We made a small change in our homeschool this week... (and a FREE ebook!)

One of the reasons we homeschool is so that we can create an environment of loving to learn.  We want it to be a continual process of life.


Earlier this school year, we set up a schoolroom in our "formal" dining room.  We decorated the walls with maps, hung a huge chalkboard, and set up a kids table for proper positioning for a first grader and kindergartner.  It looks AMAZING, if I may say so myself!  The classroom-size chalkboard makes the room complete!  I love it.  And my "teacher's desk" fits well in that space also, with a few bookshelves, of course.


The only problem we've had with that space?  We all felt like we are actually in school.  It didn't give us that atmosphere of home education that we wanted. So we have changed location for doing our schoolwork!  I know many of you already do this!


We have begun doing school at the kitchen table!  This simple change of location has made such a difference in our attitudes toward learning at home! 

Yes, it means our kitchen is crowded with a bookshelf of school materials and my laptop in the corner.  And yes, we have to be diligent to clean the table after meals and put everything away as soon as schoolwork is done.  And my awesome huge chalkboard will not fit on the wall next to the table.   


But here are the benefits we have seen:

• We sit at this table for breakfast, so there is no transition to be made from breakfast to starting school with Bible and Scripture Memory, except for clearing dishes and wiping it off.  No transition = no time wasted before beginning the day.  
• We are right by a double window that faces the direction from which the sun rises!  What a beautiful way to begin a school day!  Not to mention that there are all kinds of animals scampering in our botanical backyard!  Talk about setting a happy scene!
• I can send them out to play two at a time when I need to work with one child on individual work!  They enjoy the outdoors, get lots of energy burned and creative play accomplished, AND I can keep an eye on them for safety.  
• It keeps me in the central part of our house--the kitchen--which also keeps me in the mindset of keeping busy about the work in my home!  I love it!

 
Such a small change....and it has made a WORLD of difference for my three children and myself!  Now I need to figure out what to turn the schoolroom into!  Maybe it should be....a dining room! 


Our decision all goes back to our list of WHY we homeschool!  If you need help figuring out your own reasons or want to get it all on paper....or if you are wondering WHY you need to write down your WHY....check out the FREE e-book by my friend and local homeschooling mentor, Kristy Trent! 


Then tell me where you "do school" in the comments below!