THE MINI OFFICE

When I first came across an example of the 'Mini Office' I thought that it was a great idea!  At times we have three kids sharing the dining table which can be distracting.  While R & B are doing their workbooks and worksheets, L likes to draw (she calls this her 'homeschooling').  They like to share their opinions about each other's schoolwork, which is sometimes helpful but more often than not unwelcome!!

I wanted to make a Mini Office that was going to survive a fair amount of wear and tear.  I imagined that after being used for a few months and occasionally altered, they would start to become dog eared and tatty.  I headed off to Officeworks in search of something similar but more sturdy than the regular Manila folder and found a plastic version that would do the job.  (It would have been nice to have a colour option, but alas they only came in boring old cream)

If all went well and these last quite a while, we didn't want to find that at a later date they were not large enough to suit our needs.  Keeping this in mind we joined three of them so that we would have 4 sections to use. After gluing them together we set about printing out and decorating/personalising various items to be attached.  While working on each layout and thinking about the pretty decorative bulldog clips that I had shown great restraint in keeping out of my Officeworks basket, I realised that if I left one section blank with a bulldog clip attached, it would provide a great place to clip any loose papers that needed to be close at hand or easily referred to.  Several sheets could be left attached and swapped around depending on what we were studying at the time.

Now that they are completed and in use, the kids are always eager to set them up!  They treat them with a air of importance and have a new respect for each other's space.  R treats his as if it is 'top secret' and will not allow his little sisters to peer inside!  (I have been permitted to reveal it's contents here on the condition that they never look at the photo!)  They are also strangely more tolerant of any annoying sounds that may be coming from the other side of someone else's mini office. It has been suggested that they be used at meals times, which could come in quite handy! Hmm.. 'The Mini Dining Room'?