Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Setting up our School Room.....

Welcome!
We have a special basket in the living room filled
with our Egypt/desert books. I mark on my wall
calendar when the books are due back in the library.
Also, I staple my library receipt to the inside of my
planning book...which is now the actual lesson plan
for LA book.

I do have a separate schoolroom where my kids do their
math and writing/spelling where it is quiet. (With
four children under the age of five, it's necessary
for them to have a quiet place.) This schoolroom is
mainly a place to keep all the school stuff away from
the younger children...we do school all over the
house!

Each of my children has a notebook where they put
their drawings, writing, etc. They both use Saxon and
we have those black and white composition notebooks
for them to do their math. That way it stays in one
place, I can grade it easily and know at a glance if
they need extra help with a concept.

They also have a Rubbermaid storage box that holds
their pencils, folders, etc. We've had these since we
started homeschooling....my kids know all their school
stuff belongs in their boxes when not schooling.

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We have almost always schooled in the kitchen. We have an area in the
basement we can use, but it is still in the process of being finished -- I do
have a lot of books stored down there though!

We do have a TALL bookcase in the kitchen where we keep
-- paper in one of those paper trays like you would have in an office
-- the books that *I* am using for the study, including my binder with school
stuff in it.
-- magazine keeper boxes that I bought at WalMart or some office supply store
-- one marked for each child -- they keep their workbooks, spiral notebooks
for a couple of subjects, whatever "loose" stuff they need to keep handy in
it (These look very tidy when turned around backward with the names showing!)
-- whatever else needs to stay handy.

We also have a laminated world map on the wall (bought at Sam's very
inexpensively).

The change I have made for this study is that I have taken the one bookcase
that is most central to the house and cleared the three easy-to-reach shelves
of all but the books we need for the current unit (Egypt and deserts).
Downstairs (on one of the aforementioned bookcases), I have a couple of
shelves dedicated to collecting titles for the coming units.

Finding places to store projects-in-the-works will be quite a challenge for
us .... which is why I am HINTING STRONGLY to DH to get the downstairs done!
LOL

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We have LA all over the house. Most of our written work and projects are
done in the kitchen -- where most of the living takes place anyway. We may
gather in the Living Room (stacked with books) to search through
encyclopedias, etc., or cuddle on my bed to read lots of books. Some
projects are done outside on the deck or the garage (when there's room).
The kids sometimes work in their own rooms. We do not have a set classroom,
although the kitchen is where we spend the most time. We are blessed to
have a large eat-in kitchen (12x20) -- perfect for research, cooking,
experiments, arts and crafts, snack and discussions.
We are really enjoying the excitement of A World of Adventures!

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We do our first part together in the living room -
and I read to them. Then we split up and do math - I work with either one
if they need it. They have desks in their bedroom that they can use. Then
we do the English/Writing. While my oldest one works on the assignments
from LA, I work with the younger one on phonics. Then we have lunch. My
oldest then finishes up his work from the morning/writes his letters to his
pen pals and reads his books. (at the kitchen table/living room) In the
afternoon we do science and other reading and art projects together at the
kitchen table/livingroom.

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