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mom3bme
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 4:00pm | IP Logged
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Our "home learning center" will open for business in January 2007. I am bringing my oldest (9 year old) son home to school.
My question for you veterans: Do you have a special room or area designated for homeschooling?
Intellectually I recognize that home learning takes place 24/7 but when you are concentrating on the "academics" do you use one room? Do you utilize so many different areas of the house that a special place isn't necessary?
I'm struggling with visualizing the "learning environment". One approach I'm considering is converting an extra bedroom (guest room) by removing the bed and adding a desk & bookshelf. I would also put in a daybed so we could sit and read together, but have a bed for when Grandma visits. This bedroom is on the 2nd floor. The benefit is it is out of the hustle & bustle of household activity. The drawback is I have a very active 2 year old that I'll need to keep track of during the morning when most of our core work will be done.
Another idea I had is to have my son work at the dining room table or set up a small desk for him in there. That way, I can keep an eye on the toddler but be accessible to him. I'm planning on doing more interactive work (like science) in the afternoon when my toddler is napping.
I don't want him working on the kitchen table because it is the dumping ground as well as our main eating area.
Please share with me what you do in your homes. Your insights are welcomed.
Thanks,
Kelly
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lapazfarm
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Joined: July 21 2005
Location: Alaska
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 5:08pm | IP Logged
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I think there was a thread where we shared links to our learning spaces. Was it one of the lovliness fairs? I can't remember.
Anyway... first off, congratulations on your decision to homeschool!
Next, for me the most important thing about our learning space, although it is a seperate room, is that it is centrally located. I have tried other configurations and for me it must be near the kitchen and living areas so that I can multitask. Being upstairs in a seperate room wouldn't work for me at all. I need to be able to sit ds down with math (or whatever) while I feed the baby at the table or teach the littler ones or prepare a meal, etc. Nothing would get done otherwise. Also having ds nearby the action means I can give him attention while I am doing other things and don't just leave him to fend for himself.It makes it easier to go back and forth between him and the littles. And also the littles don't get neglected while I school the older ones.
You second option sounds better to me.
But that's just me.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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JuliaT
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 8:42pm | IP Logged
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We do have a schoolroom. I really like having the schoolroom for two reasons. One, is the reason that you mentioned. Our schoolroom is in the basement. It is attached to our playroom. It is also beside our rec room. I have a 3 old, so when we are doing school, it is so nice to have the playroom close by. This gives her a place to play without getting in too much trouble. I also have set up two shelves for her. I put puzzles, crafts, practical living activities, etc. I rotate the shelves (try to anyway) every week , to give her variety. This helps a great deal as well.
When we are reading we go into the rec room and cuddle up on the couch. I have everything close by.
The other reason I like the schoolroom is that everything is in one place. It is all at my fingertips--math manipulatives, craft supplies, books, etc. I am not a very organized person so this helps my scatterbrained--ness.
Everyone does things different according to their lifestyle and what they deem important as far as teaching goes. If you need to be around the kitchen, if that is the 'heart of the home' for you, then put your son in close proximity to that.
Blessings,
Julia
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
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Willa
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 10:45pm | IP Logged
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We seem to change depending upon the circumstances of our lives.
We built our house so that our second floor loft would be our schoolroom. But when we moved in, it became our project space where we could set things up and not have to take them down all the time.
The dining room became our central "seatwork" location and we'd often sit on the nearby sofa for read-alouds. I could zip over to do something in the kitchen or the laundry room if necessary, and the littler ones could play in the loft and I could still hear and see them if I went partway up the stairs.
This year our academics seem to gravitate around the master bedroom. I think it is partly because the computer is there and we are doing some of our academics on the computer -- online drills or writing, etc.
I know some people like to contain the homeschooling part of their lives to one room but we like to diffuse it out over the house. We usually have a central location but then move out from there according to what kind of things we are doing. Having homeschool in a separate room is difficult for us because there are always littlies who need to be watched and I feel claustrophic when I can't see them. When we really need to concentrate, I'll go off into a quiet room with the child who needs the quiet just for a few minutes, making sure the littlies are safe and accounted for.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Becky Parker
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We have a classroom with wall to wall book shelves. This is where all the school materials are kept. I also have Montessori materials in this room on low shelves. BUT, I've finally learned not to get too upset when we migrate around the house for school. It seems this year we have settled into a migration path that works really well: We start our day in our sunroom which is the room we call the Atrium. We do religion here. Then we all move to the dining room table where we do our writing for the day (I call it "Writing Table time"). Sometimes at the writing table we also do projects that correspond with our religion (like Catholic Mosaic type things). Then, my oldest son goes to his room to do his independent work and I take my 3 littles down to the classroom for Montessori work. We come back up for lunch and have our afternoon story time in the living room on the couch. So, we have a classroom, but we really use the whole house for our learning.
Oh, the computer is in the kitchen and gets used a lot throughout the day as well.
I think my point is that it is good to have a central place where the kids know the books and school supplies are located, but sometimes, like in our situation, it's okay to spread out as well. It has taken me 5 years to come to terms with this and the year is finally going much more peacefully!
Blessings!
Becky
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: homeschool setting
