Cheers to Another School Year!
I am getting ready for school. Trying to organize the space that we have for our homeschooling books and supplies. Not that we have a big space, the space we have is the kitchen. A space in the kitchen in the corner where the table is. When we first moved here the landlord kept bragging about the kitchen and kept saying that the kitchen was big. Well, coming from the other place we lived around the corner where you couldn't fit two people in the kitchen without literally bumping into each other that was not saying much. Anything almost was bigger then that kitchen which I compared to a tiny closet. So, I got a little excited just hearing about more room to cook and more room to have more then one person at a time in the kitchen and more counter space for food and small things like toasters and microwaves. At the other place there was one small counter and you could barely put the toaster on it because the toaster took up all of the space. The microwave was not in the kitchen it was on a small table in the what we called the living room, which was one big open space between the kitchen and the long hallway leading to the living room. That was the biggest room in the house.
When we saw this place I was impressed with the kitchen. Everything else was either the same as the other place or slightly bigger or slightly smaller. So, I was thrilled that we had room in the kitchen. I hadn't planned to use part of the kitchen as a "classroom" though but that is just how it turned out when I figured out that the bedroom was really too small to set much up in there. But, we do use it as a reading room for the quiet that can only be found in the back of the house sometimes. Back to the kitchen we go. When we moved here we didn't have a dinning room or kitchen table. I frantically searched Craigslist looking for a free one in good condition or one that didn't cost a lot in good condition that someone was getting rid of because they were moving or some other reason. But, I had no luck at all in spite of my many daily searches. So, online shopping it was. I found a banquet table that is I don't remember how many feet long now, but it was in my budget and I thought that it would serve the purpose of holding food and stuff on it. It became more of a stuff table then a food table. But, nonetheless it was a table and we had stuff. Originally when I started this homeschooling journey we lived at the smaller place and our computer and books and things were in a corner in the living room in front of little window. That worked well for Kindergarten. We moved in this direction in the first grade and I had set up the computer and the books and stuff on the banquet table and I moved it around a few times from one direction to the next. It was not the greatest but it worked for a couple of grades. But, it became award after a while and just didn't seem right. No matter where I moved the table and the computer and the printer it seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. Therefore I knew it was time to figure out something else. I found a folding table, longer then a card table but shorter then the 6 foot banquet table that is in the kitchen and I tried to make it a work area. Hence, I put the computer monitor on top of it and the printer and the CPU on a chair underneath the table and prayed that all the hook ups would work especially the cord from the computer to the cable box. It all worked and I almost did the happy dance.
Now, I am thinking that I probably need another little work area for my son to sit and write what needs to be written and just a small work space for him set up somewhere in the kitchen and am thinking about getting rid of the huge banquet table or making a section for his space on it whichever works better. And if all else fails we can go on the porch, when the rest of the neighborhood is at their brick and mortar schools ( I learned that is what they are called from another home schooling mom) and the neighborhood is at peace from all the sounds of kids screaming and yelling and running around up and down the streets and sidewalks. We had done that a few times in the past and it worked out well. That way I can keep an eye on my mom and him at the same time basically. Thankfully, he is older and can handle more on his own.
I even went on a DIY site and found out how to make a cardboard bookcase, sort of, cause I am not too crafty with somethings, but I made one with the help of my son, a small one that can hold a small number of books and that can be placed in the kitchen near everything else. I am thinking of using what I call the white thing, which is a cabinet that holds cleaning supplies for the bookcase stand. Something will occur to me. It always does.
School will start next week. Although, we never really "ended"school because we always did something school related in the summer such as reading and math. But, the official start will be on September 2nd. Why that date? Because the rest of the neighborhood will be in school and it will be easier to have everyone in school at the same time less interruptions and no knocks on the door in the middle of the afternoon asking if he can play or can they "borrow" a ball, a bat or whatever. And it gives me a little more time to prepare.
Cheers to another school year!!!
When we saw this place I was impressed with the kitchen. Everything else was either the same as the other place or slightly bigger or slightly smaller. So, I was thrilled that we had room in the kitchen. I hadn't planned to use part of the kitchen as a "classroom" though but that is just how it turned out when I figured out that the bedroom was really too small to set much up in there. But, we do use it as a reading room for the quiet that can only be found in the back of the house sometimes. Back to the kitchen we go. When we moved here we didn't have a dinning room or kitchen table. I frantically searched Craigslist looking for a free one in good condition or one that didn't cost a lot in good condition that someone was getting rid of because they were moving or some other reason. But, I had no luck at all in spite of my many daily searches. So, online shopping it was. I found a banquet table that is I don't remember how many feet long now, but it was in my budget and I thought that it would serve the purpose of holding food and stuff on it. It became more of a stuff table then a food table. But, nonetheless it was a table and we had stuff. Originally when I started this homeschooling journey we lived at the smaller place and our computer and books and things were in a corner in the living room in front of little window. That worked well for Kindergarten. We moved in this direction in the first grade and I had set up the computer and the books and stuff on the banquet table and I moved it around a few times from one direction to the next. It was not the greatest but it worked for a couple of grades. But, it became award after a while and just didn't seem right. No matter where I moved the table and the computer and the printer it seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. Therefore I knew it was time to figure out something else. I found a folding table, longer then a card table but shorter then the 6 foot banquet table that is in the kitchen and I tried to make it a work area. Hence, I put the computer monitor on top of it and the printer and the CPU on a chair underneath the table and prayed that all the hook ups would work especially the cord from the computer to the cable box. It all worked and I almost did the happy dance.
Now, I am thinking that I probably need another little work area for my son to sit and write what needs to be written and just a small work space for him set up somewhere in the kitchen and am thinking about getting rid of the huge banquet table or making a section for his space on it whichever works better. And if all else fails we can go on the porch, when the rest of the neighborhood is at their brick and mortar schools ( I learned that is what they are called from another home schooling mom) and the neighborhood is at peace from all the sounds of kids screaming and yelling and running around up and down the streets and sidewalks. We had done that a few times in the past and it worked out well. That way I can keep an eye on my mom and him at the same time basically. Thankfully, he is older and can handle more on his own.
I even went on a DIY site and found out how to make a cardboard bookcase, sort of, cause I am not too crafty with somethings, but I made one with the help of my son, a small one that can hold a small number of books and that can be placed in the kitchen near everything else. I am thinking of using what I call the white thing, which is a cabinet that holds cleaning supplies for the bookcase stand. Something will occur to me. It always does.
School will start next week. Although, we never really "ended"school because we always did something school related in the summer such as reading and math. But, the official start will be on September 2nd. Why that date? Because the rest of the neighborhood will be in school and it will be easier to have everyone in school at the same time less interruptions and no knocks on the door in the middle of the afternoon asking if he can play or can they "borrow" a ball, a bat or whatever. And it gives me a little more time to prepare.
Cheers to another school year!!!
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