Aiming For the Ideal

Several months ago I ran across this blog and was inspired by these pictures of her homeschool room.

Oh how my heart stopped.

That room! If only I had that room!!!! What wonderful things could I get done with a homeschool room like that?!

Of course, I am blessed to have a room in our home that we can use for school. I KNOW that a great many folks do not have that luxury. What do I have to complain about?

Nothing.

And then I read this where Cheryl wrote about her ideal homeschool.

I realized I have been planning for the space I have, not the way I really want things to be. Why have I been limiting myself in this way?

No more. My ideal homeschool would have:

1. a table big enough for all of us with all of our supplies in neat little containers in the middle where everyone can reach them.

2. a corner with soft pillows to read in.

3. an organized area for arts and crafts (painting, etc.), an easel, a place to hang pictures to dry, a place to clean up.

4. both carpeted and hard areas of flooring.

5. a cozy place to read together with maybe a lamp and quilts nearby.

6. bookshelves that face outward (like these) and maybe a table to set up a display of our current theme.

7. areas to hang up work.

8. lots of shelves and cabinets to store things in--some hidden from view and some open.

9. tons of paper all stacked and ready to use.

10. access to a TV, DVD player, CD player, computer, etc.--lots of media.

11. areas to spread out on the floor or table.

12. an area for the girls to play school with their dolls. :)

Hmmm. What else? I'm still thinking about this and likely will add to my list in a few days. I have to work to NOT picture our current homeschool space while I dream. It takes effort!

But here is the kicker: now I have to figure out how to get as close to my ideal as I can.

Well,

1. we have a great table so I just need to shop for some containers to go in the middle.

2. The girls have a reading corner in their playroom. I can add some pillows there!

3. I can find a place to get all the art supplies in one place instead of scattered in different locations throughout the house. Wouldn't that be great? I can add wipes, hang a clothesline, and have our folding easel nearby for the girls to set up when they need to. I'll have to think about the best place for this, but it would be SO NICE. It might end up being in the coat closet, who knows?

4. We have a rug on laminate flooring. Done.

5. Our living room lamp is right by the box of blankets and the couch. Done. (but I might like to add a little lamp in the homeschool room too!)

6. My husband can build bookshelves for me. Time to start sweet-talking. :)

7. I can get a small bulletin board to hang up for work display. Actually, husband could build that too if needed.

8. I can clean off the shelves we have and move non-school books to our bedroom. Some shelves can be covered with curtains.

9. I have been looking at one of these paper holders for paper. Nice!

10. We have media all over the house. Some of it can be moved to the homeschool room for easier access.

11. Haven't figured out how to create more square footage, but I can rearrange.

12. If I rearrange there might be room for this. We'll see.

I think the lesson is to start thinking about what I'd like to see in our homeschool space and then find ways to get that--even if it's throughout the house, INSTEAD OF thinking, "well, this is all the space we've got so...."

We probably can have more of the things we want in our homeschool space if only we would think out those things ahead of time and THEN work on making them a reality. That's what I'll be trying to do this year anyway!

What about you? What are you dreaming of for your homeschool space?