Aside from the socialization question, the need for a dedicated school room ranks up there on hotly debated homeschool topics! If you have a separate room for schooling, that is wonderful! However, is it really necessary? Let’s look at the concept of homeschooling. Home schooling. Schooling at home. Is a prerequisite to set up your schooling area like a classroom? Does it detract from homeschooling to not have a special room?
As someone who did not have space for a homeschooling room, I can tell you unequivocally that it did not hamper our educational efforts! What I came to realize over the course of many years that since we are constantly learning, any place is a good place to homeschool!
We homeschooled at the dining room and kitchen tables. Some of my more quiet kids homeschooled at their desks. We homeschooled outside on good days and under blanket forts on days when we had cabin fever. We homeschooled in the van, at the doctor’s office, waiting at the airport. You name it, we did it. We never had a homeschooling room!
That being said, for those of you who are in our shoes without a dedicated room, I would encourage you to take steps to be organized and deliberate in where you keep your everyday books and supplies, and your “will use someday” books and supplies. It helped us tremendously to have the everyday books in one central place. This made it easier for mom and student alike to flow with the days work and happenings rather than hunt for materials. Our everyday stash was kept in the dining room in bins labeled per child. This was not only for order but also made it possible for each child to work at their chosen location with ease or take their work on the road at a moment’s notice. Our “will use someday” stash was kept on bookshelves in the living room. This method worked well for us because every Sunday night I was able to change out anything from the dining room bins for the items on the bookshelf in the living room.
While having a dedicated school room is nice, it is not necessary. It will not add or subtract to your household’s homeschooling success. What will help is your love and commitment to helping your children learn wherever they are!
Check out homeschooling resources at Rainbow Resource Center!
