Someday, we’ll live in a home with enough rooms to spare one for a homeschool classroom. At the present, we live in a modest condo. But I refuse to let lack of space get the best of me. If anything, our current lack of space highlights how homeschooling is becoming a lifestyle choice. Drawings, cuttings, learning toys, and books are all over the place and I can’t say I mind it that way. I think it makes it easy for the kids, too, and teaches them that learning happens everywhere.

Exhibit 1: The Big Calendar

This lovely calendar is on a wall where it can be seen from the kitchen, dining room, and living room thanks to an open floor plan. Not only is it easily accessible for Calendar Time, but it's turned out to be pretty handy any time I need to find a date or plan something. Perk: I can even read it without my glasses on!

Exhibit 2: The Pantry Supply Closet

The Reality:

Lucky for me, we actually have a decent size pantry. On one side are the dry goods for the week and our food storage. On the other side, I've organized our homeschooling materials. Trays for Montessori work, lots of art supplies, workbooks and games, musical intstruments, and containers of manipulatives.

The Dream:

A couple of these would suit me just fine. You can even customize it with a hanging file system. Beautiful. IKEA, have I told you lately that I love you?

Exhibit 3: The Wall of Learning

It probably looks more like The Wall of Chaos right now, but that's all right. Toddlers are rather chaotic creatures. Along our dining room wall, I've strung some yarn betwee a couple of hooks. Pearl is always eager to put her work on the wall for Daddy to see when he comes home from work. Everything goes up there: reward charts, cutting exercises, doodles, paintings.

And that completes today’s tour of our homeschool spaces. There are others, but I’ll save them for another day. I’m finding that our limited space is just forcing me to be creative. And to take over the dining room. And maybe the living room.

*Edited to add: In a moment of timely posting, the great folks over at Montessori for Everyone just posted a great article on Designing a Montessori Classroom. See their lovely spaces? They make me happy. Next on my shopping list, some nice low bookshelves for Pearl’s Montessori work. If I could find ones with sliding doors (to keep Monkey at bay) and at a reasonable price, that’d be lovely. Suggestions?

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