justLisa Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I have been searching for threads or inspirational pictures or something. WE do NOT have a huge room to dedicate to homeschooling. I guess we could, but would have to reorganize the entire house. Upstairs i have a landing with a smaller bedroom that is kind of the play room, with a guest bunk bed. My initial motive was to repaint a lovely color, and fill with desks/books and maps/etc. This did not work out. The kids still need a room besides their bedroom to have random play sets left out and make forts. Downstairs i have a den which i use as a sewing/craft room. Our main living space is a great room concept and is huge. There is a corner nook area where the kids have their desks and ikea trofast tall towers for workboxes. Does anyone have their HS area in your main living space? I hate to admit this, but I do not want my living room walls covered in bright maps and things. We have bookshelves everywhere but I like to keep clutter to a minimum. No matter what they want to be in the main living area anyways, and it's easier to keep a handle on things. Also they have laptops and internet access so I like to keep an eye. Anyone want to share pictures of their learning space? or is there a thread about this some where I don't see? I would LOVE to get some ideas. Every picture I find is like a huge basement or extra wing devoted for school and I just don't have that. I feel kind of bad for not wanting to give up my sewing room for a school room but I don't know if that would even be necessary and they love to be crafty in their anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Speaking strictly for myself, my schooling area pales in comparison to the gorgeous school rooms we often see, so I'm loath to post pictures. Our school table is smack in the middle of the living room and yep I've got posters all over the place. I really don't have a choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Our 10 x 10'ish school room is open to our basement tv area. I don't mind that I don't have a door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 There is nothing about our school space that makes it look like a school space right now. We do it mostly in the dining and living room and the books and things I use daily are kept in a storage ottoman. I do have a whiteboard on the side of the fridge and some letter magnets .. those are the only hints. The large basket of living books gives no clue. My homeschool library is tucked away in my room on my "bedside table"/mini office. Now that is worth a photo but it's a mess right now so I'm not going to do it. :D I have yet to figure out what to do about maps .. still working on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Well, I don't have pictures, but I can tell you our living room looks like a living room. There are a couple of couches. There is a computer armoire. There is one cabinet of shelves full of homeschool books, so if you open it, there you have your evidence of homeschooling. There are two large plastic bins, one full of books we won't use for a long while and one full of non-book things we will need (a model ear, some marbles, some hangers, a compass, etc.), that we try to store behind the couch. If those are out, there is more evidence of homeschooling, but we don't have anyhthing homeschoolish on the walls. We have a couple of fold-up maps that we unfold if we want to look at them as well as an atlas (all kept on the shelves). We have a timeline that folds up into a binder that we can pull out to look at. We have a small (about letter size?) white board with marker that we keep on the shelves that we occasionally use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 WEll that is nice to hear. I am always thinking "where am I going to hang maps?" But it's hard to see if they are too high anyways so I was planning to buy a nice atlas book instead. I love the cute homeschool rooms but it's just not me! I do have the IKEA trofast tower but it's cute enough, and the green bins are not too offensive. The schooling nook is straight ahead when you walk in the door. I guess no one is coming to my house for a BHG shoot anyways LOL, and I DO have kids and I home school so it' s not going to look magazine ready anyways. I guess I had better get over that one. I just found an older thread with some pictures and they are such nice separate schooly looking spaces! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnrmom Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We do most of our schoolwork at the dining room table, which is open to the family room and kitchen, also a great room kind of layout. I don't put maps or other such things on those walls. We have a bedroom we use as an office right around the corner. One side is my desk and computer, and the other side is the kids' desk and computer. On their side we hang up maps, charts, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 There is nothing about our school space that makes it look like a school space right now. We do it mostly in the dining and living room and the books and things I use daily are kept in a storage ottoman. I do have a whiteboard on the side of the fridge and some letter magnets .. those are the only hints. The large basket of living books gives no clue. My homeschool library is tucked away in my room on my "bedside table"/mini office. Now that is worth a photo but it's a mess right now so I'm not going to do it. :D I have yet to figure out what to do about maps .. still working on that one. We have our maps on the walls upstairs, and just take a quick break to run up when we need to reference them for more than a second. For quick glances, we use placemat maps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 The stuff we use regularly is all on a rolling chart stand. Everything from a CD player to math manipulatives to white erase board and foam letters. That way I can roll it back out of the way so we don't have to look at it all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitofthewomb Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I too wish I had a separate room but don't. I have a coat closet with no coats-lots of supplies. School takes place at dining table, which is open to kitchen and living room. Library, reference, personal books are in a bookcase in our large laundry room. Every day workbooks are in a desk caddy from Staples (which I love love love). Very large wall map tacked to wall beside dining table b/c I wasn't going to leave it there permanently-its been there for 6 weeks now. I bought 2 white plastic (ugly) sterilite drawer systems to use as kinda workboxes b/c I needed a little storage next to dining table. I figured same as PP, we live her, we school here, we eat here. Why fight it too much? I just try to cut down on the excessive clutter. Maybe one day I will have a BHG type school room. Not any time soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We live in a very small house {1 bathroom :001_huh:), so the kitchen has become our schoolroom. We do have bookshelves through-out the house but the kitchen is where I do the teaching and such. Of course the kiddos are free to do their work in their room or living room. Next to the dinner table I have a bookshelf. I put most of my teacher manuals that I will need daily, I put all of Ethan and Lance's school stuff there. They are my two youngest and do all their schooling with me. I have one wall that is packed to say the least with a whiteboard, abc charts, another small whiteboard, place value chart, clock, The 21 Rules of the House chart, creation poster and a few more thnigs. I have part of another wall the has our school calendar and maps. I am trying to find more space to hang up the presidents and a few more things but it's not happening. I'm out of walls. I have lots of pictures of us schooling on my blog so you can get an idea of our school room/kitchen but I'll try this next week to post a picture of it. HTH, Linda<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) It's our kitchen, and yes, it is decorated somewhat like an elementary classroom. You really don't want to see pictures, LOL ! It's a large and messy kitchen and living room that has letter magnets all over the fridge, educational posters and placemats tacked to the wall, a hutch full of manipulatives, workbooks and binders stacked on every surface, cups of writing utensils that keep moving around......it's not going to inspire you to decorate. It might fill you with an urge to clean something though. :blushing: Edited October 1, 2011 by laundrycrisis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Our 10 x 10'ish school room is open to our basement tv area. I don't mind that I don't have a door. Wow, this is beautiful! Not at all what I think when I hear "basement tv area." So light and airy and the ceilings look really tall. Very nice! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Wow, this is beautiful! Not at all what I think when I hear "basement tv area." So light and airy and the ceilings look really tall. Very nice! :) Thank you. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We use our whole house for school. Our living room has nice art work on the wall, but our dining room walls do have school posters on them. http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2010/08/our-school-home.html I also consider my desk apprentice an important part of organizing our school area. I am considering getting two more for my girls because the boxes they have don't quite hold enough. http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2011/08/not-back-to-school-our-homeschooling.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amie Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) I love this old blog post on this very subject! It reflects the way we seem to do things as well. My two children are still young, but we currently live in a two-bedroom apartment. It feels pretty open and airy in here, but so much can be seen all at once (most of the rooms). I've learned to store our more attractive toys as decorations when not in use (think wooden toys) and the globes, maps, and books are incorporated throughout our living spaces. I try to make things look as "intentional" as possible, like I meant to decorate that way. ;) What we do spills over into so many areas of life that (at this point anyway) it is hard to keep it too compartmentalized. The "education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life" theme really works here--our collected sea shells are in glass jars on the armoire, the hummingbird field guides are on the bench by the big window where the hummingbird feeder is, the Latin is on the end table by mommy's chair--basically, I try to store things in an attractive way where they end up being used the most. I use a $2 art caddy to carry the week's needed art/writing supplies from the kids' main storage armoire to our dining room table. All of our other needed books/supplies (that might look "cluttered") are packed into a cute, fabric bin with handles and left in the corner of the dining area to be used at the table. If company comes and I need more room I can pick it up and move it to a bedroom, or it is cute enough I sometimes leave it out. I just bought one of those tri-fold (cardboard) display boards for $2.99 and Wishbone Dawn's organization post has inpired me to use that for school-related displays so that I can fold it back up and slide it behind furniture when not in use. Edited October 1, 2011 by Amie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I love reading threads like this one! We have a tiny house - lots of rooms, but they are small. So I love reading about how to school unobtrusively, and we are all about storage and being able to put things away. We did try a school room last year - in a guest room - and it was a terrible flop. We simply did not do it justice. We have a corner of our eat-in kitchen reserved for school items - the Trofast bins are underneath a bulletin board (I rotate the display); a kitchen desk area has another Trofast cabinet underneath it with bins of supplies, and above it we have a small Trofast unit for art supplies, plus cubbies for colored papers on top. Over that, there is a cabinet full of supplies - mostly science kits, and activities requiring adult supervision. Rather than hanging maps, we have a globe on top of one of the Trofast towers, and we have laminated placemats - I hole punch them, bind them on a ring, and hang them in an inconspicuous spot. We just pull out the ones we need. We are thinking of putting some of our large maps on our wooden kitchen table and covering it with a glass top - then when we don't want the schooly look, I can throw a table cloth over it. But that's just a thought we're kicking around. We have small whiteboards in the bins, as well. And a baker's rack in front of large windows where we have plants and some experiments going. In our living room, we have a large bookcase full of the year's books, plus a set of encyclopedias, and all of the kiddo's notebooks. We have a secretary desk with drawers for manipulatives, etc. Educational DVDs and the printer are in the TV armoire. We have several book baskets, none of which are obtrusive, since they were part of our decor before HSing. Our AAS whiteboard is tucked behind a chair. A hall bookcase downstairs has books we will use in upcoming years, and a timeline stretching over it (it is a low, long bookcase). Other than that, I have a few things tucked in an extra closet - but that's it. It sounds like things are scattered everywhere, but it's very organized, we know where everything is, and it works. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 When my mom suggested we have a "school room", my aunt, who homeschooled her six children, quietly told me she thought that was a bad idea. She told me that homeschooling should be part of your life, that you should be able to help a child on spelling as you chop onions. We have a map in our hall and a small one on our fridge. We have some plastic bins in a white bookshelf. We usually sit at our kitchen table but I like how incorporated into life our schooling is. We don't lack a schooling room, we have a learning lifestyle that involves some formal work. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeofakind Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) I, too, have enjoyed this thread. I don't have photo's and we have a multi-functioning kitchen/ living room area. Our house is for 5 of us, the two younger ones share a room and the kitchen is an eat in kitchen and open to the living room. Our kitchen also functions as our office! It's getting smaller around here everyday!! So we have a smaller bookshelf in the living room where I house the school materials we need everyday and/or for the next few weeks. In the downstairs hallway we have a shelf of more school stuff and yet another one crammed in our room (rooms are tiny around here). We pull from the shelves what we need to do for the day and work at our eating table (seats 4). The dreaded hanging map is hanging the only place I could find- under a window next to the cat post. I also have our calendar and morning stuff in a foldable poster board which I take out and put away every morning in the closet. We do what we can with the space we have! :001_smile: *Oh and I forgot to mention that my guides and planner is nicely spread all over our kitchen island, as they fit nowhere else!* Edited October 1, 2011 by threeofakind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 I am going to try to take a pictures of the kids little study nook later, or sometime very soon when I get our books put away neatly. The main bookshelves used to serve as hiding toys away but now that is not so necessary as they do not play with tons of toys during the day and have more grown up rooms now. Maybe someone can give me ideas of how to up the personality. The IKEA trofast work great for workboxes but I wouldn't mind something a little different. I have a hard time filling the workboxes up because soem things we do together, and some don't really need a box. I may try to have more of a "schedule" and they know where and which books/things to get out. I would love to make each a type of inspirational board for them to each hang their calendar, and tack up spelling lists or things like that for the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Our "homeschool room" is the living room and dining room. All the homeschool books, workbooks, and supplies are kept in the china cabinet (I got rid of the dishes and stemware we don't use and moved all the knickknacks to the uppermost shelf). Sometimes we'll use the dining room table, but mainly everything is done as we relax on the couch. The computer is right next to the couch and the TV is right there to easily pull up a Netflix documentary. We have big lap atlases instead of wall maps. I put ds's work up on the china cabinet, the fridge, or the wall by the computer. It's also nice to be right there among our parrots, turtles, and fish. Works great for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 DH also does not want school visible, and we have no space dedicated to a schoolroom (we are couch homeschoolers --lol!) The daily work is in stackable plastic crates, one per student, with pencils and other supplies in smaller plastic pencil boxes or other containers, also kept in those stacking crates. At the end of the day, all is put back in the crates which are then stored in the laundry room. Maps are kept rolled up on shelves in the laundry room and unrolled on the floor or table, as they are needed. A globe makes a nice-looking, larger size "knick-knack" on the livingroom bookcase unit. (I read about one family adapting a large plastic-coated map into a diningroom table cloth, which sparked many interesting family dinner conversations!) Science and art supplies are stored in lidded, plastic storage boxes, also in the laundry room, and only brought out as needed. The refrigerator has been allowed to be the "revolving art / project gallery" during the school year, with me cleaning it off for the holidays and over the summer in a compromise and as an act of love to DH who doesn't like things to look clutter-y. When the DSs were young, educational posters could go on their walls in their rooms, and we used lots of plastic-coated educational placemats (which were cleaned off and put away in a drawer after mealtime). We have found that as long as we have bookshelves in the livingroom area for all the books we currently need, and have storage space (our laundry room) and stacking storage units (the plastic lidded tubs and the plastic crates), it is quite easy to find and pull out what is needed for the day, use it, and then return it at the end of the day. It just becomes what *your* school schedule is like! :) BEST of luck in working out what works for YOUR schooling! :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Is the living room basically except we don;t have a couch. We have three tables. One is full of computers and a bunch of papers which basically looks like a printers press or something and then the other table has more paper and another has binders and more papers. i have two book shelves against the wall with books and stuff and a blue and pink sterilie storage shelves. UGLY. UNder one of the table is a crib mattress. That is our couch right now. Sad but true. Oh there is only one chair for me and the kids sit on eeek upside plastic white laundry baskets...so sad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We homeschool in the living room and dining kitchen. I don't want a lot of "stuff" around but it is starting to gather. I try to remind myself it is only temporary. Just today I got some rolling carts with drawers to keep the kids various subjects in so that I am not the one pulling them out and putting them back all the time. I don't care for their looks and currently plan on rolling them out of the room when guests come, but knowing how we operate, I won't even notice them in 4 months and we won't bother ;) Otherwise, most books (other than a few stacks of books and a book basket) are all tucked away in closets and cabinets. We do have a big US poster in the hallway to my room which is visible from the living room. I still need to re-affic the world one to it too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We did Official School Stuff at the kitchen table. I was able to keep most of our things in a bookcase or in a near-by closet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We have a "classroom in a closet." I converted the closet in the dining room. Job lot bookcase and a small desk :) took the door off and hung a shower curtain rod with a curtain. Works perfectly for our school for one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We school in our living room/dining room area, which is right when you walk in. We have a cabinet with doors to store books, and we have a really nice looking map I ordered from amazon that my dh framed. It is hanging over the couch and does not look "schoolish" it looks antique like. Very pretty, but we use it to school. We have a pretty globe on a shelf. All the pencils and such are in a caddy I carry to the table in the morning. The rest of the art supplies are hidden in that aforementioned cabinet. I do have some posters up in the bathroom, lol, but they are not strictly needed. Our white board is about 2ft/2ft, and I just slide it behind the bookcase when we are not using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Our family room is also our homeschool space. I have rearranged again since these pictures, but this gives you a general idea of what our main area looks like. My kids do have desks in their rooms, and now do much of their work there, but we have done a lot here. We have maps up in a couple of spaces--one in our kitchen, along with a sign language chart, one in the hallway (hallways can be great places for things you don't want up in regular spaces!). Make the space work for you. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 School for the grammar stage kids at this table (usually). The logic kids work in their rooms or at another table in our living room. The "breakfast nook" in the kitchen holds a computer desk and a retrofitted entertainment center we got off craigslist now holds books and supplies. We also have fold up maps as many pp have mentioned. School clutter drives me nuts. And if I don't have room for it, I usually want to get rid of it. We found a book case on the side of the road that is super nice because I can shut the door on it and it will also hold the globe on top. I guess it's kind of a blessing, really. We need the table to eat, at least three times a day, so the school stuff gets picked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We do most of our work in the dining area, where we have a 6 ft. x 9 ft. map. I think it is beautiful, and we get all kinds of compliments. And my dd6 knows more geography than most adults, including her parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett_ashley Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Our 10 x 10'ish school room is open to our basement tv area. I don't mind that I don't have a door. Beth your room is lovely! Where did you get that beautiful map? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Our schoolroom is a four season room with 3 walls of all windows and the "roof" all windows, too. Very cool place for a learning greenhouse for my "seedlings," but no wall space. I spray-adhesived our maps on foam board and slide them in and out behind the bookshelf because there's really nowhere form them to be all the time. The world map is huge! And, I don't want to see school all the time, either. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Our schoolroom is a four season room with 3 walls of all windows and the "roof" all windows, too. Very cool place for a learning greenhouse for my "seedlings," but no wall space. I spray-adhesived our maps on foam board and slide them in and out behind the bookshelf because there's really nowhere form them to be all the time. The world map is huge! And, I don't want to see school all the time, either. :) This is a great idea. I have poster that I have rolled up and stored before, but they always get dinged up. This would solve that problem. Thanks for the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Our dd is still young, but we already have at least two bookcases in every room but the bathroom. We have maps hung up in the living room, a set of drawers for art supplies and a small art desk/easel in the kitchen, dd's art and projects hung on the walls, and books crammed into every available nook and cranny. We definitely don't have a special work area. When dd is doing one of her math activities or a little project, we just work wherever is convenient. Couch, table, floor, yard, playground. I shudder to think what our small 2-bedroom apartment is going to look like five or six years from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneE Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We have a "classroom in a closet." I converted the closet in the dining room. Job lot bookcase and a small desk :) took the door off and hung a shower curtain rod with a curtain. Works perfectly for our school for one! This makes sense to me, but I bet those who think all homeschoolers are quacks would have a field day with the phrase "classroom in a closet". I hope you aren't planning to run for any political office any time soon. ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Beth your room is lovely! Where did you get that beautiful map? Thanks! Costco 3-pack :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Here's the current set up. Sorry it's so big! We just put up the visual reference posters and timelines this week so they're rather empty but I think it's an okay balance between being useful for schooling but still rather neat and tidy. I'm trying to find pics of the setup in our old house but can't locate them right now. I've tried a separate school room but it didn't work. I tried to keep it contained and out of sight with the new house (it was overwhelming in our old place) but that didn't work either. I think (hope) this is a compromise that will let us have what we need for schooling, and still keep the husband with his request for not letting the homeschooling take over happy. We have a LOT more craft supplies, books, etc. but they're mainly in the basement. I just keep what we use day-in, day-out in the dining room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We live in a very small house {1 bathroom :001_huh:), so the kitchen has become our schoolroom. We do have bookshelves through-out the house but the kitchen is where I do the teaching and such. Of course the kiddos are free to do their work in their room or living room. Next to the dinner table I have a bookshelf. I put most of my teacher manuals that I will need daily, I put all of Ethan and Lance's school stuff there. They are my two youngest and do all their schooling with me. I have one wall that is packed to say the least with a whiteboard, abc charts, another small whiteboard, place value chart, clock, The 21 Rules of the House chart, creation poster and a few more thnigs. I have part of another wall the has our school calendar and maps. I am trying to find more space to hang up the presidents and a few more things but it's not happening. I'm out of walls. I have lots of pictures of us schooling on my blog so you can get an idea of our school room/kitchen but I'll try this next week to post a picture of it. HTH, Linda<>< This is like my house too. Tiny house (less than 1000sq ft). We do school in the kitchen. It is cramped but works. I have my new desk set up in there now (it did not fit through any of my 1930s doorways to put it into my office space) and an armoire to hold supplies. I keep our books and nature center on shelves in the livingroom(it is also where we keep the toys). Propped on my desk is my chalk board, on the wall opposite of the desk I have my big white board and under the window is my little magnetic white board. Posters are mounted on the table with a clear table cloth over them when I want them out for constant use. Currently i don't want that, so my table has a nice center piece. If we want to look at a map we pull out the atlas and globe. I will post pictures tomorrow, I need to do my weekend cleaning first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love HSing Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We don't have a seperate school room either! There's no where to put one. Everyone has baskets, bookshelves, desks, tables,etc but school work ends up everywhere! :glare: :lurk5: :bigear: I'll be watching this thread :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joysworld Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Our school area is our dining room and kitchen. And yes, I have maps and posters all of the wall in our dining room. I use the pantry for our school materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Wishbone Dawn, our furniture is different, but we have the same set up - school in the dining room at a big table, a few little shelves of school supplies there, the art supplies stored in the basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We live in a single-wide mobile home. We have kids stacked to the rafters in the bedrooms so they do not get used for play since there is literally no room. Our only living space is a living room and an eat-in kitchen. We don't have a ton of toys either. We have a tall bookshelf in the living room and three small ones, and a table-height buffet in the kitchen where I store paper and craft supplies. We do school on the kitchen table and in the living room or outside. We don't have maps or posters on the walls, the maps are unfolded when they are used and folded up when we are done. The kids keep their stuff in their bookbags, and we have a couple old tackle boxes for crayons and that kind of thing. Most of our curricula is in pdf form and on my kindle. Some stuff I print out but other things we use straight from the kindle. We have a folding white board, a few smaller ones, and two huge whiteboards. The two big ones get pushed behind the buffet when school is done unless someone wants to draw, and the others are put in the buffet. I have part of one wall in the kitchen painted with chalkboard paint but we don't use that for school anymore, the kids just draw on it and I put my grocery list and reminders there. If you walked into my trailer you would know kids lived there (the kids running about would give that away) but you wouldn't notice any school stuff laying out. We don't have big art projects or science experiments laying out, there is no room for that kind of thing and we haven't come across anything we wanted to do that couldn't get put away when we were done with it. The white boards, the kindle, and some paper and pencils are pretty much all we need, the books on the bookshelves are mostly gardening, knitting, craft or cook books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel marie Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 our study is our school room. we do most of our things in there unless my son wants to sit out on the porch etc...and work. the study is right off our entry hall, so i keep it very neat and organized because it is very visible. we had tons of built in shelves, tv, huge desk, internet access already in there so it was easy to call this space our school room. i do have a few things on the walls, but it doesn't scream at you. also, my son is in 9th grade so we don't have to have the alphabet out and stuff like that. i am very particular about things being in their place and not having clutter. i couldn't function with stuff all over the house. i want my house to look like a home and not a school when you walk in. this set up works well for us. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneofalamo Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 WE moved from a spacious dining area (it was supposed to be the living room) and I had this huge cabinet that had cubbies on both sides and it was our "dream" storage. But it was huge and it sold in the garage sale! So now we are in a tiny area....I will have to take pics and blog tomorrow about our area....the kids were storing there books and all in backpacks but that did not work. We just rearrange how we store Friday. I have 4 kids, and we do Science and History together, math is staggered as I have to work with them, and everything else they do is pretty independent, but we do at the same times...one in algebra 2, another pre algebra and twins in 6th grade math. So we now stack by subject instead of student! It was like a light went on! Now we use a bakers rack for storage, top shelf holds Science Math and History Work, second shelf is write boards and logic, Grammar, Writting Next shelf is right now, our XM radio and science project making stalagtites! Then two drawers, one with markers and glue (scissors) and the other is writting paper The under 2 shelves are the older boys Math/Reports etc We use an atlas in books for maps, and have a globe. That works for us We do history and bible in the living room. I will blog on this tomorrow afternoon! Love this subject! to be fair, I have a garage with all the extra things we arn't using now, for the next batch of kids (we do foster to adopt, and can't homeschool til they are legally adopted) :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketgirl Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I also did not want to turn our family room into a school room, for a year we took things out for school, then put them away. I had maps hanging up in our attached garage. But now we've moved & am loving having space for "school" that can also be used for legos, coloring, puzzles, whatever when it isn't school time. I've even put up a school-y calendar area like I used when I taught Kindergarten, something I never thought I'd do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We just use our living room which is a bit of a choatic mess crammed full of books and a table (used to be a long low lab bench for younger kids from a private school) under the window. The room is a bit cramped as its small but full of oversized inherited furniture. We used to use the dining room but got fed up of having the dining table busy at meal times. I still store stuff in there though. I would love an extra room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I tried to make a school space in the basement in our old house but ds preferred not to use it. He seemed to feel more like it was "going to school" than if we worked at the kitchen table. So when we moved last year I didn't really make a school space, although we do have an extra room that could easily be used. We have a mid-century modern kind of house, so very open layout. The kitchen/dining room/living room is sort of all one space. We do school mainly in the dining area. We have bookcases against one wall in there anyway and I use one part of those for school books/notebooks. I have extra supplies that we use daily stored in a basket on top of one of the bookcases. All our other supplies are downstairs in the family room or in a storage closet. We put everything away and don't leave it on the table, but I'm the kind of personality that would want to put it all away anyway so that works for us now. I also didn't want to have posters and things on the walls in our main living area. In the family room above the piano I have two maps and that's about it. We have a bulletin board in the kitchen where we put some stuff (like a weekly schedule) and sometimes if I make a special poster (like a hundreds chart for the kindergartner) I'll put it in their room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 In our den/computer room, I have a few bookshelves, a china cabinet that has been taken over for school and art supplies, a small closet that has been taken over for school and art supplies and board games etc. When we need to sit at my computer desk to do schoolwork, we do. When we need to do written work, we do it at the kitchen table, carrying stuff in with us and out again as needed. When we want to read together, we sit on the couch. If it's nice out, we might go out on the patio. It's been working out just fine this way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We don't have a separate school room. We have one living room which is open to our eat-in-kitchen. I keep our school stuff on two bookshelves beside our table which you can see here. Dd does most of her work in her room at her desk. We just bought this desk at Ikea and it sits on a wall in our living room beside our keyboard. It is across from those bookcases at a diagonal. It also has a shelf that is attached on top with a magnetic dry erase board. I started to put ds's in his room, but I was afraid he would be too distracted by his toys. I hope to eventually move it in there. Things we do together, we sit in the living room or at the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We don't have a dedicated room for homeschooling either. In fact, we only have one main living space for the 4 of us. It is a combo kitchen, mini dining area and living room. If the girls have needed quiet for something, they will take it to their rooms. Very recently my dh and our eldest have been able to go down to the room my sister moved out of and have a desk each down there but we've home-schooled for 10 years without that space and easily could have continued. Honestly, I have enjoyed having schooling in close proximity as much a part of our everyday life as meals and chores together. Having us all accessible and nearby has made many things easier. It is nice looking at photos of others schoolrooms, but I do not covet one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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