Monday, August 30, 2010

School Desks!

On Saturday, while he was driving between work appointments, my wonderful husband spotted an old school desk on the side of the road with a sign that said free on it. He immediately thought of me and stopped to load it up. The lady who lived there saw him and mentioned that she had more in her garage, so he loaded them up and brought them home to me. A few coats of spray paint on the metal body and I am now the proud new owner of three gently used school desks. I can remember some of the school desks I used growing up. I was one of those kids who would sit in math class and carve designs on them with the sharp point on my compass. Thankfully the wood tops on these are in great shape!
Today was our first day to use our new set up and we all loved it! The kids think its great to have a place to keep their stuff and have already made plans as to how they will decorate them. Hannah my three year old proudly put her pencil box in her desk this morning and told me, "I'm weady for school mom." And she was. Hannah sat at her desk all
morning practicing her pre-handwriting skills, playing with bendaroos, counting her crayons and cutting and pasting construction paper. I don't think I have ever seen her that involved.

I change around our school room every year to better fit our needs. This is how our room looks now. The two short bookshelves were $20 each from Target. This is where I keep all of the books sent by k12 for both boys as well as our math manipulatives, educational toys for the littles and my stickers and things for the kids. Ben bought a 10' piece of counter top from Lowes to make our computer desk for about $120, it holds our home computer as well as the school issued computer. The desks were free and the large bookshelf is from Ikea. I use it to separate the school room from the play room. It holds baskets of the kids toys. On the opposite side of the room I have a large marker board that I use for copy work, list our schedule or have the boys answer math or other questions. I am pretty happy with the room this year. I wish it had more natural lighting but its in our basement so no real hope for that. I think my next project will be to make an interactive calendar for the kids to teach the days of the week, months etc.

5 comments:

  1. when my kids were little I used to get them the summer school program for the new year they would be starting school they would do a lesson a day before we left for the pool, I also taught my very young kids from the Sweet Pickles programs I would get delievered to my home, I never actually home schooled my kids like you do, but I kinda did in my own way. I liked my kids going to school everyday, I felt it was imoportant for them to learn social skills, and learn how to deal with all sorts of people, of course I do not condemn home schooling, but I also am not a real fan of it either, I believe everyone should decide what is best for their family, and I leave it at that. I a,m impressed with your dedication at home schooling and I am sure your children benefit gratly from your teaching. The room looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for stopping by Iris! Welcome to my little world. I hope that you continue to follow our adventures in homeschooling. I in no way thing that homeschooling is for everyone. My kids have been in the public school and private school system but homeschooling works best for us.

    I think the socialization thing is the number one argument people give against homeschooling. I have had so many people bring that up. I guess it all depends on what you mean by socialization. Does that just mean having lots of time to hang out with kids your own age? Well school is supposed to be about learning not who is dating who and who bought what where etc. Is it about fitting in? Having the newest tech stuff, wearing cool clothes? Again not the focus of education. Is it knowing how to properly respond in public situations, use manners and treat others with kindness and respect? Is it having the confidence to hold a conversation with another person you just met or to see someone who needs help and immediately offer it?

    Here is what I think of the issue.
    I honestly believe that in our choice to home school, my children are exposed to multiple times more opportunities to "socialize" with a wider arrange of people than those enrolled in a traditional public school. While their peers are sitting all day in their classrooms with a room full of kids their age, a teacher and maybe an assistant. My kids work together and help each other, meet with other homeschooling families, participate in sports, go on numerous field trips, participate in children's ministry events, travel to visit friends and family, and spend time helping others in need. They are constantly exposed to people of all ages and also have several neighborhood friends that they play with daily. But even better than that. My kids are being taught their "social skills" by their parents not their peers which is often the blind leading the blind. They are held to our expectations not the expectations of friends and as such are often referred to as the most polite and well behaved kids that some people know.

    Now that being said. Can the same level of socialization happen in a realm outside of homeschooling? Yes I believe it can. If parents are purposefully involved in the lives of their children, (which I am sure you are Iris! I read your posts online) and hold them to higher standards then yes it is possible.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What I tried to comment just now was I used to get the sweet pickles books delivered to my house when I was a kid! Good memories.

    ReplyDelete