A Tale of Two Homeschool Room Ideas
A comparison of two different approaches to setting up your homeschool room. These homeschool room ideas are sure to inspire your setup! Read more.
If you are anything like me, the thought of organizing your homeschool room can get you a little excited (and…maybe a bit overwhelmed). There are so many homeschool room ideas out there, I thought I would share two that I’ve used in the past and what has worked best for our family.
The Official Room
My first official school room was, well…official. I wanted it to look as close to a classroom as possible. “Everyone, the bell has rung, let’s stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance. “
Each student had desk space and a handwriting strip. I even had alphabet cards for the wall. It was picture perfect.
I made these desks out of some scrapbooking organizers I found at a craft store. When they were on sale for half off, they were a much better deal that the filing cabinet style desks that I was desiring from Pottery Barn Kids (the whole thing was over $1000 less).
I LOVED this space because it kept all of the kid’s supplies, notebooks, and projects organized.The alphabet cards were from Veritas Press (they come as part of the Phonics Museum). They feature beautiful and authentic works of art. We painted a blue rectangle on the wall and put up cork board squares to feature the children’s art work. The center board is also cork board covered with some red fabric. On the center board you will find our schedule and several pictures of the missionary families that we pray for.
Also in the schoolroom was a computer table. We converted one of the walls to a giant white board by putting up shower board and some molding (project was $40 and took about an hour). The center of the room was complete with a table (similar to this one) for group work and teaching times with mom.
Being a former classroom teacher, there is rarely a lack of teaching materials. I struggled to find a place for all of my treasures. The picture on the left shows the organizational cube (similar to this one) that was used mostly for tot school. My two year old had toys, books and other things to keep him busy on this shelf. On top was daily folders with work for the girls and a pencil sharpener.
The middle picture shows our IKEA shelf. It holds 3 shelves of children’s books, then curriculum, easy readers and chapter books at the very top (which you can’t see in the picture). The final tower is two of the organizational cubes mentioned above, plus a few assorted containers on the sides. The tower held math manipulatives, games, handwriting tools, art supplies, etc.
I absolutely loved this schoolroom and it worked beautifully for a few years. Then we moved. The new house did not have space for a schoolroom. By this time in my homeschooling journey I had begun to learn that school worked well mixed with everyday life. I wanted to wash dishes while supervising a math lesson or bake muffins while calling spelling words. More and more I was finding that school was being carried into the kitchen.
Multi-Functional Room
So when we moved, I made the big change and cut out the schoolroom all together. Instead we made school a part of our living space. This is a great homeschool room idea if you’re working with limited space.
Our home is small with the living room, dining room, and kitchen all within a few feet of each other. So I bought the IKEA Kallax shelf and used it to divide the dining room and the living room. The kids enjoy reading on the couch or on a soft pillow in the corner. The computer is in full view, so I can both monitor and be of assistance.
This is the dinning room area. I converted it to office space. To the left is an eat-in kitchen where the children do table work when needed. To the right is the living room with the couch and computer. This center space is where I spend a lot of time. From this chair I can see what most everyone is doing at any given time. I can offer assistance when needed or redirect a child who has gotten off task.
Most of our materials are stored in the IKEA cube on the right. It has 25 cubes of 12×12 space.The magazine files are the perfect place to store curriculum. I have one for each subject, plus any as needed topics. On the second row far right, you will see 3 binders. These binders are annual notebooks. Each child makes one for each grade level.
Also in this space is my desk and another computer that the kids can use. This comes in very handy as we use computer programs for much of our school curriculum. (The laundry basket is a temporary fix, I haven’t found a table in the right price range yet!)
I love the new schoolroom. It fits our needs very well. I do find that I have to store materials that we aren’t currently using in a closet downstairs to free up cubes space in our school area. This rarely causes a problem. I love that we can cuddle on the couch and read together or that I can finish up the lunch dishes while supervising math.
If you’d like even more specifics as to the details of what we put on our bookshelves, I wrote a post detailing what we put in each cubby. You can check out those homeschool room ideas by clicking here.
If you’re wanting even more organizational ideas, you can check out my Pinterest board dedicated to all things homeschool organization!
Your turn…what does your schoolroom look like? Do you have some homeschool room ideas I’ve missed? Do you prefer a separate schoolroom or family room? Why?
Through practical tools & Bible-based resources, Kim Sorgius is dedicated to helping your family GROW in faith so you can be Not Consumed by life’s struggles. Author of popular kid’s devotional Bible studies and practical homeschooling tools, Kim has a master’s degree in education and curriculum design coupled with over 2 decades of experience working with kids and teens. Above all, her most treasured job is mother and homeschool teacher of four amazing kiddos.
Love both the old and new school ‘room’s! I struggle with wanting the order of a school room and the freedom of school-is-life mentality. We will be moving soon, so I will have to see what will work in our new home. Also, I LOVE those IKEA Expidet shelves. We have two right now (4×4 and 4×2) and I want 100 more =)
We just did the same thing! I had a “school” school room but that left little for Joss to do while the boys “worked”. We have now moved our supplies to a corner of the playroom downstairs so Joss can play and not get into things!
Our schoolroom is also our playroom. It’s a huge unorganized mess. (Huge in mess and in size… our house is an old 60’s house with the formal dining and living room in the front that we use as playroom/schoolroom). We have a card table in there currently and honestly, have done most of our “school” at the dining table in the other room b/c of it. I’m working on better organizing it but I feel like $$ gets in the way! I’d show you a picture, but I’m too embarrassed!!! LOL
Do not be deceived…no schoolroom looks like these when kids are using it! 🙂 We just take pictures when they are not present! Once the room is really “used” it’s a completely different picture!
I’ve heard lots of people enjoy having the playroom/school room in the same room. I lived in a house like yours a long time ago and we had that room. I loved it, but it also was ALWAYS a huge mess. I intended to use it for a schoolroom, but we moved long before my kids were old enough for “school.”
I really enjoyed this post! Thanks for all of the details and the fabulous pictures. I have a large schoolroom in my basement. We use that room, but my oldest daughter, 17, likes to do her school in our guest bedroom (where it is somewhat quieter). I do all of my reading aloud to my children in our living room which is on the main floor of our house. I am currently wanting to give my schoolroom a makeover. I love those IKEA shelved that serve as room dividers!
Anyway, thanks for all of the inspiration!
I love it! I was wondering how the scrap booking organizers have held up. Are the sturdy enough for daily kid use? I’ve been debating between using them as work boxes or using the rolling metal carts. I like the look of the scrapbook organizers better but I’ve been worried that they might not last as long.
My kids used them daily for about 2 years without problems. We still have them now, but don’t use them as often. So far, they’ve lasted about 4 years!
Where did you get the organizers?
Target or home improvements stores. It is just multiple units stacked on top of each other. 🙂
Suzanne@NotConsumed
Both places look so orderly. I’m following you on pinterest now so may learn even more from your neat ideas.
Isn’t it funny how our ideas of “school” change as we go along! Love your ideas.
How did we ever organize before Ikea?! lol Seriously, love it! So bright and organized. Thanks for sharing. Blessings for a great school year!
http://lovinglosingliving.blogspot.com/
Oh! Isn’t Ikea just the best?! We love it here too… Great room! Have a great school year!!
You have a great talent for organising and making it pleasing to the eye, thanks for sharing Blessings Michelle
I LOVE your desks! I have been trying to figure out how I was going to do desks for our schoolroom and your are perfect!
Your spaces are wonderful!
Blessings, Dawn
LOVE your blog name and your organization. Makes me feel calm! Great job! Found you through an Apoligia FB post.
I have an idea for a small computer desk. We just bought one at Walmart for $20. It is small, simple and was exactly what i was looking for (except the color which hubby fixed with some spray paint and varnish).
I looked on the Walmart website for a link to it for you but couldn’t find it. I posted a picture of it on your fb wall.
Amy
Looks SO great! I love your school room!
Katie
http://boastinginmyweakness.com
As a former classroom teacher, I struggled with allowing homeschool to look different too! Thanks for sharing your heart!
Wow, I love those scrapbook organizers as desk supports! What a terrific idea!
I like that room divider plus storage! Nice setup.
It’s funny because we actually did the opposite! I started off homeschooling at the kitchen table and just using the bookshelf in the living room to store things and then a few years ago because of the needs of some of my kids, I had to completely revamp my plans and we created an entire schoolroom. This year, I made some changes to make it even more “classroomy” which goes against my original vision of homeschooling but is absolutely what will work best for my kids.
I like the way you’ve used the Expedit shelf as a room divider.
Enjoyed your tale of two school rooms! We have a room that works as both school room and playroom. We do end up doing quite a bit outside of that room though…pretty much every room but the bathrooms and the bedrooms is fair game for homeschooling! Enjoyed reading your post.
Popped over from Sunrise Learning Lab to see your Week
2 – School Room Tour post that you
linked up with the iHomeschool Network’s
Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop.
Have a wonderful homeschool year!
http://sunriselearninglab.blogspot.com/2012/08/blog-hop-week-2-our-school-room.html
What an awesome space…it is so neat & organized! Have a blessed year together!
I totally love what you did..it is so organized and flows so well. Seems more and more dining areas are becoming school rooms. When Id be making dinner is when Id have my son do his read aloud to me, it was fun and he felt it was special.
Curious if you have a post about your annual binders? I definitely want to do something like that, but would love to find out how others do it… so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Thanks!
Here is how I use it…
https://www.notconsumed.com/2012/08/23/organizing-a-classical-conversations-notebook/
Hi Kim-
We are just starting our homeschool adventure. I want to split our large tor room in half to put our classroom. I’d like to use your idea with the expedit shelf as a room divider. Are they sturdy enough without worrying about it tipping over?
Thanks so much for any advice!
Honestly, these units are very sturdy. I imagine that IKEA would say that they should have some stability anchored to a wall though. Mine is a rom divider, but it is met on one side with a wall and I have it secured there.
To me (and this is non-social services advice)…if you don’t have young children who climb on things- there would be no need to secure to the wall. If you have climbers, all furniture should be securely attached to the wall.
Blessings on your homeschool journey. It’s such a wonderful thing!
Thanks for responding so fast Kim! I’m enjoying your blog!
Glad I’m not the only one who does dishes and cooks while doing school. Learning to mold homeschool into our lives, and loving it.