our homeschool area for 2013-2014

Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post. The little money that I might make from you purchasing through the links, help our family in buying our curriculum.

Since I shared with you what curriculum we will be using for our younger children and our high school student, I also thought I would share our homeschool area.  I am also joining in with the iHomeschool Network and the 5th Annual “Not” Back-to-School Blog Hop.

When we moved to Colorado, we ended up renting an apartment that was much smaller than what we were used to.  We down-sized a lot and I also had to put a lot of books in storage.  I only tried bringing in what we needed, but when you are homeschooling several children, things do start to accumulate and take up space.  So I have tried using the space that we have and get a little creative with storage.  While it would be nice to have a room just to house all of our books and homeschooling materials, I am making due with the space we have and it is working for our family.  That is the most important thing to remember.  Do what works with your family.

My younger kids and I use the dining room table to sit at and do our book work, projects, activities and crafts.  I am usually sitting closest to the desk top, in case I need to help a child with work on it while I have another child sitting next to me on the other side.  I usually have my laptop sitting in front of me for those times that the kids start asking questions and we go on a rabbit trail.

I found some neat posters to help remind the kids of Fractions, Place Value, the Branches of the U.S. Government and the Rights and Responsibilities of being a Citizen.  I hung those on the wall next to our Van Gogh poster.  I also have a white board leaning against the wall that I sit on the back of the chairs when we need to use it.

The younger kids and I sit at the dining room table. Sarah will join us on occasion, depending on what she is working on.

As you can see, above the desk, there is a shelf and I was able to put our globe, microscope (can’t see it in the picture) and all of our craft and school supplies.  I bought those plastic boxes for a $1 each and was able to separate everything out.  I printed up the names of the supplies and then taped them on the front of the container.  The kids can easily get whatever they need.  I still need a couple of more, to finish separating some crafts a little more.  On the desk, I have the printer and two small 3-drawer containers that hold our pencils and pens.  Next to the printer, we have an electric pencil sharpener.

craft/school supplies and the desktop the kids use for school.

I have two bookshelves against the bar area.  On those two shelves, is where I store all of the kids books and notebooks that we will be using for the school year.  I am still in the process of changing last years books out with the new books.  On the bar, I have put “Big Tim”, our timer and this is where we also set our projects that we complete, to show daddy when he comes home from work.

These two bookshelves hold all of our school books, notebooks and readers.

I am still in the process of cleaning out the old papers and books from this past year and adding the new curriculum and readers for the upcoming year.

This big comfy chair is in the corner of the living room.  It is where my oldest daughter sits to do a lot of her reading and school work.  She will go to her room on occasion, when she needs to concentrate a little more.

Sarah’s chair where she does a lot of her school work.

At the end of the hallway, I have two small bookshelves that are stacked on top of each other.  This is where we keep most of the extra books that the kids enjoy reading for fun.  We also have a few games that are sitting on top, as well as big books that don’t fit on the regular shelf.  The girls’ room and the boys’ room also have a book shelf and this is where they keep their favorite books at.

Hallway bookshelf holding extra books for reading.

I am happy with the area I have been able to create for us to do our schooling in.  It works for my kids and I.  We have made due with what we have and made the area work for what all we need it to.  That is what I love the most about homeschooling, being able to do what works best for our family.

I am sure you will see many beautiful school rooms as you look through the internet world.  Just remember, you don’t need an extra room.  You can use what you have in your home and make it work for you and your family.  All families are unique.  That is the joy of homeschooling!

Do you have a separate room for your schooling?  Do you use your dining room or living room?  I would love for you to share your area with me!