Oh. So it turns out (when you actually read the instructions) that this week's Not Back To School BlogHop theme is meant to be Our Learning Space. I just took a billion photos of our day yesterday and drove my family (and a few other people) mad recording a Day in Our Life! Stuff it - you get to see yesterday next week - you just have to wait. And meanwhile have a look at our learning space(s).
We don't do "school at home" and we also don't have a fully-equipped classroom either. Mostly we homeschool at our dining table (which is consequently usually covered in homeschool crap work every evening when we try to have dinner). I clean it up on a Saturday when I (try to) clean up the rest of the house.
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| Obviously taken on a Saturday afternoon... |
It bothers me that the back "corner" is so stuffed full of "stuff". There is a whole bunch of "stuff" that needs to be eBayed...just another job on the never-ending list! I'd rather be blogging (obviously).
There is the bookcase - it gets 'cleaned out' periodically, but basically contains any resources for homeschooling that are relevant this term, my books I use for any tutoring that I do (maths and chemistry mostly) and also "my" novels (Twilight, anyone?) and my scrapbooked photos (I used to do lots of scrapbooking).
Behind the dining table is the sideboard and my homeschooling "cupboard". The cupboard is the repository of all our "work" - maths exercise books, writing exercise books, lapbooks, projects (electronics, clay etc) and other assorted crap resources that have no other home. The top of the cupboard is where I dump file paperwork coming in and store paper for the printer.
The sideboard is a constant battle to keep clear. It is home to my new wireless! printer (no more USB cables to trip over). It is also the home of the junk drawer resources drawer (you know you have one too!).
When we first decided to homeschool, Hubby wanted me to do our "work" downstairs, in the rumpus - which is the room you walk into when you open the front door. I obviously won that battle...(because I didn't want our mess visible as you walk in).
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| Also taken on a Saturday afternoon (you should have seen it in the morning) |
It is home of the 2nd TV (where the kids play computer games), Wombat Girl's keyboard, more bookcases (we are going to put up a whole bunch of shelves which should tidy that left-hand side up a lot), the telescope and my exercise bike (which gets used when it's too wet to run or I've hurt myself and can't run).
There is another computer desk down there, but it's not very stable and is a nightmare at the moment. It is where we will put Video Boy's new computer (if Hubby ever gets around to buying the components to build it).
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| (See all my degrees on the top???? The trophies are Hubby's - Wombat Girl went to the shed, fished them out and put them there so Hubby wouldn't feel left out) |
Of course we do our learning all over the place:
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| Playing games, watching videos, reading and listening to music in the loungeroom (which also has our world map and periodic table posters on the wall) |
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| Science and cooking and all things messy in the kitchen ... |
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| ...which also has the whiteboard, which we use to keep track of weekly commitments and do the odd bit of science or binary |
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| Beds are for reading! |
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| Backyard for swimming, jumping, swinging, playing, exploring |
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| The local beach is a wonderful place for learning about coastal environments, making sun dials or just burning off some energy |
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| We love our local council indoor pool - it's warm! |
All in all, we don't live in a palace and we don't lock the kids in the cupboard under the stairs (very often)! But our house is full of books, learning opportunities and LOVE (lots of love) and we live in a pretty nice part of the world. And that's what makes homeschooling such a great option :-)
OK, so NEXT week, pop back for the uber-mega-huge post on a Day In Our Life!!
We do most of our 'schoolwork' activities on the dining table too, and we have piles of stuff all over every other available surface. I often think the tidiest place in the whole apartment is Pokemon Boy's bed. I am continually amazed at how he makes his bed neatly every day even though I have never once asked him to do it.
ReplyDeleteCan you send him round to train up my son? He NEVER makes his bed (or at least not neatly). I hate empty flat surfaces - they always are receptacles for junk!
DeleteIngi, I loved visiting your place of work today—and I'm excited now because when we come to visit In Real Life, we'll know our way around! (And I'm assuming that if one of us needs quiet time while we're visiting that it'll be fine for us to crawl into the Reading Bed. Right? :) ).
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the Real Stuff here, Ingi. I appreciate that so much. I love that you blog not just about the school stuff, but about life and all the messy, loving, crazy bits that come with it. You blog your thoughts, your doubts, your excitement, your nervousness. Your honesty and openness are lovely—I am grateful for your words, and for your friendship. Thank you!
Awww, Helena - you are so lovely (except you make me cry). The Reading Bed is available for anyone who requires it's services!! And I have to "keep it real" - makes for more interesting reading and funny stuff! Plus, I don't people thinking we are some kind of perfect family - far from it, but we do pretty good!
DeleteAnd ONE DAY we will meet in real life - I just know it :-)
Oh man - just checked out everyone else's "Learning Spaces" on the linky - OMG! They are uber-organised (and neat!). Oh well, you'll just have to put up with us as we are :-) We do cool stuff - really we do! Just not in a "classroom".
ReplyDeletehahaha mine was most definitely tidied FOR those photographs....don't be fooled!!!!
DeleteHurray for not living in perfect palaces! (you'll note in most of my pics, I try to avoid expanses of floor... i can clean up & sweep 10times a day and there's still crap everywhere!) I try to be organized, but it's a struggle because my children do not try with me! lol
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel the effects of entropy at our house - the tendency of systems to head towards chaos - they start out organised, but get messy. I'm fighting the laws of physics! (and not winning!)
DeleteI love your pictures! So true to life. Mine are a bit like that too, but I do confess that I used this upcoming meme as motivation to get rid of about three months worth of homeschooling clutter. So just for now it is neater. You're so right about flat and empty surfaces, they just fill up by themselves, I think.
ReplyDeleteMine were tidied up too! I like having true to life - makes everyone feel better about themselves :-)
DeleteWhen we schooled at our dining table I was constantly clearing it off...breakfast, school, snack, school, lunch, school, dinner, etc. Drove me batty, which explains why we so often ate on portable trays in the lounge. Many times I'd rather live with crumbs in the lounge than clean off that table again!
ReplyDeleteHubby is still pushing for us to school downstairs, but it's not ready yet with any decent desk space. When we had the Escher jigsaw puzzle on the table too (took up 3/4 of the table!) we ate on our laps in the lounge too :-)
DeleteLove this post Ingi! Thanks for showing the realness of your space :-)
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! I didn't realise it was so "real" until I looked at the others!
DeleteIngi - I am so out of it that I too took zillions of photos for our "day in the life"! HA HA LOL! I of course just followed your lead, sat down to post it now and saw...learning spaces!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cack!
Anyway, will do mine later after I have stopped giggling : )
OMG - that is TOO funny! Baa.
DeleteIngi
ReplyDeleteI just loved this pics, so real life:)
Thank you Erin - that's us - real!
DeleteCan't wait until our indoor pool is up and running!! I miss swimming in the winter, and I'd love to see them offer day lessons for the home educated. haha I can dream, right?
ReplyDelete