Day -17

When I was a kid, homework was always done around the kitchen table.  Mom could cook dinner there after we got home from school but still be nearby if we had questions or strayed from our purpose.  It seems a natural place for schoolwork since it is large enough for books and paper both and also for extra chairs and people.  Kitchen tables are a place of collaboration and family, where we all gather around for meals and chatter.  I think it is the perfect place for us to work.

I knew that the kitchen would end up as our work station but I was caught up in not wanting all the school supply clutter in it.  I also wanted a place where most things could be easily available to my son so that he could get supplies out on his own.  The solution thus far was cleaning out some cupboards next to our dishwasher and using it as a supply center.  Isn't it amazing how there are never empty places in the kitchen but we can always find room for more?  The space was poorly used and already had a myriad of child-centered things floating in it so it made sense to organize there first.

Oh my messy! And hello baby :)

Finished!

On the upper left I've got any child friendly writing / coloring utensils I trust him with (crayons, pencils, washable markers).  The bottom left is our play-dough supply center with a tub underneath that collects toilet paper rolls, baby food jars, egg cartons, or anything else that might be handy for a craft.  I've also got beads, stickers, paper, and glue sticks in there.  The silver case is contains all the painting supplies and it locks with a key (from the beauty section of target!).  And of course we have all of our curriculum inside as well, from workbooks to flashcards.  My daughter is still in the "out of sight, out of mind" stage, so I haven't worried yet about her getting in here.

I love the wooden crates that melissa & doug toys come in.  They make handy trays for little hands to grab out all the materials for play / work at once.  This is a little bit montessori style, as I hope that he will be able to get his supplies in and out of this area on his own.  He will be responsible for returning the things to the proper place when he is done.

I also found a super cheap planner that I will use for calender work and marking the weather.

I've written in his weekly activities in pencil for July and will continue throughout the school year.  I've located some weather stickers on Amazon but I want to see if I can purchase them locally first.

More to come!  I've had several private messages in the last few days discussing the very same things that I am struggling through right now.  I'd like to elaborate on topics such as socialization, getting some "me time" and the worry that we are creating a situation where our children will never be challenged by public school if we put them ahead right now.