Homeschool Rooms or Spaces

[mommyto4QT]

I plan to begin homeschooling this fall. I will have a 2nd grader, a Kinder student, a 4 year old & a 1 year old. We want to reorganize our Playroom to make it more school-friendly. After Googling for ideas, I saw many use Ikea for furniture.

First, can I see a photo of your homeschool space?

 

Second, did you use Ikea for desks/storage? If so, which system? Do you love it?

 

Do you prefer the method of having the kids work at 1 larger table? Or does each child have their own desk?

 

Lastly, does anyone use/own the Expedit desk? If so, how many children would fit around it? I found 1 photo online that showed 2 chairs but I couldn't tell how crowded it was.

[angela in ohio]

We have an Expedit Workspace, and I think it is the same size as the regular Expedit desk? It would work for two littles, though my bigger kiddos can't share it.

 

We also have another Expedit shelving unit, a bunch of plastic drawer units (not from Ikea,) a workbench dh built with barstools, a small kitchen farm table with a bench and two chairs, and four bookshelves.

 

The biggest things I needed when they were younger were the plastic storage drawers (for math manipulatives, science supplies, etc.,) table space, and bookshelves.

[TXMary2]

I redid mine in January - all IKEA. I used a combo of Expedit, Vika Annefors and Vika Amon.

[ondreeuh]

I found many examples when I did a google image search for homeschool room ikea.

 

We are moving next month and one of my top criteria is a good space for homeschooling! I may not be able to do IKEA, but I will have fun with it!

[ThreeBlessings]

Here's my post with pics of our schoolroom on my blog. It isn't fancy, but I love it. :)

 

No Ikea here, just cheapo bookshelves. I do prefer the kids at one table myself, partially because I can't imagine finding the space for separate desks. We are usually all at the table, which is sometimes comfy, inviting, and bonding, and other times the space seems to small and it is a source of light bickering among the siblings.

 

eta: I forgot there are some pics in my profile on here too. They turned out blurry though and I've been meaning to replace them. Oops! :) You can *sorta* see the view of the playroom from our schoolroom (which is our dining room). I have the shorter three shelf bookshelves around the wall space in the room, also one of those tub shelf things. There are shoebox size plastic tubs with lids on top of some of the bookshelves that hold most of the toys I use in my youngest dd's workboxes.

Edited May 11, 2012 by ThreeBlessings

[Jpoy85]

Right now we use the dining/living room. They are at 2 TV trays for desks. I miss having a school room. :(

[LillyMama]

We do things a bit weird. We have a "school room" that is technically the formal living room at the front of the house. We put two bookshelves and a small table under the window. Here's a quick picture, ignore the mess, I haven't straightened up after today's work:

 

On the far right bookshelf, I use those bins for their math, phonics, spelling and grammar materials, the middle shelf holds their binder notebooks, and next to those I store my teaching manuals. The left shelf is their bookshelf for the books that are currently at their level but aren't their favorite books as those are usually in their rooms. :001_smile: The kids do their math and phonics at that table. We also use the pocket charts for calendar time. That's what we use the school room for.

 

The other side of that one big room is my dining room. I work on that a lot, with my laptop. We will use it occasionally for big projects but I find it's too awkward for my littler kids.

 

In my basement, we have a Lego / Play Room. I recently built bookshelves and an Expedit system. This is where I store all craft supplies and games, and any school books, manuals or curricula we aren't using. We don't often actually school down there, as the floor is almost always covered in Lego pieces, but I use it to store and sort things. I mention that because I felt like having a school room to do school in was very different from a school room for school stuff. My husband didn't immediately agree, but he came around. ;)

 

When we read, we usually read on the couch or in my bed. So I have baskets that fit on the bottom of my coffee table. I usually sort the books for the week into those baskets so that we have them on hand. Then any time we do a narration, we move to the kitchen table, where we keep a box of colored pencils nearby just for this.

 

I know that seems like a round-about way of answering your question, but I wanted to offer the idea that you really might want to use your whole house, especially with younger kids. It not only splits up your day so they can extend their short attention spans, but it allows you to multi-task- like cook while they're drawing or coloring. My advice would be not to get too intense about decking out just one room right now, just put pieces all around your house that are functional but don't make you feel like you live in a messy classroom. Things change as kids age, so don't lock yourself into anything too intense while you're just starting off.

[Dolphin]

Here is our current room, but we are moving next month to take over the family room.

 

Here are some threads with other rooms.

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202782&highlight=homeschool+rooms

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187483&highlight=homeschool+rooms

[kolamum]

I don't have an ikea, do no I didn't. You can see our space here, or what it looked like a few months ago. I added more of those book cases & moved the computer desk to another area of the same room. We also got rid of the dinky round table & put in a beautifully large farmhouse table!

 

Ahh, here's a better more updated look. :)

[AStableBeginning]

I redid mine in January - all IKEA. I used a combo of Expedit, Vika Annefors and Vika Amon.

 

I love your new schoolroom!

[SewLittleTime]

I redid mine in January - all IKEA. I used a combo of Expedit, Vika Annefors and Vika Amon.

I'm trying to get my school room together. I've never had one and I'm so excited to now have the space for one! I've decided to go with this system b/c I can get my growing boys and my little one all around it. BUT please tell me about that little caddy in the middle of your table??!!!

[TXMary2]

I'm trying to get my school room together. I've never had one and I'm so excited to now have the space for one! I've decided to go with this system b/c I can get my growing boys and my little one all around it. BUT please tell me about that little caddy in the middle of your table??!!!

 

It is the Desk Apprentice from Staples - $25 !! I love, love, love it!