Homeschool Makeover: School Books on the Mantel
Posted by Tricia Hodges | 8 comments
Sometimes rearranging refreshes learning. Sometimes it also helps remedy the winter blahs. Me? I like to rearrange furniture. Especially in the dead of winter. But this idea took me a while. It took giving myself permission.
See, I thought a mantel was supposed to look a certain way. A touch of formality. But when the library books for our studies overflowed the library cubby – there was the mantel, right above.
I gave myself permission to use the family room mantle to feature our current reading. Why not? It’s right there in the middle of everything. And it’s pretty besides. A sampling of summer reading, in the photo above.
My mother, chief bookcase and mantel arranger, showed me how to make the stacks look pretty. The children and I pulled the unused letter blocks and spelled out the seasons.
The mantel – it’s right there! We can see what we are reading. It’s a visual of what we are studying. With the side benefit of less library books lost, less fines. Plus, I consider books a work of art. Speaking of art…
We have also used the mantel for artwork display. The cup hooks, used for stockings in December, make an easy spot for preschoolers to hang their latest creations.
Maybe you don’t have a mantel but you’d like to dress up your learning area. You might need some large artwork (like the flag over our fireplace). Why not ask the children to don smocks and create a masterpiece? That large flag picture was one my older three children painted together years ago. One painted the stripes. One the blue, one the stars – with glitter added, of course. And it’s only tempura paint on a torn sheet of newsprint paper. We entered it in the fair and it won 1st place.
The verse on the mantel is a stencil. You can decide to put the verse over your kitchen table or other primary learning spot.
All this to encourage you to use what you have. Make the most of your space. Maximize the learning. Spend less money. Enjoy!
What have you re-purposed for learning in your home?
Tricia gave up life in the drive thru lane for the joy-filled road home. She homeschools five children from preschool to middle school. You can find her facing that daily dose of chaos at Hodgepodge. There she writes about practical schooling strategies and shares how she is saving bucks and her sanity with the frugal recipes of her Southern roots. Tricia is also known as Hodgepodgemom.
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I’ve re-purposed The Baker’s Rack. I’ve got school supplies on the bottom, the kid’s boxes of current schoolbooks on the second shelf up, and old laptop, my Flylady control journals (one for the house, one for the school), pencil holder & the sharpener, etc. on the third shelf. My cameras are on the top shelf, always in reach.
The small “pantry” next to it is a combination tool shed & homeschool closet. It’s got a collection of tools and such my husband wants to keep close at hand for fast repairs, but the top shelves are where I keep my teacher’s manuals and other supplies that don’t look “pretty” out on my baker’s rack.
It works for us, because the kitchen/dining room area is also our school area.
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Tricia Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 7:42 am
Lorraine – I love your take on ‘use what you have.’ Perfect!
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Love it!
The joke with my friends is we have all converted our fancy dining room hutches into homeschool central storage places!
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Tricia Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 9:42 am
Yes! Our dining room is full of bookshelves for mostly school books. It also houses the piano – so we’ve renamed it the music room. Perfect Christine – enjoy what you have and make it work for you!
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What a great idea! I think books make beautiful decorations. I can SO relate to rearranging things for a fresh perspective. Your mantle looks beautiful!
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Tricia Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 10:00 am
I agree – book covers are wonderful pieces of art. Why not on the mantel? And, rearranging is sometimes just the thing needed. Thanks Melissa.
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I love your mantel, Tricia! Our books are usually sitting around the living room on end tables…and then I hide them when company comes over. I love that you embrace your books and feature them over your mantel.
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Hi all,
my husband is just releasing his children’s album about Hugo, a Hippo that travels around the world meeting other animal friends from everywhere! It’s a fun project that will help kids to learn more about different culture, countries, animals and have lots of fun! It’s the perfect tool to add to your library!
Check out our project on our blog:
http://www.largemouthfrogproductions.wordpress.com
Thanks!
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