We’re heading into our third year of homeschooling after a brief stint of public school this year, and it’s been a pretty fun transition for all of us thus far. For those who missed our little announcement, we decided to homeschool again after starting the kids in public school here in Fairbanks in August. The kids generally liked school as a whole, but due to a bunch of little issues, it just wasn’t the right fit for us, and we made the decision to pull them. Before doing so though, we made a plan; rather than use the shared office/homeschool space we used last year, we changed it up and gave the kids their own space. So, today, I’m sharing our realistic homeschool room; it’s a space that we’re learning to love and thrive in, and I’m excited to tackle the school year together!
Creating Our Homeschool Space
If you’ve never homeschooled your kids, or if your concept of homeschool is how we had our kids do school during Covid, you likely have this image that a proper homeschool room is a recipe for better success. And you’d be right – sort of. We’ve never had a dedicated homeschool space. In Korea, our kids did school at the dining table or the homeschool table in their bedroom, and when we first moved to Alaska, they did homeschool in my office.
When we pulled them out to homeschool again though, I knew I wanted to have a dedicated homeschool space for the kids. It didn’t have to be a room just for that, but I wanted them to each have their own space to study and work, so I knew they each needed a little desk. The only room that can accommodate three desks plus our existing furniture was the basement, so we got started, and we set up a little space that works for us.
Our Realistic Homeschool Room
Go ahead and Google “homeschool room.” You’ll likely find the most aesthetic study spaces that are Montessori-inspired, colorful, and perfectly put together. Our realistic homeschool space is a far cry from that. It does, however, have three desks, a camp table for me to work while the kids are studying, a bookshelf solely for their school books, the keyboard for piano work, and a space for the kids to sprawl if they want.
Honestly, one of the biggest things that originally held me back when starting homeschooling was a feeling of inadequacy. Our space just wasn’t perfect for learning. But you know what? It is. It’s a place where the kids have their own individual spots, they have room to move around and work as they see fit, and we can adjust as needed. And, ultimately, the following is all you really need:
- Space to move, learn, and grow
- Your homeschool materials
- A can-do attitude (most days)
The Bottom Line with Homeschool
Like all things with homeschooling, creating your own homeschool space is highly personal and subjective. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to fit you – or in this case, us. Our homeschool room is a space that’s set apart from my office and our bedrooms now. It’s separated from our main play spots. It’s also big enough that the kids each have their own individual spot, too. It works for us.
We’re moving in eight months though – and the kids and I are leaving in seven months, so things will change again. I’m excited to see how we’re able to set it up where we move next!
