen, so we ate in the dining room. I had space for one bookcase in the kitchen, which housed the kids text/work/notebooks, and in the dining room, I put out all our art supplies and nature "stuff". The art supplies fit in a cabinet with doors on the bottom and open shelving on the top, and a set of wall shelves across the room. The nature stuff was set out on top of a buffet with a large 50's picture window behind it where we could watch birds (snow), etc. Inside the buffet, I stored Montessori materials. We did have to clean off the table in order to eat, but that was probably a good thing. All the children's books were in the living room, along with the computer, and because I was running out of bookcases I used baskets a lot to hold the overflow. The living room also had a corner for baskets of wooden blocks and duplos. The living room was actually divided by a wooden shelf sculpture thing I could never figure out how to use, and in the family area on the other side, we had baskets of little kid toys in the entertainment center, and a small preK reading area with a picture book shelf and a small chair by our corner windows. (There are a lot of pictures in old posts on my blog).
In this house, I think what bothers me most is that I'm trying to smush so many different functions into 2 smallish rooms. For instance, I'm trying to put my laptop on the kitchen counter next to the overflowing fruit bowl and the 15 pounds of bananas my kids consume every 3 days or so, the Vitamix, and all the phone chargers (I've tried to tame the chaos with a stacked Peterboro wall basket they are apparently not carrying anymore??? But it works so well!!!) In the same room, we have our dining room table where we eat, china cabinet (which is really a useless piece of furniture at this point - sigh), Montessori map cabinet, bookcase with textbooks, art supplies, basket of phonics of readers... and all the other kitchen stuff. The great room (which is not very big) is similarly stuffed, because this is where the kids read and where the youngest boys like to play.
I think that the key to using odd floorplans effectively may be twofold: switching up spaces creatively (like us using the upstairs as a bedroom, for instance, since I've tried to put books up there out of necessity and I forget about them and the kids don't touch them) and using all wall and closet space to the absolute max. I'm pretty sure that we ought to get rid of our china cabinet, for instance, and just build in a bunch of shelves in the same space. Then, when I put out learning materials I like to use natural materials so they sort of become part of the room and don't look too "schooly".
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Angela
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Erin
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Angela
I know you've really struggled to get this house to fit your needs. I like your ideas of switching spaces, and re furniture considering the footprint of each piece and if it is functioning the best.
Look forward to seeing how the closet plan goes! Will you leave the door on? Can see pros and cons for that.
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Angel
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| Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 3:45pm | IP Logged
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Erin wrote:
Angela
I know you've really struggled to get this house to fit your needs. I like your ideas of switching spaces, and re furniture considering the footprint of each piece and if it is functioning the best.
Look forward to seeing how the closet plan goes! Will you leave the door on? Can see pros and cons for that. |
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Oh, it's just a journey like everything. God teaching me to WAIT, I think. I always want everything to be done RIGHT NOW, but I think that some things just have to be lived into, if you know what I mean.
I will definitely be leaving the closet doors ON. Would love to take them off, but then the toddler would ransack the closet, too. My plan is to go back to our old "choice time" pattern with the 8 yo, 6 yos, and 4 yo. During this time of day, the boys must choose something out of the closet. Now that my oldest two are 15 and 12, I have really seen the fruits of our labors. They're very independent learners, and I think that our practices of "freedom within limits" had a lot to do with that. I want my younger kids to have the same rich experiences, but it does take some thought on my part!
The 4 year old and I got the old, useless shelving out of the closet today (there wasn't much of it). Now I'm contemplating all the empty space.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 3:49pm | IP Logged
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This sounds great, Angela! I always loved your "choice time" ideas and I'm glad you mentioned them because I was just thinking last week that I needed to brainstorm "choice time" again for my 3yo!
I'm excited to hear about your closet system!!! And love hearing all the different ways of thinking outside the box/room for home education - swapping room purposes...using spaces that are usually overlooked (hallways/closets)....thinking intuitively about spaces based on the way your particular family works!
Oh, I just get all giddy thinking about a good ol' closet project!!!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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Angel wrote:
| I always want everything to be done RIGHT NOW, but I think that some things just have to be lived into, if you know what I mean. |
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I am the same way, Angela. I have so many plans for this house, and my husband is just too busy at work to carry them all out...but that has been an absolute blessing in disguise because I have already changed my mind on some things just by living here and trying out the spaces in various ways. I think waiting a while before actually completing the organization projects is allowing me to think through them a bit more, to figure out just precisely what will work best.
Angel wrote:
| My plan is to go back to our old "choice time" pattern with the 8 yo, 6 yos, and 4 yo. During this time of day, the boys must choose something out of the closet. |
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Thank you for reminding me about your choice time idea, Angela. I have enjoyed reading about it (here and on your blog) in the past and have been thinking through my kindergarteners' afternoon routines--I think something like your choice time would be perfect for them. Off to brainstorm...
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: Organizing Pretty, Open, Homey Learning
