Keys to a Successful Kid's Space

Over the last few years our 'kid's space' has been an evolving process...aside from the general mayhem of assorted baby paraphernalia, squeaky toys and random cars and dolls strewn about the house that is.

When we started homeschooling I was determined to still have my house be my neat and 'just so' house. Now, three years later I can definitely tell you that my opinions and decorating styles have changed. Rather dramatically. And surprisingly enough, I'm okay with that! Here are a few keys to our' kid space' success.

1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I admit it. My dining room doesn't much look like a dining room anymore ~ other than the fact there is a table and six chairs. Gone are the typical wall decorations and in their place are school calendars, a chalkboard, map, whiteboard, and assorted school gear. It was a little hard for me at first not having things 'just so', but the kid's love it and it feels much more homey now than it ever did before!

2. Make it accessible. I'll be honest and say that not everything is accessible, because there is a certain 2-year-old who cannot be fully trusted with markers and scissors. In general though, everything is at the kid's level and easy for them to access when the would like to use it. Our map, crayons, manipulatives, art supplies, puzzles, etc...are all right at the kid's level so that it is easy for them to interact and participate. Not everything fits in our dining room area, so some things are stored in our room too.

The easiest way for me to keep things organized is using tubs, bins and baskets. I'll admit that I'm a little bit of an organizing freak...so clear bins and such are a passion for me. Being able to see inside the tubs is helpful though and the kids know where to go to find things quickly. Anything that is "hands off" {paints, etc...} are stored up in a closet for later use.

3. Be creative. We are fairly limited on wall space, so I've had to get a little creative with our space. I wasn't ready to take the step of using chalkboard paint, but found some wonderful removable Peel & Stick Chalkboard Panels from Wallies. There are 4 in a pack and each piece is 9" x 12". You can put all four together in any direction/shape you want and make your own chalkboard. I bought two packs so that I had a total of 8 panels to work with.


The best part is they are removable, reusable and will stick practically anywhere. On the fronts of cabinets, walls, etc... They don't leave any residue on the walls and if you get tired of them, you can move them somewhere else without having to repaint or patch holes.

I also added a flannel board to the back of our 2' x 3' white board so it can be reversed to use as a felt board. This doesn't hang permanently on the wall, but we can pull it out and I have hooks in place on the wall to hang it on top of our world map {love those command removable adhesive velcro strips & hooks too!}. We use the large whiteboard for our spelling time with the kids and otherwise it is hidden behind our shelving unit when not in use.

That's a quick peek into our kid space in our house! Hope you enjoyed it!

I am a homeschooling mom of 4 that range in age from 2 to 8. Before becoming a mom, I worked in our local school system as a preschool special education teacher and hold a master’s in Early Childhood Special Education. My blogging started on No Ordinary Moments as a way for me to share some of the funny things happening in our house and progressed to Our Homeschool Creations, specifically focused our homeschooling adventures. ~ Jolanthe

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