Guest Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 When we bought this house that we're buying, we had said we were just going to do school in the kitchen. I actually like that better (we've schooled both ways). However, we have so much school stuff, that we then decided we'd dedicate the front room to be a schoolroom. We were going to do bookshelves, supplies, and a whiteboard. We would need to get a table, though. The room is small and it's also right when you walk in, so it will be people's first impression of the house (so I want the table to be what I want). If I wanted to pay for the table, no biggie. I don't want to pay a couple hundred dollars for a table when we can use our kitchen table, though. :p I'm trying to think this through. Kids don't really do school at the same time, so I could possibly get a smaller table (2 chairs - one for me and one for the dc that is doing school) vs. one that we can all sit at at once. But, will I regret that in a year when they are both schooling more? My other thought is to get some kind of bean bag chair/papasan and we'll do lessons in that room with the whiteboard, but seatwork at the kitchen table. (All reading will be done on the couch in another room anyway.) I like to be efficient, though, and so I don't know that I want to be traipsing all over the house to do school. So....any thoughts? How do you make things work if you are a bit untraditional? Oh, the other thing is, I really like using a whiteboard and I am pretty adamant at this point of NOT having a whiteboard at the kitchen table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 We have a school room that holds our computers and books--that's all that can fit in there. So we school in the living/dining room. We use 9x12 whiteboards when we need to or just scrap paper. We read aloud on the couch and often seatwork is done on the floor. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Yes. My hope is to start to clean it out enough so that we can use it in the next two weeks. :blushing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I have a schoolroom. I would(and did) go with a big table that you like and is easy to clean. It will come in very handy for messy art projects and science experiments. That has been my experience. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 When boys were about 8 & 5 we set-up a school room that didn't last long. It now holds lots of the books, but not the kiddos. It was a bit different than yours, meaning, it was a smaller room not in the main area of things. I wanted something w/ lots of natural light (that room had only 1 small window). I also found one table rather than desks worked better (was easier for me to turn my body to help kids rather than physically get up and move about the room). When the older son was working by himself he was away from us and it seemed like he was being punished. Also wanted soemthing closer to the kitchen and family room where I could be half in the room and half elsewhere. So.... we use the dinning room table. (We don't have a eat in kitchen so this is the table). Now, I don't really like having to constantly clear off the table, bit like this better than being off the beaten path. Being on the main path and sitting so near one another can be a distraction, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I hated being confined to a school room. We ended up turning it into a play room. I have an office on the first floor where I store everything. When the kids were younger I would just drag the white board out and then put it away. I store much of dd13's daily use stuff in a milk crate. She brings it out during school and puts it back in the office afterwards. We now school in our bright, sunny addition. We have blown glass vase pencil holders. I did hang a map on the wall but then took it down abd put it on one of those large tri-fold cardboard thingies. (forget what they are called). I store it behind the couch. I really didn't like having a school room. I would not want to have the first room in the house be a school room but if tou are ok with it, go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Forgot to mention that we have an Ipad and laptops which are also mobile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 When boys were about 8 & 5 we set-up a school room that didn't last long. It now holds lots of the books, but not the kiddos. It was a bit different than yours, meaning, it was a smaller room not in the main area of things. I wanted something w/ lots of natural light (that room had only 1 small window). I also found one table rather than desks worked better (was easier for me to turn my body to help kids rather than physically get up and move about the room). When the older son was working by himself he was away from us and it seemed like he was being punished. Also wanted soemthing closer to the kitchen and family room where I could be half in the room and half elsewhere. So.... we use the dinning room table. (We don't have a eat in kitchen so this is the table). Now, I don't really like having to constantly clear off the table, bit like this better than being off the beaten path. Being on the main path and sitting so near one another can be a distraction, though. You describe what I always needed - to be i the main path or living area. Can you put bookshelves into the dining room? If not how about a milk crate for each kid? I have my kids put their one stuff away daily. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 We have a school room that holds our computers and books--that's all that can fit in there. So we school in the living/dining room. We use 9x12 whiteboards when we need to or just scrap paper. We read aloud on the couch and often seatwork is done on the floor. :tongue_smilie: This is how we did it too when I homeschooled. The schoolroom was for storage and computers. We did school around the house: kitchen and family room mostly. I liked the setup. . Finally I had a place to put stuff and could usually find what we needed. Before that everything was scattered around the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 We had a huge bonus room above our garage that dh put a ton of time and effort into making into a school room. It was so pretty. But it had a separate heating/AC unit and I was too cheap to run it so we froze. It was just really out of the way so we used it maybe twice. It turned into a place to store all our junk. We wound up turning our dining room into the school room and that was a lot more convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemountainmama Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 We have a big room with bookshelves, a large table, two small desks and a couch. The room holds all the school supplies and toys. We sometimes school there and sometimes not. We'll move to the kitchen if I'm trying to cook at the same time. Sometimes we have to move because the kids have used the school table for play. Even though we don't use it all the time, I love having it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 On days/times that we school in the kitchen, 8yo sits facing into the kitchen where I'm working and I'll use the refrigerator as a dry erase board. Both wet and dry erase work on our fridge and clean off just fine. Obviously test first in an inconspicuous spot and use alcohol to get off if you get in trouble. ;-) The lower section makes a nice drawing area for the pre-Ker too. :-) Honestly, I am much happier and feel it takes less energy when I'm just doing school in the schoolroom (which has the big whiteboard) instead doing cooking and school simultaneously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 We have a beautiful schoolroom...it's the same set up you have, it's the front room of the house. It's lined in bookshelves, all of our books are organized by subject. I have nice boxes that fit into the shoves perfectly to hold science, art, math, and school supplies. We have a table and a comfy couch in there. Everything is streamlined and organized. We school in the kitchen. Lol. It's just easier because the kitchen is central, so I can be doing things as we school, plus I can see the toddler better. We do still need the schoolroom area, simply because it houses all of our stuff for school. But we don't sit in there for school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in MS Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 We just recently moved from our schoolroom (bonus room) to the kitchen. Something that I have done is use a piece of tile board on top of my kitchen table as a white board. It protects the table and is very useful when you don't have an available wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Our entire main floor is lilke a school room. I have lots of bookshelves with doors on the bottom half to hide the cluttery looking stuff. But I don't really have a formal spot in my house. I'm not the type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 We have a school room, which DD picks a theme for and decorates each year. It's useful for storage, and she does most of her art/writing there. However, most of her reading for school is done in her bed (Can't blame her much there), or together on the couch if it's a read-aloud/shared reading, and she's doing some on the computer as well, so school still happens all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Thank you, all! This thread has been very helpful. I talked with dh again last night and basically decided to set it up as a school room, not do a table, and plan on actually schooling in the kitchen/family room (connected). I'm glad to hear we aren't the only ones who will be doing this. We will see what we do about the whiteboard issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Mom Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 We have a sliding glass door right behind our kitchen table. If you have that or some windows you don't need a whiteboard. We use dry erase markers on our slider all day long and at the end of the school day erase. We had a school room with a white board, but we all prefer the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyr Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 We have a schoolroom, but do most of our schooling in the livingroom. We used to do more in the schoolroom; now it is mostly used for storing all our school stuff. I bring down 2 milk crates each am. I have two 4' folding banquet tables in there that we set back to back so they are a square and the kids are facing each other. I found that it was very important for the tables not to touch as they start getting irritated with eachother for making the table move. They also can not sit at the kitchen table together. We have a small, taller coffee table in the living room that I slide in front of the couch to put my laptop on as needed. I missed my white boards too when I stated reaslizing we were doing better out of the schoolroom, so now I actually have a smaller one we prop up in front of the fireplace. Well, unless we are using it in which case it gets propped up in front of the coffee table. It does seem kind of wastefull not to use the school room for working in but I need a central place to keep everything organized and put away and it is nice to sit up in there in the quiet when lesson planning. The kids do craft projects on their own in there often too. It really does get used frequently, just not as I originally envisioned. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 You've brought up a sore subject with me. We have a school room. It SHOULD accommodate us completely. But right now, there is a paper mache project strewn about the formal dining room table. There are school books, dog toys, and pencil lead strewn about the breakfast room table. There is a van de Graff generator taking up a bedroom nightstand. Four closets house school stuff and art stuff. The school room has all the anatomy models stuffed on the fireplace mantel and I can't even find the top of the school room table because there is so much junk piled on it. The kitchen has 3 cabinets housing science glassware. I found 2 ring stands in a bathroom. There are costumes for an upcoming show and a model of zoo habitats totally covering a spare bedroom. Finally, the living room has 3 texts and the Ipad thrown on the coffee table. ACK!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 We have a sliding glass door right behind our kitchen table. If you have that or some windows you don't need a whiteboard. We use dry erase markers on our slider all day long and at the end of the school day erase. We had a school room with a white board, but we all prefer the kitchen. Seriously??? We will be kind of close to a slider, even closer to a window...I might have to test that out..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SocalMom2Boyz Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Hah...after reading all the post I am glad I am and not the only one struggling with this and scared that my house will be messy. I often feel overwhelmed as is and I was hoping as kids get older things will be better?! I have a soon to be 3 & 6yro boyz I am busy enough just putting the infant/ toddler stuff away. There are kids stuff everywhere. I did set up a schoolroom/office but it's just a storage now...clutters are here and there all around the house. It drives me nuts and house is never guest friendly. When we do as we sometimes has unexpected visitors I found my self stuffing that room which is not great cuz it will take me twice as long to sort it out later. My dh never quite understand why we are out everyday. For me to focus entirely on my kids I have to be out, parks/ museums/ library...thanks for ur post that will be my new yr resolution to have a system in place and try some of the ideas. We moved into a bigger house I thought I will never ran out of space but we did. My oldest was 1 at the time and the house never got done settled in, instead of the painting in my mom's we have their art all over the walls. Instead of the decoration still in boxes in the garage we have their projects, pictures, trinkets, and toys scatter in all dimensions. Soo many unfinished business and part of what's so hard to decided homeschooling is knowing cleaning it all up will be a much slower pace then the zap I hope for if I was just be able to focus rather than being pull all over the places and destruction is much faster than I can put it back. Okay sorry everyone I just dump that on ya but I just realize I just need to accept that was my choice to be child friendly and I shouldn't lose it over this too much. I need to keep one adult room or ck into a hotel once in awhile. Meanwhile, I am still gonna try to be neat but always clean so these aliens don't think that's how humans suppose to live. They moved in with us but I felt as if we moved in with them and it's all my doing so I must change or reevaluate what matters most to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Another solution for the white board would be to have a canvas framed print to hang over the white board when it's not in use. Depending on the size of your white board that could get pricey. You could watch for sales at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, buy a blank canvas and have the kids do a giant art project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 We will see what we do about the whiteboard issue. They do make white board sheets that you can stick to your wall. A bit pricey but might do while you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I have a school room, but mostly use it for lesson planning and sewing/crafting. We school all over the house and when it's warm out on the deck or front porch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I had a blast using my markers on my sliding glass door yesterday - I can't believe I never knew that. That is definitely a viable option for when we move. I also like the picture cover idea, and I'll have to check out the sheets...that could be some work, though - putting up and taking down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 We have a school room (for the first time, this year) but don't use it right now because the upstairs bathroom (right off the school room) is under renovation and my husband is schlepping between that and the upstairs porch (on the other side of the school room) to do various cutting and whatnot. And it's full of junk from the construction. I do love having everything in a dedicated space, though, and a clear line between school time/work and the rest of our day. Regardless of where we're schooling, my husband does chemistry in the kitchen. We write on our refrigerator with wet-erase markers. (We also keep a rolling to-do list there) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Our front two rooms are a dining room and what is intended to be a formal living room. We use the formal living room as our schoolroom/office. We also have a nearby closet under the stairs where we keep a lot of school stuff. We do most of our work in the front two rooms. There were a few years that we had a schoolroom we didn't do most of our work in, but at least it kept all of the school stuff contained in one room-it had a place to go at the end of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I do love having everything in a dedicated space, though, and a clear line between school time/work and the rest of our day. This is what I envision, this makes a dedicated space for school sound so appealing -- "a clear line between school time/work and the rest of our day." I hope someday to test this theory with our own school space. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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