We decided to homeschool a few months before we moved last year and I was really hoping our house would have an extra room where we could have all our homeschool stuff without junking up other rooms of my house. I scoured the inner nets looking for photos of this elusive room and am sad to tell you that I didn’t find much. I envisioned my boys going in the room at 8:30 every morning and coming out at 12. This room was gonna be great. No maps on the wall in the living room in my house.
Well, that 8:30 thing didn’t happen. But, I’m am so happy that this house has an extra room. It took me having this room to realize that we really didn’t need it. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a room to store all our books and copiers and papers and pencils and games and manipulatives and maps and paint and even toys. But, we really never did school in this room. It’ so much more natural for us to start our morning with me reading to the boys and we either do that at the breakfast table or on the sofa or in front of the fire in the winter or on one of their beds or outside on the porch or at the park.
Then, we usually do math and they pick different places to do that but one usually sits on the sofa and another on the floor at the coffee table and another in the dining room or in the secret reading room. I don’t really care where they do their work as long as they do it neatly and with a good attitude. Deciding on one place for them to do school is not a battle I care to fight. This has been so freeing to me. I was actually surprised to find that my boys can learn in places other than sitting at a desk. I think they might learn more when not sitting at a desk.
I love that just this week my oldest BEGGED his younger brother to let him {older} read to him {younger} out of his history book {not a text book} and they spent about 15 minutes upstairs on the bed with the door closed reading about Egypt. That was a win. No schoolroom needed.
So I would tell you that I’m glad that we have bookshelves . I would also tell you that I love having a copier/scanner/printer. But, I think it’s most important to have cozy places to have school and I think that even helps set the tone for natural, life long learning. When they are sitting on the sofa doing something other than watching TV that is nice. When they want some privacy and go to their room to read, or draw that thrills me.
So what do you think? Do you have a schoolroom? Do you have maps in your living room and love it? What works for you?