We are blessed to actually have a dedicated school room. We have an apartment that is attached to our house where my parents used to stay during the winter months. They have long since moved into their own house a few blocks down the road, so the apartment has become our schoolroom—or our oldest son's living quarters when he is home from college.
And we do school there, sometimes.
That's our table corner with last year's World War II pictures still on the walls. I mean, it looked so good. Must I change it? I have sharpened pencils and my Sonlight World History manual all ready to go. But that was really just for the picture. We aren't starting school for another few weeks.
We have a lot of stuff on the walls. I love our synonym wheel. Some things need to stay on the walls forever! The World of Flags poster comes always seems to come in handy. Duncan uses it as a distraction technique. "Let's do math now," I say. "OK," he says. "But first let me find the flag of…" He knows I'll be excited that he wants to find a flag and then find that country on the map. Smart kid.
I love this ripped words poetry collage that Laurel made years ago. It needs to be displayed more prominently.
And my SmallWorld mug that my wonderful friend gave to me years ago. I know. How cute it that?
Yes, we proudly display a few of our diplomas—both of our master's degrees and his PhD. Because seriously: we worked hard for those. I wish we could have our college diplomas there as well, but the cats peed on them a long, long time ago, and then they mildewed, and yeah. You don't really want to hear about that, do you?
Books, books, and more books, and a dangerous tower of games. And let's not forget the TV and the Wii and our big comfy couch. I would be utterly remiss if I did not admit that we watch and play, as well as read and play. We love Netflix and Just Dance (AKA, physical education).
Physical education? Yeah. The outdoors is a big classroom for us and a major part of our learning. Hiking, biking, running, canoeing. And rock jumping.
But back to the house.
Duncan, my 8th grader, and I do a lot of our schooling in the school room. But Laurel, who is a junior, does most of hers in her room…
Or on the couch…
Or she takes her backpack and meets friends at their favorite coffee shop.
And Duncan and I also do lots of school right here on this couch. There are few things I'd rather do than read on this couch with my boy in the winter with a fire in the fireplace.
{The dog? Yes, she is part of school. The clean, uncluttered living room? Yes, I just had company.}
And of course here is the most essential learning zone in pretty much all homeschooling families: the dining room table.
And you know, it's not just that we often do math at this dining room table. This is where we have conversations, meet with friends, make decisions, pay bills, read the newspaper, and, well, eat our meals. It's the cafeteria, the guidance counselor's office, the study carrel, and, well, the headquarters.
And usually, it's the depository for all kinds of junk.
So there is where we do school for the most part. I left out our backyard benches because we have vampire mosquitoes out there, and I left out our co-op because thankfully it hasn't started back yet. But here's what I've been saying forever and I'm sticking with it: learning happens everywhere!
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