-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am trying to get things organized for when we start HSing in the summer. Here are my three options for where to HS: Dining Room: Right now this room is empty since we just moved and didn't have a dining room table. My mom has an old table we can use and put in there. It is nice because it is a separate room and I can see it from the kitchen (where I spend a lot of my time). It is a good sized room, but it doesn't have any doors on it and you can see it immediately when someone comes to the front door. In fact, it is the only part of the house you can see from the front door (other than a foyer and some stairs). There isn't room for a couch, but we could do read alouds in the living room. Kitchen: We have a nice breakfast nook area with our table. It would be nice to have them in the kitchen where I could keep a close eye on them when they are doing things on their own. Another incentive is that I would have to clean up our school stuff every day to use the table for dinner every night. I would also have to clean up the dishes before bed so it would be ready for the morning (this is a bad habit I have gotten into...leaving the dishes for morning). However, there is no place to hang artwork or maps since there are windows all around the breakfast nook. Also, if we are working on a long term project, it might be a pain to clean it up for every meal. Playroom/exercise room: This room is gigantic. There is plenty of room for everything we would need and two couches that we can do read alouds. We already store all of our art stuff and books in there so that would be at our fingertips. We also have a wall painted with chalkboard paint so we have somewhere I can teach if we need a chalkboard. It is also closed off from the rest of the house (and I could shut the door if someone came over). However, I wouldn't be able to see them as well from the kitchen (even with the door open). The biggest potential problem I see here is distraction since all of their toys are in this room. It might be better to have a separate school area and they can take their breaks in the playroom. Obviously I can change my mind if an area isn't working for us, but I thought I would ask input from all of you veterans out there! I would rather be organized and ready to go when we start!
I guess it depends on the age of your kids and how you decide to "do school." If it was my school I would pick the playroom. My kids don't have a lot of independent work and when one does I am usually working with the other one so being able to be in another room while they work doesn't happen too much. I would also prefer the playroom because a good portion of our school day is away from a "desk."
I'm not really a veteran since it's my first year, but I think I would use the dining room, but only if it does NOT have carpet. We do lots of messy art and science projects, so carpet would not mix well with that. That said, we do our school work all over the place-read alouds on the couch or on my bed, worksheets at the kitchen table, science experiments on the kitchen counters, dd12 and dd10 work in their rooms a lot, and sometimes we work outside. I haven't put our maps and timeline up yet since we moved, but before I had them up in a bedroom and when we needed them, we would just get up and go in there. Here, I will probably put some of the maps in the dining room, the timeline down the hallway, and the alphabet cards on the wall by the computer. I store all of our books and major supplies on a shelf and in a rolling cart by the computer so they are easy to access. Maybe you could store your things in the playroom and do your work in other areas. That way you could limit the distractions and supervise them better but still be about to close the door on the mess when you had company.
I would go with the dining room and hang curtains over the door. With the curtains, you can have it open when needed and then close it when guests come over. I like having my kids close by while I'm working in the kitchen and doing other things!
I'd go with the dining room if I had to choose one, but do you have to choose one? My kids do their independent work at the dining table, which is by the kitchen. This allows me to cook and clean and still be available for questions. We do read alouds on the couch, spelling wherever it happens, and lately they do personal reading time in the closet with head lamps. Most of our school stuff that is current is stored in cabinets in the dining area. I'd say 75% of school happens around the table, but we store school items in the office, too.
if your playroom is big enough, you could wall off a corner or half of the room with bookshelves to create a "nook" for school. this would lessen the chance of distractions and make efficient use of the space. I tried to create an actual school room with desks for my kids and it was pretty much a wasted effort since they would rather curl up on the couch with their work on a clipboard!
I'd also go with the dining room. My kids are 4 and 7 and we have a seperate classroom-it's mostly for storage and for peace and quite when the older one needs to concentrate on something. We do school EVERYWHERE. Read alouds in my chair, on the couch, in someone's bed, in the floor, outside, where ever. I like the curtain over the doorway idea!
My son will be 5 and in kindergarten. I also have a DD3 and a DS9months. We will only be doing about 90 min of actual work per day. Everything else will be read alouds, art, music, science experiments. DD3 does do some stuff at the table while we are doing school (coloring books, manipulatives, art projects), but would usually rather play while we are schooling. DS9months is very easy going and is happy wherever he is (playpen, high chair, floor). I know that will change when he starts walking...probably right before school starts for us! I love the idea of separating an area of the playroom for school (then I could keep an eye on the younger two), but there is carpet in there.
Diningroom then because they are so young. You could even get away with keeping most of the games etc down in the play area and only books in the dining area. A small china hutch would hide all of it.
I would say the playroom. That way the younger two can play and you and the oldest can do school. Let us know which one you pick.
I have never had a separate designated school room, we have book cases in just about every room in the house. Over the years, and within each day the kids have worked in different areas. The kitchen table was our main spot for written work when the kids were younger. Now that they are older and very independent, they prefer to sit at desks in their rooms. We have the computer's in the family room/kitchen, but if they need a quieter place to take a test, they often end up in the dining room. If they are just reading then they curl up on the couch in the living room, or on their beds.
I suggest dining room, provided you wouldn't be eating there much. I remember you said you have a nook in the kitchen. If you generally use that for family meals, then your dining room is the best bet. Think about convenience. If you are going to have to be running from the playroom to the kitchen area thoughout the day as the kids work, it will be much better just to have them where you can see them.
I would do the dining room with curtains like another suggested. My twin boy's are in 1st and DD in 2nd. Our study area is in the playroom area and it is a distraction. We have it separated and there is PLENTY of space, but they are ALWAYS getting up and getting a toy or something. It drives me crazy! If they have any downtime, they just assume they can get up and go do something in the play area. When they are young, it's nice to be able to see them from the kitchen. I definitely would not do it in the kitchen area. It's such a hassle when you want to leave things out so you can finish later but have to clean up for meals etc... Ours used to be in the kitchen before moving downstairs.
Just do really messy things in the dining room then That is what I do anyway. Having a combined playroom and schoolroom allows my little one lots of play time while we are in school.
