Play Room is Making a Change

 I decided it was time to start transitioning the playroom into a school room with playing capabilities.  I've moved most of the toys to the bedrooms.  Each child has some toys that they get to have in their room but are expected to share with the other kids.  The kids also now have some of their own toys in their rooms.  This is a big change since they have not ever had any toys in their bedrooms, and I preferred that for a long time.  The time was right for them to be able to play nicely in their rooms at times, and they are fully responsible for cleaning up their own rooms and toys.  My main rooms definitely stay nicer this way!  I also have some bins of toys out of reach that get pulled out when I want them to have something to do, but we have been eliminating a lot of excess.  Even with eight kids, we didn't need all the things we had.  There's no reason to keep acquiring without letting go of some things from time to time.  I think we are going to put the Foosball table in the garage to take out when friends come and a few other times a month.  The kids all like it and use it, but the use usually comes in spurts so I don't think we need it in the room at all times.  The kitchen set, train table, and play table will stay in the room for now, as will bins of cars and trains and puzzles.

A friend overheard me ask my brother about building school desks for my kids over his summer break.  She happened to be wanting to get rid of her own kids' desks and offered them to me.  They are very nice, pretty big desks.  We moved them into the play room, and there was no denying the room is transitioning.  I gave the desks to Soren and Cassia, my kindergarteners.  Basia painted her desk--this one once belonged to my grandmother, and we moved it opposite of the other desks.  The kids have been told that I will buy them something cute and personal for the tops of their desks if they keep them clean each night for a month.  They are all in the habit of cleaning them off several times a day, which is HUGE for Basia.  Basia has long had a desk, but it was usually just a place for her to pile and pile and pile things and never a place to work.  

I completed the transition by bringing my own desk out of my bedroom into the school room.  It is so strange having my own spot in the room with them, and I LOVE it.  There was a huge window behind my desk, and the light made it difficult to see my computer screen.  Since this room is actually made to be a sunroom, there were plenty of other windows.  When a local museum closed and was selling things for really cheap, I grabbed this dry erase board to fill much of the window and serve multiple purposes.

Our schooling is going so much better now that we have a space fully dedicated to doing school.   I never would have thought I would want everyone in real desks, but we are all loving it.  My desks face the others, and the kids come to me when they need help or have a question.  The younger ones still have a kitchen set, a play table, and floor space to play while we work.  I picked up desks for all of them at the museum sale, so we will take away toys and add desks each September when we have new kindergarteners.  Zade and Tobias are already looking forward to being able to have their own desks in the room in a few months.  I got adorable old fashioned wooden desks and also child-size metal desks for the future school kids for such a little expenditure.  I can't believe my luck!  Oh, and my brother is now off the hook for his summer building project.  I'm looking forward to painting the metal desks and seeing the room transform a little more next school year.

One of these days I'll talk about what we're doing with curriculum these days.  I never would have believed it a few months ago, but we have made a huge switch, and everyone is thriving.