Homeschool Shed, Camper, or Other Alternatives?

[JumpyTheFrog]

DH and I think that schooling would go better if we had a dedicated school building of some sort, not in our house. I know people buy sheds and convert them to offices, so we have talked about that. We are also considering buying a used travel trailer/camper to use as a school house.

 

Has anyone tried any of these or other alternative ideas?

[Χά�ων]

Why not just take them to the library?

[tammyw]

We haven't but we do have what we thought would be a homeschool room. Nope. Turns out we prefer to be comfortable on the sofa!

[Anne]

Like Tammy, we had a dedicated schoolroom which turned out to be primarily a materials storage area....    My kids also preferred the couch, and we did a lot of work at the dining room table.

 

Anne

[EKS]

I know someone who built a one room schoolhouse in her yard (her big yard).

 

I actually was able to use our basement (daylight) as a homeschool room.  It was perfect and amazing!  We had a ton of bookshelves, two desks, a couch, a tv, and a sink and counter space for science stuff.  Oh, and a bathroom, which turned out to be convenient.

[itsheresomewhere]

I am close to someone who has an awesome building in her yard for homeschooling.  Her kid really needed the space away from the house to be able to learn. It is really neat and has some awesome storage.  

 

We have a school room as we need the dedicated space for DS to do his best without all the distractions.  

[lmrich]

I would want to get an old camper and fix it up. Of course I would spend more time decorating it then teaching in it.

[alisoncooks]

That does sound nice. If the space is separate from your house, would bad weather keep you from school? Who wants to troop across the yard in the cold rain?

 

I have daydreamed of building a room on to our house (not for school, but for exercise equipment). But I could join 10 gyms indefinitely for the cost of an addition. :p

[Guest]

I'd probably do a shed/outbuilding. But that only works if you live in a mild climate. Otherwise desks in bedrooms or even the garage might be a better choice. We always just end up at the kitchen table so, as much as I want a dedicated homeschoolIng space, it'd probably just end up being a crap catcher.

[Artichoke]

How about building a shed with your kids as your homeschool space ?  Dh and I are currently looking for a shed and have come to the conclusion that site built is so much cheaper than transported.  

[itsheresomewhere]

I'd probably do a shed/outbuilding. But that only works if you live in a mild climate. Otherwise desks in bedrooms or even the garage might be a better choice. We always just end up at the kitchen table so, as much as I want a dedicated homeschoolIng space, it'd probably just end up being a crap catcher.

  

If that shed/outbuilding has heat/electric/air conditioning, it can be in any climate. 

[KungFuPanda]

Is location the real reason schooling isn't going as well as you'd hoped? MOST of the homeschoolers I know who attempted converting their basement, garage, or whatever, ended up right back in the comfy part of the house . . . usually kitchen, LR, or dining room. It's hard to resist good light, good furniture, and convenient bathrooms. Your efforts might be better spent reorganizing your currents space or revisiting your work habits. A project can be just another distraction when you really just need to push through, establish a consistent schedule, and hit the books.

[Harriet Vane]

Do you have a formal dining room? Perhaps convert that to a schoolroom?

[KungFuPanda]

Another thought is if your children have their own rooms, could they share a room and use a bedroom as a school space? If they're getting too old to share comfortably, then they're probably closing in on the age where they do the bulk of their work in their own room anyway. Once that happens any dedicated school space starts to look like a ghost town.

[Guest]

If that shed/outbuilding has heat/electric/air conditioning, it can be in any climate.

Yes, but usually those prefab sheds aren't what one would choose to wire and insulate. They can be, but it's a lot of work on the panel and digging a conduit. Not impossible, but more expense and time.

 

We put electrical out to our (much nicer than prefab) shed, and it was a surprising amount of work even though it was only fifteen feet from the deck.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Shed would be my choice (cuter) but a camper has multiple uses.  I'd do it as long as it had heat/air, comfy couch work table and internet.