Organising a Learning Space

[Beatrice]

Now that we've moved, we have a big room at the end of the house, with the kids' bedrooms opening off it, to organise as a playroom/workroom/learning space. I've made a list of all the functions we want the room to perform, and some notes on how to organise our resources to meet them and make the best use of the space, especially how to accommodate the range from toddler to pre-teen interests and capabilities.

I'll post my list separately (just for you, Ceres :lol), but I'd love to know what kind of learning spaces you have and what logic you use to organise them so that you and your kids can actually *find* stuff. I'm not a naturally organised person, I'm a "cram stuff in wherever it fits" type, and our previous learning space just accreted organically over the last five years :lol

[asimplelife]

I do like to have things separated into categories.

Toys of similar type are stored together in open containers.

Science stuff is in a container together. Magnetic stuff together etc.

Craft stuff together.

Hanging things (ropes, compass, bags, jewellery, library cards) are on hooky things.

In our house, because it's quite small, there are many areas where things are kept - but it is kind of orderly where it's always accessible and most often visible in baskets or open shelves.

[Beatrice]

Space for toys to be stored and played with:

B

boardgames and some puzzles
Lego
some manipulatives


K

dress-ups, dolls and imaginative play
Lego/Duplo
manipulatives
blocks
boardgames and puzzles
musical instruments
computer
cars and car mat
farm, animals, dolls house


H

dress-ups, dolls and imaginative play
Duplo
manipulatives
blocks
puzzles
musical instruments


Deep bookcases – toys
Home corner – kitchen, dolls clothes, dolls crib, stroller, dress-ups
Open wicker baskets for toys in use – bottom shelves
Plastic labelled tubs for toys out of rotation – top shelves
Boardgames – grey bookshelves out of H's way

Space for books to be stored and read:

Shallow bookcases - books
Novels/chapter books for read-alouds (up high)
Picture books – separated into fiction and non-fiction, non-fiction sorted by genre (eventually)

lower shelves
rotate a selection of read-alouds in baskets on the floor and by K's bed


Board books - baskets
Beanbags for reading spaces

Space for craft materials to be stored (and possibly used?):

lockable cupboard
would there be room at the desk for craft activity? on the floor? add a table? make a space outside?

Space for desktop computer for K (and later H)


Storage for formal homeschooling materials, including recordkeeping:

resources in use – on shelves
resources that are too old for K and H – in cupboard/on top of shelves
B's portfolios and K's folder – top of grey bookshelves

Storage for my fabric stash:

large tubs under the desk, small tubs on top of bookcases
need to buy more tubs to sort remaining piles into

Music space – CD player/music on computer

[Beatrice]

Thanks, asimplelife :) We find that we don't tidy up in there often enough to allow a free-for-all, so I'm hoping having toys-in-use separated from toys out of rotation is going to work if the kids can still *see* everything on the shelves...

I also need to cull even more. I would ideally like to end up with only one type of toy filling each niche - eg. right now I have too many construction-type toys and I think I'm going to keep it to Lego only.

[Ceres]

Sounds like you have it all under control! I have regular culls, my aim is to be free of the box of random bits that don't belong to anything, so odd parts get chucked out pretty regularly. Having a craft area with a work space sounds like an excellent idea. You can get those small plastic drawers from the cheap shops to separate the different parts so you don't end up with a box of things that they need to rummage through.

[Beatrice]

We now have the two deep bookshelves in one corner for all the toys, with the dolls house next to it on one side, and the craft cupboard on the other side. Then against the other clear wall will be a wide shelf for all the books, and the kitchen/dress ups/dolls stuff.

I reckon instead of trying to cram more storage in that room, anything which doesn't fit on the shelves will have to go.

[Ceres]

There's nothing like a good cull!

[Beatrice]

Half of their toys/games/dress-ups/books have been in a box in the storage unit for nearly a year without being missed so I reckon that's a good start :lol

[bella]

We built a room on at the back of our house last year and it's the 'school' room. It has:
desk for Immi and Abby (large) with corkboard above for them to stick up stuff they need to remember... Then desk with 2 desktop computers and games to suit (not online computers, no printer - just used for our zillion educational games, playing with photos, Paint, etc). Then Brit's desk which has a bookcase above it. Then a double bookcase with all games, puzzles and some books and the out-of-season seasonal table items. That's along one wall. :)

Opposite wall has lockable art cupboard, Bryce's desk, then 2 same-sized bookcases back-to-back coming out of the wall to create a divider. One side has some school type resources divided into shelves - language, science, history, misc. And a box of Italian resources. Other side has books of varying kinds with youngest at bottom going up in age-suitability. On top are the globe and other things. Next to that is the "car mat" where they play lego, barbies, shops and many other games. Then Lily's corner with dress up box, baby doll box, barbie box, her art table, etc. There's a wheel-about shelf thing with scrap paper, fabric, wood bits and other goodies in it. Each of them has their own collection of pens, pencils, crayons, etc and they share. They each have their own scissors. There's hooks on the wall for tea set, farm set, train set and other 'bagged' toys.

The 3 younger kids have one of those soft buckets with handles (big one) each in their rooms with toys in, as well as some boxed toys (castle set, pirate ship set, etc) in their rooms. Plus Lily's doll cradle and some tubs of books under her bed. It's a crowded room! The big girls have bookshelves in their rooms full of books, Immi has her knitting, they have their instruments etc. Brit has a 2nd desk so she doesn't slouch on her bed with the laptop.

In my office there's mine and dh's desk, Spiral Garden stock, Lily's wooden dollhouse (so she can play and chat with mama) and the keyboard (music). There's another corner of the house with a collection of guitars, drums, didj's and a big basket of percussion etc for kids.

In the lounge room there's one last bookcase with some of their books on the lower shelves.

Everything used to be all through the house, but I like it mostly concentrated to one room now. Mostly. ;)

Oh - paint, clay and playdough are all in the shed with a set of drawers and a table for their use. And Lily and Heath's 'school books' are in calico bags in the office/dining area of the house.

If we had a bigger house, I'd put more of it in the one room, but so many people, so little space...

[turtledove]

Wow, it sounds very organised. I'm still working on ours - it's a continual work in progress to find a balance between accessibility and tidiness! I've put most of the toys away into large plastic crates - then we get one crate out at a time (from a few days to a week or two) to play with - each crate has a mixture of board games, inside toys, outside toys, bath toys, crafty things etc etc. Keeps things interesting for the boys and keeps the house a lot less cluttered for me (the crates live in the storeroom/shed when they are not in use). I also keep a list of what is in each crate, so that if they are after something in particular (which doesn't happen very often) I know where to find it.
Apart from that, we have shelves with baskets for highly used toys/activities such as lego and duplo, playdough and the trainset. As well as a trunk full of dress-ups, shelves of art and craft materials and shelves and shelves of books...

[Beatrice]

That's a fabulous idea, Turtledove! We're coming from having most of our stuff in a big outdoor shed, to having to cram everything in the house because there is absolutely no outdoor storage at all. I love the idea of just swapping over a crate with a selection of toys, rather than individual toys. Maybe I could still rotate things that way if I had two crates that fitted on top of the bookshelves? *ponders*

Yours sounds so organised, Belinda :lol Both girls have asked not to have any toys in their rooms, and really their rooms are so small that there probably isn't room in there anyway. We worked out that we could arrange the kitchen stuff so that there is a little "room" bounded by the dress-ups chest, oven and fridge, then we have a rack of small baskets backing the oven and fridge as a divider and to keep them together. It seems to be working quite well, although there is *so* much stuff crammed into the room that we are going to have to be pretty vigilant about tidying every day (my downfall :lol). There is a nice flow around the play-house peninsula, so that it's easy to get to their bedroom doors and to the end of the room to the computer. We'll see how it plays out, I'm sure it will need more tweaking...

Yesterday I went up there periodically and flumped in one of the beanbags, and the little ones followed and sat on me and gave me books to read. That was nice :)

[Beatrice]

Oh, and our out-of-season seasonal items, and decorations/costumes/etc for other celebrations like Easter and Talk Like A Pirate Day, are in labelled tubs in the top of my wardrobe. But you've reminded me that I have nowhere for a seasonal table at the moment. H is still too destructive to have it anywhere within his reach. Will have to have a think.

[bella]

Yours sounds so organised, Belinda :lol

LOL, that'd be me. :oops

We've been doing this a long, long time.

Apparently the latest thing we need is a times table chart on the wall in the dining room (dh, sigh). :shrug

[Sarasvati]

I REALLY need to get stuck into this... atm half the stuff we have doesn't see the light of day as it's crammed into crates etc. I have been keeping my eye out on ebay for a cupboard for craft stuff, and I really want to devise a system for toys and dress ups. I also decided that since Kira has her own space for her own things, I want to set aside a corner of the main bedroom for Imogen's special things. At the moment they are 5 and 2 so their learning things are mainly toys and crafts but as they get older it will probably change with their needs.

[Beatrice]

:bump with an update :D Since we emptied the storage unit we've had boxes in the playroom waiting for us to finish the unpacking and decluttering, which has been coming along slowly. But we made a big effort last night and unearthed the playroom floor, and I finished culling and organising all the books so that they all fit into the one bookshelf. I want to finish organising the toy/games shelves next, and possibly the craft cupboard if H has a nap. Any toys or games which don't fit on their shelves will also be culled.

I've also been inspired by this photoset of one family's office/home learning space (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrapbook****/sets/72157621998667957/), which is less of a playroom (they have older kids) and more of a joint study, but has some nice ideas on organising craft supplies.

[Sarasvati]

That link didn't work!

[Beatrice]

Rats, hang on...

ETA: it's because the URL has "laydee" in it which is being replaced by asterisks. It think you'll just have to correct it manually when it opens.

[Sarasvati]

:lol

I think a room like that would kill my soul :lol. I like the organisational aspects but it's too sterile for me! But I know that's not why you posted it, I just had to comment hehe.

[Beatrice]

Oh I know :lol I've been following Flickr links from her photoset - there are all sorts of inspirational homeschool or organisational pools. One of them inspired me to get some jars I wasn't using and fill them with craft supplies and line them up on the top of the bookshelves, instead of the baskets of fabric which I'd stuck up there to get them out of the way. It looks much nicer now, and the kids had fun helping me fill all the jars :)

[Ceres]

Another bump for Morph :)

[Morph]

Gracias. This one is gold!

Beatrice, do you have any pics of your space you'd be willing to share? Or anyone else? I'm more of a visual absorber.

[Beatrice]

That was two houses ago, Morph. We're still working out the best use of space in our new place, where we have a small room (one third of the open-plan living area) we call the Learning Room. But now the two younger kids have a huge shared bedroom with a really big bookshelf for toy storage, and we're rotating some of the baskets so they can't tip too much on the floor at once. But most of the books and homeschool resources are still in boxes in the shed waiting for us to get some shelves in :blueroll This seems to be a continuing theme :lol

[Ceres]

I'd take a photo of our "play room" / learning area except the floor is not currently visible under a sea of lego. Maybe later. :lol

[GreenGully]

We have what DS named "The Important Room". We each have a desk in there, DS has his craft supplies and I have my sewing table and gear in there. There is a lot of empty space in the middle of the room which I suspect will be used a lot over winter this year, esp as it is the room with the heater in it. Ds likes to do circus stuff in there at the moment :lol

[Ceres]

This is our current space - not quite as organised as it could be but I haven't cleaned it right out in a while. There's a desk and drawers for sorting stuff in to, and a bookshelf on the other wall, some posters and art work displayed on the walls. The main thing that happens in there is lego being tipped out on the floor, and DS ends up working on the coffee table more often than not.
195

[Rinelle]

I find organising DD's space really hard. She HATES change, but usually gets over it after a few days! Our 'playroom' is the second living area, opening straight off the main one.

At the moment, we have IKEA Ivar shelves all round two walls, with little see through plastic boxes in three different sizes holding all the stuff. We have WAY too much stuff, but we tend to use it all, so I'm hesitant to cull much (aside from all the broken bits etc), though DD is finally getting a bit better at letting go of things. We have this sort of organised, one set of shelves is for the craft stuff, the next is the dollhouse and a few education style games, then the my little pony set of shelves (yes, we have a whole shelf full of my little pony's), then the lego set of shelves, then the dress up set (with a hanging rack, and stacks of leftover bunny rugs for blankets etc), then the kitchen set, with the little oven on a shelf etc, then finally a miscellaneous set of shelves!

Then there is a big comfy chair in front of the window for me to sit in! Then an old TV cabinet with some larger toys (at the moment a wooden castle and a wooden stables) on, and a couple of boxes of miscellaneous stuff inside. Final wall has a TV handed down from my sis which is used for playing on the Wii.

Usually it is a total mess. At the moment, ponies are all over the floor, LOL. But we do get there. We also have 4 little Ikea kids tables that kind of migrate through the house where they might be needed. Usually two in the playroom and two in the lounge room, but they can be pulled out individually, or all 4 put together for a big table. Handy, since we did away with our dining table as it wasn't used for anything except dumping stuff!

[The Dawn Dragon]

Just wanting to pop in a link for any SAers. AuctionBlue have a cube storage shelf that looks like it would work really well as a storage place, especially with boxes

http://www.auctionblue.com.au/auction.php?id=127253

http://www.auctionblue.com.au/auction.php?id=126813

[beingsimone]

We're planning on building our own home. What would everyone recommend in terms of creating a learning space?

Eg what would your dream room/plan be? Would you have a separate room in another part of the house? An annexed room (eg sunroom leading off kitchen or family room)? Would you make the family room bigger and just use up a corner/wall? How big a space would be ideal?

Thanks :)

[GreenGully]

Ideally I'd have the space visible from the kitchen and my own study/studio so that we can get on with our own stuff whilst still being close to each other. Open plan with differnt levels appeals to me.

[JKay]

I'd have to say a dedicated learning space wouldn't work at all for us..K usually likes to be where we are, so i make sure kitchen benches/table are tidy so he can do stuff there, he also has his own room with a desk, books, pens, paper, etc within his own reach.

All of his crafts, games, etc are in cupboards that he can get to at anytime, and basically, i'm aiming to keep the entire house as minimal/clutter free as possible, so he can put his toys, books, crafts, computer wherever he feels like it and it's easy to tidy up.

But, that's just what works for us - and we only have one child, and that may change as he gets older!! If we did go for a more formal learning space, then i'd have to agree with GG's idea.

[Morph]

We're planning on building our own home. What would everyone recommend in terms of creating a learning space?

Eg what would your dream room/plan be? Would you have a separate room in another part of the house? An annexed room (eg sunroom leading off kitchen or family room)? Would you make the family room bigger and just use up a corner/wall? How big a space would be ideal?

Thanks :)

Sometimes I think a dedicated area away from the main house, like a granny flat, would be best! Keep all the clutter away from the living space. Ideally a room you can close off when you have visitors to hide the mess & also keep the children's stuff safe.

We are in a transitional stage right now. We have a few areas spread throughout the house. The computer desk that the children can use is in the dining area, the dining table is for them to use whenever they need to. It's also my workspace too when I'm sorting seeds or doing any other book work. We have a quiet lounge for reading, a dedicated play area with shelves, the puppet theatre, toy kitchen, etc & then there's the entertainment room which opens off the main lounge (all main areas are open plan here) for watching tv, etc.

We all co-sleep in one room so we have another room that is our office, one that has a single bed & everyones clothes & another that has become the crap dumping room, my sewing room & art & craft storage room.

[GreenGully]

I guess I feel as though as natural learners I see learning as something that happens all the time, not as a separate activity that happens at certain times. I love the idea of spaces set up for particular activities but I would really hate to have them too separate from the learning that just happens though life. It also means that we have to keep things at a manageable level of mess and untidiness. DS is starting to realise that our shared spaces really do have to be kept tidy out of respect for each other and in order for the house to run smoothly and also importantly for him, so that he can play with enough space. We have a pretty small house so it is important that we make the space we have work for us. It isn't perfect, and goodness knows he's not got the greatest tidy adult to model in me, but I'm loving how much he participates in keeping things organised and tidy at the moment.

[JKay]

I guess I feel as though as natural learners I see learning as something that happens all the time, not as a separate activity that happens at certain times.

Yes! Exactly this - which is why a separate learning space wouldn't work for us - and i feel it might actually create more mess and clutter rather than just letting things flow wherever they may.

[Rinelle]

Jep, that's why we decided to use the second living area, although to be honest it's more like a storage room than a learning space. DD is also an only child, so likes to be in the same room as us. She will go into the playroom, find what she wants to play with (or ask us to help), then play in the living areas, even though they're joined. If we had a completely separate space, it just wouldn't get used at all.

[Belinda]

I want a separate space, but not so much a learning space as a creative space, a studio, where the children can leave half-finished projects without us having to peer over them to see each other at the dinner table! Also as a storage space, there is just so much stuff! We use it but it feels like it is everywhere! But IO agree with pp who said it should be visable to the rest of the house. In the ideal situation, it would have some sort of sliding bifolds so that you can open it up when it is being used and close it off when it is empty, and all the mess would be hidden.

[Ceres]

If I was building a new house I would have an open plan living space with an area that is visible from where the adults spent most of their time (kitchen / lounge) for the storage of kid's stuff. I would also make the bedrooms quite large so as kids grow older they have more space to move in to.
I totally see your point JKay but for me it's about making the space workable for everyone. DS used to play on the floor right where we need to walk, between the front door and the dining room, but now with his stuff stored at the 'dead end' of the living space he can spread out as much as he likes without creating tripping hazards for everyone else. We're all in the same room anyway, if I'm in the kitchen he tends to be at the dining table so he can be close by to me.

[Beatrice]

Having a separate space never works for us. Sure it contains the mess, but it also means we never clear it up, and then it very quickly becomes unusable and takes hours and hours to get it back to a point where the kids want to go in there. And even when it is tidy, if I'm not in there they don't want to be in there either. Our ideal house would always include a section of the living area where we can contain the mess but where the kids are in the centre of things. We've had that in houses with open-plan and separate kitchen/living areas, but either works for us so long as the rooms are close together and the kids aren't isolated. Our current house is really good because even though the living area is quite small, it naturally divides into two areas, and the mess is safely contained because the walk way through the room is tight against the inside wall so even when their stuff is spread out on the floor it's not a tripping hazard (except in about one square metre in front of the doorway which is easy to keep clear).

[GreenGully]

I really like how your house is working right now ceres. Mine still has something to be desired, I should have the light working in the 'important room' soon though so that will help.

[beingsimone]

Everybody makes such good suggestions to consider - thank you. I agree with many of you that learning is part of the everyday and so there is often a spill over. I don't mind that but I also at times get sick of not eating at the dining table because we either can't be bothered clearing it, don't have time to clear it or else there is a project in process that can't be disturbed (and I'm as guilty of using it to stack washing on, dumping ground etc). Also, as much as I accept that this is family life, I really feel the need for some areas to be clear and zen. I really want to reclaim the dining/lounge area.

I definitely want something that opens onto either the kitchen or living areas - and agree with Belinda that it needs to open up as much as possible so it feels part of those rooms but can also be closed off. It's getting the feel of it right so that it doesn't feel seperate but flows - so I will have to put a lot of thought into how the kitchen, dining and living room are positioned as well.

Beatrice: I agree that often it doesn't get cleaned up - because you can close the door on it. I've previously had a playroom attached to the kitchen and it was used every day, the girls would play in there a lot, but I was the one who was lazy and just closed the door at night and didn't show them how to clean up properly. This time I've realised that the problem is me and also that I need a much larger room that is for all of us, so that I can be in there - sewing, folding washing, on the computer. I think it needs to be a studio/creative space for the family.

I personally don't like bedrooms for anything but sleeping, reading and playing dress ups. I want them to go to sleep in a peaceful environment and if I had to clean up toys every night before putting them to bed it would be too much work. I often like to do a quick clean up after the kids are in bed so their rooms are kept quite sparse.

[Beatrice]

After a spate of reorganisation, this is what our learning space looks like. The stupidly huge table usually lives in the kitchen, but we discovered that in winter the uninsulated kitchen is waaaaaay too cold to eat in so we moved it in here :lol We'll put a smaller table in here when we can use the kitchen again.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6029/5989497131_620612bea7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/5989497131/)
Learning Room - Wide View (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/5989497131/) by TheLancreWitch (http://www.flickr.com/people/23779483@N00/), on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/5989497139_4e2ed7f4c1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/5989497139/)
Learning Room - Nature Table (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/5989497139/) by TheLancreWitch (http://www.flickr.com/people/23779483@N00/), on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6012/5989497145_3ff89a133a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/5989497145/)
Learning Room - Wide Bookshelf (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/5989497145/) by TheLancreWitch (http://www.flickr.com/people/23779483@N00/), on Flickr

ETA: click through to the Flickr photo pages for descriptions :)

[Belinda]

Great room, Beatrice! I love the book collection!

We recently reorganised our space too. We bought some bookshelves in from another room, and a set of plastic draws. We havethem right next to our dining room table, so its easy for the boys to get something down and use it. I have the top shelf with books from when I was teaching and the other shelves for maths, english, social sciences and science (just as a fairly easy way to find stuff). There is also our seasonal stuff, stationary and puzzle books, etc.

Its working really well for us at the moment. The shelves are were I strew things, and I rotate them through.

[Beatrice]

Embarrassingly, that's not even half of the picture book collection, and I only have one shelf of paperbacks unpacked from the four or five boxes in storage :lol

I went through and sorted mine roughly by KLA, just so it's easier to find something if it comes up in discussion. I sometimes think that my compulsion to collect kids books is a waste of time when I have so many that half the time I can't find the one I'm looking for :hide

[Belinda]

:lol I love it!

[zenifa]

Love it B!! Looks like a fun place with lots of great books, resources and a place for creativity :)

[Beatrice]

This are our new shelves for the seasonal book display. Now I just need to swap out the books, which have been out for aaaages :lol

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6063/6028831762_6ed8b298b8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/6028831762/)
On Display (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23779483@N00/6028831762/) by TheLancreWitch (http://www.flickr.com/people/23779483@N00/), on Flickr

This fills up the empty wall to the right of the window. It looks really awesome. The funny thing is, I took these shelves down out of the kitchen when we moved in, and I had plans for putting pegboard up in the learning room to display books on, but somehow it never occurred to me to use these shelves instead :lol It wasn't til I saw a link in a blog someone posted on FB that I had the lightbulb moment and realised how perfect they were :oops

[Kris]

They look fantastic B!

DD1 has her own room now with a desk but she prefers to use the laptop you gave her on her bed. :uhh oh well.

[Beatrice]

Just make sure she doesn't get RSI from terrible posture!

[Kris]

She had another osteo appointment today and the osteo ALSO spoke to her about posture at the keyboard. :lemmeout

[Beatrice]

It's a worry. B is terrible too. Mind you, given that all of us sit on the sofas with our various laptops here, we're not exactly sterling examples :uhh

[Belinda]

I like your cornices, B.

Isn't funny how sometimes you don't think of something like that, isn't it?

[zenifa]

The book and blog by Mariah Bruehl is really inspiring, so I thought I would share this. The website has lots of great ideas, and I think worth checking out!

For those that are interesting in creating and designing thoughtful spaces for children, there is this 6 week e-course, there is a 50% off, offer if you share on facebook.

http://www.playfulearning.com/Playful_Learning/Playful_Learning_E-Courses.html