Where do you school?

tamarar5 · August 2013

We are looking at different options for our "school room." We are extremely limited on space in our tiny 975 sq foot home. Previously I had thought I would put our schooling supplies and desks on our back porch/ 4 season room. But that has become our dining room as it is the only place where we can set up the high chair. Unfortunately this also means there is no longer room for our homeschooling stuff in the room too.

My next option is sectioning off part of our playroom for school stuff. My question is what surface do you find is most useful for teaching? I currently have one school aged daughter starting 1st grade, so teaching will be very time intensive between us. Should I look at a desk for her, preparing her for the days when she will be more of an independent learner? Or should I be looking for a table with multiple seats? Again, space is limited so I want to maximize every inch I can.

calimama2007 · August 2013

DD has a small table which serves as a desk in our hallway. She cannot get anything done so long as she sees her siblings. Since my other LOs require attention, if DD needs help, she will sit next to me and ask questions, and then complete her independent work. Any reading to her takes place when we all sit together on the floor, kinda like circle time, if that makes sense?

margaret_howell · August 2013

My DD is just 4 this year, so we aren't really homeschooling yet. Also, I don't know if we'll still be here when we start kindergarten. With that said... Anything she has to write, we'll do at our dining room table. Other stuff will probably be in the living room.
I am not sure what style of schooling I like. It's looking like eclectic. My friends here who homeschool do classical, but I am afraid that is too structured for me.

We have a pretty small apartment right now. I would love a dedicated school room. But, I think that will be in the far off future.

hayleydeee · August 2013

As much as I'd love a set aside school room or school space, right now we're mostly using the dining room table and nearby bookshelves... when we're at home

wifeofadam · August 2013

Most of our bookwork is done at the dining room table. Crafts are done at the kitchen table or outside on our back patio table. The kids do other stuff throughout the house, like reading on the sofa or their bed. DS1 is one of those kids that doesn't really like to sit at a table or desk. If I leave the room while he is doing his math work, when I come back I often find him perched on the table like a bird. lol

We have decided not to do a "school room". For now we house half of our school stuff in some shelving units in our dining room and the other half in cabinets in our family room. We are working on building a house next year and are drawing up the plans right now. The plan is to work at the dining room table and have some built-in cabinets near where we will do most of our formal work. The kids will then have their own desk in their bedrooms where they can go to work quietly away from everyone else.

Our personal goal is not to do "school at home". I don't want my kids sitting in the same spot at a table all day long doing work. I hope they will move around the house freely, wherever they are comfortable, to do their learning. We're taking a school house approach instead of a school room approach, where the entire house is set-up to be conducive for learning.

Gwyneddlesliegrace · August 2013

We currently use our kitchen table, I cleared out a cupboard for all of our stuff. We hope to buy a big farm house at some point, I would LOVE an actual school room.

LJM0521 · August 2013

We don't have space for a school room, either. We sit at the kitchen table (we don't have a dining room). I keep our school craft supplies on some bookcases and the boys each have a backpack for their "work" and supplies. DS2 is only 3, so his work is something like a piece of construction paper to cut and glue. They each have a pencil box in their backpack with markers, scissors, a pencil, and glue stick. My friends who have dedicated school rooms often move to the kitchen table, too.

PipSqueak0313 · August 2013

With dd for 3rd grade, we did a lot of the writing work at the dining room table, but she loved being on the floor for math. Any reading work was done snuggled up on the sofa.

With ds1 for 7th grade, we did a lot of his work orally through discussions either with both of us on the sofa or with one or more of us working on housework or cooking.

Ritzy19 · August 2013

Nicely worded Adamswife! I love your mindset as far as establishing a schoolhouse, not a schoolroom.

My plan as of right now is to do our work at the kitchen table because it's pretty open and I can see DD2 while working with DD1. It also has the best light and is overall the most cheery place to be. We also have a dining room, so I figure that can be a more quiet place for her to work on her own if she needs quiet time as she gets older. Currently all the homeschooling materials are laying on the dining room table (haha!) but the plan is to organize them in a hutch in the mudroom.

Ritzy19 · August 2013

Forgot to mention that I think ultimately whatever works for you and your family will be great. It may not seem ideal to you, but you'll make it work. Good luck!

Where do you school?

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