When we were getting ready to downsize to our 750 sq ft apartment I was kind of surprised when some friends said something like, "You're still planning to homeschool? In that tiny apartment?" And I was like, "Um, yeah. What does the size of my apartment have to do with anything?" It wasn't until later that I realized that many people have a preconceived idea of what homeschool should look like, and a lot of times that doesn't match the reality of our homeschool at all.
I mean, I don't have a homeschool room. We live in 750 sq ft apartment, for heaven's sake! I barely have room for my clothes and my food and my kids. And we store our bikes in our apartment. And we have things like beds and a refrigerator that take up most of the space. We homeschool successfully without having a dedicated school room, and I believe you can, too.
How do we do it? We sit on the couch to read most of the time. We sit at our table or kneel on the hardwood (kids' idea, not mine!) to color and paint and write. We tape the artwork and maps to whatever available wall space we have. We have to be diligent with our papers and either toss them or file them in our homeschool binder so our apartment doesn't drown in paper!
Where do we store our homeschool stuff? If by "homeschool stuff" you mean books, they go on one of three bookcases in the apartment. We have a computer in the corner. We don't have a TV taking up extra space. We have paper and crayons and all kinds of art supplies underneath the computer area. I store some of the more special homeschool toys under my bed (the microscope, the balance, the math manipulatives, the magnet set) so the pieces don't get lost. The most important thing, though, is that we don't have a lot of stuff because we don't have space for it and, frankly, we don't need it.
Here are some pictures of our apartment, AKA our homeschool room. I even vacuumed before I took these pictures!
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| This is our main living area. I took this picture standing right in front of the sink. Notice the computer on the left and the large bookcase on the right where we store our most valuable homeschool stuff (aka books). |
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| This is our kitchen/dining area. I was standing right in front of the couch to take this picture. We work at our little table pretty often to do crafts, science experiments, and any writing or worksheets we may do. Also notice how my crockpot is plugged in, cooking dinner. Crockpot = lifesaver for homeschool moms! (And all moms, really:) |
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| This is one bookcase. Notice our little collection of feathers and acorns on the top shelf. When we go on walks my kids always love to bring home treasures :) |
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| This is the wall you see from the front door. The magnet board is the perfect height for my kids to reach. They are always playing with letters, especially my two-year-old. We hang our art all around the apartment on whatever wall space is available. |
What do you think? Do you have a dedicated room or dedicated space in which to homeschool? Do you think it's a necessity? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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You're right! I was raising 5 kids in a 500 sq. ft. cottage in the woods once upon a time. I was homeschooling 3 of them as a single mom at the time. The other two were an infant and 4-year-old. It's amazing what you can do!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this at the #LaughLearnLinkup
Wow, that is WAY more hardcore than what we do! What amazing experiences you must have had :)
DeleteGreat to see how you do it - Thanks for linking with this week's Parenting Pin it Party.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteThx for linking this up at the Thoughtful Spot!
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