Monday, August 9, 2010

"Not" Back to School Blog Hop ~ School Room Week

Not Back to School Blog Hop

Hmmm ... where do we do school?  That is the question for this week's blog hop.

My dream as a homeschooling Mama has always been to have a school room.  I can picture it in my head ... individual desks that the kids can customize to their personalities, bookshelves in a corner with comfy chairs nearby, maps and timelines on the walls, a large closet with lots of storage for all our supplies ...

All that would be wonderful, but lets get back to reality, shall we?  Honestly, we can be found in any number of places around the house or in the yard doing school work.  We do have a few favorite places and these are the ones I'll show you.

The first and probably most used place is our dining room table.  It is small and now that I have all three in school we have to take turns.  This is where they do the majority of their bookwork and all of their copywork/handwriting.

This is an old picture, but it gives a better view of the kids at the table than my newer ones.
This is Gilligan's first year actually doing work at the table ... in this pic he is using dot markers to make his own version of all beginning letters of the names in our family ...
don't ask me what letter he's working on here ... this exercise was more creative than realistic!
Since our work can't all be done at the table together, we spill into the living room for many activities.  The kids' math lessons come with a video to watch and that has to be done in this space.  It is also the home for our bookshelves and our go-to place for reading ... I much prefer our comfy couch over the hard chairs of the table for extended reading times.

Laura wrapped in her favorite blanket for her reading time.
Davy getting ready for his oral reading time.
Sometimes, while one child is working in the dining room, I need the opportunity for one-on-one time with another child, so for this we retreat to my bedroom and of course the best place to hang out here is on the bed.  I can't really speak for the kids, but I look forward to spending time with each of them separately each day.

Davy getting ready to read aloud to me
These may be our most common school spots, but we have been known to do our reading in the yard, on the trampoline, or at the park.  The kids sometimes choose their rooms when privacy (or quiet) is what they are looking for. 

I believe that learning can happen any where ... even sitting on the floor in your pj's practicing with your scissors.
Gilligan

5 comments:

  1. ah yes....homeschooling through life. I am endeavoring to have a little bit more of a steady "center" for our schooling this year by combining our living room into "school central" LOL...yet I am sure we will be actually moving into areas of our home as usual depending on the subject and housework to be done.

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  2. Yes, learning can happen anywhere and at any time - have a great school year

    Yunia
    http://fuentesy.blogspot.com/

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  3. Kitchen table, dining room table, bedroom, couches in l. room, back/side/front yard. It really doesn't matter where as long as its done!

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  4. Oh yeah, jammies are a must. It does get cramped with a lot of kids at the table-did that for years. Hope you have a great year ahead!

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  5. I think I share the same dream, but I do enjoy the cozy times we have :) ...and yes, our favorite....a blanket on the couch, reading a book. Great photo capture of the love of learning.

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