Homeschool Monday ~ A Schoolroom...or Not

I have attempted to write a post about my favorite school rooms and my own personal school room for a while now but it just hasn’t happened. Most folks who know me know that I do my best to live outside of the proverbial box in every way I can. It occurred to me that it wasn’t absolutely necessary to have an actual school room with school desks. What if my kids would be more comfortable in other areas of the house? Would it be more convenient to have them doing school where I could also be doing dishes or folding laundry while answering questions? Don’t be deceived, our house is not huge at all but, with a toddler, three school age kids and all the housework that comes with a family, I often wish that I could be in several rooms at once. With that in mind, I finally took the plunge and pulled my school room apart and moved my kidos to the kitchen table. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a good bit of schoolroom envy. In fact, here are a couple of my favorites.

This is the Murphy Academy schoolroom complete with giant whiteboard, networked computers and some fancy lighting.




This is Edie's from LifeinGrace.com garage transformed into a schoolroom.




I still get the urge to go IKEA shopping when I look at those rooms but, I have finally realized that it would just be money wasted if the whole “room” thing doesn’t really work for me. When I was a new homeschooling mommy, all I wanted was a school room. We lived with my parents the first year we homeschooled and our entire school spaced consisted of a corner of my mom’s dining room where my two oldest sat at their little two seat children’s table and a 5 shelf bookshelf in another corner. One of the things I looked most forward to in moving into my newly remodeled house was my school room. We have made it work for 4 years now but only because that is what I that I needed to “properly educate” my children.

For a few weeks now, the older children have been doing school at the kitchen table where I can teach and do dishes at the same time. I have one small bookshelf where the kids keep the things they need to do school each day.

I love it! Our school room has been transformed into some multi-purpose space. It is part playroom but it also now houses our computer which was moved out of our office. This has also proved helpful. I can now do the family accounting, blogging and anything else that I need the computer for without being tucked away in our office.

Our office has also been transformed. This is my favorite part!! The old office is now our library! EEEKKK!! My own personal library complete with organized and cataloged books. I have in heaven!! I admit it. I am one of those weird souls that gets a strange endorphin release from seeing shelves lined with books, that are MINE!

Anyway, the point is that your school space, and your entire house for that matter, should work for you and your family no matter what the norms are.