Wishing you had a dedicated homeschool Room? Do you scroll Pinterest and Instagram for homeschool room ideas and dream of the perfect learning environment? After 12 years of experience, both with and without a homeschool room, I have learned 4 amazing reasons to ditch the homeschool room and reimagine your homeschool space.
#1 Helps Shift Homeschooling Mindset
Learning happens everywhere, not just a dedicated homeschool room. We are conditioned to think learning happens in a specific place and time. When we make the shift to home education, there is a gradual process of relearning, reimagining what education really is. True learning happens throughout life.
Don’t box in your homeschool by limiting learning to a confined space. Often, we replicate the public system without realizing it. But most of us have left the public system because we desire something different.
Most learning is unstructured, natural, and intertwined with real life. Your space should reflect your goals and priorities. If your desire is to break out of the box of public education, don’t fall into the temptation to replicate it…even a cute Pinterest- worthy version of it.
Learning is mind, body, and soul, not just textbooks and worksheets. If we want our children to learn differently, engage with their environment, and break out of the box of the narrowminded view of what education is, don’t limit learning to one space.
#2 Each Space Should Serve Multiple Purposes
Having had a dedicated homeschool room I have found that rooms are better suited when they serve multiple purposes. Have you noticed that a lot of home educators use the kitchen table for a lot of their homeschooling? Science experiments, teatime read-alouds, and Socratic conversations are all well suited for the kitchen table.
Now some find that having a dedicated space works best for them. But if you have observed that your kids like variety, a relaxed environment, and often don’t use toys just for its given purpose, you might want to ditch the homeschool room vision. Over the years I found that a dedicated space for homeschool would house the books and papers (which no one put back neatly) and we might do one subject together in there, then the rest of the time the space was neglected. My kids always gravitated elsewhere to do their school and play. Especially if you have a smaller home and are needing to maximize your space, skip the homeschoool room and make the most of your living space.
#3 Strew Your Homeschool Storage
Ditch the homeschool room and strew instead! What is strewing, you ask? Often associated with Unschooling, strewing is the art of enriching the child’s environment through careful selection and placement of quality resources, books, and tools for your child to explore, related to a child’s area of interest already or new ideas and subjects for them to “discover.”
Instead of storing all of your books and homeschool supplies in one dedicated homeschool room, spread them out throughout the home. Set up nooks for exploration such as a crafting corner, dress up box, music space around a piano, basket of handicrafts, and multiple smaller bookshelves instead of one glorious library wall. (Although if you have the space for a designated library wall with ladder and soft couches, then go for it, I am in full support of this and very jealous!) Creating ‘Themed Spaces’ has worked much better for us than a whole room designed around one activity. It also goes well with the concept that life is learning, and education happens everywhere!
#4 Learning Happens Through Play, Not a Homeschool Room
I used to dream about a designated playroom and then a homeschool room, because I thought it would make cleanup easier and manage the clutter better. If I could just shut the door, wouldn’t that be nice? Turns out it doesn’t work like that. Have you ever noticed that kids don’t use toys always the way that they are intended? This is why multi-purpose toys or open play concepts work so well. Toys that are versatile like blocks and Legos, last longer and lead to more creativity in play. Likewise, play doesn’t just happen in one space. Get them outside as much as possible. Play in the kitchen while you cook, play in bedrooms, the bathtub with water play, a quiet reading or crafting nook, a music corner etc. will all be better served than a desk, especially during the elementary years!
Ideas for Creating a Whole Home Homeschool
Workboxes
Workboxes keep homeschool papers and books sorted by child and or subject. Not only that they are portable! Store out of sight and mix up where you work. The drawers themselves can be completed pulled out for the child to easily change out subjects, and cleanup when they are done. Independence in learning here we come!
Montessori Shelf
The simple open style shelf makes it easy for kids to see what is available and return toys when they are done. Just be careful not to overload them! These work best with a toy rotation system.
Ikea or other Cube Style Bookshelves
Cube style shelves are great for baskets to hide smaller toys, plus they make for easy clean up! These make great bookshelves too, able to house larger books with built in bookends to hold them up. Categorize your library by cube to make books easier to find and put away!
3 Tiered Cart
Similar to the work boxes in that your books and supplies are portable but materials are not as finely categorized. These make great art carts, or morning time carts for those that have more than will fit in a basket.
Themed Baskets
A Morning Basket, a Daily Homeschool Basket
A read aloud or library basket
Brain breaks or logic puzzles basket
Trunk or Storage Ottoman
Great for dress up clothes, blankets for forts, puppets etc.
Clear Activity Bags
Activity bags such as one would find at the public library are a great way to display or strew activities or toys. As an alternative method for toy rotation, have a set number of bags easily accessible and rotate out the contents as often as desired.
Contents could include magnet blocks, small musical instruments, alphabet set, puzzles, blocks, math manipulatives, microscope or magnifying set, kinetic sand or playdough…the possibilities are endless.
What about Middle and High Schoolers?
Cater to older kids with more advanced science kits, comfy spaces to read and write, a quiet but public computer corner (headphones help!), a music or art space, a woodworking center, place to do puzzles, an exercise area, gardening and outdoor skills supplies, and Legos, always Legos?
Upgrade Older Students Rooms
Now is the time to transform your tween or teens room into a more mature and inspiring space. Teens crave ownership and independence. Create a space that allows them to practice their areas of interest and fits their personality. A space that they can turn to for quiet respite, or be boisterous and exuberant.
The most important thing is that our homes reflect who we are and our goals. Environment plays a large part in he we feel about ourselves and how we interact with one another. Our homeschool space should not be an exception.
