Does anybody not have a homeschool room?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Our home is cozy and does not allow for a dedicated homeschool space. Granted I have only been hsing for 6 months and DS is in junior high but I would love to have a school room. DS and I work in the sunroom/office, dining room, living room, back porch, and on the floor. We don't have any maps or school materials on the walls so we take things out as needed.

 

We have a basement but no phone/cable outlets for internet access and we do not have WiFi. With the recent inclement weather we have also found a few areas where water leaks in so we cannot have carpet or any other floor coverings until we can afford to do the necessary repairs.

 

This fall DS will be going with me to the local comm. college where he will be studying in the library while I teach. The school has wonderful history resources and with the audio/video/internet access available DS should be able to keep himself busy for hours.

 

Anyone care to share where you study?

[momto2Cs]

Primarily the kitchen/dining room table! Though we also use the couch, and the chair-and-a-half a lot. We don't have room for a dedicated school room, though I am hoping to have a combo school room/office when we remodel in a few years (adding 2nd story to house, we hope!).

[3Rivers]

Funny I should log on and see this post at the top, right as I was thinking about this very topic. We do pretty much what you do...school everywhere.

I was just thinking, though, that I *might* consider transforming the dining room into a school room and putting the china cabinet in the garage...wondering if it will fit because our dining room only gets used once in a blue moon.

 

My oldest child is 11. I think if I just was homeschooling one, and who was already in Jr. High I wouldn't make a big change. We've done just fine without a dedicated school area for the past 3 years. My kids have been known to study in some pretty strange places, such as under the kitchen table in boxes! LOL To me, that's part of the beauty of true *home* school, not just doing school at home.

The only practical reason I think I would enjoy a school room is to be able to put things like maps and timelines on the wall, but we've managed so far without them since you can put anything in a notebook as well. If he's going to be at the library a lot, then notebooks may be better tools for you than wall charts anyway.

[LadyAberlin]

Well our living room has maps on the wall and homeschool books. We have a homeschool house instead of a dedicated room and we usually do school in the den unless it involves experiments and then it is done in the kitchen :)

[yslek]

There just isn't room. ;) The kids mainly do their work at the dining room table. I have a couple of bookshelves in the dining room; that's about it. :D

[gr8tcook]

we have a school room but it really is used mostly to store the "stuff". When we are schooling one will be at the kitchen table another in her room another the living room and one sitting at the table in our school room. When mom reads aloud usually we are all in the living room. But when it comes time to clean up it all lives in the school room. If they are making a project like a diorama it can stay out in the school room. It is nice to not have everything all over the whole house.

[MicheleinMN]

No dedicated school room here. We do have a couple of maps in the dining room, but there are not enough rooms to make one just for school. The children take turns working with me at the dining room table, the computer is in the dining room, and the three older children have desks in their room/space.

 

The three younger ones would like desks, but until they are old enough for loft beds, there isn't enough room.

 

HTH

[PollyOR]

I suffer from House Envy and apparently School Room Envy also. :D We live in a smaller house (1,050 sq. ft.) with no extra rooms to devote to homeschool.

 

Our learning takes place everywhere. My bed is one of the main spots. 13yo dd's bed is her learning area. We do use the dining room table when writing is involved and the couch when the TV is involved.

[BlsdMama]

Not only is there just plain not enough room, but I don't know how I could be away from the general running of the house for large, committed amounts of time.

 

With work going on in the house, primarily in the kitchen, I can cook, clean, do laundry, do meal prep, and just plain function while I teach or answer questions, or guide preschoolers.

 

Some days I'd love a dedicated room. But I've tried that (in our old house) when we used the finished lower level as a large school room. But I found I simply can't get everything done being away from the house just in the school room....

 

That said, I *DO* like having all of our materials in one area (a closet, a room, etc.) because then little hands can't get into things as easily and we're reorganizing the whole house at this very moment to make that work... ;)

[mama25angels]

we have no school room, but I sure would love to have one. We have a family/computer/toy room for the computer and bookshelves. We mostly school at the kitchen table.

[Emmy]

I would not want a separate schoolroom. My dh has often commented that when we move to a bigger house we could put a schoolroom in the basement and I'm like - NO WAY! I can't imagine being trapped in the basement while the boys finish stuff up LOL. Our house has an open floor plan with a family room to kitchen to living room set up. I have a kids height table and chairs from pottery barn that sits in the family room - the boys either sit there or at the kitchen table to do school. Some subjects they do on a clipboard on the couch. Reading is always on the couch or a comfy chair. I like having everyone in the same general area where the toddler can play and I can reload the dishwasher or start lunch while they are working.

[KayT]

We have a homeschool house too! We do school at the kitchen table and have our read aloud all piled on the bed. I have 4 large bookshelves in the living room, one in the kitchen and one in the hall and each one is full of books. I have 4 towers with 7 drawers each in a corner in my dining area one for each kiddos subject, one for me, and one for art supplies. I also have 4 rubbermaid tubs on my patio filled with more arts and craft stuff. The world map is on the dining room wall and one wall of my hall is a time line from the floor to the ceiling while the other side is an animal classification wall.

 

Is anyone feeling as claustrophobic as I am!!!

 

I would give my big toe for a school room....anybody need a big toe?

Edited June 26, 2009 by KayT

[mom2jjka]

We don't, although our house is mostly decorated in 'homeschool decor' - so basically every room is a homeschool room. Our home is small and we have 6 people here...so we make-do with whatever space we have.

 

We have 3 desks (not including the computer station) and several shelves in our family room, and I have shelves, a chalkboard and a bulletin board in the dining room. I'd say our living room and bathroom are the only non-homeschooly rooms we have.

[nutmeg]

No "homeschool room" but....

 

...there's always a but... :)

 

We own your typical "3 bedrooms upstairs, living/dining and family room/kitchen downstairs" sort of home. The living/dining rooms are adjoined with just an archway to subtly separate the rooms. The dining room is tiny, and we have a large table for eating/school. There is no room here for file cabinets, bookshelves, supplies, etc.

 

Our solution is to move the dining/school table to the family room. This is the room attached to the kitchen with the fireplace. We flanked the fireplace with 4 floor to ceiling bookshelves - basically the whole wall is covered with bookshelves. The table fits nicely in the middle of the room, and there is space around the perimeter for my desk, computer center, etc. So now this is our dining room / library.

 

The tiny dining room now holds the piano, a small bookshelf, and the treadmill. :)

[Guest sarathan]

We don't have a dedicated room for homeschooling. We have bookcases all over the house and we do a lot of things at our dining room table. It works for us! :)

[Jill- OK]

...but I have a homeschool pantry. :-)

 

The house isn't that big (about 1800 sq ft), and there's no extra room. (Four bedrooms--all of which are used for bedrooms, for seven people--one living area, and a combo kitchen/dining area).

 

But when we were looking at this house, I loved the big, walk-in pantry in the kitchen. It's big enough to house plenty of food...as well as our "brain fodder". :D

 

I also have a chest in the dining/kitchen area that can store stuff. As long as there's a place for the *stuff*, I don't mind working in the kitchen. In fact, I prefer it, for reasons folks have stated already. (I'm always within reach of the Littles, who work at the kitchen table, and the Bigs can have the bedrooms for independent work when they need some peace and quiet.)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I suffer from House Envy and apparently School Room Envy also. :D

 Me, too!

 

 

Our learning takes place everywhere. My bed is one of the main spots. 13yo dd's bed is her learning area. We do use the dining room table when writing is involved and the couch when the TV is involved.

 

 

DS and I could not even attempt work on one of the beds. We would be tempted to nap.

 

[Narrow Gate Academy]

We do workbook and craft type activities in the dining room at the table. The living room gets used for read alouds, phonics/reading, and Latin DVDs. The office gets used for typing and eventually computer work. The girls are free to do their independent reading wherever they desire. Piano lessons and practice are in the basement.

[sagira]

We primarily school in the dining/kitchen area, but we do art projects and such in the library (the front room of the house). Many times ds will read on the couch, and I read to him mostly on the couch. Rarely will ds read aloud on our bed and often (especially before he goes to bed) in his room, on his bed.

 

At first I thought of making the library the "school room", but we like the kitchen/dining area and the couch for read-alouds.

[kewb]

I dream of a dedicated school room. One of my friends has one and I drool whenever I am over there. The majority of our work gets done on the dining room table. The living room is where we do read alouds and independent reading. Current books/curriculum are on a bookcase in the kitchen. School supplies are stored in the credenza in the dining room and the basement. Things that I think look cool and I may want to use are stored in every other nook and cranny.

[Amandamc0017]

We've never had a homeschooling room. We do school at our bar in the kitchen. This seems to work well for me, since I can do dishes and cook while the kids are working. We move to the living room during history to relax a little. This is especially nice during the winter when we sit by the fire.

[AudreyTN]

No homeschool room here either. We just moved into an extra long Single-wide Trailer and even though it's spacious enough... there's definitely no EXTRA room for ANYTHING!

 

I've got one bookshelf near the kitchen table that holds the most frequently used school books. There's another bookshelf in the living room next to the computer.

[MamaAkins]

I wish we had a dedicated schoolroom...mainly because I would like to have room for learning centers, themed posters, and maps. But, with 4 children and 3 adults (my dad lives with us) in a 3 bedroom house, there isn't an extra room! So, we school at our kitchen table. It's less than ideal, but we make it work.

[jengjohnson]

In the past we've used the bonus room for a school room, but it's dark and doesn't maintain temperature as well as other parts of the house. Our computers are in there and dh is now working from home, so that also makes it more difficult to be in there. He often needs complete silence for conference calls.

 

We're currently using the kitchen table and storing books and supplies in a dining room bookshelf. We'll soon have a new dining room table and I'd like to use that for school so I don't have to clear the table for every meal and snack. I'd like to make the dining room a more dedicated school room b/c we don't use it for anything else, but dh doesn't like that idea b/c it's the first thing people see when they walk in the door. He doesn't like the look of maps and timelines on the wall. I'm trying to come up with more attractive ways of storing and hanging things so it won't bug him so much. I really need to get some maps back on the wall!

[Lori D.]

No schoolroom here either. Books are mostly in the hall shelving unit, with the bulky stuff stored in the laundry room shelving. The daily use items are in 2 crates (1 per child). School here is setting the crates on the coffee table and working on the living room couches. Papers are typed up on the computers in the bedrooms. Maps, microscope, etc., are brought out as needed and used on the kitchen table. I always wanted a schoolroom, but this works just fine -- even now in high school we *still* all curl up on the couch to read together; it doesn't get better than that! Warmly, Lori D.

[swimmermom3]

We came late and unexpectedly to home schooling, so no school room here either.:D We do most of our work in our great room: kitchen, island for experiments, large dining table, fireplace, comfy couch and chairs, computer desk, tall bookcases, and a view out over a pond and greenbelt. An old mahogany buffet holds notebooks, art and school supplies, and lab equipment. The boys and cats prefer to do most of their work in a heap on the floor.

[bunnytracks]

we dont right now but we have had one in the past. This new house just doesnt have the room. Plus everytime we had one we really were itching to get out of it. We like doing school everywhere.

[KrissiK]

For kinder we used the dining room table. Our house has an "open floor plan" and we have no extra bedrooms, so I'm going to kind of make a portion of the general living area into a "school room" for next school year.

[stripe]

I have a quite small home, and I've arranged part of the living room for kids' activities. That being said, I've thought about putting some stuff in the basement but then I'd have to clean it out! Ugh. But I don't feel that I have enough wall space at present, and I'd like a space where we could be messy or leave things out.

[cslbda]

Our kids seem to love doing their schoolwork and just about everything else in our bedroom!! My youngest son will even drag his desk in there if he needs a hard surface to write on!

[Kim in SouthGa]

We used to have a school room that was wonderful. It was right off the kitchen and right next to the half bath and my bedroom. Built in bookshelves, cozy fireplace, hardwood floors, plenty of room for my desk and three more, with spare for cabinets, etc. We had maps up and the huge KONOS timeline, plus other posters. My kids played in there all the time, even when school was over-playdough, arts and crafts, games, etc. Then we moved, and we had an upstairs bonus room as the school room. Disaster. I felt trapped. We have since converted it to a bedroom for my boys, and we are using the dining room to do school, with books stored in a multitude of places (entry closet, laundry room, baby's closet, etc). I have a desk for my laptop and bookshelf with printer and all the stuff that I have to copy weekly, plus a lot of research and record keeping stuff, in my bedroom. I have a large map behind a painting in the dining room, and I can quickly switch out my dry erase board for another piece of artwork. All my supplies (highlighters, stapler, pens, etc) are in pretty trunks and boxes. We use our dining room a lot, so I needed to be able to easily convert it.

 

I miss my old school room. I would have one again in a heartbeat if I could duplicate it. But never again will I stray from being close to the kitchen and laundry room. Or up or down steps. We are all just too dang lazy! :glare:

[FO4UR]

No school room here. It is cluttered, but b/c of the toys (3yo and 4yo and 6yo) not b/c of school stuff. I need a dedicated playroom.

[freeindeed]

No official school room for us. We school in the dining room, on the couch, in the backyard, on the porch swing, at the park, etc...wherever the mood takes us.:001_smile:

[apCrazy4Jesus]

I have a fifth bedroom on the 1st level that was a playroom that we converted into a school room with a huge white board (I could not teach without this), maps on the wall, 2 bookshelfs full of books, a closet full of books, supplies and educational games, a computer, a filing cabinet and 3 desks. I love it because it is near the office and kitchen. We still do science experiments & crafts in the kitchen, reading in the family room on the couch (its too fun to snugle while you read) and don't forget PE out in the yard. Many times my 8yr ds moves to the dinning room to be able to concentrate better. So lets face it, no matter how God has blessed you, your ENTIRE house becomes your school. I don't think anyone could stay in a room all day for school.

[SquirrellyMama]

We don't have a school room either. I tried having one in the basement but it was too dark (no windows just artifical light). I need lots of windows. So we just do work all over the house. We use the kitchen table, living room floor, my bed, the kids' beds. Wherever we can use at any moment.

[mrsrevmeg]

I think a school room would be wonderful so that we could separate school stuff from home stuff. However, having our timeline and maps up by the table where eat our meals has sparked some dinnertime conversations. We try to keep all our books on one shelf together and our art supplies in a closet, but sometimes they are left in the open.

[Ellie]

Kitchen table, living room floor, bedrooms...I would've loved a dedicated room, too, but we lived in small homes. :-)

[Sahamamama]

Not only is there just plain not enough room, but I don't know how I could be away from the general running of the house for large, committed amounts of time.

 

With work going on in the house, primarily in the kitchen, I can cook, clean, do laundry, do meal prep, and just plain function while I teach or answer questions, or guide preschoolers.

 

:iagree:We live in a very small (less than 900 sq. ft.), 2-bedroom house, with only one other main room, the living/dining room, and a galley kitchen with no table. That's really what I miss: a TABLE IN MY KITCHEN. In the morning, when I'm cooking/setting up dinner, I'm in the kitchen and the children are all in the living/dining room -- I can't SEE them from the kitchen, so this is not really ideal as they get older, KWIM? ;) The other aspect of this house that's inconvenient, besides the size, is that the washer & dryer are downstairs in the basement. So I'm down, up, down, up, down, up all day. It's not a problem, it's great exercise, but it does mean that while I'm down there putting a load of laundry in, the children are getting a bit wild upstairs. :willy_nilly::willy_nilly::willy_nilly:

 

My husband and I are dreaming of the day when we can move into a house with either a larger kitchen (with a BIG table :D) and/or a kitchen that's open to a sunny, happy dining room... with floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall cabinets that I could LOCK UP, LOL. I don't care about having a formal dining room, if I can clean up breakfast, set up lunch, cook dinner, pay bills, sew on a button, and do laundry during/in between lessons.

 

Oh, and I would LOVE to have the washer/dryer/pantry right next to the kitchen, so most of my HOUSEWORK could be near our SCHOOLWORK. I think that would be the best set-up for us. Now... where to put the bookshelves and the sewing machine....?

Edited June 26, 2009 by Sahamamama

[Tree House Academy]

We use our school room exclusively. The kids usually do school in here only (unless mess is invloved and then it moves to the kitchen). Occasionally, my oldest will work at the bar in the kitchen, but otherwise, we are here. It just makes sense because this is where all of the school "stuff" is located too. If you have space and want a room, then go for it!

[Whereneverever]

We don't. We just use the dining room table and I store all our stuff in cabinets. I do have posters all over the walls- nice and classy for entertaining. :D

[Katiebug_1976]

We don't have the space for a designated "school room" either. I have contemplated turning our dining room into a school room since it is not used as a dining room(our table fits in the kitchen). Right now there are toy boxes, book shelves & craft supplies stored around the edges. The big problem I keep running into with turning it into the "school room" is that it is a major walking area in our house. It is in the middle of the house, and all the bedrooms are off one side, the kitchen off the opposite side, and the livingroom off another lide. There is only 1 "un used" wall, so every time I think of putting a table or desks in the room, it gets very small and I'm afraid it would just make our already "cozy home" overly cozy. So as it is, we use the kitchen table, couch, floor, and sometimes the beds to do our work. We like to work outside, but the weather here seems to keep us inside when it comes to books, wither too hot, too cold, or too WINDY on the few days with great temperature.

[briansmama]

We have an unused loft because I initially tried to set it up as a "school room" area, but found that the children needed access to the backyard/outdoors in between lessons, and I needed access to snacks for my toddler to even do a lesson with my older ds.

 

Maybe when the kids are older it wold be a good place for studies, but right now we do most everything in our dining room, which is near the play area and kitchen.

 

The only downside is that supplies are kept in my pantry, which takes over the space more than the food!

[heart'sjoy]

Talk about priorities I emptied my linen closet.

 

The extra sheets, pillows, comforters, and other went in rubbermaid containers in an unheated storage area.

 

The closet is now full of labeled boxes for TOG years/and units. Now I can get to the different boxes to add "finds" from the thrift store.

 

Back to the OP question.

 

School happens mostly at the kitchen table for one dd, at a desk in the corner of the dining room for DS, and a table/desk that sticks out of a built in bookcase in 2nd DS's room. Happily all of these areas are in line of sight from the kitchen and line of hearing from the washer and dryer.

 

 

:lol:I just thought of a great cartoon. The homeschooling parent would be stooped over a child at the kitchen table with the stove, sink, washer, and dryer all attached to the parent like giant shopping bags.

[~FireFly~]

hardly ever stayed in there. Now they go with me to work and study all over the place. C mostly stays with me in the office, while S goes in the office across the hall or reads in the Sanctuary. Same at the house - they go where they're most comfortable.

 

We used to sit at desks, have a white board, the whole classroom setting. To me it was necessary for a structured school environment. It worked and I sometimes would like it that way again, but the more laid back approach works for us right now.

 

~S

[gingersmom]

I don't want a room that looks like a "classroom".

 

My son does his work at the kitchen table. We read on the couch or sitting on the bed. In nice weather we have school in the backyward. We have read books for "school" under the shade of a big tree in the front yard.

 

My daughter who is a new homeschooler will be set up at a table in our computer room.

 

We have educational posters sprinkled throughout the house. Learning does not just occur in one room.

[BizyPenguin]

We don't have a dedicated homeschool room, but I sure wish we did. We do most of our work at the kitchen table or in the living room sprawled out on the floor or on the couch. It works out fine, but I'd sure LOVE a homeschool room...Then again, even if we *did* have our own dedicated space, we'd probably still wind up at the kitchen table ;-)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Thank you for all of the responses. I feel so much better about not having a room to school in. I, too, believe that learning occurs everywhere.

 

(packing up my homeschool room envy and tucking it away)

[stripe]

I am really enjoying these responses and ideas. I love the suggestion for the linen closet -- brilliant.

[Ali in OR]

Work happens at either the kitchen table or the sofa (they're about 6' away from each other). I have books in my room, books in the bookcase right outside my room, math manipulatives on a shelf under the counter, and current library and history books on the sofa table behind the sofa. Works for us.

[mom2koh]

How funny this was asked. We first moved into our current house a year ago and I was so happy there was a little room that could be used as the school room. Since then I have realized that being in a room away from the rest of the house would not do. So we moved dd's desk into the play room. Makes it easier to watch ds(who is very much a 2 year old toddler boy!). :-)