Child's Bedroom/Schoolroom

[Thia]

Please tell me about your experiences with using a child's room as the school room. My son is 5.5 years old. I also have girls 7, 3, 1. My husband and I brainstormed and think we have a pretty good set up. But of course, I have to talk to the Hive and see how this worked or did not work for other families. Right now we're schooling in the kitchen (eat in dining area), but with most of the supplies in my son's room so there is set up/put away time every day. I guess I'm hesitant to turn a bedroom into a more public space?

[KungFuPanda]

We used to school in my son's room in the winter. It was upstairs, so it was warmer and had more light. I just pushed a rolling cart into his closet to clear away the school supplies. One way to save space and to make cleaning up easier is to use a Japanese table with folding legs. You can slide it away under a bed, or in a closet. I have one in my home dance studio. I put a picture wire on the back and it hangs on the wall most of the time. When we need it for tea, or fabric, or whatever, we pull it down. It's a neat toy :001_smile:

 

[celticmom]

We recently purchased a school desk for dd7 and it is located in her room. We have been doing her schoolwork in her room. However, she is an only child so we don't have the issue of multiple children and she refuses to spend the night in her room.

[QueenCat]

Would he still be able to take breaks in his room, with the others leaving at that time? At his age, I doubt he'd resent it but in a few years, he may look at it as an intrusion if the others get to keep their space as their own.

[Ellie]

Would all of you go in there, or would he be all by his onesie in there?

 

Actually, neither situation sounds good to me. I'd have to say it would be better to continue working in the ktichen, and find a way to keep supplies there instead of in his room. I say this as someone who always homeschooled in the kitchen. :)

[Cinder]

Actually, neither situation sounds good to me. I'd have to say it would be better to continue working in the ktichen, and find a way to keep supplies there instead of in his room. I say this as someone who always homeschooled in the kitchen. :)

 

:iagree: I have also always schooled in the kitchen/living room area. I think it might be easy to use his room while he's young, but in a few years it might become a problem that everyone invades his room. A friend of ours has a larger house and schools in the dining room, but they keep their books in a couple different places on the main floor. She has one of those small bookcases with only 2 or 3 shelves for her own stuff and her dd's. She also has a sideboard-style table that has 2 small cubbies in it and each of her ds's has a cubby for his books.

 

We used a large bookcase and each child had a shelf for his stuff. I also used a shelf for supplies--paper, pens, etc. The bookcase is in our "schoolroom," but we've never schooled in there because there isn't any room after 2 computer desks were put in.

 

Your idea wouldn't work for *my* family; maybe it would for yours. I hope you find a solution that works for your family.

[Hockey Mom]

We tried it. It lasted two weeks. They really didn't like being in their room so much. We needed a place for "school" - somewhere where, when they were done for the day they could just walk away from it completely.

[Kguleff]

It is crazy how much space it takes up- I have some thoughts that it is not fair for him to sleep at school- but we are a boarding school right?! LoL. I too am unsure what change to make!

K

[Chris in VA]

I couldn't do it. Even when in ps, my kids preferred to do their homework at the kitchen table (well, we don't have one of those--at the DR table). Dd has a desk in her room and never uses it.

 

:iagree: about the need for personal space as they get older.

 

Do you have a cabinet or a closet you could repurpose part of to make space for a rolling cart or a couple of crates of work? We do have a school room, but use it for storage mostly.

[elegantlion]

I never wanted the classroom in ds's bedroom. I'd carve space in the dining room or eating area first.

 

One reason was basic economics. I didn't need other kids (or my own) grabbing out their expensive workbooks to color in while visiting. We tended to have a "if it's out, it's fair game" rule on toys. There was no way to hide the school books without physically relocating them. If I'm doing that why have the classroom in there at all.

 

Another reason is that I often work on school stuff after school time. I don't want to interrupt napping child or sit in his room.

 

I agree about the time in his room. Now, at 14, my ds has the biggest room in the house. We could make it the classroom/bedroom, but I think it's important to have private space.

 

Distractions. My son usually has some sort of project happening in his room. Lego, trains, stuff like that when he was younger. He would not be able to focus on school. I think there is a mindset that you create, hopefully a good one, by having them come into a "classroom", even if it's just the dining room table. If the classroom is in their bedroom, they never get to leave the school work behind. Even if your kids love school, do they want to be around it 24/7?

[Thia]

Thanks for all the great feedback. You guys mentioned some of the hesitations I have as well. I think it would work out okay now, while the kids are younger, but as they get older, maybe not so much. But by then, maybe I won't have to worry about crowd control during school time. Right now, with a toddler, every crayon has to be accounted for, iykwim. In the future, hopefully no one will be inclined to draw on the walls and I won't really care where they do their school work. Our kitchen space is SO TINY that I only have room for 2 small shelves. Everything else is in his room and I spend time running back and forth b/c I always forget something. SIGH. If I were a rich (wo)man....I'd have a real school room.