Contrary to the name, home schooling, it really can be done anywhere.
Here’s a short list of the places we have done school:
- in the car
- the food court at the mall
- coffee shop
- fast food restaurant
- hotel lobby
- my grandfather’s ranch
- at the library
- on the couch
- in the breakfast room,
- by the fireplace
- on the driveway
- in the yard
- at the park
- in our school room
It isn’t about the location, it’s about the learning. For the most part, we are at home in our school room. However, there are times we have places to go and people to see, but other times we just need a change of scenery. So we pick up the books and move our school when necessary.
When we are at home, this is what our room looks like:
There are two big changes from last year. First, we were blessed to be able to have another laptop. This has been helpful so the boys can both be doing computer work at the same time.
Secondly, you may notice a lack of chairs at the table. This has made a HUGE difference for the boys. They stand to do their work now. I found that getting rid of the chairs allowed them to burn off some of their excess energy while working. It has also been a great motivator. Last year, I think one of the reasons our school day went soooo long, was because they were comfortable just sitting in the chair poking along. This year, after standing for a couple of hours, they are ready to relax – which motivates them to get their work done in a timely manner.
I’ll admit they weren’t too thrilled about it the first day. However, when they realized how much faster they were finishing work, they thanked me for getting rid of the chairs.
This is what has worked for my family. The way your family works may be completely different, snuggled in on the couch, sprawled out on the floor – That’s okay! That is the beauty of homeschooling, we can each do what works best for OUR students.
Love your school room! For a while my daughter used an adult sized exercise ball as her school chair. Believe it or not, the constant need to balance, as well as the ability to roll around when she wanted to used up a large amount of energy. I’d like to add two places to the list of places to homeschool…we have a new deck, and a new barn, both within range of the wireless Wi-Fi router, so my daughter loves to take the laptop outside and do her online curriculum (Time4Learning.net) work outside. She does not like to do school work at the library, but we love the park as an alternate school room! Thank you so much for sharing what works in your school. What works in my school might be different but isn’t it great to celebrate our differences? Happy homeschooling!
Thank you for visiting! I’m jealous of your additional places. I’d love a deck!
I’ve thought about those balance balls for the boys, but the school table is tall. I think if they sat on the ball, their heads wouldn’t be able to see the top of the table. LOL!