Our Homeschool Classroom

 

Our school year is approaching fast. I have been planning our lessons, and gathering up all the new school materials for the current year. Are you ready for the school year to begin? I am almost ready to start this year.

I love having a dedicated space just for homeschooling. I don't like things to spread out and I want to be able to find what I need quickly. I tend to fall in the area of being extremely organized when it comes to the classroom. Our schedule is just too busy to not be organized.

A few years ago we decided to build a wall on the far side of our basement. It has been the best thing for our family having a designated space for our homeschool.

This is what the classroom looks like when you walk into the room.

This is the other corner with our new computer desk.

I have not changed too much over the years. We added a much larger table, a computer desk, and more plastic bins to organize everything. Honestly, I have no more room for plastic bins, drawers, or shelves.

 Every area has a destination. Under our computer is our reference books that we use throughout the school year, All About Spelling Cards, and other items we need to be able to get to quickly.

 Plastic drawers that hold art supplies, school supplies and other needed items. I invested in a label maker so every thing is clearly marked and we know where every thing is.

The flooring in the classroom is rubber mats which are so easy to clean up. I don't have to worry about paint, or other messy homeschool projects ruining the carpet. I love it!

 This book case is our current curriculum that is actively being used when we start school up again. This shelf is starting to sag and is going to need to be replaced in the next year as I can see the wood cracking. It has lasted 8 years of homeschooling. On top of the shelf is a paper divider bin that I keep our writing paper, passport books, and other useful supplies.

 The back wall is our map wall. It's a long board with coat hangers on it. The maps are hole punched and attach to the hangers with metal rings. Then our white board and the other side is a chalk board. I have two magnetic white boards hanging on the wall. One board is for our spelling program and the other I have used for various things.

 I love the hanging shelves as it created a lot of shelving space. I used commercial grade brackets  and standards. Books can get heavy and like most homeschoolers I am not lacking in the area of books-just book space.

On the others side of the room I have another set of hanging shelves. On the left is a plastic garage cabinet. I picked this up dirt cheap at a garage sale. 

It has more plastic bins that are labeled. I store our construction paper, felt, odd size papers, microscope, and other manipulative's in this cabinet.

 

This is were I store all our past curriculum that I am holding on to to reuse with my younger son. Everything is organized by subject on the top shelf. 

The second shelf is Sonlight and a few other items.  The third shelf on the left is where I keep the current year items that we will be using later in the year. The bottom two shelves are hardback books, poetry books and also an overflow of Sonlight books that I am not ready to part with yet.

 I have lots of mini plastic drawers that are also labeled.

I love this storage drawer that you can find in a hardware store that holds screws and such. It works great for small things like rubber bands, metal rings, dices, and game pieces. 

Books are stored and put together by subjects in magazine holders. They are labeled so I can locate them quickly. The kids can also navigate easily when they are looking for a book to read.

Our homeschool supplies migrated out into the family room. I keep supplies that we don't use to often in here.

You can see that we have paint, and science kits. Not to mention lots of other items! It just couldn't be helped with the school migrating into the other room.

Another bookshelf out in the family room is all of our references, Bibles, and some odd size books.

Homeschooling doesn't have to be in a set place as we all have different needs, spaces, and teaching styles. Sometimes we school on the couch, family table, and on the go. Don't fret if you don't have a designated classroom for your homeschool. I think the most important thing is being organized so your school day can run smoothly without out too many distractions. Homeschooling is not always easy and it's worst when you can't find books or your supplies. When I can't find things the kids attention seems to go quickly also. This is how I have set up our homeschool classroom and I am very pleased with how it functions in our homeschool.