Where is your/your darling childrens' favorite place to do school

[Hunter's Moon]

I've only been schooling for 4 weeks. I took this week off to finalize my English and language plans.

 

The 4 weeks I did school were not as productive as I would have hoped. I think I have pinpointed the reason- WHERE I'm schooling.

 

I have a closet/office that ALL my schooling things are in. My books, paper, binders, notebooks, desk, bookshelf, pencils, pens, etc. BUT because it is in my room, I get distracted. I have a TV in my room, a radio, etc. Even when they're off, they distract me because it is like they're calling to me. Temptation.

 

We have a dining room table. It is just so hot in there. The table is huge, much bigger than my desk so I can spread out. The TV is usually on in the living room which is connected to the dining room and it's an open floor plan so it seems like the same room almost.

 

We have a table in the kitchen but the kitchen is so much hotter than the dining room. That is probably the least active area though.

 

I just cannot find the perfect spot to school. Anyone else have this issue? Anyone have any suggestions as to where to do it? Anyone have a favorite spot they would like to share, even if it would be no help to me? :)

[Kareni]

My daughter used her bedroom and the living room most frequently while at home. She did also have out of the home classes at least two days a week while in high school.

 

Would the public library be an option for you? Sometimes libraries have small study areas available to local residents who reserve them. Or is there a college or university nearby with open access to their library?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Hunter's Moon]

My daughter used her bedroom and the living room most frequently while at home. She did also have out of the home classes at least two days a week while in high school.

 

Would the public library be an option for you? Sometimes libraries have small study areas available to local residents who reserve them. Or is there a college or university nearby with open access to their library?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

We don't have the car during the day and the closest library is small and is often closed, even on scheduled days. Our big library is about a 10 minute drive but also in a dangerous part of town, so walking is out of the question.

 

I would love that though. That would be really nice.

[Ravin]

Our favorite spots are on the couch in the front room, or out on the back patio on the porch swing (when the weather is nice). Our front room has the computer (which I admit sometimes gets distracting, but is also useful to have handy), but no TV.

 

If I was you, I'd pick whichever spot gives you the fewest distractions. Heat can be a distraction, so can TV...even when it's playing something you've no interest in. You've got to figure out what's going to be the least distraction for you personally.

[LunaLee]

Starbucks or Barnes & Noble.

[Ester Maria]

Home library or their bedrooms. Sometimes living room, but they're just too cozy there and thus less productive.

While I was organizing their studies, for all quiet or shared activities they were in the library, and for one-on-one things with me in the living room, but with time we switched to using bedrooms as well as that prevents them from "socializing" instead of studying.

 

Kitchen and dining room area is not used for anything other than eating and drinking.

[mcconnellboys]

We tend to start out the school year in the schoolroom, then gravitate to my bed or the larger living room couch for reading at some point as it gets colder. I think those places just seem cozier for covering up with a throw and reading, for some reason. Plus we often make hot tea and drink while reading.

 

My older son adopted my dining room for a couple of years. I think he was just tired of the school room. Also, 9/11 happened and I was glued to the living room TV for much of that school year, so working downstairs was more manageable.

 

With my younger son, we sometimes will do work at our kitchen table, but I really don't like to get into a habit of this as we're constantly having to take things back upstairs. Everything has to be cleared away for dinner each night and it's just not a workable practice for us....

 

My older son did school on his bed for most of his last two or three years at home (about seventh through ninth). I don't really think this is an ideal plan, as there are always too many temptations to distract....

[JoyfulMama]

Good for you for evaluating what is and is not working!

Couple things you identify here: Is your office too cluttered to be funtional? Would it be helpful to physically remove the distractions (tv, radio)?

 

I'm seeing that you are dealing with similar problems that many a college freshman struggles with, as far as living in a small space that needs to serve as both sleeping, studying, and "play" space. Some of my friends HAD to study at the library for a reason - less distractions. I didn't have a tv in my room for that reason.

 

Or, do you need to give yourself some limits or incentives? Set a timer for 30 minutes in which you MUST do "x".

 

Can you rotate around your room at all for a change in pace? Floor, bed, chair? I always had a very hard time laying down to read, especially on my bed, as I would manage to fall asleep. :tongue_smilie:

 

Also, make sure that your expectations aren't too high for yourself.

[Teachin'Mine]

Can you cover the TV with something during the day - maybe a table cloth or something? Out of sight, out of mind ... As far as the music, maybe only allow instrumental music during school time. Get some CDs from the library that are classical - and you'll be tempted to put the music on less, it shouldn't be too distracting when it is on, and you'll get more familiar with the different styles and composers too. We've done this, but unless I'm the one putting it on, it doesn't seem to happen, and dd uses headphones and listens to her music. :tongue_smilie:

 

Maybe you could move the TV from your room to the kitchen. That would eliminate one big distraction. Once the heat waves of summer are over, you may want to try using the kitchen for at least part of the day - and then the TV could go back in your room.

[lionfamily1999]

The living room.

 

That way ds can sit with his head on the floor and his feet in the air :glare:

[MamaJo]

One of my children loves the bedroom and the other two like the living room.

[Myra]

Our favorite spot is the couch in the family room which has a cabinet for all the school junk (books, dictionary, supplies) and a table with the computer. We start the same time every day - routine helps overcome distractions!

 

Myra

[AngieW in Texas]

My two older girls have done most of their schoolwork in their rooms since about 6th grade. My youngest always found her room a distraction, so she has always done her schoolwork in the living room.

 

Aside from a video we may watch for school, the tv has always been off until after school was done. Nobody can turn on the tv to play a game until after school. Only the 17yo has a laptop in her room and that has only been since March.

 

Would it be possible for you to take a chair and a tv tray into your parents' bedroom to do your schoolwork there? I have done that with my youngest a few times. Our floor plan is very open, so when my 14yo does Spanish on the computer, it is very audible in the living room downstairs. I take my 12yo into my bedroom to do schoolwork until the 14yo is off the computer. She just can't seem to focus on anything if we're in her bedroom.

[Mom22ns]

We homeschool mostly in the family room. My kids each have a desk there and dd likes to work at her desk. Ds is a couch guy. They read on their beds and like variety, but those are the favorite spots.

[Elinor Everywhere]

My kids actually prefer our school room. Sometimes they'll read in another part of the house, but they like all being together & they feel that it somehow keeps them focused so they can finish earlier. Works for me!

[laurad1125]

My boys change spots so frequently it amazes me. I think they are on a quest to do each subject in each possible location in the house. They haven't even thought of taking it outside yet.....

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

If I were in your shoes, I would remove the TV from the bedroom. I can work with the radio on, not everyone can. My son is dealing with the same issues that you're dealing with right now. he's now working in his room, but the computer and the internet beckon. He's taking hours for stuff that should take 20 minutes. But he's too young to see it as a problem.

 

I used to work in my room as a teen. My bookshelf was my main distraction. I would use a timer. Let's say I'd set 30 minutes on the timer. That was 30 minutes I couldn't get to the bookshelf. For me it worked wonders. I usually finished my work before the timer would go off.

Edited July 26, 2010 by CleoQc

[6packofun]

I picked "Wherever we're most comfortable" because our kids tend to do school all over. Most of the time it's on the couch or on the floor with all of our big cushions/pillows. lol I think we only sit at a table for science (sometimes) and writing/handwriting! How well they are getting along with each other may also determine the location... :D

[Saille]

Right now, we're on our glassed-in porch every day. We love it out there. We'll use it until the weather gets too cold.

[Brindee]

My answer would depend on which child, so I picked wherever they're most comfortable.

 

My oldest ds HAD to have quiet, and liked working at a desk, so he usually worked in his room at dh's old desk. My middle guy was a wherever kid. He often walked around talking out loud as he learned vocab. and terminology, etc. He'd lay on the floor with his feet in the air, or on the couch in some interesting postion that he found comfortable/good for studying/working. My youngest was in between, but for the last year or so she has preferred sitting on the floor with the cats and dog lying nearby! :)

 

I agree with what others have said: Turn the tv off! Your mom has been supportive of you homeschooling, so I'm thinking she wouldn't mind turning off the tv in the livingroom while you're trying to work! Also Mozart and some other classical music has been found to stimulate the brain, so I agree with the classical music idea.

 

Have you figured out your optimum learning hours? Some do better in the morning, some afternoon, some evening..... It helps a LOT to work in the hours when your brain is willing to think and work with you! :) Once you figure that out, set a schedule for when you'll study, with no interferences, and stick to it for awhile. Your brain then knows what's expected of it at those times, and is more willing to cooperate!

 

Remember, too, that you're homeschooling, so you don't have to study the same as if you were in school. DD has come to find out that she does better doing a certain amount of studying, then take a break , even for a couple of hours, then she comes back to the rest of her work with a fresher mind to complete what needs to be done. Take a break if you need to to let your mind and body relax/rejuvenate.

 

Best wishes!

[Kindred Hearts]

We do our schoolwork in our family room. It's very cozy, we have access to a computer and we have a nice table to use where we can leave things out when needed.

[coffeegal]

The kids have been known to do their homeschool on the road, in the car, at the kitchen table, at the dining room table, on the sofa, at their desks, on their beds, in the yard, on the floor, and where ever seems most convienent at the moment. :001_smile:

[lagirl]

Just a thought -

If I were you I would opt for the large dining table where I could spread my

things out. I'd also buy a small floor fan for that room. It will cool you down

and also provide "white noise" and help limit other distracting noises.

Good luck!

[Halftime Hope]

Tigersgrowl,

 

I applaud you for being such a problem-solver. We've had to find different things to help each student, and they like to change things up from time to time.

 

Dd has worked almost exclusively in her own room, but she is able to focus very well.

 

Ds#1 has had to study in places that have zero distractions, so in one house we lived in, his desk was in my bedroom. In our house now, he had the use of our formal dining room that we enclosed with french doors. It was devoted exclusively to his use, b/c his tiny room was too distracting to him. Were he to go away to college, he would undoubtedly have to study in a basement carrel in the library. He also has to have background music to be able to focus. He is at the other end of the "beneficial noise" spectrum from me. :lol:

 

We are still trying to find something that will work efficiently for ds#3, now that he is doing high school work. I think we are going to have put a computer w/o internet access in the game room for him, as that is his favorite place to study, and it is mine as well. He uses a computer regularly for his schoolwork as a tool b/c he is dysgraphic, so we can't just do without. If we move the internet-connected computer downstairs, he might get something done. Otherwise, he spends way too much time looking up guitar tabs and listening to new artists on You Tube. Gaaah!

 

Think outside the box, give yourself several different options depending on your needs, and use a timer. Those things will all help.

[memphispeg]

Let us know how this ends up working out for you. My dd is your age and I imagine she'll have similar dilemmas. My thoughts so far: I think we will do our one on one work in our den (testing, discussions, organizing). It has a couple of big tables, chairs, computer and printer, couch, all the school supplies but, no tv. There is a radio for the dogs who like background noise. The big factor in all this is staying alert and engaged while feeling relaxed and comfortable. Learning to work at a desk might be the best. (It took me a while when I've been setting up the curriculum). Natural light seems to help too!!!

[imeverywoman]

tree.

 

Usually, when one is doing math, the other goes to another room, so as to avoid the distraction.