I would LOVE to have a schoolroom. Not so it could be all “schooly”, but more for the convenience of having our stuff all in one place. Right now it is, quite literally all over the house. My husband has this thing about the house NOT looking like a school, so we are very limited in what we can do or display. And right off the bat let me apologize to my readers on dial-up, because I am posting pictures! They are optimized, but it still may take a bit.
Of course, there are a FEW schooly things right there. You can see a pencil cup and my external hard drive. That really is just a back-up of what is on my laptop, but I do use it enough to leave it out. 
Then, there is the required electric pencil sharpener. I think it should be a mandatory husband to wife gift once the decision to homeschool is made. 
Ours is a Panasonic, which came from E’s office when they got a new one. They were going to throw it away. It works FANTASTIC! We had a WalMart cheapie before and it always sounded like it was dying when we sharpened anything. The sharpener is on the edge of the kitchen counter, in easy reach of the table.
And, our school room would not be complete without a map. Actually, our DINING ROOM would not be complete without a map! When I first put a map on the table, oh 9 years ago or so? E didn’t like it. He said it made the house look like a school. But then he changed his mind. He started dinner time geography games! He would name a state or a capital, when we had the US map on the table, and the kids had to guess the name. OR the kids would do it. We would all take turns, and the rule was that the answer couldn’t be under a plate. 
They loved this game!
Now, since we are covering Ancient world history this year, I switched out the US map for the World one. I buy clear plastic at the fabric store or WalMart to cover the table. Ours takes 2.25yds. Oh, and we don’t necessarily DO all of our school work at the table, either.
So where’s all of our school stuff? Everywhere! I have a very large linen closet upstairs, half of which is books. Read about that HERE. Keep in mind that there are NO open shelves or spaces now. My book load has at least quadrupled.
I also have a little white cart with drawers that I bought 12 years ago, when we first started homeschooling. We still have it, and use it. E hates it and would love to see it ‘gone’, but I have no where else to keep this stuff! So it resides next to the computer desk in the living room. 
As far as a real school room goes, I have my eye on the boys’ bedroom. As soon as G moves out (he just turned 18 so it could be soon) I will bump the boys over to his room, and snag theirs! They have a walk-in closet with shelving in it, which would be the perfect place for me to keep ALL of our school stuff. Here’s hoping!? So what about you? What does your schoolroom look like?
We do most of our school at the kitchen table. Most of the supplies and books are in a wooden ‘pantry’ type cupboard with a door, so they are hidden from sight and it doesn’t look out of place in the kitchen/dining area.
There is one corner of the dining room with a cute wooden/stainless steel microwave cart that holds the printer and just a few misc. supplies, along with a bulletin board on the wall over it. As long as I keep this area clean and organized, it doesn’t take away from the ‘look’ of the dining area.
I also have a big basket on the bottom shelf of the kitchen island (right next to the table) for any overflow supplies or papers to be stored in, if necessary.
I’ve really tried to keep it not very ‘schoolish’ looking (like you!) since it’s not in a separate room. Our house is pretty small, so we do what we can!
haha good job trying to keep it a kitchen and dining room. Last year I kept everything on the dining room table. This year we host Bible study groups in our home a few times a week and have to put it all away every night.
Having a small home of only 1100sq ft we are limited in what we can do, this is something I should do for a blog post one of these days. The kids are allowed to work in their rooms when they need to be away from distractions as long as I can check on them w/o disturbing them. We have 3 white boards in our kitchen/dining room and our table is right under them. We have an open bookcase where the majority of our stuff is kept and I am working to get rods up that will allow me to put up “curtains” to help make it look nicer.
Love the bananas in you r”school room”! Thanks for sharing!
I love the map on the dining room table idea! I may have to steal that. Thanks for sharing on the Blog Hop.
The map on the table reminds me of Debbie Pearl from No Greater Joy Ministries. We have map placemats that we’ve played games with over the years, also presidents placemats (from good ol’ Wal-mart). I love maps, too. We big ones hanging in our classroom, also a couple of globes.
The bananas next to the pencil sharpener… We do that, too!
It looks great. We use to put a map on the table as well. I am not trying to decide what to do with our US. Geography study. I have a great fabric map to hang, but don’t know where.
We have the same pencil sharpener that you do.
It is a “heavy duty” one.
I love the table map! So, how do you do it? The plastic just covers the map or is it laminated? Does it move around a lot?
Thank you for visiting me!
Kellie @ Blue House Academy
I think that your table is lovely!! I love the idea of the map on the table and may steal it from you!! What a fun way to learn geography!!
We too, used to be at a large dining room table in a small dining room. I’m happy that this year, we’re able to make a small room our school room. It is right off the front door though, so I have to make sure it stays clutter free and somewhat clean. Hubby doesn’t like it when people walk it and its all over the place!
Have a wonderful week!
I LOVE the map on the table!! I used to have one on the dining room wall but didn’t want to rehang if after I painted the wall red. I love this. I’m SO copying this m’kay? =) (THANKS!)
By the time my dd J (15) was in 4th or 5th grade, she was doing a portion of her school work in her room. She is a very GOOD student, and self-motivated. She’s the only one I’ve had who is like that, otherwise I would LOVE for them to be able to do some work in their bedroom.
At this point though, with 2nd & 4th graders, I’m not expecting THAT, at least not this year!
Yikes! Not my favorite comparison but I’ll take it in the spirit it was intended.
I like placemats too, it’s just that the novelty of those wore off for my kids fairly quickly. 
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LOL! Funny that folks are commenting on our bananas! Our diningroom table is literally 18″ from our kitchen counter, which is where the fruit is.
The map IS laminated, and I buy a medium weight clear vinyl to cover it. The map sort of sticks to the table, and the vinyl sticks to the map & table, so nothing moves around unless my kids have been lifting up the plastic a lot. We have always covered this table with plastic. My hubby built it, and it is solid oak. He’s a tad…. particular…. about how it is treated.
Hence, the plastic. The map just fits neatly underneath!
I would LOVE to designate this area as a school room, and put in a smaller table!! The trouble is, it is the ONLY dining area we have. Our table is huge (and with the 24″ leaf it is ultra-huge, generally during holidays) and our dining room is small. I keep telling him, if we could just throw about $30,000 to reconfigure the kitchen I’d be set!
Of course! LOL… I read about another homeschooler doing this (oh, ten years ago?) and I copied HER idea, so you’re welcome to copy me! It really is a great way to become familiar with the map!