I was reading a hs book (can't remember which one--something general) and it said that like 90% of people who start with a "school room" end up not using it. Does this apply to any of you? Some of the comments were that the room was in the basement so they couldn't get stuff done around the house, etc. Right now we are in a small house with no extra space, but when we move from here in a couple of years, we will hopefully be building our "indefinite" house, so I am trying to plan. My idea was to build a big room next to the kitchen that had a huge closet that I could use for storage and also a bathroom, and then when we are old and can no longer go upstairs it can be our bedroom. I got some eye rolling at this.:roll: Anyway, what has worked well (or not) for you?
When I made a schoolroom in the basement it didn't last long. So, then I made one in my son's room and that was heaven! However...I after Alyssa, I had to use both bedrooms again. I sure wish I could fit all three in one room. lol. I probably could but my dh hates the idea. I can't say I blame him...but having an extra room was great! Anyway...then I made my breakfast nook into a school area. It has all the stuff but we usually end up using the dining room table to do the work anyway. So, I guess I am back in that 90%.
I would love to have a huge basement for a school/play room. I'd put bean bags all over and big wall maps and activity tables for the little one. We use books shelves to store our books on weekends but during the week they stay spread out over the kitchen table. Most of the work is done at the table but we often go outside in the backyard or Samantha will sit in her window seat in her room to do reading.
That's why I'm trying to think ahead--I would be in that 90% too, I bet! I think near the kitchen would be good since it seems like we are in there all the time...I would like it to be big so it could also be a playroom for the other(s) that come along. We are planning on small bedrooms!
I've never had "school room", beacuse we don't have the extra space. Our dining room serves as our school room, and all of our bookshelves and things are in there. I guess whether having a room just for school, works depends on how accessible the room is. I don't think your plan sounds too bad. Even if you migrated out of the room sometimes, your stuff would be in one place with great storage!
I am thinking that, too, Pam. I don't think we would always stay in there, but it would be nice to have a space to store all of our stuff. I am hoping that one day our kitchen table will be just for eating. At least most of the time. Ha!
Even if you don't always use the room...it is nice to have the storage. My basement was just not ready for that kind of thing. It isn't finished. We just have a carpet and toys down there. It is also dark and an ugly color. lol. When I used my son's room...(at the time it was an extra room)..we used it everyday! I LOVED it! The rest of the house stayed nice and clean. My breakfast nook is too small for really working. I am thinking of trying to change that around so they can at least do their workbooks in there. It was soooo nice to have the space. I hate using my dining room. I just hate the mess and the clutter.
I would LOVE to have a play room. An extra room for a couch, tons of bookshelves, table, beanbags, pillows and bright colored walls, did I mention tons of bookshelves already But we use the whole house.
We don't have any extra room (our basement isn't finished at all, but hopefully one day!) We end up doing a lot on the front deck at a large table with an umbrella, at least lately. Sometimes it's in the living room, or kitchen. I think I would love to have a room just to keep all the craft stuff, educational toys, curric, paper, etc in. That would probably take up the whole room, lol!
I had a school room. I made the kids double up and turned one of the bedrooms into a schoolroom. For the most part I liked it cause it kept everything in one room. on the other hand my kids stop working and goof off the minute that I leave that area so it was hard getting my chores done. In the got rid of it and used the dining room again.
I was going to do school in the basement but ended up putting a small table in my dining room into this little "cut-out" I have and it works perfect.
Well dd tells everyone our diningroom is our classroom does that count? I do have a friend who has an actual classroom set up- bulletin boards and the whole 9 yards. She homeschools 3 kids and they have the room for it. I would LOVE to do that so it was all in one place. I would like to have my dining room back lol.
We started with a more loose structure the first year, but for us it didn't work well. My kids asked for their own desks and we now use the bonus room for school. We do history and science together (4th,5th,6th graders) in the familyroom --reading history together and lots of science in the kitchen.
Dh wants to build one in the basement, I am not certain, I would use it. Most of my books are in the dining room and we do most of our work spread out. Some at the Kitchen table, some on the living room couch and some in the office.
We use ours every day. When I have a busy week and have to do a lot of cleaning or something we'll work upstairs.....but it's in our "4th level" just above the basement (we have a split level with 5 levels). It gets lots of lights. It is an ALL kids room. It's mostly school stuff and educational games, puzzles and toys...but we have two drawers that are baby toys for the 2 year old while we school. I don't know what I'd do without that room. i know it keeps down on mess and clutter in the rest of the house. I imagine as they get older, it will change a bit and they'll do school whereever they like. But while we're in the starting stages, it's nice to have a base for it.
Jacob does his schooling in the dining room, the computers in his bed room, somttimes he will do school in the living room
Yes and no! We do school througout the whole house, but we do have both an eating area in the kitchen and what normal people would turn into a dining room. Only our "dining room" has two computers, a desk, and some of those plastic drawers, The living room off of the dining room has three bookcases (one small, two large). So our computer room is, in a sense, our "school room". But the kids do a lot of school at the kitchen table, or in their rooms, or sitting on the living room couch. Oh, and now that the weather's nice, they might be doing it outside. They've made like a hammock out of an old sheet, hung from some beams on their swingset, and they especially like to do their Silent Reading out there!
we have a room that is just off our lounge room, and is affectionately known as the study. It is not exclusively a school room, but it is where we do school, at least all the written work. It is also where the computer is, and most of our books. The kids each have a desk there, and we use it everyday. We don't have the problems that others described, becuase it is part of the living area of our house. When the kids are finished with school, we will turn this room into a library, with beautiful carpet, floor to ceiling bookcases (which I would like to have now but can't afford), and a reading chair.....my dreams, lol. I imagine that the computer will always live there. We also use the rest of the house for school too - reading in the lounge room, music in the music room, science in the kitchen if it's messy, art on the verandah, displays on the kitchen wall. It is great to have a space for desks and storage of books & stuff - I would definately plan for one. But it is also useful to realise that school is part of your family life, not a segregated part, so it's unlikely that you will be able to segregate the learning that occurs in your home to just one room.
We heavily use our schoolroom BUT...it is a central part of our house. Well not central but...it's actually the formal dining room area off the kitchen off the entry-which is off the living room. so...except for bedrooms...it's all connected open. The boys use the table and all the supplies for anything that they want to do during the day (drawing/recording sport scores, whatever tickles them at the moment). We take our read aloud history & science to the couch but...everything else is done in the classroom (few exceptions mostly dealing with science experiments. lol) I think it if your classroom is away from all the other action in your house that you would tend to not use it as much. I pondered quite a bit before we decided which room to use. The "formal dining room" space or the spare bedroom. Well..our spare bedroom is off away from every other part of the house so...I went with the one off the kitchen for easy cleanup at the kitchen sink. It was the best decision! Alrighty...I gotta go get packed! eek! I'm heading up to work the Arlington, TX book fair. If you are attending that one be sure to stop and say "hi" at the STW booth. Tina and I will be there Fri afternoon and Sat morning. The rest of the time SHOPPING! ROFL
