Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Our Classroom

Last week I regaled you with tales 0'curriculum. Which elicited a yawn from Kori. A proclamation from my friend Karen that we should wear party hats more often. And a question from my daughter about scary homeschoolers. I never did finish telling you about supplements and games. I know. I know. You are on the edge of your seat waiting for that one.

Well, this week. I am going to dazzle you with pictures of our classroom. The room where school is supposed to happen. But actually, it's not that often that we are there.

Often. School happens in the car. On the way to some errand. Some class. Or even a PTA meeting. I know. I know. We are a study in contradictions.

School sometimes happens at the dining room table. Becuase that is where I park myself. And my laptop. And maybe some snacks.

School might happen on the couch. Because it is rather comfortable to lay down to read. Or to recline while watching a movie. (16 Candles arrived today from netflix. I am thinking that lying down to do "80's cultural studies" would be a good idea.)

And even this morning. School happened in my big. Cushy. New bed. Where I finished "The Guernsey Literay and Potato Peel Pie Society" (Oh...wow...what a fantabulous book). And Katie finished "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."

The brains of our operation rest here:

Surrounded by my messy desk. Where I have lots of room to spread out all those text books. And figure out the order of our universe. I have lots of maps. Dry Erase boards. And timelines on the wall.I love our timeline. Katie would have her lesson. And add dates to the timeline. Most of it is blank. And then around 500BC. It all exploded. I wonder how the next three years of history are going to fit on the one sheet that is left...

And then there are the shelves of books.Full bookcases make me happy. My Ikea bookshelves make me especially happy.Maybe it's because they hug the corner. I have a dream of one day having a library. With bookshelves ceiling to floor.

These particular shelves were a bit tricky. Because we have a dodgy basement. See. I forgot to measure before we bought them. I often operate on a wing and a prayer. When we got home, we saw that the shelves are 79 1/4 inches. And the wall? 79 3/4 inches. Hallelujah. Amen.

Except that we have a dodgy basement. They have to be attached. To each other. So my engineering husband had to put them together in another part of the basement with a higher ceiling. And when he was done, slide them into place. Have I mentioned that the basement is a bid dodgy? Well. The ceiling isn't exactly smooth. Or even. Or level. Sliding was not an option. But somehow. He engineered them into place. I believe they are going nowhere.

These shelves have most of our homeschooling stuff on them. Most of our textbooks. Latin books for the class I teach. Library books. Science stuff. Like a microscope. Rocks. Owl puke.

Even with all this space. And happy bookshelves. Katie still finds yet another place to school. In the playroom. Where she has her own table.And her computer.And all our homeschool games.

So...what about you? Do your kids have a designated homework spot? Do you have a place to do "officy" things? Lots of bookshelves? What is the most unusual item on your shelves??

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26 comments:

Shannon said...

Homework has been done at the kitchen table... but Hannah is soon going to need a desk in her room, I think. Usually she does her homework while I'm making dinner, but she gets too distracted.

We have a computer desk downstairs. But I'd also like to have a secretary or writing desk upstairs. And I ,too, would LOVE to have floor-to-ceiling bookscases... maybe someday!

But I don't think I'll ever have owl puke on any shelf...

Anonymous said...

Since I work at home, I have my own office. Last year when my daughter started bringing home "real" homework, we bought an identical desk and set it up across from mine. Now when my daughter does her homework, she's right where I can keep an eye on her.

Wendy said...

I am in envy.

Our space is limited, but when we return to the U.S. and buy a new house, I'll have a room devoted to homeschooling goodness.

Meanwhile, we make due with the dining room. :)

I love the book shelves in the corner - VERY cool way to make use of the space!

Susie said...

My kids do their homework on the dining room table. Our bookshelves are boring...just books.

Elena said...

I LOVE to see snippets of how people live in their homes. So fascinating to me!

We do homework in the dining nook, and I have PLEADED for more bookshelves ever since we moved into this house. I have NONE!! Need some desperately.

And I read that Potato Peel Pie book not too long ago, but I didn't like. It had a fairly good story line, but the writing annoyed me. And I wanted more details about the actual historical facts. It was so interesting at book club b/c about half of us disliked it and the other half absolutely loved it.

Jennifer P. said...

I dreamed of having a classroom...but never did get one. We park ourselves around the dining room table. Our timeline comes out of the school closet, and then goes back in. I do have a useable chalk board on the wall though--I like the way it looks.I LOVE your room though. It screams "fun in learning"!!!

The strangest thing on my shelves? Hmmm...maybe a timer? I use it for time out!

Jennifer said...

I love your schoolroom! I have a messy desk too, but it's always that way. I can't seem to help it.

Love the corner bookshelves too. I've never seen those before. I wish that we had an IKEA within a zillion miles from here, but we don't.

The Potato Peel Pie book is on my list of books I want to read this year, so I'm hoping that I enjoy it too :)

Firefly Mom said...

We've been homeschooling 8 years now and have never had a room just for that. And never enough bookshelves. Can you HAVE enough bookshelves?? I'm thinking no. And we have some of the same games. Cody went through a period where all he wanted to play was Made for Trade. And I love tipover. It's great to bring along on trips.

Weirdest thing on our shelves? (besides the owl puke?? ;) Hmm, probably the trebuchet.

Jen said...

I want to go to school there.

Mama Dawg said...

Since I now get home in time to help LOML with her homework, I made some major changes with her homework routine.

Instead of doing her homework in the living room where my mom watches Dr. Phil and Oprah and where she can get distracted, she now has to do her homework in the dining room where she can spread out her books and folders. No more doing it on the couch or in my bed. In addition, her routine was to come home and "take a break" before starting her homework. Her break would normally extend for 30 minutes while she watched some Full House or whatnot and ate a snack. I cut that out. Now, if she any time before I get home, she can "take a break" and eat a snack, but she has to do something other than watch TV. Either clean her room, read a book or play outside.

My mom was too lax with her.

Mama Dawg said...

Oh, and I LOVE the set up for homeschooling. I would kill for those shelves.

Lula! said...

You are so a teacher...and your classroom is amazing.

We do work at the island in the kitchen. We're kinda boring.

Did you watch 16 Candles? "Wha-sa happenin', hot stuff?" Best ever.

Nicole said...

Fabulous room! Love your timeline. How did you make it?

Brandy said...

Stephen does homework in his room, either at his desk or laying in the bed.

We have an office but right now it's a mess so no one does anything in there except cruise the internet.

sassy stephanie said...

We're kitchen table kind of homeworkers. That way I can get dinner ready while helping.

I love your space! You are so organized!

Teri said...

The kids usually do homework in the dining room. I can make sure it gets done that way, in theory.

I need more bookshelves. The most unusual thing on one of my shelves is a little glass cello that my sister gave me. It is a total joke. She is making fun of my tremendous cello playing skills from 6th grade.

Skeller said...

I wish I kept my desk/computer as tidy as Katie keeps hers!!

Unknown said...

I love the throw rug in your first picture. I have the same rugs in my kitchen. My kitchen is painted the burgandyish, dark blue, yellow and greenish colors. It's beautiful!!

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

I love your school and office set up, very nice. Thank you also for stopping by my blog, I appreciate it. My boys have school desks in their rooms but they do homework also on the kitchen table too. Unusual items in their study area are their swords and Dragon Collection.

Anonymous said...

Love the shelves... love IKEA. Thanks for letting us see your space!

CaraBee said...

I'm impressed with your organization. Our bookshelves are overflowing with books, two deep in many places. I say we need more bookshelves, my husband says we need to week through the books. I think we know which way that one is going. Hello Ikea!

Gina said...

Yep, and yep.
We have a school room. And a son that does his work at any other surface. Go figure. I do have an office, too. And I just got the kids' computer online- so I locked themout of mine- and traffic has declined around my desk.

Linda said...

Dang, I wanna come and do school at your house! Love your space! We homeschool at the dining room table which is a step away from the "formal" living room that is actually the "school room" because that's where all the books are. But most times we're on the couch, in the kitchen, outside on the patio or piled on my bed reading. I love the options! What I wish I had most ... a blank wall to put up a timeline! I dream about it!

Rhea said...

I love your classroom and playroom...and your bookshelves full of books!

I have had to seriously downsize lately. LIke move from a large house down to a single room...and it's TOUGH.

Connie said...

Ohhhh ~ yellow! I'm a sucker for yellow. Do you think you could drop by and help me clean for the upcoming visit? You've deffinately got the organizing thing down ...

Tam said...

Your pictures Rock. I totally wish we had a space like that! I love YOUR IKEA BOOKSHELVES. HECK I love everything IKEA but alas Savannah does NOT have an IKEA!

We do home work at the Kitchen table for the time being. Nothing strange on my bookshelves right now other than HMMM some Anne Rice? LOL