Chilly Weather & Basement Schoolrooms

It's turning colder here, we had to use the fireplace last night and put extra blankets on the beds. Since our schoolroom is in the basement, it gets even colder down there and I've come to the realization this morning that the one space heater we have down there isn't going to cut it. So either we are going to have to find another space heater or move lessons upstairs to the kitchen or living room.

I'm not wild about either idea due to space issues and the number of distractions there are. The whole point of having the schoolroom in the basement was to eliminate the constant "mom can we please watch tv now?" issue. But, keeping the kids warm and healthy is more important than my stress level, lol!

One thing is certain, before next winter (provided we are still living here) we will have to save up the money and get drywall or a drop ceiling put up in the schoolroom. Currently, it's open beams and that doesn't help with the heating issue or the help the fact that it can be incredibly dark down there. To help the lighting issue, we have a couple small lamps placed around the room. It doesn't solve the problem, though.

In the meantime, we will keep our books and supplies downstairs and we will troop up and down the stairs for what we need, keeping our blood pumping and our bodies warm and maybe keep the heating costs down. There's that ever-present silver lining. ;)

Not Quite Perfect, But Getting There!

I finally got our schoolroom better organized and arranged more how I want it. Originally I was sitting at my desk facing the boys and I didn't like that. Felt too "schoolish" if that makes sense.  Now I have my desk against the wall and the boys are right behind me, much easier for when I have to work one-on-one with either of them. I also switched out desks with Josh, I have a lot more space with the bigger desk. I wish I had at least a couple drawers, but the thing about drawers is it's too easy to just dump everything in a drawer and never clean it up, then you have the fun of digging around in it.

I arranged two big comfy chairs around the small bookcases and the toys so we now have a reading area and play area. Eventually we'll get the little hallway cleaned out so I can arrange a play area for the toddler. It's a square hallway and the perfect space to put her play kitchen and her table set. With the gate up, she can see me and the boys easily and still be part of things without constantly having to distract her from bothering her brothers.

We have an art area now, completely seperate from the rest of the room. The easel is in that space and I put a bulletin board on the wall for the boys to display their art. I'm not entirely done yet, I have a couple more storage things my mom got us at a yard sale that need to be used. It's so nice to have enough storage bins and units to have a specific place for everything to go. Now that I have enough storage, I can get the paint and other art supplies I've been putting off purchasing.

I painted one wall of the room, but I'm not sure I like the color enough to finish painting the entire space. It's a color I got for the kitchen but had misgivings about the shade. Unfortunately, Sears has closed up their paint department so I'm stuck with the paint. It's not an ugly color, just not what I wanted to paint the kitchen. I left the trim white and the brickwork on the fireplace was already painted white so I left that alone.

I'd love to win the lottery so I can have custom cabinets put in, lol! Course, if we won the lottery we would have a custom house built for us or we'd get a huge Victorian style house or farm house and completely gut it and remodel it. There's a beautiful farm house next door to where Josh works and it kills me everytime I see it, just gorgeous!

Dreaming aside, it feels nice to have a better arrangement in our schoolroom. Easier to move around, designated areas for different activities, less hassle. Now if only getting these kids to learn would be so easy. :)

If I'm lucky, I might just get around to posting some pics!