A Home Flowing for Homeschooling
For every family who homeschools, there is a different way they organize their house. Some families actually have school desks and chairs, blackboards and other items found in a traditional schoolroom setting. Other families have almost no organized area for lessons and instead change location based on what is being taught. There are some general things you can do to keep some organization and make homeschooling flow a little more easily.
Books are one of the most important items for learning. A good idea is to dedicate a bookshelf or even a bookcase as materials to be used for homeschooling. One shelf can contain textbooks, another can hold reference materials and a third could hold books used for reading lessons. Be sure to make a special spot for library books and have the rule that once you are finished with it, to put it back to help avoid late fees from a misplaced library book.
Arts and crafts are another big area for homeschoolers. Choose a place where a student can be comfortable and have everything that might be needed in a central spot. A table with a tablecloth on the floor to catch paint spills is a good idea. Do not forget to have good lighting, whether from a window or overheads. Use plastic bins to hold various supplies such as Popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, glue, glitter, scissors and every other kind of item that might make a fun project. It is nice to make sure you have everything you need before starting on that masterpiece.
If you choose to use computers as part of your homeschooling curriculum, dedicate a drive or whole computer for school use. Another decision is whether to hook it up to the Internet. For younger children who may run into topics they are not ready for, you may not want to give them web access. Older children will need web access for researching various projects and assignments. Decide which sites you will let them use and bookmark them. Educational games should be stored by the computer on which they are installed. Once a child is old enough, teach them to place the disk back in the case when they are finished.
Depending on where you children are as far as science experiments, a separate area for that may be needed as well. If you perform many kitchen experiments, clear some space so items used for experiments are not in turn used for cooking meals if necessary. Some experiments are best performed outside, especially if ‘bang’ or ‘boom’ is a sought-after result. Creating and caring for a flower, vegetable or herb garden is a great teaching tool that reaches across many subjects. Most homeschooling parents should be able to find a small area in the yard for this or even have an area for container gardening.
Every family is unique and the ways they achieve their goals are as well. Flexibility is a strong point of homeschooling. Many parents find that having a quiet area where older children can have their own time and space to perform their homework is the most important item.
