600-square-foot apartment

[lots of little ducklings]

Huh you guys in America are so fortunate. My house is about 600 sq ft and it is pretty much a standard 2 bed house and I home school in it and no need for anything extra to get us space. Ideally a bigger house would be nice but that would cost an arm and a leg and for most of us across the Atlantic, the dinning table serves many purposes if you even have one. :drool:

 

My dinning table is actually in the living room by the way! I don't know of a single home schooling family with dedicated room for home schooling. They few who have a separate dinning room tend to use if for home schooling but these tend to be small and pokey so for most of us, the work is done in the living room or kitchen tables. You just need good storage and we have an Ikea here where we get these from including bookshelves that fit in odd small places. Perhaps these things will be harder for you to source there as you generally have massive square footage but here in UK these are sold in abundance.

 

 

 

 

Average home being built in Britain now is 925 sq ft just to give you some perspective from us used to living in shoe box sized houses.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2398714/The-incredible-shrinking-houses-British-homes-built-just-HALF-size-1920s.html

A good reminder! When I'm groaning and grumbling about my 1100 sq ft 2-bed 1-bath home (with 4 dc, going on 5), I remember how my friends across the pond drooool over all the space I have every time they visit. :-)

[lovinmomma]

When I first became a single mom I lived with my 2 kids in an 800 sq ft apt and found it had ample room.  In fact it seems looking back I had more room and better layout in that 800 sq ft with 2 kids than I have now in my barely 1000 sq ft homeschooling 4 kids.  The key is having less stuff, looking into storage solutions (pintrest has tons of ideas), and being organized. 

 

I find that I relate to you so much. :) We have 4 kids. About 950 sq ft., but we DO have laundry downstairs and some storage (no liveable space). That makes a huge difference. We aren't currently homeschooling, but I don't see that it would make much of a difference. We're home all summer together full time ( I work nights) and do just fine. It would probably be easier during the school year, because there's more to keep all the kiddos busy with!

[lovinmomma]

Thank you to the link for the thread that has all the pics. I <3 pics. In my custody case my ex has made a huge case against me because of the size of my home (despite him not wanting to turn over financial records to pay the standard child support amt). The judge has told me that I have to get a bigger home, and then I look at all of these perfectly normal families that live in small homes like I do. What would they do if someone came into their small home (that they struggled to afford) and demanded that they get a bigger one? Sorry, I got sidetracked for a minute. lol The situation just angers me sometimes. :)

[Lissande]

Our apartment is about that size. Honestly, it feels like a squeeze with two children, but mostly because we would really like an outdoor place for them to play. There's a big difference between a small apartment building with a grassy area (or sandbox, etc.) right outside and a larger building with no play area but the park several minutes away.

 

It takes constant clutter management and clever storage arrangements (an area where we could use some major work), I'd like a back yard, I'd like a garage or better storage space, but the apartment space itself still feels totally liveable. We don't have the space for separate study areas (one for each child or a dedicated study area in general), but our children are currently happy to work on either side of our child-sized IKEA table.

[Hunter]

Thank you to the link for the thread that has all the pics. I <3 pics. In my custody case my ex has made a huge case against me because of the size of my home (despite him not wanting to turn over financial records to pay the standard child support amt). The judge has told me that I have to get a bigger home, and then I look at all of these perfectly normal families that live in small homes like I do. What would they do if someone came into their small home (that they struggled to afford) and demanded that they get a bigger one? Sorry, I got sidetracked for a minute. lol The situation just angers me sometimes. :)

Maybe your lawyer can fight for you? Or you can get a different lawyer? I had to fight for something unconventional in my divorce. Many lawyers only want to fight for what will make them look good. And even the judge's first priority is what others will think about how he handled the case. I was so infuriated. People were insisting on "getting me" what was only going to hurt me. I finally was allowed to decline the things I didn't want when I compared the rights of a single woman to the rights of a divorcee and asked why a divorcee has to still live under control of her ex even after the divorce. Can she ever really move on and truly regain full equality and integrity, or is she forever bound and subservient to this man?

 

There was lots of laughter in the courtroom before it was all over. I wasn't laughing though. It wasn't funny.

 

There are many people in the USA and around the world that choose to live in small spaces. Yes, you share children, but that man should not be able to dictate the square footage of your living space. He shouldn't have that much control over your new life. Especially if he is not providing the finances to support more space.

 

Yes, we are getting a bit off topic, but not really. The original question is about homeschooling a family in a small space. And YES, it is an option. And it should be an option for divorcees, too. It's a valid lifestyle choice. It shouldn't be a choice only available to women who have never married, or are married to men who give them permission. Marriage shouldn't take away a woman's basic human rights, during and ESPECIALLY after.

[laughing lioness]

I homeschooled our oldest in a 900 sq foot back-house with toddler in tow, while running a day care (add in 5 extra kids all day M-F). it was do-able, but all of the kids were small. We lived in S. CA so the weather was usually awesome and we spent hours at parks and outside. We had a massive front porch, play area out front. I think it would really depend a lot on the weather.

Also, we owned very little (grad school).

Far north, where we live now- I would never do it. With teens I wouldn't do it. Mine get snarly if they don't have much personal space.

Friends of ours lived in an RV for almost 3 yrs- 2 parents (1 deployed often) and two teens.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

We are five, soon to be six, in a 1000sqft apartment.  I feel like we have PLENTY of space.  I am grateful for two bathrooms, considering the number of people under the roof.  I would probably give up a bedroom before I'd give up the second bathroom.  LOL

[Lissande]

I also think it would be harder with older kids. My two young children don't mind sharing a room and spending all their time right up in my space - in fact, they insist on it - but I would really like to move before I have a girl and boy teenager sharing a room. I know it can be done, but I'd like them (all of us) to have the option for a little more privacy as they grow up, if possible.

 

Little kids, though...their toys get everywhere, true, but they don't mind sitting on the floor and they don't physically take up much room, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to me at the moment. :)

[lovinmomma]

Maybe your lawyer can fight for you? Or you can get a different lawyer? I had to fight for something unconventional in my divorce. Many lawyers only want to fight for what will make them look good. And even the judge's first priority is what others will think about how he handled the case. I was so infuriated. People were insisting on "getting me" what was only going to hurt me. I finally was allowed to decline the things I didn't want when I compared the rights of a single woman to the rights of a divorcee and asked why a divorcee has to still live under control of her ex even after the divorce. Can she ever really move on and truly regain full equality and integrity, or is she forever bound and subservient to this man?

 

There was lots of laughter in the courtroom before it was all over. I wasn't laughing though. It wasn't funny.

 

There are many people in the USA and around the world that choose to live in small spaces. Yes, you share children, but that man should not be able to dictate the square footage of your living space. He shouldn't have that much control over your new life. Especially if he is not providing the finances to support more space.

 

Yes, we are getting a bit off topic, but not really. The original question is about homeschooling a family in a small space. And YES, it is an option. And it should be an option for divorcees, too. It's a valid lifestyle choice. It shouldn't be a choice only available to women who have never married, or are married to men who give them permission. Marriage shouldn't take away a woman's basic human rights, during and ESPECIALLY after.

 

Wow. Extremely well said.

[robsiew]

I think if you are fully convinced hsing is good for your family you can make it work no matter your space.  Like others have said I think less stuff is important.  Get rid of anything you don't need... borrow what you can from others.  We get 95% of our books for school from the library so we don't store many books.  (I do have to admit we have access to a supurb library!)  Space really shouldn't dictate your education choice!  I think we are conditioned in America to think we need big living spaces.

[robsiew]

Thank you to the link for the thread that has all the pics. I <3 pics. In my custody case my ex has made a huge case against me because of the size of my home (despite him not wanting to turn over financial records to pay the standard child support amt). The judge has told me that I have to get a bigger home, and then I look at all of these perfectly normal families that live in small homes like I do. What would they do if someone came into their small home (that they struggled to afford) and demanded that they get a bigger one? Sorry, I got sidetracked for a minute. lol The situation just angers me sometimes. :)

 

Just saw this... so sorry you have to deal with that nonsense.  Size of home has no bearing on what goes on inside.  Plenty of people can have big homes and what's going on inside the home is nothing to be proud of.  I would fight this one.... what utter non-sense.

[Korrale]

At our local fairgrounds a log cabin has been moved there and reconstructed. It is tiny. About 16ft squared with a loft. A centurary ago 9 people lived in this cabin. And I live in a colder northern climate. And the 7 kids were all homeschooled.

 

Our family of 3 (4 for half the week) live in a 800sq ft home and at times i consider it too small. Especially after I come back from a week staying with friends in their 5000 sq ft home. But the reality is, my son spends most of his hours in the same room as me. And he seldom goes into the back part of the house. We spend 90% of our days using only 400 sqft of the house. The only part I begrudge is that we lack wall space for posters. I would love to be able to hang posters and maps all over. I am going to consider an alternative instead.

[Korrale]

At our local fairgrounds a log cabin has been moved there and reconstructed. It is tiny. About 16ft squared with a loft. A centurary ago 9 people lived in this cabin. And I live in a colder northern climate. And the 7 kids were all homeschooled.

 

Our family of 3 (4 for half the week) live in a 800sq ft home and at times i consider it too small. Especially after I come back from a week staying with friends in their 5000 sq ft home. But the reality is, my son spends most of his hours in the same room as me. And he seldom goes into the back part of the house. We spend 90% of our days using only 400 sqft of the house. The only part I begrudge is that we lack wall space for posters. I would love to be able to hang posters and maps all over. I am going to consider an alternative instead.

[lovinmomma]

Just saw this... so sorry you have to deal with that nonsense.  Size of home has no bearing on what goes on inside.  Plenty of people can have big homes and what's going on inside the home is nothing to be proud of.  I would fight this one.... what utter non-sense.

 

Thank you. I couldn't agree more, but it's really up to the judge, unfortunately.

[Julie Smith]

Ooops