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At_His_Feet
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Where do you "do school"?
When we first started I had plans to build a car port with a small room attached which would be our school room. However I decided against this as I found out that most families work at the dining table.
However, recently I have started to think longingly about a school room (for want of a better word as it sounds so school at home-ish)as I often feel overwhelmed and distracted by all the other things around me that need doing. I have this perception that if we had a dedicated area for learning, away from the stressful mess that generally goes with family life, that I would be happier in my role as teacher. Am I deluding myself?
I would love to hear from people who have tried this.
Tricia
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Tricia
Mum to 3 boys 17, 15, and 10.
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mom2mpr
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Oooooh! Me too!
This year we are going to try to work in the basement some. Ds is not thrilled, "it is so dark and dingy down there." BUT, I think it will help all of us focus. We won't do all our school--just our morning math, LA, etc. It is an old finished basement so not as dingy as ds says  but before I invest in "furniture" to make it more "homey" I am looking forward to seeing how this works. One problem I see is that the maps are on the walls in the basement, and if we read upstairs and need it we have to trudge downstairs and have to transition dd back upstairs away from whatever toy caught her eye in the few minutes we were down there.
Looking forward to hearing others' responses.
Anne
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TracyQ
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We school all over. We have a schoolroom/office (extra bedroom), but it holds all of our thousands of books on bookshelves, my desk, and all of our school stuff. We have a table in the middle for schoolwork, etc. When someone needs to go somewhere to do schoolwork with no distractions, they go there or in my bedroom (the other downstairs bedroom).
Most schooling is done in the living room, on the computer in the kitchen, and at the kitchen table though. It's just how it works best for us. But my kids are older now, and have their own lists they follow, etc., but it's how we've always homeschooled.
Tracy
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Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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Devoted
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We have a school room. *I* would prefer to have school all over but my little student wants to have school in the school room. I think she feels less distracted in there but I'm not really sure. I just know she likes it and given a choice will choose it.
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JSchaaf
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We are in the process of finishing our basement. It will be our "learning room". All our books will be down there, a couch and loveseat, plus all our "school" stuff. There will be places for art and crafts, science, etc. Most of the toys will be down there as well. I get very distracted working with the girls when I can see the kitchen, the laundry, etc. I keep thinking of all the other stuff that needs to be done. So I guess this basement room is more for me than them???
Jennifer
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dawn2006
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as I often feel overwhelmed and distracted by all the other things around me that need doing.
WE're just barely starting with a Kindergartner but I have dedicated our formal dining room to be the schoolroom. I like it b/c we keep it clean after we're done even when the rest of the house is in shambles.
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Dawn Farias | wife to Ariel | mom to Gabriel 9, Daniel 7, Elizabeth 5, and Michael 3 | blogger at Be Absorbed | native Texan but currently living near Seattle
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cathhomeschool
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We have a schoolroom/office (master bedroom). The computers (on desks) are in there, as are most of our books (on several bookshelves). We have our old dining room table in the middle of the room, and a window seat holds a printer, globe, and other random stuff. We use this room *a lot.* Puzzles and crafts are done in there, the boys paint (and play with) their LOTR Strategy Battle Game pieces there, games are played in there, and often schooling is done in there as well. We read on the couch or on a bed. When the boys need to focus on school work away from distractions, they go to their room and sit at a built in desk or sprawl out on the floor. I must say that I *love* having a schoolroom. It is a luxury, for sure, but we don't just use it for "school."
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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JuliaT
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We have a schoolroom and for two years we used it. But this past winter, our learning style changed quite a bit. We became more relaxed in our schooling. A schoolroom just didn't fit into that environment. So now we school all over. For us, doing school in the living area of our home meshes with our learning style.
Blessings,
Julia
mom to 3(8,6,4)
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
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lapazfarm
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I have centers set up all over the house including dining room, living room, and master bedroom, plus one tiny room full of all of our science stuff that I call our science room. The kids and I like the variety of it.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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jenny ann
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I hate answers that begin with "It depends..." but that's how my answer begins  . It depends on your fanily and learning styles. We have a school room that does house 'most' of our books and all our curriculum/supplies. I've also moved my craft stuff into the room's closet as 'my' craft stuff is usually also the 'kids' craft stuff. We do alot in the school room but we read together everywhere and do messy science/art stuff in the kitchen. When we do want to do things other places in the house I have stolen a brilliant idea from Dawn to use LLBean totes for each of the kids. I put their current workbook or reading book that they are working on and anything extra they might need. Then at the end of the day I can tell them to put their stuff in their bag and put up in the school room. It definitely helps when you want to clear the kitchen table for dinner! I find the most helpful thing about the school room is that there is someplace for all of our wonderful stuff to go and I can close the door when company comes! Also, my children are like Devoted's pupil-they feel more comfortable and focused when doing 'school' in the 'schoolroom'. Hope this helps!
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cgregas
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We are very blessed to be able to have a schoolroom. When we built our home we had this in mind. We have been in almost a year and do love schooling in this special room filled with windows, but I also found that we love to move around depending on the time of year and weather. We would find ourselves sitting at a little table in the winter in front of the fireplace, we would work on lessons in the kitchen while baking some yummy treat and we loved to work outside at a picnic table. The schoolroom is great but it is always nice to have a change of scenery. I love to have things through out all the rooms in the house to build a love of learning and books.
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Alison
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I'm not sure where to post this, but we "share" our schoolroom this winter, with many of our pets,including a turtle ,our birds,our silky bantams chicks and our dogs. I posted some pictures on our blog. Let me know what you think!Oh and its also nice and tidy for a new terms work!!
Alisonhttp://homeschoolingdownunder.blogspot.com/
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CandaceC
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How funny, I JUST posted pics of my school room late Saturday night. I've been organizing and re-organizing...and this is what it looks like, for now.
Our school room
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Candace - wife to David since 2000...mommy to Hannah (Feb. 2002), Emily (April 2003) and Caleb (March 2005)
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allegiance_mom
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We do our seat work in the dining room. We used to have a bigger home and had a dedicated school room. It was a 2 family house, but we lived in all of it and I had the upstairs kitchen. So convenient to have a sink! I miss it! I have stuff all over the house now, because of storage constraints. It is rather inconvenient when I am looking for something. We were just looking (online) at a 3-family house for sale yesterday. If we can manage the money for it (going for cheap), I would have an entire kitchen and living room on the second floor for a school room and library. If only.....
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Mom to two boys, 14 and 8, and one pre-born babe in Heaven (Jan 2010)
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AndieF
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I'm another "it depends." We have a bedroom that we converted to the learning room. It is in a downstairs bedroom. It is for the older kids. I teach preschool out of my home in the mornings, and the preschool is also downstairs in the family room, so during the mornings, we are all on the same level, and I'm available to both, although the older kids tend to work fairly independently during this time.
After lunch, a lot of times, the older kids finish up on the upstairs dining room table while the youngest plays in the next room in our living room-turned-playroom.
But othertimes, everybody will do art back down in the preschool room (most of the art supplies are in that room). Or the girls will read in the room for awhile.
So we school all over, but I'm glad to have a school room "home" for all the books and supplies and tables to work at, etc. That way, at the end of the day, it can all go there, I can shut the door, and I know where it is the next day, etc.
Andie (homeschooling mom to dd 9, dd 7, and ds 4)
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ShawnaB
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I agree with Jenny Ann...it depends. 
A year ago we had a 400 sq foot school room, totally dedicated to "doing school." It was filled with all kinds of wonderful things. It look a bit like Candace's, but without her flair for decorating! 
I found that I didn't use it like I thought I would. It was separate from the rest of the house, and since I have to wear many hats...cook, cleaner, secretary, etc., I found that it was difficult to sequester myself in that room and not be able to multitask.
Also, the ages of my children...all young...made it no-so-ideal to have them using that room without my presence was not good. They made big messes, found trouble, and really needed my guidance in using our materials.
When I began homeschooling, the line between "school" and the rest of life was quite defined. Now, those lines are quite blurred, and are largely disappearing.
A year ago, we moved to a different house with a very different floor plan. There is a large family room that opens up to my kitchen. This is where we live. Our books are here, our toys, and our art materials. I keep totes of each child's notebooks and curriculum here. The kids use the kitchen table and a small child's table for writing and projects.
I find that at my children's ages, I want them near me as much as possible. In our new setup, I can interact with them at the table while I load the crock pot. I can allow a little one to sit on the kitchen counter and watch the crockpot be loaded while I talk with the older ones.
We also have an extra bedroom that I use to store stuff that we don't want out all the time. I'll mention that I also purged a TON of "school" stuff when we moved, as I realize better now that a lifestyle of learning really doesn't require every shiny learning product in the catalogue.
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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CandaceC
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Shawna, I wanted to comment that it really sounds like I have the best of both worlds! My school room may look large, but it is the biggest room in our house and our house is all one level...with the kitchen/dining being attached to our school room. Really, this room is where we spend our days and includes toys, schooling, computer and access/visibility to the kitchen/dining, which is the other place I spend time during the day.
And, when I am in the kitchen, I can see and hear my kids through the big window, so I'm still a part of what is going on.
Like others have mentioned, I would not want this room if it were downstairs or in another part of the house, I like that is is front and center. Right now I am sitting at the desk on my laptop, 2 children are on the floor playingw with toy vehicles and one child is at the table coloring and crafting. This is how our days look...and part of why I love this room. This room is pretty much the reason we bought this house! LOL!!
Our house was built in 1960, but this room was added on probably 15 years ago, and we've lived here 5 of those years.
I think like the others have mentioned it does depend on the layout of your house. Many times I have dreamed of a bigger house...but this room really makes me not want to move, because of it's location, because the house is one level and we are very much "together." I haven't seen many houses (even though they are big and beautiful) that have a layout like I have.
I do NOT think I'd use a "school" room if it were in a basement or somewhere far away from where we live "life." Because like Shawna said, those 2 things are so intertwined and really aren't 2 such separate things anymore.
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Candace - wife to David since 2000...mommy to Hannah (Feb. 2002), Emily (April 2003) and Caleb (March 2005)
His Mercy Is New
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Elizabeth
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I'm thinking about dismantling my schoolroom for many of the same reasons as Shawna cites. I also think I was more active and less sedentary we primarily spending our days in the living spaces of our house instead plopped down in that one room. And, because we truly could use the bedroom space for, well, beds . Right now, we have a large upstairs room dedicated to "schooling." I'm thinking about doing pretty much what Shawna did. Anybody else un-schoolroom their house? Is it working or do you feel like you have school clutter everywhere?
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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stellamaris
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We have a great two-car garage area we converted to a school room years ago. It is just off the laundry room and quite near the kitchen, which is helpful, but I have found I rarely use it for anything other than a (very cluttered  ) storage space! Somehow, we find ourselves at the kitchen table, the dining room table, and on the couch most of the time. The one thing the room is used for is especially messy crafts. Unfortunately, having this large space has contributed to my accumulating too many books, craft supplies, etc. Good and bad at the same time! Love having access to lots of books, hate it when the room gets to the point of overflowing and it's a HUGE effort to sort it out. In our new, small house, we have three large bookshelves with everything we need for the year, and frankly, it's a huge relief not to be overwhelmed with so many choices. I guess "less is more". If I did it again, I would just put a few large bookcases in the main room and SORT OUT STUFF more often. I also find it is more fun to have the learning centers around the house--music near the piano, art books on the coffee table, a bird observation area near the window by the bird feeder, that kind of thing. The older I get, the more I begin to appreciate simplicity.
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Caroline
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AndieF
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Elizabeth wrote:
| Anybody else un-schoolroom their house? Is it working or do you feel like you have school clutter everywhere? |
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I've only been schooling elementary school aged children along with youngers for a year now, so I'm NOT an expect, but this was exactly why I had to have a school room. We do have "learning" areas all over our house, and I do have some bookcases/baskets, tables, etc. that we use for learning besides the school room. But, our home is too small for me to be able to leave books, paper, art supplies, out for long (particularly when the children work upstairs at the dining table - we have NO space for a table in our kitchen, and just space for a dining table in our dining room.) When we didn't have a school room, everything was always cluttered or being moved from space to space, or getting lost, and just did not give off the look that I wanted for my home (I don't mind lived in, but this looked messy.) So for us, we needed to have the school materials have a home in its own room.
Andie (homeschooling mom to dd9, dd7, and dd4)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: School room???
