Mom28kds Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I have been sharing the school room with my 4 homeschoolers. My 6th grader and 2nd grader keep talking and distracting each other. I'm thinking of moving my 6th grader's desk up to his room so he can work in peace. What do you think? Do all your kids work good in the room together? We made it work last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Of course. Children who sit by themselves to do schoolwork often don't do it at all. Put them on opposite sides of the table. Correct/discipline for messing with the other child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Mine did but it was a huge room, and they were very close in age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Our school room and dining room are sort of one big area. So, the kids can spread out as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We school at the kitchen table so everyone shares 1 space from the preschoolers up to my 8th grader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshin Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Mine share a room, which is also my office. I only have two, but they have desks facing opposite walls with a book shelf acting as a divided between their work stations. I do send DS12 out to the dining room to work on occasion. It would slow us down to have him downstairs in his room, since he would be running upstairs constantly with questions. They each have a little flag on their desk they move up when they need my help but I am working with the other one, that way they can alert me without interrupting their brother's work. They know when the flag is up, I'll be over as soon as I can break from the other's lesson. I had to do this, because DS12 was constantly interrupting read alouds I was doing with DS7, making us all lose our place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We use the finished basement, and have a lot of room, so I have 3 different tables. We move from table to table as needed, so this keeps them fairly separated. Two kitchen tables and one preschool table (all from garage sales). They are all fairly close to each other, but far enough to keep them from physically touching each other and focused for the most part. Of course that doesn't stop them from arguing or teasing. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Mine do, but I also have one small desk the living room so that if one child needs some space and quiet, he/she can get away. My oldest ds uses it the most as he doesn't handle movement or noise happening around him very well. I require him to do some work with the other so that he is learning to deal with it, but I know that he will never do well in a busy atmosphere so for his harder subjects, he gets to leave the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'd just separate them. When mine were little and we had a school room I would put their names on the white board with 3 boxes. They had three chances and then lost a beloved privilege. It's so ps I know, but it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28kds Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 They have separate desks, just in the same room. They each face a different wall but the noise is distracting. Any ideas how I would discipline them? I continue to remind them that other people are trying to work. I know my 6th grader would get his work done upstairs in his room. But it sounds like you experienced Mom's wouldn't recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We always all work in the schoolroom, but if any of my kids feels they need a more peaceful place than that they are welcome to ask to be excused to work elsewhere. My dd will sometimes go in a closet with a flashlight to get away from her younger brother, my oldest likes to do his grammar on the stairs where our cat will gladly curl up next to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Mine work in the same room, but I only have 2, and I keep the desk separated with bookshelves. You could definitely try putting the 6th grader in another room if you feel he can work independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 My kids have a space to work in the schoolroom and in their own bedroom. We do combined subjects together in the schoolroom, I work with a student one on one in the schoolroom, but the child doing something independently usually chooses to work in their bedroom so they are not distracted. If they can actually work and work quietly while I am instructing another child, they may stay in the schoolroom. My DD is the oldest and very capable of independent work. She is also very easily distracted by surrounding noise, and when she is distracted she distracts everybody else! She rarely stays in the schoolroom when I am working one on one with her brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28kds Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 My kids have a space to work in the schoolroom and in their own bedroom. We do combined subjects together in the schoolroom, I work with a student one on one in the schoolroom, but the child doing something independently usually chooses to work in their bedroom so they are not distracted. If they can actually work and work quietly while I am instructing another child, they may stay in the schoolroom. My DD is the oldest and very capable of independent work. She is also very easily distracted by surrounding noise, and when she is distracted she distracts everybody else! She rarely stays in the schoolroom when I am working one on one with her brother. Sounds just like 6th grader. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We move all over the house to do school. - school room - dining room - front porch - living room - back porch Sometimes we are all in the same room, but most of the time we are in separate rooms. I move between the children in the room they picked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Well, yes. I mean, we don't even have a school room. The girls work at the same small table. They sometimes complain, but I just inform them that they can deal with one other student or 29 other students. They deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 My oldest usually works in her bedroom. She is easily distracted..lol. So for us, it actually works better for her to be by herself. She's also very...fidgety...so she doesn't distract the other two when she's madly tapping her pencil or humming. My other two do their work all over the house. Mine are all largely independent workers though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netwelladm Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We use the same room. However, I will send one to the kitchen table and the other to the office if they start distracting each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We school in our living room/dining/kitchen area that is open concept. I do separate them slightly. When reading, we use the sofas, games in the floor of living room, math and written work at the table and whomever is using the computer will have ear buds in so none of the others are disturbed. They need some separation but would never do it all if they were in their own rooms.. they would just delay and stare. eta: the only things we do together is "calendar" time and history/science. other times they are all doing different things at different times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Technically three share school space in our "schoolroom" and one has his desk in the spare bedroom/craft storage room. But lately, they've all been congregating in the family room, partly because it's Texas, it's summer, and even with a/c, it's hot upstairs. My separated one (not my oldest) has his own space more for introvert issues than distractability (that would be my youngest's issue, but she's also my raging extrovert, so isolation would be too hard on her, especially at her age). Older ds has started to go to the front room for some of his written work, mostly because baby sister does.not.shut.up.ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We school at the dining room table. If they needed to, they could always go to the living room or their room if others were distracting them. That's one of the benefits of homeschooling; finding a quite place to learn if it is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 DS11 always did his work in the dining room, while DS8 and DS5 did theirs in the kitchen. A lot of our lessons have been quite teacher intensive, so it was rare for any individual child to be completely on their own for very long. DS11 did more of his work independently than did DS8 and DS5, so for periods of half an hour or so he would work on his own in the dining room. DS11 is also the one most likely to be distracted, or to cause distractions. This coming year I'll only have DS8 and DS5 at home, and I'll probably continue to keep them together in the one room, unless problems arise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I used to try to seperate my kids but my DD is highly social and it was like torture to her to work alone. Now that my 4 yo is getting ready to start schooling I just school all three of them together at the kitchen table and it works fine. I can't stand the thought of my little ones in a room on their own - maybe when they are older - but not now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I have been sharing the school room with my 4 homeschoolers. My 6th grader and 2nd grader keep talking and distracting each other. I'm thinking of moving my 6th grader's desk up to his room so he can work in peace. What do you think? Do all your kids work good in the room together? We made it work last year. No. It started out that way, but my dc were 5 grade levels apart and when EK was young, she was one of those who hummed or sang or talked to herself without even realizing it, and it drove ER up the wall. No amount of reminding or correcting helped because she wasn't even aware that she was doing it. So for ER's sanity (and mine), I let him work in another room. Our school room was right across the foyer from dh's home office, so EK worked in the school room and ER worked in the office. Now, I teach 4 girls: two 8th graders, one 10th/11th grader, and one 12th grader, so they are separated into different rooms for math on their grade level. The older two work together in one room for history and literature while the other two do literature and composition in another room. They all work together for everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 When my kids were younger we usually all sat together. It's just not practical now. My 15 year old prefers his room. His work gets done, so I have no issue with that. My 13 year old bounces around. She always does math while sitting in the same stool at the counter in the kitchen. She sits at the kitchen table for Biology and prefers to do her reading in the family room or her bedroom. My 12 year old likes the couch. The two little boys do most of their seatwork at the table with me, but they are allowed to read wherever they are comfortable. My 12 year old shakes her legs constantly, my 5 year old is ALWAYS humming, my 13 year old REQUIRES silence... It just would not work to insist that they all be together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We school at the kitchen table so everyone shares 1 space from the preschoolers up to my 8th grader Us, too. Only I just have 3, youngest 2nd grade and oldest in 8th. Mine share a room, which is also my office. I only have two, but they have desks facing opposite walls with a book shelf acting as a divided between their work stations. I do send DS12 out to the dining room to work on occasion. It would slow us down to have him downstairs in his room, since he would be running upstairs constantly with questions. They each have a little flag on their desk they move up when they need my help but I am working with the other one, that way they can alert me without interrupting their brother's work. They know when the flag is up, I'll be over as soon as I can break from the other's lesson. I had to do this, because DS12 was constantly interrupting read alouds I was doing with DS7, making us all lose our place. I love the flag idea. We struggle with outbursts. We school at the dining room table. If they needed to, they could always go to the living room or their room if others were distracting them. That's one of the benefits of homeschooling; finding a quite place to learn if it is needed. :iagree: Anything that we study together goes on at the table. The rest is listed on a on a whiteboard, and they may do independently or come to me for help. For those, they end up all over - in the bedroom, on the couch, on the porch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Our main school area is the kitchen table. Usually I work with ds7 there. Dd10 prefers to work in the living room. I can still keep an eye on her, but working with ds isn't as distracting to her there. Sometimes she does stuff in her room, but not for extended periods of time. I check on her every 30 min or so if she is working where I can't see her. I want her to have the freedom to do her work how she wants but still have enough oversight that she doesn't get behind in her work. We do read alouds, history, and science together. For everything else, I don't care where she does it as long as it gets done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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