Thursday, September 3, 2009

Our Homeschool Room

When we first looked at this house, I was thrilled to see that there were four main rooms downstairs- a kitchen, living room, dining room and a fourth room- directly across from the kitchen and carpeted. Sam was only two years old at the time, but we already knew we wanted to homeschool him and any children that followed. This room became our play room, then school room.
Jamey built this book shelf for me two years ago out of the old wood from the floor of our smokehouse. It holds all our school books. In the three left cabinet doors are all the kids' toys (except for some in their rooms) and in the cabinet on the right (which is under lock and key), our craft supplies (glue, paint, etc.). Stuff the kids are not supposed to get into to.


To the left of the school shelves, is the school table and love seat. The love seat is for read-alouds.


To the left of the couch, is the doorway into our living room and to the left of that are these shelves containing picture books with games in the cabinet below. This shelf also holds Sam's Human Torso (up on top) - an awesome gift he received from his aunt last Christmas.

To the left of the Human Torso-holding shelves is the doorway into our mudroom and beyond that is the kitchen. The other door you see leads into the laundry room.


This year, Sam and Sadie each have some sort of container to hold all their school books. I like this because it means we can lift the containers up at the end of the school day and store them on the school shelves, leaving a cleared table for play dough, legos, etc.

Also, each child has their own silverware basket. Not for snack time, but to hold their own supplies. This cuts down on squabbling over who is not letting who use what when. It holds their pencils, colored pencils, markers, scissors, glue stick, etc. These are Sam's (above).


And, these are Sadie's.

These are Sam's kindergarten and first grade pictures. For the past two years, we have framed some things from Sam's school year (at the end of the year) to help him remember what he learned and to display some of his work. In kindergarten, each week he made a little badge with a saying on it- these are displayed (on the left) around a self-portrait he made. Last year, we read a lot of Bible stories- these are the pictures that were part of his time line, again surrounding a self-portrait and a Bible verse he copied. Notice the progression in self-portaits?

We won't have enough room for one of these for each child each year in the school room, so later this year, they will move to the wall beside the staircase where there is tons of room. These glass frames came from Ikea.

So, there you have it. Mornings, Tuesday through Friday, this is where we are:-). Pin It

11 comments:

  1. What a pleasant & super organized school room! I love the love seat for reading right there. So many great ideas, & great picts.
    I did post a definition @ Simply Charlotte! after I read the directions thoroughly. I often do that. Realize I didn't read all the way through. Saw your definition, we didn't have a word for it, except one for the result- 'jello-brain' my kids even say that to me. "Does this cause Jello in my brain?"
    Thanks for posting your pictures- :)Laura

    ReplyDelete
  2. p.s. Looking forward to the 'read-aloud' post. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So beautiful! What a great place to keep everything organized and tidy. You have some great ideas...everything looks fresh and cheery! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I Like the idea of the story couch.....and that they have their "own" supply baskets...the school room is as cute as can be!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I forgot to comment on this wonderful room yesterday! It looks like such a nice place for you kiddos to learn.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this post - we plan on homeschooling our Sam too (although he is only six months atm lol), and having a room set aside and seeing how organised it all is certainly inspires me!

    thanks oxox

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE your school room! You have very nice styling taste, and that cupboard your DH made is so beautiful. Having it made from your own timbers makes it even more special. Thanks for sharing the photos, they were wonderful to see. Oh, one other thing - the love chair for read-alouds .. what special times I can envisage happening as you and the children snuggle up! Great idea,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the silverware basket idea. I have just started homeschooling with my 2 1/2 year old little boy. Meaning, i now have a plan when we sit down for learning time. LOL Keep the good tips coming!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi!

    I mean this in the nicest way... are you real??
    Can I come visit you and see how you do it all?!
    I need to be re-energized and I am not even that organized!
    How do you do it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Diane,
    You are very sweet and I am very real. Real, as in, my house is currently quite the mess and I am desperately in need of a shower.

    I strive to keep this blog positive. Even though I consider myself to be very fortunate, I am far from perfect. It's the good things I want to remember down the road and this blog is my attempt to boost my memory.

    I wish I could invite you over. Instead, I hope you can settle for reading me here:-).

    ReplyDelete

Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

Please choose the Anonymous option if you prefer not to sign in to comment.

Related Posts with Thumbnails