Homeroom
Microwave cabinet = book shelf, drawer=pencil box, kitchen table=desk, side of the refrigerator=whiteboard. |
Over the past four years of homeschooling, we've tried many different spaces and systems for organizing our "classroom". We've stored curriculum in a crate which was mobile as we did school work in multiple rooms (this got confusing). We had a small bookcase next to the desk in the playroom/computer room (the nosiest room in the house). This year we tried using the kitchen for our main classroom and storage area and it WORKED! :) The rooms on the main floor of our home are open - the kitchen leads into the dining room which opens into the living room which leads to the playroom/office which leads us back into the kitchen. Full circle. Perfect for the daycare kiddos to run laps.
The kitchen works better than any other room because not only is it the quietest room, but it is also where I do much of my work. The other rooms are often busy with noisy, playful preschoolers making it hard for The Boy to concentrate on his school work. The kitchen is quiet, yet I am still able to hear what is going on in the other rooms and I am close enough to respond. The bulk of our school work is done in the afternoon during nap time. We get a lot done in that two hour time period! Having our classroom in the kitchen is also helpful in helping me accomplish some of my daily duties. Spelling tests are given while I'm doing dishes. Math instruction is given while I'm making lunch. Grammar instruction is given as I chop vegetables (dinner prep). This has been such a huge time saver for me this year.
Some homeschooling families have the space and resources to have beautiful classrooms that are much like "regular" classrooms. Rooms designed just for schooling, with posters and timeline charts filling the walls (I dream of walls such as these). But most homeschooling families just make the best of the space they have. The most beautiful thing about homeschooling is doing what works best for you and your child/children. After four years of trial and error, we've finally found our space and it works well....for us.
Above the microwave are the materials that we use daily. The knife block doubles as a bookend. :) In the drawer below the microwave we keep erasers, pencils, ruler, and whiteboard markers. We do a lot of our daily work (math problems, sentence diagramming, etc.) on a whiteboard which saves a lot of paper!
As ye therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:6-8
More on homeschool ~
What we use (or have used):
History ~ Story of the World
Math ~ Teaching Textbooks
Grammar ~ Shurley English
Spelling ~ AVKO Sequential Spelling
Science ~ Considering God's Creation
Bible ~ Route 66
Something new that we've added this year (2012) - A chapter of Proverbs is read every day. Thirty one chapters are in Proverbs so that leaves a chapter a day (on months with only 30 days we'll either skip chapter 31 or read it along with chapter 30). By the end of the year we should have the book of Proverbs stored well in our hearts! :)
ONLINE RESOURCES:
Free Math Drills at XtraMath.org
I've learned to be thankful for what we have instead of longing for someone else's beautiful classroom space. Besides, it's good to be "resourceful". :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Savannah!
The kitchen is a wonderful space for schooling! Hope it is continuing to work out nicely for you.
ReplyDeleteYou gave me a chuckle this morning -- searching for Mama's coffee is a common activity around here, and "have you checked the microwave" is the common answer to "has anyone seen my coffee?"
Thanks for sharing!