My Therapy Room Challenge - A New School and $25


A summer of bathroom remodeling and getting my own children ready for college left my wallet a little empty. When I got my official assignment 20 days before students returned and found out I would be moving, I quickly realized a needed a budget. $25 it was!


The school's space is pretty nice. It will hold me, a licensed assistant (M), and student groups. The first thing I did was review tips for setting up rooms. My goals were to make it student-centered and functional.

Note: I will be serving two schools. I'm showing you one room right now. It's nicely located in the center of the school, so it had to be ready for Meet the Teacher Night. The room at the other school is larger and in a portable, so I'm still working on it.

When I first set up the room, M didn't think it had the right "energy". We angled the horseshoe table in front of the mirror. Students will sit on IKEA stools. They are so much better than chairs, and the wooden stools are lasting much longer than the metal stools I tried 2 years ago. Another IKEA product - the storage shelf - is within reach during therapy sessions to save time.
The items in the picture are things I already had, so the cost so far is a whopping $0!

This is the beginning of my 25th year. I have stuff. After purging, we filled up the bookshelves already in the room. The materials still looked distracting, so all of my budget went to fixing that. I found tension rods at Big Lots for $2.25 each and fabric shower curtains with hooks included at Wal-Mart for $9.88 each. I'm not crazy about the pattern, but they will do for this year. Total cost - $24.26.
To make the shower curtains fit, we doubled them over on the tension rods and hot-glued the bottom hems.

Next to the shelves are therapy cards in shoe holders. The pockets are labeled.

Other areas include the desk:
The thirty-one bag holds my PLS-5 manipulatives so I can grab it and go. The phone and electrical plugs are to the bottom left of the desk. Notice the fan? I'll be using that while M operates her personal heater.

 Lightbox Inserts for SLPs by All Y'all Need
Of course, we have a welcome sign that will change each month and lots of books. Organization of the books comes courtesy of my librarian sister, Amy.

NOTE: Amazon links are affiliate links, which means that if you should choose to click on them and buy an item, we may get a percentage of the sale at no cost to you.

And how wonderful is the school's theme - Happy Campers?!?! Upon my cousin Lisa's recommendation, I bought fadeless paper and a bunting from Amazon. I'm sure you're wondering how I bought those for 74 cents. I used some Amazon reward points, and I already had the chevron ribbon and an IKEA frame, so this cost me nothing!
I'm super happy with our room. It's student-centered, functional, looks nice while still having space, is welcoming without being over-decorated, and it's within budget!


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3 comments

  1. OH gosh I wish I had an IKEA near me!
    Your room looks fantastic...and for $25????? You are amazing!

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  2. Your room looks amazing! I am also doing a camp theme this year...where did you find your "Happy Campers Talk Here" print?

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  3. Thanks! I made it using the fonts KG Life is Messy and BMD Skinny Jeans solid.

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