Finding Space to Homeschool
All my homeschooling life, I dreamed of a real schoolroom, decorated with cute pictures and filled with school-only toys. It never happened. We homeschooled everywhere--bedroom, living room, kitchen, yard, the park, the doctor's office...Wherever we were was school. In the long run, this turned out to be a good thing. It was less dull and we chose our location based on the activity and our needs at the time. We made better use of our day when our learning went where we went. If we wanted to read a book in the yard, we did. In a doctor's waiting room, we searched all the signs for the letter C. We learned nutrition in the produce section of the grocery store while shopping.
So don't fret if you live in a small apartment with no extra space. You don't need a school room. Preschool is fun, and you won't spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, anyway. Some parents do like a little school corner, an area with a child's table and chair, a bulletin board for pictures, and a bookcase or cupboard for supplies. This can be a fun place to start your school day if you're looking for more structure. If you don't have it though, don't worry. Just do your schooling anywhere you happen to be.
You will want a little space to hide school supplies. It's fun to bring out a new educational toy related to your theme your child hasn't seen before, and you don't want to suddenly discover you're out of something critical. A file cabinet is nice for storing your lesson plans if you plan to teach your other children in the future, or if you like to plan way ahead. I tended to gather things whenever I found them and stick them in folders by topic. Then if I suddenly decided to do a unit on ducks, I could go to my filing cabinet and find out if I had a file on ducks already started. It's a great time saver in the future. A small portable box, such as the cardboard file boxes, is great for storing all the materials from the current theme. You can just pick it up and take it wherever you might be homeschooling that day.
Other than this, most of what you use is already in your home. You have children's books, toys, and art supplies. When it's time to teach, gather them from wherever they are. This makes it easy to homeschool in the smallest of homes.
Time and learning are what count--not space.
Princess Ashilyn Michelle suggests letting your little prince or princess help decide how to decorate and even help with the decorating. A school area is more fun when it's just your style. Let him make some of the decorations, and if they're a bit weird...well, just celebrate his royal creativity.
