I feel like I have reset my homeschool area every year for the past 10 years!  Always tweaking, changing, tossing and organizing.  Still learning!  Always learning! Since moving to Hawaii and adding more kids to our family, I want to minimize! Less is more!  My space looks like this now because of lots of decluttering and purging. It’s not done and is always a work in progress. But the fruits of having what I need and being able to FIND it when I need it has been awesome. Maybe many of you don’t struggle with hoarding like I do. Maybe its the teacher in me. Anything that could possibly be used for an activity or craft, I’ll try to keep. (I can’t go to garage sales for that reason!) I’m trying to stop the madness. 🙂

Now… before I get into this. I want to be really clear. You do not need a dedicated homeschool room. I repeat… you do not need a dedicated homeschool room. 🙂 Amazing teaching and learning can happen anywhere! Much like I said in my last post on curriculum. You do you! Everyone’s family and space is different.

Our set up this year is the simplest yet.  It is practical and pretty. This work space is just off our family room and could be used as a dining room. We have 2 IKEA expedit 8 cubby bookshelves.  I love these!  You can find similar ones at Walmart or Target.  

They have lasted us 10 years in 3 houses.  In one unit, the 4 school aged kids, each have their own cubbies.  The lower 4 cubbies have bins that hold extra books and supplies.  I used to have books also stacked on top of the shelf. Those are now all in those lower bins and I love the way it. The plants and neutral bag and basket really make it homey. I love our diffuser in our school corner. I’m experimenting with different oils. I just got one specifically for focus! Can’t wait to try it.

I get the other unit.. again with the top 4 cubbies holding most used books and binders.  The lower 4 bins hold my extra supplies and books.  It’s organized, simplified and symmetrical.  It makes me happy. 🙂

We also have a leaning bookshelf next to our table. A basket holds a portable dvd player and our educational dvds. In the lower shelves, each child has a basket for their novels for the year.

Lastly, we love our bar height school/project/work table. It really suits our needs. It has a leaf and we leave it fully extended. We can fit 8 at this table. It’s great for games, projects and school. We like to think of it as our own mini Starbucks nook.  

Our 2020-2021 school year is going to look different for most of us. Figure out how your space can serve you better in this season. It can. I’d love to help. Feel free to ask questions and send me photos. I”m happy to give you feedback, but you will need to get past my assistant first. 🙂

What are the big rocks for your year?

What are the big rocks for your space?

Make it work for you, not the other way around.