When we first began homeschooling, we had some form of a homeschool room. I had a table chairs set up in our family room, as well as a big cabinet and a plastic 10-drawer caddy. Those two things contained ALL of our homeschool materials and books. For many years, they were all we needed… but you know what happens as you homeschool! We began collecting lots and lots of other books and things! Slowly our homeschool materials began to make their way to other rooms, other cabinets, closets, and shelves. The big cabinet we used to use is now in the garage, holding jars, mostly.
We were without a homeschool room for about 7 years, and just last year I claimed the family room once again. It is in the basement, and it never gets used. I mean EVER. It’s cool and dark down there, and I’m not a real happy cave dweller. We gave up on having a TV down there because everyone still ended up congregating upstairs in the kitchen/living room area. So I put a new bulb in the big floor lamp, cleaned up the family room, and took it over. It is cozy and has *very* comfy couches for reading. It has a table (but not chairs, sigh) for working, and I can plug my laptop in so the boys can do math.
We used it for several months but gradually made our way back up to the light of the kitchen/dining table. I have trouble with basements. I like daylight. It’s where we are comfortable. It’s where I am comfortable.
Couches are preferred by the boys over the table, but the table is where I prefer to be. Yes, those are maps on my table. We use them for geography and anything that comes up on the news. We do about half of our school work on computer these days, so a table is really needed. Also, if I do end up setting them up on different computers for math, they will be split between the kitchen table and here.
Oh, math. Right. They asked me to install their Teaching Textbooks Math on separate computers this year. I’ll have to think on that one for a while…
There is one new area of our living room that we will be making use of this year. We bought a digital piano (fully weighted, 88-keys) two years ago for the kids. D1 especially, because he has been wanting to learn to play piano. The trouble is that none of us play! E and I want to learn, too, so I bought Piano for Life from a homeschool friend who is moving to South America at the end of this summer. This keyboard is finally going to start getting some regular use!
Disclaimer #1: The images with the 5 Kids and a Dog watermark on them are mine. 5 Kids and a Dog was my old blog site.
Disclaimer #2: The images watermarked with themommaknows.com were taken after 11pm, after I worked 2-10:30, and I was dead tired. The photos prove it. 
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Just popping by from the NOT Back to School Blog Hop.
I like your map on the table idea. Hmmm…. something to think about.
Robin E. recently posted..School Room Week
Robin, our kids have become very familiar with the states and capitals and locations of places just by having them on the table all the time. I buy clear vinyl by the yard to cover the table and protect the maps. (Our table seats 8 and takes 2.25 yards to cover it.)
Where did you get the clear vinyl table covering? I need one!
Mary recently posted..Vocab Videos – Schoolhouse Review
Mary: You can buy vinyl in different thicknesses at any fabric store. If you have a Jo-Ann's or Hancock's, they have sales on it a couple times a year, and they have coupons almost every month too. It runs around $5-8 for me by 2.25 yards to cover our very large dining table. I get a medium gauge vinyl. The thin stuff rips pretty easily, and the heavy stuff doesn't flex very well.