Homeschool Spaces

I hesitate every single time I use the word "homeschool," lest people believe somehow that we never leave home. I am on a constant search for a better word. And, yet, homeschool is the word commonly understood by the general public to mean that I don't send my child to traditional school...that I am educating her myself (though this isn't strictly true, as she attends classes and also does much to promote her own education).

In any case, although I'm often casting around for another word, when push comes to shove, our home is our school...home.school. To that end, we have several spaces where the bulk of our schooling takes place.

I think Mane's favorite place is the big green chair in front of the fireplace.

This chair has a long legacy, as it used to reside 2 floors above us in my husband's old attic bedroom in his parents house. The chair was purchased at Gabberts. Does Gabberts still exist anymore? My in-laws believe in buying things that will last forever. This chair certainly looks like it will. We used to always keep it covered with throw blankets to protect it from the sun. Since Mane was born and many children make their way through our house on a regular basis, straightening the throw constantly became too much of a hassle.

This chair saw all the years of Mango's late night homework...and then Vespera...and then Niteo. Now Mane moves into it every chance she gets. (Though the arms are too big to make playing guitar comfortable!) It's also the chair I use when I teach childbirth classes in the living room. It's a thinking chair. A reading chair. A sleeping chair. A homework chair. The big green chair.

Then there's the sunroom off the living room. This was the room that made me agree to move to this house, and right now it's where we have Mane's desk. She doesn't keep it nearly as neat as I would like, but this is her space for doing work that needs a desk.

 

When I need to work with her in the sunroom, that rocking chair is all mine - within arm's reach of all the books!The rocking chair goes back a long way, too. It used to be in my parent's house, and it moved with me when I got married!

And then there's the back porch - 3 season, not insulated, full of all the extra things that need to be stored somewhere. (I carefully avoided taking photos of the mess!) When weather permits, this is our very favorite place to study, read, do crafts, picnic, etc, etc...

Of course, we use the kitchen, too, and Mane writes anything she's currently memorizing on the window in the kitchen with window crayons. This is her washing the window, getting ready to write 1 Peter 2:22 on it:

And one can never underestimate the power of sitting almost IN the fireplace for getting work done in the winter:

Makes me so grateful for this house, for the opportunity to homeschool, and for all the great memories we've created right here in our very own home - learning, reading, growing, changing, and working together.

Peace!