Homeschool Room For Kindergartener and Preschooler

Some quick updates for March 2015.

It is an evolving process since I enjoy organizing so much.

I will post updates on the playroom and outdoor classroom later.

 Because lovely Hubs stole my "grass" carpet for the living room, I've had no choice

but to use this ELC alphabet tiles because the others were too small.

Initially they looked haphazardly cheerful, like this.

Last night, I rearranged them.

So. Much. Better.

Why didn't I do this earlier??!?

I've replaced the doors on the lowest levels of the bookshelves to reduce clutter.

And I've also removed the dangerous metal door handles and replaced them with some 

DIY pipe cleaners and XL pony beads.

So much nicer and child-friendly.

Those are currently the kids' treasure cupboards. One each. No fighting.

This week's Toy-centered Learning:

Cars

Playset from Enfagrow milk powder.

There was a broken toy car for Tiger to take apart but it's missing now :p

Some big machines books and his fav Usborne Look Inside Cars.

 

Space

Inspired by this Toobs set.

In the study room itself, the biggest challenge was delineating the 'zones' for my kids 

to reduce friction. The two aren't exactly best friends right now.

And the room is really tiny.

 Dragon Girl's Baby School Area is mostly to the left of the room.
Their artwork are proudly displayed no matter how, erm, creative they look.
The trays are created with a late 2 year old in mind.
Nothing advanced for her like what I did with Tiger. 

Left (top to bottom)

1. Peep Inside Zoo with miniature animals for matching

2. Two-to-three pieces animal puzzle

3. Froebel J1 for sorting.

Middle

1. Magnetic puzzle

2. Sponges for threading

3. M&D stacking blocks

Right

1. Clock

2. M&D letter stamping with ink pad

3. Our construction sensory bin

 

The creative area. 

This is mostly used by Dragon girl only.

The cart can be rolled off to gain access to the materials behind it.

Occasionally, Tiger tries to be artistic too :)

Tiger's kindergarten skills area

Math area

English and Chinese reading area

Music and science area

A 'secret' writing area that's placed higher up to hide our sand tray from Dragon :)

Last but not least, their small little games area just outside the study.

The marble run is surprisingly very, very popular and well used.

I've placed more board games on the bookshelves since they seem to enjoy those now.

Alright, that's all for now, folks. I am grateful to have the resources to teach my children in a loving, protected environment. I cannot imagine doing anything else in my evenings. Have a wonderful weekend!

PS: Just leave a comment if you are curious about the materials/toys used. If I do not reply here, please pm me on Facebook.

Painting areas for the kids

I used to love art until I attended art lessons...haha...the irony :)
I just didn't enjoy being told what and how to draw 'correctly'.
So, no art lessons for my children until they are ready to learn some techniques.
And only if they are invested in the idea wholeheartedly.
Honestly, I would prefer to pay for golf lessons.

I am so, so grateful to have the Internet at my fingertips because it helps me understand my children so much more. Who needs a diploma when I have eyes to observe my own children?
I love this article that explains the stages of painting.
Dragon girl is at stage 2, drawing circles and Tiger is at Stage 4, drawing creepy people.

Currently, this is how her atelier looks like. I am so inspired by Meri Cherry's blog
Our space changes all the time, depending on her needs and interest.
I leave everything out in the open for her except glitter. God forbid they should blind each other with those stuff.
We display her art on a string and as you can see, she uses different materials and papers.
On the IKEA easel is her current work. I'll only change the paper after she tells me it's done.
Otherwise, she will layer her painting like real artists :)

Sometimes, she prefers these foldable tables to the easel.

I am so trilled that she finger paints!

You know, like a normal child, unlike Tiger :)

Finger painting is a sensory experience on top of artistic expression.

Love it!

Besides paint, she loves these disgusting black whiteboard markers...sigh.

The good news is, she rarely stains her clothes nowadays.

So, I just close one eye la.

After about a year of  "Don't paint the walls!!!!"

I actually get some poster moments like these.

Oh, speaking of walls...Dragon hasn't been redecorating for some time now :) 

They also have another art area outside.

It's their outdoor learning area but they mostly paint, play bubbles

or make a mess at the water table.

The toy kitchen doubles as storage for my bags of organic soil and fertilizer.

 The old wine rack is perfect for displaying their stuff.

Some balls, art material, sand, explorer's basket, etc

In the drawers: Uppermost 2 drawers are laundry stuff and rags

Lower levels are their bubbles sand/water play stuff  

PS:

You see the little green pots?

They are environmental-friendly biodegradable plastic pots.

I have quite a few because ermm, I kept killing the herb plants for some reason. 

Upcycled into art containers! 

 I loved the old wine rack because the back doubles as a blackboard!

So glad I didn't toss it out.  I am such a thrifty mom.

My husband is a very lucky chap...sigh..

  

The most important part? Painting to promote peace and teamwork!

Most of the time, they fight like cat and dog because the girl is so ferocious.

See Tiger's unhappy disgruntled face? Hehe.

Learning to share is good.

 

 Tips for sanity:

1. Start with a small number of items on display. Some crayons, papers, stickers.

Then you can gradually introduce paint, clay or playdough.

We are at expert level with sand, scissors, loose parts and wires for their use.

When I add glitter, you will know I've totally lost my sanity :)

2. Buy washable paint

I buy Crayola because it really is very washable.

We no longer wear smocks because the kids dislike having their movements restricted.

The paint is still cheaper than their bajus.

When they are older, I am buying tempera and ugly aprons.

3. Soak the used art stuff in a large container overnight

 I dump all the palettes and brushes into a water filled container and wash the next day.

Minimal scrubbing and water saving.

4. Stock up during sales

Occasionally, I can get 30%-70% off Crayolas during Toyrus Warehuse sales

Otherwise I'll just have to hold my breath and buy them from Art Friend for 10% disc.

5. Minimizing wastage

"Mama, I need help please. I poured too much paint. Sorry"

That will be my son, Tiger.

"Muahahahahahhaha"

That will be my daughter. =.="

 

In cases like the above, I will scoop whatever I can back into the bottle or tube.

If there are some leftover on the palette, I will wait for the kids to fall asleep, 

make myself a cuppa green tea, sit at the easel and paint.

When was the last time you painted?

Kids' New Reading Area

The Reveal!

The reading area is just outside of our school room which makes it ideal

for me to extend our lessons into this space.

The area is small since we live in a tiny box house. 

Very New York, without the guns and police sirens (yet).

I love our humble abode, really....and I don't need a bigger mortgage.

It was a real headache trying to fit everything together, but we worked it out :)

Initially I wanted these but haha...in reality who is going to do the crown moulding?

No one.

Then, I wanted this BILLY combination.

But IKEA was on sale and the large BILLYs were not in stock.

I swore a gazillion swear words and bought the 3 smaller ones.

Many thanks to my sister and BIL for helping me.

We got these with an extra 15% off with my BIL's sister's IKEA staff card.

Sadly, she no longer works there anymore.

I wanted to wait for big BILLY but patience is not one of my virtues.

I am more of the psycho, desperate, must do and complete it type.

So, I dragged hubby to Tesco and got two large ones at rm 119 each.

The difference in height and colour could kill me but I assured the psycho in me

that after all the books are in place, it will be barely noticeable. 

To make it more child friendly and inviting, 

I left a shelf to display the covers of books we are reading right now.

It was supposed to be about feelings but Tiger put his fav Mouse book there.

This is the toy-centered learning shelf.

This toy Tiger is so cute.

Will be doing a review on it soon!

 

 

Wanted to show you guys another one of our upcycling idea.

"The potted plant."

The plant is a square of faux grass rolled into an IKEA SOCKER pot. 

I wanted some real plants but there's no space, so this will do.

My designer sister gave it a nod. Pass larrrrr!

The picture is a printout from Growing A Jeweled Rose here

The frame is from NYTTJA from IKEA

 

 This ANEBODA wardrobe is a hand-me-down from SIL.

I store some tot school and art material in it as well.

Bean bag from living room

Grass carpet is HAMPEN from IKEA.

  

Even hubs gave a thumbs up!

The children's art work is hung from this display unit from IKEA.

They all have weird names, so I cannot recall what it's called.

It was a lot of work but definitely worth all the bruises and scratches.

Almost every night we will lay on the carpet and read.
PS: Board books, pop-ups and other noisy books are in the play room.

Tiger's Play Space @ 4 years old

BEFORE:

I've been 'planning' to cover the drawers since..well, since I bought them

but I have never found the right material. Any suggestions? 

 Nothing permanent since I will be using them for toys when the kids are older 

and they do not need the diapers and clothes to be at hand's reach.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the area where Tiger spends most of his time,

which is actually in our living room.

 Small house, no choice.

The home decor sucks but right now the kids' needs matter most.

I'm just trying my best to minimize the clutter so that hubby doesn't feel

he is living in a toy store.

I gathered similar containers so that the overall look 

is more streamlined

There you go, so much better for my mind and soul.

What's in the baskets?

I was afraid you wouldn't ask.

Noticed I 'labelled' the top row baskets?

Initially I wanted to write or print & laminate

but as usual, I was too lazy.

So I took some old DVD covers and filled them with respective content.

I thought it was very clever :p

From left to right:

1. Lego Duplo

2. Wedgits

3. Mega Bloks

4. Crazy golf set

(Baskets from Daiso)

On the far right is his Thomas train set and a couple of golf clubs

On the lower row:

1. His 'baby' cars

2. Magformers

3. Wooden blocks

4. Special 'cars' box for everything Pixar/Disney Cars

Opposite the Ikea cupboard is his train table.

Right now he enjoys playing this wooden parking garage from ELC.

I added a train track and a 'house' on the side for sleepy cars

Every kid who comes over loves this table!

Sometimes he will play with this rm12 car track from ToyRus sales

That red 4WD you see in this picture?

It's broken now.

Sigh.

Boys...

So, Tiger uses it for his Piston Cup race with the rest of his cars.

This blue Mammut table from IKEA is also the official living room table.

Tiger's book shelf

1. On the lowest level are the books I expect him to read independently but I doubt

he reads any with the TV around.

2. Then, some wooden games to balance all the plastic in the house.

(I am watching too many cooking shows, can you tell?)

3. His busy bag that I grab when we head out and his YAMAHA bag.

4. The top most level (not in pic) has a missing parts/broken toys basket

and Grandma's cook books.

And that's what Tiger does all day. 

Jump, play, sleep, eat.

Geez, now I want to be a kid.

Organization: Storing School Stuff

This is how our school room looks, right now:  

 

 Those are the usual shots I take.

After 3 years of schooling Tiger, I have to admit that 

I'd amassed quite a large collection of things.

It is still not much by American standards but by local standards,

I still scare a lot of people.

The following pictures aren't pretty but just to give you a rough idea on

how I organize the kids' school stuff. Minus the clothes, shoes, toys and outdoor things.

So, don't blink because I am only going to show them this one time.

My knick knack drawers.

Bought during sales from Giant solely for this purpose.

I keep it just outside the room.

As labelled:

 In knick-knacks, I store all the tiny things that will go missing otherwise.

This is also known as the choking hazard drawer.

I love these little containers from IKEA

This set, I stole from my mother since she wasn't using them wisely.

I love the transparent part which allows me to identify each one quickly.

We have golf tees, mini erasers, bento sticks, glass beads, mini colour sticks,

googly eyes, mini straws, etc

 Magnetic sets.

I find it easier to store in ziploc. 

Space saving too

Utensils

This is the drawer for the containers, cups, plates, spoons

If you are thinking, that cannot be ALL of her things.

 You are absolutely right! Haha!

Here's more:

The study is also my home office, where I am slave to more paper trails,

usually in the middle of the night.

I use a dish rack to sort my mails/bills/letters.

On the wall is Tiger's model student chits :)

Under the table:

Too big a space to waste!

The craft box is just bugging me.

 and more here; next to my table.

 

Last but not least,

this eye sore above the cupboard

The puzzles, brain games, grolier bags, etc 

The covered gray areas are my personal and work-related folders.

Below them, 

Most left: Early readers

Center: Workbooks and teacher's stuff

On the right: Stationery and papers

Oh darn,

I forgot the pocket charts behind the door!

But you get the idea :)