S/O of inspiring homeschool rooms--anyone not have a dedicated school space?

[AnnE-girl]

I'm just wondering how common our situation is. We have a small house so school happens at the kitchen table. I have a dedicated homeschool book case in the living room, but it's not really enough. We're hoping to get our house on the market by next summer, but DH found this house that he thinks might come down to our price range with this big family room that has a whole wall of built in bookshelves. It could be a really nice school room. It's so tempting, but not realistic right now.

 

So, anyone else have to play the clear the table for school, then again for meals game?

[mommymilkies]

Ours happens all over the house.  I've found this much easier than a separate room, plus the kids can split up and not drive each other nuts. :)

[Valley Girl]

No schoolroom here. We work mostly at the kitchen table, although we'll sometimes work in other rooms or even the park. Wherever I can get DS to stay focused and in a receptive mood.

[JenneinCA]

We don't have a dedicated school space. I have a bookcase where the school materials are kept and that is about it. My older kids usually do their work in their rooms and my youngest and I do things at the kitchen island.

 

Houses are too small here for an entire room just for homeschooling. If we had another room empty it would be a bedroom for one of my boys who are sharing.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

No schoolroom!  We work at the kitchen table, though I hope to get some small desks for Christmas to put in the big kid room so that one or the other can go there to work independently from time to time.  We clear the table about 400x a day...  

 

I have a wall of Billy bookshelves int he living room, which are mix of homeschool and regular books, plus a buffet thing from Ikea that separates the living room from the dining room and has all of our craft and many of our homeschool supplies in it.  

[Mergath]

We don't have a schoolroom. We do school all over. Dd's current favorite spot is to work at the outdoor dining area. It's a second story deck surrounded by trees, so it's kind of like doing school in a treehouse. :) She also works at the kitchen table, with a clipboard on the couch, at the desk in her room... And if we're feeling stir-crazy, we'll go do school at the diner or sitting on the empty stage at one of the public gardens. Being able to do school anywhere is one of the things I love about hsing. I wouldn't move just for a dedicated schoolroom.

[kroe1]

We have a large home and still do not have a dedicated schoolroom. We have had dedicated rooms in the past, but DD has always learned better by wandering from room to room.

[MEmama]

We do seat work in the dining room mostly, and at the kitchen island, and in front of the stove in the living room in winter or in the 3 season porch in spring. While we do have a room that would perfect as a designated space, it would really cramp our style and feel forced. I have no school room envy. :)

[Lady Florida.]

We never did. I tried at first but it didn't work because we did school all over the house. And sometimes outdoors. And sometimes far from home. I eventually settled on a bookshelf in the spare room that kept our books, and some bins in that same room to hold craft and project supplies.

 

I think whether or not you have a dedicated school room depends on several things, most notably how many children you're homeschooling plus your teaching and their learning style. If you'd like one, consider your dh's suggestion for that house or any other one with a room that could become a school room. If it doesn't matter to you, don't let pretty school room photos on homeschool blogs make you feel inadequate.

 

 

[mamaraby]

Nope. House is too small. I had to give up limited counter space in the kitchen for storing school stuff so we could save a trip up and down the stairs from the basement where the shelves are. No one wants to school in the basement which is about the only place we'd have for a dedicated school room. Living room/kitchen table/desks in bedrooms is where school happens here.

[Amira]

We'd never lived in a house large enough to allow a dedicated homeschooling space before we moved here, but after homeschooling without one for ten years, I didn't bother creating one in this house. I've never wished for one. We're moving in a few weeks to a much smaller place again, thankfully, and we'll be ready to homeschool there without a homeschooling room.

 

Even if I had a homeschool space, it wouldn't look like anything on Pinterest. A lot of those photos are over the top in my opinion.

[AnnE-girl]

We wouldn't be moving just for the sake of having a school room. We've outgrown our house, and I'm daydreaming about at least having a space that wouldn't have to be cleaned up so we don't spill lunch on the books I'm hoping to resell eventually. Due to kids' personalities (easily distracted), doing schoolwork in their rooms with their other books and toys right there just doesn't work. My ideal schoolroom would have space for a table that would fit everyone, a couch/comfy chairs for reading, and lots of shelf space. A door that I can close when it's a mess and we're having company would be a plus too.

[barnwife]

We don't. What I call our school room also serves as an office and playroom. And since it has a trundle daybed in it, it could be a guest room too. 

We just call it the school room because it needed a name. (Small living room was too long.)

[Alice]

We don't. We have an open layout split foyer house. So the upstairs is an open area with living/dining room areas and kitchen. We mostly school in those rooms. The dining table is our main school area. We have floor to ceiling bookcases in their that hold all our materials. We also use the kitchen table and the couches/coffee table. It works well because each kid can be in their own space but still close enough to me that I can make sure they are working and be available if they need something. My 11 year old, who will be in 7th grade this year, will take work that needs more concentration like Math or writing and go work somewhere else in the house. He is pretty good about staying on task so that works fine. He has a desk (as does the 8 year old) in an office space downstairs but rarely uses it. Usually he works on my bed or his bed. For some reason he likes to do math in the bathtub (without water). Or occasionally he'll go outside and work. I don't care as long as it's done. 

 

I do like having one place to keep everything. Working in the dining area works for us because the shelves provide a place to put all our stuff. 

[gingersmom]

7 happy and productive years at the kitchen table!

[PeachyDoodle]

We do school at the kitchen table, on the couch, or dd works independently at her desk in her room (one of those old-fashioned, all in one school desks that my parents bought when I was a kid).

 

If we get the house we're looking at, there is an extra room for an office/schoolroom that I already have plans for...

[lllll]

nm

[Ellie]

I'm just wondering how common our situation is. We have a small house so school happens at the kitchen table. I have a dedicated homeschool book case in the living room, but it's not really enough. We're hoping to get our house on the market by next summer, but DH found this house that he thinks might come down to our price range with this big family room that has a whole wall of built in bookshelves. It could be a really nice school room. It's so tempting, but not realistic right now.

 

So, anyone else have to play the clear the table for school, then again for meals game?

 

Never did. Always thought it would be nice, but nope, never did.

[Dmmetler]

I'm practically the only homeschooler I know IRL who has a dedicated homeschool room-and we rarely use it. And honestly, we wouldn't if we hadn't bought a house that's bigger than we really need (anticipating multiple children) and then ended up with an only child).

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

I don't. I wish I did at least for storage - everything, including the chalk board, is in my dining room. Our house is a shoebox and we do almost everything but sleep in 700 sq feet. With three children actively schooling and two more on the way to it in a few years, it's very cramped. Fortunately I tidied and organized our storage and space so it does t totally intrude on the dining room and both functions can be filled, but I'd kill for an office with some storage!

[fairfarmhand]

ME!

 

I've learned to live with it.

 

I wish we at least had better storage space for our books and supplies. My kids' books are in individual crates.

[Loowit]

I don't have one.  Most of our school is done either at the dining room table or in the couch in the family room.  I do have a couple of bookcases that are mostly school books.  I really need more storage for other school supplies like for science and art, but I am not sure where I would put it.  If we ever move I wouldn't do a school room, but I would love to have a closet or storage area that I could use.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We really don't have a dedicated space.  We tend to do stuff in a particular spot, but not always.  In the past we have had dedicated spaces and I found we didn't usually use it!

 

 

[SproutMamaK]

We have a homeschool room.... I used it for a week about 5 years ago when we first started, and haven't used it since. I found out quickly that it's far more practicaly for us to do school in the dining room where I can make use of those 2-3 minutes spurts of time when the kids are all working and no one has questions. This way I get laundry and dishes done WHILE they're doing school, and am still available at all times to help if needed. The school room was simply too isolated from the rest of the house. Nowadays that room still stores our finished school books (or books for the upcoming year), games, and is a nice reading/art spot for the kids, but we don't really think of it as school room anymore.

[Anne]

We had a dedicated room, which we did use somewhat for actual schooling when the kids were little.  But after that, it was just a storage facility....  The kids preferred to work in the dining room, the kitchen, on the sofa, in their rooms, on the deck.....

 

Anne

[AmandaVT]

We have a small house, so we're kitchen table schoolers. 

[LucyStoner]

We used to have a school room but we realized it was just getting used for storage.

 

We are kitchen table (and patio and living room and park and library) homeschoolers by choice. It just makes most sense to have schoolwork done where we are already. Spending our day stuffed into the smallest room in the house, removed from the laundry and kitchen was just not really working for us.

 

The room that was the schoolroom is a hybrid reading area/office/guest room now. It has 2 bookshelves, a small file cabinet and can sleep two easily (loft bed and a fold out chair and half/twin bed). I use the closet to store stuff like the steam cleaner and the vacuum and sewing supplies. Sometimes my boys hang out and read there or its a good downtime space. It's set up for my niece and nephew to sleep in but usually when they are here, my nephew ends up in there and my niece likes the pullout sectional in the living room instead.

[Minerva]

We are the all over variety.

[Mommy22alyns]

We don't.  Our house is too small.  We homeschool right in the middle of the living room, and we LOOK like a homeschool, and that's all there is to it.

[knoxinsox]

^{We currently live in a single-wide trailer.  Recently, I moved the school desks and cubby bookcase into the dining nook and moved the dining room table into the corning of the living room.  While we do school all over the house and sometimes upside down, this keeps the school clutter in the main living area to a minimum and sweet daughter can do her arts and crafts and make her huge mess and a casual visitor would not notice.  I try to think outside the (literal) box that is our home and make it work.} 

[Insertcreativenamehere]

We currently don't have a school room but plan to have one this fall. Last year, we used our formal dining room table and then spread out into the adjoining living room. My DH also works from home full-time and he was easily distracted by us, and us by him. I'd be working on math with one of my kids and he'd come out for a snack and before I'd know it, both boys were on the floor wrestling with him. We're adding a kindergartner this year and I have homeschool stuff coming out of my ears -- I need a dedicated space for it. We plan to move our school downstairs into a larger bedroom and spill out into the adjoining family room for readalouds and independent reading as necessary. This will put on a different floor as DH and I think it will help everyone be more productive. 

[Critterfixer]

Mostly kitchen table which is our only dining room. The boys use the master bedroom desks when they want solitude, and they use the two desks set up in the living room for project work. It works fine for us. We seem to be perfectly productive and accomplish a good deal without a special space to do it in. I will say that having my former pantry now dedicated for our textbooks, notebooks and papers IS a very nice thing. I don't mind living without the pantry, and we can shut the cabinet doors when we finish for the day. If we aren't borrowing the good colored pencils for drawing or running off with the Geography book for map drawing. :laugh:

[Runningmom80]

We don't.  we have a book cart in the dining room. 

 

 

I don't need a homeschool space per se, but I would do illegal things for an art room.

[Sherry in OH]

No schoolroom.  We mostly school in the living room.  On the sofa for reading and read alouds and sprawled on the floor for seatwork. If either child wants quiet or privacy, he carries his work to another room.   We move to the dining table or outside for art and science projects.

 

We have an open floor plan with no storage space in our living room/dining area, so schoolbooks are shelved on a bookcase in the adjacent master bedroom, frequently used supplies in an arts and crafts cart kept in the dining area, and less used materials wherever we have space.  Each morning I set out the books we need for morning lessons. I grab the pencil bin from the art cart and gather any other supplies we will need. That way everything is handy.  At lunchtime, morning materials are put away and afternoon materials gathered.  When we finish afternoon lessons, those materials are put away. 

 

We often have piles of books, toys, papers, and random gadgets cluttering our living room, but they are more commonly the result of leisure time activities than school-related.  

[IfIOnly]

I have this shelf (in white) for homeschool stuff in my laundry room behind the door: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ameriwood-5-Shelf-Bookcase-Multiple-Finishes/17480012

 

The hall linen closet is also mostly for homeschool supplies. Each bed only has one set of sheets, guests sheets are kept in the garage, the few extra towels that are not in use take up one shelf in the hall closet. Washcloths are kept in bathroom drawers.

 

The entry closet is my pantry/school overflow. I have coat hangers on the wall in the entry and a little bench and shoe shelf. Gloves, hats, and stuff all fit in the bench. Coats are hung on hooks. Shoes go on your shelf or outside in this: http://www.amazon.com/Suncast-DB8000B-Deck-Box-Wheels/dp/B00004SQ1M/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1439510516&sr=8-9&keywords=deck+box (inthe entry rug to dry if they're wet). 

 

http://www.biglots.com/p/c/storage-and-organizaton/sterilite-white-6-drawer-cart This cart is in a dining room corner for art and office supplies, playdough, crafts, paint supplies. The great thing is the drawers come out easily, so you can just take out the marker drawer and plop it on the kitchen table. I bought two extra of the two top drawers so it's got 7 drawers in total. Over flow paint is on top the fridge. :)

 

[Closeacademy]

We never had a dedicated schoolroom or area.  We do it at the kitchen table and if someone needs quiet there and I need to talk someone else through their work then some of us go into a bed room.  I do have a chest of drawers in the living room which has our stuff in it.  I always thought it would be nice to have one but now I'm at the point where I'd rather have a dedicated room for my loom, spinning wheel and yarn supplies complete with table that is always open for blocking shawls.

[Susan in TN]

.

 

So, anyone else have to play the clear the table for school, then again for meals game?

Yep. We actually had a designated school space in our former house and we dropped that pretty quick.

 

In our current house we could make space, but I know we would end up at the kitchen table and adjoining living room anyway. We have bookshelf "cubbies" and a computer armoire next to the kitchen table (we don't have a separate dining room) for school work and more books and designated book bins in the living room.

 

It works for us.

[trulycrabby]

We have a schoolroom, but never use it! Kitchen table and sofa are our study places.

[TravelingChris]

In my twenty years of homeschooling in a number of locations, I only had one room dedicated to homeschooling/guest room at one house.  As it was, I still did a lot of homeschooling in the living room on the couch.  Sometimes, I even used the dining room.  But other than those three years, I have homeschooled in our office (we always had a dedicated office room except for the three  year period we had the school room), on couches, in Florida rooms, in dining rooms, in kitchens, everywhere.  That was one great benefit of homeschooling- doing it were it felt most comfortable or was most efficient.

[KungFuPanda]

When my kids were little, we put one of those lifetime tables at kid-height and set it where a coffee table should go. I sat on the couch and they sat across from me in kid-sized chairs. We had a giant chalk board painted on my living room wall. That worked for years. It was so comfy.

 

As they got older, we did our work at the kitchen table. Once they were teens they retreated to their rooms for individual work. We HAVE a room we could have turned into a school room, but it was never necessary. We made that room a dojo/dance room! We were doing school where the light is good and we were comfortable. Most of the people I know who set up elaborate school rooms ended up converting them to something else within a few years anyway.

[Guest]

 

So, anyone else have to play the clear the table for school, then again for meals game?

I actually like having a refrigerator, freezer, stove, and sink in my homeschool room. It keeps me from yelling as much and makes it far more believable when I storm off and ignore my kids until they do their work if I have something of practical use to pretend to be busy with.

 

It used to drive me nuts when my parents would visit and slop food all over the homeschool room table and leave newspapers and other irrelevant clutter lying around the homeschool room, but now I just wish they were young enough to visit.

 

I also enjoy being able to open the window in the homeschool room and yell through it while my kids run around the back yard playing with sticks and paper bags and conjugating their Latin verbs and doing their algebra orally so they can get their wiggles out while I sip tea and periodically hold up the whiteboard and pass the markers through the open window.

 

But in all honesty, I don't have kids the right age for that right now; 7yo ds probably spends less than half an hour in the homeschool room before couch time, computer time, and dance around the living room time.

 

People have told me that my whole house looks like a daycare or a school except for my twentysomething's room which looks like a twentysomething's room.

 

I didn't think they said it like it was a bad thing, but I guess I can be a bit naive....

[goldberry]

Dining room table.  But I couldn't let her wander when she was younger, she would just disappear.  Last year she did occasionally move to the den, where I could still see her.

[G5052]

I've never have had a dedicated space. We schooled at the kitchen table from a cabinet next to that table for the books. Read alouds were done on the couch near by. It helps that I have only two.

 

Now they have computer desks on one wall of the dining room and use the table. When guests come, they have to pick up and clear the table.

 

As I related in an earlier thread, I never had the money for furnishing and decorating such a room anyway. Now we're nearly done, and it isn't going to happen.

[AimeeM]

We use our dining room, but we also eat in the dining room. We have a dedicated book case, like you, but it's primarily a dining room. All school books are put away as soon as school is over, though.

 

Honestly, things went way smoother when I had a school room, and I'm excited that the house we put in an offer in on has a media room, and an unfinished basement (DH said I can have the media room as a school room!).

[ScoutTN]

We have a kid-sized table and a bookcase in our family room, but not a dedicated schoolroom. We use the small table, the dining room table, the sofa, the lazy boy, beds and Dd does some work at a desk in her room. The fort part of our playground is also a popular place when the weather is right.

 

It is nice to have two tables so that we don't have to pick up school stuff to eat lunch.

[Ausmumof3]

We don't have a schoolroom. I homeschooled for around three years as a kid and mum made dad out in desks etc. But mostly I worked at the couch and of I was in the schoolroom I probably had a novel inside my maths book.

 

We have two small shelves for school stuff and loads of bookshelves around with general knowledge books and a great library.

[AK_Mom4]

Starting year nine here of homeschooling at the kitchen table. DD14 usually reads sprawled across the couch, but written work is done at the kitchen table. She has a desk for her laptop in the kitchen as well.

 

Over time, we have found the best storage for DD's books and materials to be a double-size milk crate that sits in the kitchen. We have played around with other storage, but this has been the easiest to maintain for us over the years.

 

We also do lots of schoolwork at the library and coffee shop during the winter months just to get out of the house. Biology labs this year (with dissections!) will happen in the laundry room where clean up is easier.

[Arcadia]

So, anyone else have to play the clear the table for school, then again for meals game?

My dining table sits six but only my boys eat there. Hubby just sits and holds his dinner bowl in his hands so no table space required. So we don't need to clear the dining table for meals. My dining table is in the living room.

 

My dining room holds my boys study desks and their cellos as well as a single size sofabed. When kids need to be in separate rooms, one goes to the dining room and one stays in the living room.

 

Their school supplies are mainly in the living room.

 

We often school at the library though because the library is a lot more spacious.

[Pawz4me]

When we homeschooled we didn't have a dedicated room.  We easily could have -- we have an unused bedroom and a dining room that only seems to get used as a temporary holding area.  ;)  But I never felt the need for our own space.  The boys liked to spread out and move around.  One day they'd be at the kitchen table, another day one or both might prefer to do most of their work in their own bedrooms, or on the couch.  We have a room dedicated as a home office, so all of our books and supplies lived in there.

[kewb]

Combo dining room/school room. Tbh, I only clear off the tablebof company is coming. Too many books and projects to keep pulling everything out whenever we need it. Labs are done in the kitchen.

My world map hangs under my decorative plates. My credenza is full of school supplies. I have a dedicated bookcase in the kitchen for textbooks and the like.