...with a husband and 5 sons, I am truly outnumbered....stories and thoughts on life from a mom in a houseful of little men!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Homeschooling Families--Any Advice For Me?


Help! I had this little area set up in a corner of our living room for the past year. It worked really well to have a spot for Bobcat to work while I managed the 2 little ones, worked in the kitchen, etc. However, I have reached maximum as far as room for books and things. My bookshelf is overflowing and the hall closet is to over-brimming. We recently bought Eaglet a "big boy" bed and put it up in Bobcat's room. It's going well with having them share a room. So, we now have a bedroom freed-up downstairs. My inclination is to make it into a home-base for homeschooling. There is a closet (which I intend to have my husband install more shelving into, to house science kits, word games, etc.) and a floor-to-ceiling, built-in bookshelf, which I intend to use for reference books and books/curriculums that we use on a daily-basis. My question for any of you is, do you have any suggestions as far as how to set up the room? What kind of furniture? Ideas for the walls? Should I use the pictured child's desk or go for a table set-up. How to arrange them? I also need a spot for Eaglet, who will be beginning pre-school, and an area for Spunky Cub to go wild in. I would like a place to sit down and work on lesson plans, have "school supplies" handy, etc. And, I should mention, that it is not my intention to sit down in this room all day, every day and "do school". Yes, we'll work down there at times, but I'm sure we'll, just as often, take reading onto the couch, or math up to the kitchen table. And, of course, those fun science experiments will be done in the kitchen. I truly would appreciate anyone's advice, and/or sharing of how your rooms look like and are set up. Pictures are good! I challenge you to post 'em! Thanks a million!

1 comment:

Jodi said...

Oh man, I've forgotted all about this! I was going to answer this a long time ago. So sorry about that!

Truth be told, we don't really have a room set aside for school. We usually use the kitchen table because I like to have Baba close by (and the kitchen is where I seem to spend most of my time). I do have a corner of the livingroom that has a cupboard with all of our school supplies in it . . . but that's overflowing onto a table in the living room, so I really need to organize that.

I do have a coat closet in the kitchen that isn't being used for coats, so I have a bookshelf in there with picture books, puzzles, coloring books, simple games, etc. that Margie can use while we're working on school. Lately, she's really into doing her own "schoolwork" which is just some preschool workbooks that I picked up at the homeschooling convention. I like the fact that her stuff is all in a closet so I can close it off when I need to, yet she still has easy access to it.

When I work on lesson plans and stuff like that I use my stamping room, which is in the basement. It's my own private space, and I find it easier to think when I'm down there. Plus, the family room is next-door, so I can have Junior there playing with toys or watching a video while I'm working.

Pictures? Ha! That would be scary. I'm soooo disorganized at the moment.

I do have a suggestion for your schoolroom--get a beanbag. The little guys will enjoy rolling around on it, and I bet Bobcat will snuggle up there for a read now and then.