When I decided that I wanted to homeschool the kidlets, I knew that I needed to create a space in which to do it in. Sure, we could have easily taken up space in the kitchen, but instead I wanted to create a space designated specifically for homeschooling. A place that we could retreat to, a space all about learning. (if that makes any sense at all)
Hubby used to occupy the space in the basement that we so aptly called “the Man Cave”. Overtime the Man Cave got used less and less with Hubby eventually just working from his laptop upstairs.
Before the transformation I didn’t care to visit the Man Cave too much. It was filled with manly things, and just seemed like a boring basement to me.
One thing I hated about the Man Cave was the dark wood paneling. The room felt uninviting, dark, and too basement-like for my taste. My Mom came up with the idea to paint the wood paneling to brighten up the space. Between her and I we had enough paint to prime and coat the walls in a nice neutral off white color. With primer alone the room looked a zillion times better. After the last coat of paint and we were amazed at how fabulous it looked down there now.
A few schooled themed wall art from the dollar store and other places, that my Mom found for us, plus other items I pulled from various other rooms in the house, our homeschool is finally complete. It was a long summer putting the room together. Moving furniture and things around until we found the perfect flow was challenging but fun all at the same time.
Transforming the Man Cave into our Homeschool was the perfect summer project for my Mom and I to do together. This room, that was once my most hated room in the house is now a room that I can’t stop spending time in. Not just because we started school this past week but because it is also just a fun and inviting room to enjoy. Since it is still a basement, this room (by default) is the coolest in the house. If you’ve visited the south any this summer you’d know that this summer has definitely been a hot one.
Our First Week of Homeschool in our New Space
Monday started the journey of our first week of homeschool. It felt like we were jumping in with both feet. I, personally, felt so unprepared. I had no idea what to expect or what to do. Thankfully we are a part of an online school that pretty much lays everything out for us.
We did have a few issues throughout the week, but these rough patches quickly passed as we learned how to “swim”.
What I’ve learned from our first week of homeschool
1. Be Organized
I’ve never been more organized than I am at this very moment. Before school started I made a goal to make sure that I had everything organized and laid out before we started. I didn’t want any unfinished tasks whether it had to do with housework or my blogging schedule to be looming over my head as we started this new journey in our lives. As we dove into our homeschool curriculum, I saw just how important it was to be organized and prepared before the day even begins. No more procrastinating for me (if I can help it). If it needs to get done, get it done now. Don’t put it off.
2. Try Not to Get Overwhelmed
I went into homeschooling not knowing what to expect. Like I said, it was like jumping in with both feet. There were times where I had doubts that we would ever get it all done. But we kept going and in doing so we got it all complete. So try not to get overwhelmed. The tasks may seem like that won’t all get done in time but eventually they will get done when they need to be. Just keep trying and eventually you’ll get it. That is what I keep having to say to myself over and over. Homeschooling is a new experience for us. And just like anything else it will take time to get used to. As we figure out what works and doesn’t work, homeschooling will become easier. We just have to stick with it.
3. Schedule Time & Take Breaks
The beauty of homeschooling is it’s flexibility. There are times when I or the kidlets are beginning to feel too overwhelmed that we just need a break (this was especially true in the first week). So we take it and come back to our studies when we are ready to finish the course. We haven’t quite nailed a good schedule as of yet, we are still feeling out our days to see what works the best, but we hope to keep a regular schedule fairly soon.
This is only our first week and tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this) is another week. Now that we are a bit familiar with what to expect, I have high hopes that it will go a bit more smoothly. I hope to keep you all updated on our progress throughout the year and share with you all our experiences in this new journey of our lives. Those of you that are not-so new to the homeschool adventure, any words of wisdom or advice is greatly appreciated (please leave them in the comments).
What do you think of our Homeschool Space
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Homeschool Room •
Kindergarten
