A Homeschool "Classroom"

So now that you have decided to homeschool, you are probably thinking of where and how you can create a classroom atmosphere in your home? Right? 

Hmmm I wonder if my husband would mind me turning his "man cave" into the classroom? Or what about the garage? Maybe the attic? Perhaps build an addition onto our house? Oh wait I have the perfect solution, we can move into a bigger house, with a bonus room!!!

Well maybe you haven't had any of those extreme thoughts....but I know when I first decided to homeschool I was brainstorming like crazy.  We live in a 3 bedroom, 1550 square foot home, and all the bedrooms were being used ....well as bedrooms.  So I had to get a little creative!

Here is what I did:

My husband was going to be gone on a missions trip to Fiji for 3 weeks in August of 2009.  I got this grand idea in my head to transform our formal living room into a Homeschool Classroom/Playroom while he was gone.  It would be a fun project and help the time fly by!  It was the one room in our home that really was wasted space.  It had a beautiful brown leather couch, chair/ottoman, and a large coffee table but unfortunately we hardly ever used that room.  Instead of the couches being sat on, my girls thought the furniture was a perfect jungle gym. 

I had a very short lived thought of "surprising" my husband with this project but quickly remembered how things turned out last time I had tried surprising him.  Back in 2005, while my husband was gone on his first missions trip to Fiji, I had decided to "Surprise" my husband with brand new carpet and tile flooring (Ladies don't try this in your homes....may prove to be disastrous).  So immediately after he left I set to work on hiring someone to replace the carpet throughout our entire house and put tile flooring in our entryway, kitchen, and dining room.  I had a large chunk of money coming my way from a car accident settlement and decided to use a portion on this project.  So fast forward 2 weeks, the new carpet is in, tile is laid, furniture back in place.....in walks my husband after arriving home from the airport....drum roll please...he walked in and looked around (not smiling), walked around some more (still not smiling), walked throughout the entire house (not saying a word and still not smiling).  Lets just say my "surprise" wasn't well received.  Oh and the guy I had hired did a lousy job on everything.  (Don't worry we laugh about it now and the carpet color has grown on him!!)

So the second time around I was smart enough to get my husband on board with my project idea and in agreement on how much I could spend!!  Several months before the project was to take place I found a Pottery Barn Wall Storage Unit and a table/chairs set on craigslist.  We purchased it and stored it in the garage until it was time for the makeover.  The day he left on his trip, I got to work....meaning I had some strong, buff, guys come over and move our furniture out to the garage and the homeschool furniture into the house.  I added in a few other pieces of furniture and here is the finished result.  It is now a space that is used all throughout the day and I love it! 

I have been to numerous homeschool families homes and it is so fun to see how each is so unique and creative with the space they are given.  Hopefully this encourages you that it is possible to take whatever space you have and turn any area into a "Classroom"....if this is the route you choose to take.  Some families keep it very casual & laidback and simply work at the dining room table (hey that works too!)

Here are some other examples of homeschool classrooms!

Our new schoolroom

Homeschool Room

Mama to 4

Behind the scenes

Along the way

Mama Jenn

A Holy Experience