WHERE in your house do you homeschool?

[Tracy]

Wow, I am amazed you can get your toddler to stay in the crate. :lol:

 

:lol::lol: I should not be on these boards so late at night. :tongue_smilie:

[boscopup]

So, I guess I'm the only one who does a lot of "bedschooling"? :lol:

 

We did "bedschooling" earlier this week! :lol: DS pulled a muscle in his neck and couldn't sit properly, so we alternated between sitting at at a desk (for writing) and doing all the oral/reading stuff in bed while he laid on his back with his head on a pillow.

 

His neck is better now (that took a few days to heal - it was pretty bad), so now we're back at our school desks. :)

[Momling]

We work downstairs if nobody is around... that way I can clean up the kitchen or whatever. But more often we work at a table in a little alcove at the top of our stairs.

[threeturn]

I have a large school/family room with desks which we use occasionally. We migrate to all over the house, even the bathroom when I get ready for work. The next house I think I just need a storage area.:001_smile:

 

This is us. The house we are living in now has a dedicated school room. I designed it myself, it was an important part of our addition, and we have used it some. When we started looking for our new house I told a very surprised DH that we did not need a dedicated space; learning happens where life happens and shouldn't be isolated to one spot. We really seem to enjoy schooling everywhere more.

 

Our new house will have a family room area in an upstairs bonus room which will house computers and books and most of the supplies, but we will have baskets full of our current items downstairs and will just "do school" where the mood strikes us each day. Since we are also somewhat delight directed, pulling out certain items into a basket downstairs allows me to focus their interests in specific directions if they don't have anything else going on -- kind of a focused strewing. We also tend to move about for different things -- morning basket (memorization, faith, and Spanish) at the breakfast table, read alouds on the couch or a bed at bedtime, math games on the living room floor, art on the back porch, etc.

 

Pam

[LadyBeth]

School is usually done around the dining room table. I have most of their day-to-day stuff in a set of drawers there. A bookcase with their books is in the hallway, and a filebox for me is hiding in the dining room. I don't think I'd be able to keep all the school stuff in one room, so why try? I know they would not want to stay in one room.

We have a nice kitchen counter that dd9 works at when I need to help her. If she doesn't need me then she sits at the table, on the couch, on the floor, out on the deck, wherever is most comfortable for her.

Ds17 likes to roam. The only place he's not allowed is in his room - he tends to get distracted by his phone, the game system, or his guitar.

Works for us.

[kalanamak]

When kiddo was 4-6 I had a old desk with connected chair in the dining room by the window, where the light was nice. I used this specific desk because he couldn't move the chair in and out. Plus, like a leash on a dog, it was a cue that it is was sit still and listen to Mum time.

 

When I thought we needed more space I got a school room table with a durable surface and legs that can be lengthened. We used that in the computer room until we moved to our smaller but more well-laid out for homeschooling house, where we have our own little room

 

Not knowing your layout, I'd vote for the dining room being the school room, and using one end of the living room or the kitchette as the eating area.

[Cortana]

We use the basement, we have a huge room that is big enough we have it all seperated into a library section with comfy chairs; space for my desk and the kids' desks; and arts and crafts area. I have bookshelves and a large organizing cabinet that seperates the desk area from the arts/crafts area.

 

It gets really cold during the winter, too cold to be in the basement even with heaters so we move upstairs to the living room. I have baskets and crates to keep all their books and supplies in, we slide them under the coffee table.

[Violet Crown]

Dd3 "schools" on the living room rug for games, and on the couch or comfy chair for reading.

 

Dd8 does her work at the dining room table, which for some reason is the only flat surface in the house I'm able to keep clear. The dining room has tons of light and air circulation, and is convenient for Mommy to bring snacks from the kitchen. :glare:

 

Dd15 bikes into work with Daddy in the mornings and works in his lovely spacious office, where she has her laptop and is only a block away from the massive university library. Exercise, quiet, handy reference/research materials, and no little sisters around: the perfect homeschool space. If only there were some way to keep her from walking over to the Student Union for an unhealthy lunch.

[Beth in SW WA]

Dds love our schoolroom. We also do school work in the kitchen and upstairs office.

[prairiewindmomma]

We used to do school in the dining room, but this year we put a table into our home library. It's a lovely room--some comfy chairs, a fireplace, a picture window looking into the garden--and it's adjacent to the kitchen and laundry room. Eventually I think we'll probably convert the basement toyroom into a schoolroom, but that's probably a few years off yet. I'd love to line the wall with a long worktable and set up cabinets and computers to give each child a workstation.

[Ali in OR]

Kitchen table (math, handwriting, spelling, any other workbooks)

Sofa (history, grammar that we do together--MCT, Latin, science unless it's an experiment, any reading)

[jhockley]

When dd was 4 and I first did anything formal with her we were in the living room on the couch, and the coffee table that lifts up so she could work there. It's the quietest, but one of the darker rooms in the house. This year she's done her homework at the kitchen table. I've moved one of the couches from the living room to the south window (our playroom/dining room/kitchen is all one area that is basically the rest of the house) and plan to do most of our reading there. Not sure about the writing. She's too big for the toddler table, but not big enough to put her feet on the ground at the kitchen table. Maybe I'll let her take over my computer desk and steal hubbys adjustable office chair and a foot stool. I use my laptop on the couch or bed anyway.

[MrsMe]

Where do YOU do homeschool with your kids? Does it matter whether there's a dedicated spot in the house like a separate "school room", or if it's just on the kitchen table?

 

We're going to start our homeschooling adventure this year for my ds7 and dd5! I'm very excited, but wondering where to set up shop. My DH thinks our large dining table is the best place to homeschool since it's the biggest table in the house and the room is bright with lots of natural light, and has bookshelves that can be used for hs'ing. But I'm worried that since we eat all our meals at this table, we'd be alternating clearing books and dishes from the table ALL day long. And mentally, wouldn't the kids focus on school better if they're in a space fully dedicated to being the school spot? However, it would be a lot of work to try to turn another area of our small house into school (options are to turn half our small bedrom into school, or entirely redo a dark spare room, however we do have family stay with us several weeks a year so it would sometimes need to be converted back to being a spare room, and then we'd have to find another spot for school anyway).

 

What has worked for you? Where in the house do you homeschool? :bigear:

 

So I see there are oodles of pages on this topic and I haven't read even one in response to your question. However my thought would be find another place to eat! ;)

 

We have done the kitchen, the FR and the back room. What you want is a place close to where you can do YOUR house work and still see the kids. A place that you don't necessarily have to pick up everything every day. A place that is very bright and cheery. A place for kids to be able to focus.

 

When I'm in a back room (bedroom) it it gets so disconnected after a while. However, it is nice that when we're done with school, that we can close it off and be done. Not even pick up if we don't want to. It's good for focusing on school. On the other hand, it stinks to schlup water or snacks back there and it gets clausterphobic due to the size and lack of windows and size.

 

The kitchen is a drag because of the junk in plain sight all the time. If I want to sit and eat, I don't want to have to clear a spot. Always moving books off the table, getting mixed in with meals and a constant visual mess. I have one kid and could never make this work. And I'm organized!

 

My perfect area would be a dining room connected to a kitchen and livingroom that is bright, as long as you have someplace else to eat! You don't feel like you're isolated like in a back room, the room is in it's own place away from the kitchen and LR and main areas that a mess isn't a drag, but yet you're not so far from everything that it's a drag to go get snacks. It's a separate room that is a part of the main house (like a den as well). Dining rooms are perfect if you have a room that is solely a dining room. Wall space and windows! A few french doors to close it off or open it completely! And usually a good set of walls and a decent sized space close to a kitchen to do science experiments!

 

So....can you sock an extra kitchen table somewhere to eat?

 

Bright is key.