Yes, friends, you are right – the organizers you see and the (Robin’s Egg) blue boxes….are from the Martha Stewart line at Staples. They are pretty and the style and colors are among my favorites! Now, if you promise not to laugh at how many Martha Stewart office supplies I have….{do you promise????}….alright then, I shall show you some of my favorite things.
- 2 stackable inboxes….well…stacked. 🙂
- 1 stack + fit tray (in the back)
- In front is the lid to a stack and fit box which I have on the other inbox organizer on the left side of my desk.
And a ball of red and white bakers twine…because one never knows when one will need a ball of red and white twine, and because IT’S PRETTY!!!
Now, doesn’t that thought seem inspiring? A day of small things is an idea that seems refreshing, and it seems approachable to busy homeschooling moms with extraordinarily full lives, doesn’t it? It reminds me that good almost always begins in the small. Think of that moment, THE moment, in the fullness of time, when the Word was made flesh, and came to us in His smallness. Extraordinary thought. A day of small things. If you’re feeling overwhelmed from your past year, perhaps a day of small things is just the refreshment needed?
Dear Jen,
I'm jealous. There, I said it! I would love it if you could drive all the way up here and help me make my desk pretty too! It's an old antique desk so it has lots of emotional ties, but not very pleasing to the eye, especially with all my stuff all over it. I'm going to use some of your ideas for inspiration though! Thanks for posting this.
As we speak I am covetously eyeing a bit of space in my kitchen I want to turn into desk central. Thanks for the tour of yours!
In particular for:
*those labeled boxes
*the bird notes (for you know who 😉
*showing your liturgical year files
I have to do something with those this year. I need a place to put them that I won't forget, and it would be really nice to know when a novena was coming up for once…
I'm going to be reorganizing our school room in a few weeks to get ready for this fall. You should get a commission from Staples and Paper Source! I have a list and I will certainly be coming back to these two posts for inspiration. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jen,
Like many of your subscribers I am sure, I find myself reading your posts as if I were starving for the food they supply my hungry mind and spirit. You are SO inspiring!!
May I ask, what are the Charlotte Mason resources I see to the left of For the Children's Sake in your first picture? They appear to be either dvd or perhaps cd resources?
Titles and places where they may be purchased are always appreciated!
Peace,
~Annie
in New Hampshire(who also LOVES the Peterborough Basket Company)
LOL found pictures! Love the Martha Stewart goodies. I haven't indulged yet…but plan to look for those folders. I have some other fun folders, they do make a difference in the attitude when opening said to folder to something like…club receipts, boring, but necessary to keep..fun to do in patterns 🙂 Love the twine too by the way…it's like one great big mint!
Jen, can you please explain a bit how you use the different calendars (your Martha Stewart vs. your Family Centered planner).
Very pretty Jen!
Dear Jen,
Oh how I have enjoyed visiting you. We are kindred spirits. I love all things Martha too. I am going to add you to my blog list if that is ok.
Off to read more of your blog.
Xxxxxxoooo
Elizabeth
I love this and am very organized at heart but could never manage to keep it looking like this. Any ideas?
Maybe an hour ago I looked at my desk and wondered how I could make it look more organized. It just always looks like there is SO much stuff on it!
This is so timely for me. Thank you for taking the time to write this post.
How lovely and inspiring! My husband is looking over my shoulder telling me to ask you to send your most helpful formats in mac pages…. this is what we would love our homeschool organization to look like! (actually, I'd be happy with it looking half as nice- love it!)
-Faith
I do love visiting your blog Jen! I always walk away inspired. Your school planning seems SO organised so purposfully planned. Do you use a bought curriculum or do you write your own. If you write your own where do you get all your ideas and scope and sequence from? I am particularly interested in your high school plans as we are embarking on our high school journey in September and I am feeling a little undecided on which route to take!
Blessings in Christ
Shirley Ann
England
Hello all! 🙂
I'm so glad you enjoyed the post on my desk! So many happy little nothings on my desk!
I'm catching up in trying to answer a few questions:
Annie asked:
May I ask, what are the Charlotte Mason resources I see to the left of For the Children's Sake in your first picture? They appear to be either dvd or perhaps cd resources?
Sure, I have several Charlotte Mason resources I enjoy, Annie! The resources you see to the left are all from Simply Charlotte Mason, and I highly recommend them all! They are DVD seminars, and make wonderful at-home-retreats for the summer. {from right to left in the photo}:
(1) The Books and Things Seminar
(2) All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar
(3) Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education
(4) Laying Down the Rails Seminar
Lindsay asked:
Jen, can you please explain a bit how you use the different calendars (your Martha Stewart vs. your Family Centered planner).
I use it to jot down if we might be reading a particular book for 4 weeks, and another for 6 weeks in the same term….just so I can see at a glance that I need to make a slight change on my lesson plans around week 5. I like to note current event anniversaries, especially historical ones, on the Martha Stewart calendar. So the answer is….I mostly use the Martha Stewart planning calendar to jot down rabbit trail topics or themed topics that almost always spring from a historical anniversary.
Anonymous asked:
I love this and am very organized at heart but could never manage to keep it looking like this. Any ideas?
A weekly desk tidy keeps the desk useful and clean. Then, at the end of each of term, we always take a week off. During this week, I do some learning space maintenance. I always freshen up the learning spaces: tidying shelves, freshening books, desks, tables, tools, folders, notebooks….and I always take a fresh look at my desk then, too. That's the equivalent of a deep clean, I guess.
So…..for desk maintenance: weekly tidying, and end-of-term deep cleans. 🙂
Shirley Ann asked:
Do you use a bought curriculum or do you write your own. If you write your own where do you get all your ideas and scope and sequence from? I am particularly interested in your high school plans as we are embarking on our high school journey in September and I am feeling a little undecided on which route to take!
Wow! That's a lot of questions!
1) I write my own. We use some curriculum tools very occasionally, but not many. I've always written my own booklists and our “curriculum” is simply reading from worthy books, and narrating. It is a liberal education: wide and generous.
2) For more about how I build booklists and write our plans, read this post: A Considered Booklist.
3) High school has been so rewarding for us! I really should write more about our high school experiences! We have continued following our Charlotte Mason philosophy in high school, and it has been perhaps the most enriching part of home education yet. Here is a post on our high school approach.
Hello
I remember reading in one of your latest post that you are also inspired by the Classical education, but not the new Classical education with the trivium based on levels, but rather on the one based on abilities. (It might not be this post, but seing that perfect robin blue box labels with Classical ed, I thought it was a safe bet 😉 )
What are your favourite Classical resource (book or others) that go that way? I'd like to read more on this.
Thank you!
I love your pretty post-its! I share your love of birds and all things blue.
Also, I am waiting with bated breath for a close look at those book lists!
[…] months. It meant letting go of a space that was set aside as our learning room, saying goodbye to my desk, and paring down to the very needed and most simple. A difficult challenge for me, but a very […]
Can you just come to my classroom and organize my desk please? lol I keep reading this post and trying to incorporate some things into my space but I keep getting stuck. Or I get swamped! Love, love, love your space! Fantastic job =)