The Organized Beachbum

Florida Farmhouse Tropical, Americana, Jungle - What do these say to you?  THEME When setting up your classroom, a room in your house or your work-space, there should be one common theme that that ties everything (even eclectic items) together. The room or space should have inspiring color that induces learning, relaxation or productivity. So find that one thing that warms your heart and inspires your soul. I have decorated and based my theme, Americana ,  on my love of vintage and old schoolhouse inspirations with a touch of Farmhouse . It all started with a Primitives piece that I bought in a craft shop in Pennsylvania while visiting family. If I had my choice, I would have my own little red schoolhouse in the backyard - maybe one day. But for now this little muse has served as the basis for my homeschool classroom. Color Scheme I decided to use black, barn red and white/cream as the main color scheme with accents of navy blue. Now, the overall background ne...

We are prepping for our new, Sabbath schedule, school year beginning in July. I have opted to use Homeschool Planet for the detailed part of my lesson planning where I can incorporate any of my personal "to-dos" as well. However, since I am a "paper & pencil" person, I still utilize a physical teacher binder/planner to have a "year -at-a-glance" approach. It is my teacher planner that has set up my digital lesson planner through Homeschool Planet.  The Teacher Binder Materials : 3-ring binder (use something colorful) Stickers -scrapbook/planner (make it fun!) Scrapbook paper Old planner (deconstructed) (weekly log) Laminator (optional - to make dashboard) Calendars (I use a year & monthly) -general activities, unit studies, projects Washi tape (various styles) Reading list (for the year) Supply list Chore/Task list (small stickers) paper clips/ribbons (planner markers) Ok. So you are wondering what this Sabbath Sche...

Picture It...You come home from a beautiful vacation filled with white sand and palm trees. Ah, it feels good to be home - relaxed and recharged but... As you settle in, it is there staring at you - your disorganized homeschool classroom or space.  What to do? Let's get organized, Beachbum style! Help is on the way! Paper - The "white noise", elephant in the room          Categorize all paper, curriculum, resources, craft material, etc.              The way I have organized my paper issues are by making categories of 3 or 4 per area in your space. The following is the schematic used in the Beachbum Classroom:    Teacher desk area - inboxes for each child, resources and spare curriculum in file box on the metal book shelf. Magazine holders are placed on top of my desktop to house the teacher's edition/keys that I might need along with my teacher binder. ...

Desk Organization Beachbum Style......     Planning can come with a lot of accessories and extras to make it fun. (ie. stickers, clips, etc.) Fabric bins and containers can be quite pricey and I had some boxes on hand...... I DIYed my own fabric bin.   RECYCLE! So, just the same as packing a beach bag or keeping all of the beach gear together to have at hand, I needed something to corral all my planner accessories to place on my desk. I needed something accessible and pretty. Here is what I came up with..... A box small enough to sit on my desk but that could also fit accessories that I need on hand - I liked this one because it is really sturdy.  Pre-cut fabric (18"x12" should do it) sold in stores. These are usually $1 to $3. These pre-cut ones are great because you can just wrap and hot glue right around the box. Seeing that I had limited time, I did just that! Since the boxes were going to sit on my desk and not move too much,...

Welcome!  If you are fortunate to be at the beach, notice the gradual transitions that have been laid out before us. The beach itself, where the water meets the land at varying levels throughout the day, displays a guide for the fellow beachbum to be organized.  Our day should begin as calm as the ocean in the morning. A place where you can gather your thoughts and meditate. This is where I enjoy at least 25 minutes of coffee time and plan all while being inspired by things that remind of me of the beach - i.e. tropical washi tape, desktop wallpaper, ocean waves from an audio clip, etc.  Let's take in what the day holds and what needs to be accomplished just as we would observe any advisories. Our time needs to be guided as well. For some, staying in the sun for too long can prove to be harmful; the same is true for continuance in one activity for too long. Some techniques that I have enabled are to divide my day up into 30 or 60 minute segments. (Set a timer if you ne...