Titus 2:11-13

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus."

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Making a Home a Homeschool...and Vice Versa!

This afternoon, I was again--or maybe still--considering the best ways to organize our homeschool stuff to ensure that everything is orderly when we officially start school next week. Because our house is relatively small (at least by today's standards), I do not have a room or an area of the house that can be specifically designated for school. This has meant that I am attempting to create spaces for our supplies in places that are sensible and accessible but not totally visible. This is what brings me to the question I have: How do you make a home a homeschool and yet keep it a home? While I want to create an atmosphere that invites learning, I do not want to forfeit the "homey" feeling and appearance of a neat, uncluttered home.

So, in efforts to keep our home clutter-free and our homeschool sensible, accessible, and "invisible," I have purchased a couple gently used bookshelves, this one for some of Travis' and my books (to free up space on other bookshelves),

and this one for hidden storage. From the outside, it just looks like a nice piece of living room furniture,

but on the inside is a wealth of stuff including children's games, basic art supplies, children's books, homeschool books, diapers, and even a few toys!

If it weren't for the fact that I want to keep some things out of Isabel and Elliana's reach, I would be able to neatly fit more homeschool supplies in there. Instead, I have one drawer in the kitchen that contains scissors, pencils, glue sticks, lined paper, and a few other supplies

as well as a filing bin in the basement with some other learning aids such as alphabet coloring pages and flashcards.

Lastly, I have a world map and an alphabet poster that I would like to hang on a wall; but I haven't done so yet because I haven't come up with a spot that would be sensible, accessible, and yet not totally visible. :-)

So tell me, you experienced homeschoolers and/or organizers that may be reading this post, am I crazy for thinking I can maintain my home in spite of my homeschool? What ideas do you have for organizing a homeschool in a sensible, accessible, "invisible" fashion?

4 comments:

Mary Kaisand said...

Hang up the homeschool stuff in the child's room. Love your living room shelves! =) I used to work at the Learning Post, and those posters look very familiar!

Jenilee said...

we also have a smaller home and couldn't quite do an invisible school. I had to get over the fact that our house looked like a school. I now love hanging their art and projects and lessons on the walls and although it can be crazy at times, I am relishing in my home as a school! they way you have things organized looks great!! :)

Amy @ Raising Arrows said...

Looking good! I'm in the midst of thinking through our old school space in the basement. I abandoned it b/c it was so dark and dreary down there, yet I like having things out and about for the children to look at and play with. Just not sure how to make it work.

Unknown said...

Before my sister had a separate room for schooling, she had one huge closet that housed absolutely everything. Her Kitchen table served as the school table so many of her learning stuff hung on the wall around there. I don't think she kept it up all the time, but she was able to tuck away when she needed to.

*another idea I had that worked well when I was teaching... I had an stand that could hold posters and things that were appropriate to the lesson... and I kept changing what I put up week to week. Also, you can buy this metal adjustable stands that you hang posters, line paper, and a variety of things from... then you can flip to what you want out when you need it !

Good luck!

Kim Miller

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