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Vineyard Chats is a blog created by the owner of Vineyard Farms and Vineyard Real Estate Group. Here, you will find product reviews for local and international items, and ways to give in your community and across the globe!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Our Homeschool Room

I've been meaning to post some pictures of our updated homeschool room, but I just got the chance to do so today. We had a couple of dilemmas. First, we wanted the homeschool room in the basement, because then, we can be away from other daily distractions. I also wanted it in where we used to have the playroom, because there is plenty of natural light there. It used to be carpeted, but we wanted hardwood... but that was a little pricey, and I thought the kids might destroy it, so we went with pergo, which we installed ourselves. The largest dilemma of all was that the room was a playroom when I started homeschooling, and with two of my kids still being very young, I didn't want to sacrifice the playroom. The solution to that was to make it a multifunctional room!
I'll try to take you on the visual tour here:

This is the hallway at the bottom of the stairs leading into the basement. The entire wall is a chalkboard (created with the chalkboard paint you can buy at any Walmart, Home Depot, etc). We also have the little ones' toy piano here, because it was too loud for the homeschool room! :)

I did all the muralling in the homeschool room. I did it in a Dr. Seuss theme, because I've always been a fan. Here is my son working at the desktop computer in the room. Inside the computer desk is all the software we need for classes, plus the kids' computer games.

To the left of the computer, you will see my daughter sitting at her homeschool desk. Her 3-ring binders are in her desk, along with all her markers, rulers, pencils, highlighters, bookmarks, etc.


...and here is where the play part comes in... Behind the school desks, you will see my baby girls' doll station. The door leads to a full bathroom. On the wall, you will see the Lorax, the Truffula Trees, and the Barbaloots in their Barbaloot suits. :)


On the next wall to the left, Horton! :)
I have placed some more doll toys, a rocking chair for yours truly, some maps, an alphabet chart for my youngest ones, and to the left of that...



A reading area and more young child toys, all on a comfy, furry rug. I love my Melissa and Doug calendar above the sitting area, because it is magnetic and super-customizable. There are more maps here, as well.


To the left of that area is the door leading back to the chalkboard wall and the stairs going up. I love the baby kangaroo, who loved to say, "Hmmph too!"


To the right is the toychest, the play kitchen, and more charts and maps. Straight ahead is our loving lizard, Romero :), and a bookshelf containing the majority of our curricula. And how could we forget the Cat in the Hat?? He's juggling quite a few things, which I think is appropriate for this room! In the cloud, it says, "The more that you read, the more you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you go." - Dr. Seuss



Another look at the play area (and the star-bellied Sneetches!) :)


A further out view

The bottom line is, when you fully embrace homeschooling, you must accept a little chaos. I have decided the best way to multitask effectively is to contain the chaos to the best of my ability. I think this room keeps everything in a specific place, keeps everything within close reach, and most importantly, keeps everyone entertained, during the day!
Thanks for stopping by!! :)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is so incredibly impressive! i love the artwork. homeschooling has always been a curiosity of mine, but not something i've been interested in doing. just curious as to how it works for others. thank you for sharing!

Karin Katherine said...

I LOVE THIS. I love the chalkboard wall and then the Dr. Seuss mural. You won't believe it but I was thinking of that. Well, I cannot paint but Pottery Barn has some Dr. Seuss Wall applications that are just too much.

Thank you again. I am starting to find my inspiration for this room.

Anonymous said...

Awesome school room! I love the chalkboard too! And the murals are great. Did you paint those? Also love all the desks. I can see why children would love to go in there. Great job! Thanks for putting the pics up. I've actually had various school rooms but now we just go to whatever room feels right at the moment. Usually the kitchen, my office or the driveway. Thx again See you on twitter.

Allison
Http://GirlReturnsHome.com

Anonymous said...

I hope to have our room for schooling and play room combo soon. Please pray with us that we get to our new home soon. We are a family of 9 living in a 2 bedroom. Very cozy. I am longing for that day. But for now I am living and loving life with the hubby and kids God's precious gift to me!

Laura Lowe said...

Your school room is beautiful! I'm in the process of rearranging my teaching studio - wish it was as big as your room seems to be!

ryarosh said...

I LOVE the schoolroom. What an awesome job you did on the murals too! We are still using our main spaces for all of our schooling ( table, couch, bedrooms, etc. ).

You have done great finding the little ones spaces to be in while taking care of schoolwork with your olders.

Susie Buetow said...

Love your room!!!

Ms. Anita said...

Whoa... that chalkboard is HUGE!!!