Developing a Home Classroom

Learn the basic steps to establishing and equipping your homeschool classroom.

In this article, you will find:

The steps
Location
Layout
Stations
A library

Layout

Creating a Layout
After you have selected a location for your homeschool, create a plan for the space. You will need to account for the following features:

  • Workstations. You will need places for your students to work and for you to teach.

  • Homeschool library. Books? You'll have them! Your homeschool should have plenty of places to store the books you will use during a school year. Plus, you will need to accommodate reference books and other resources that you use throughout your homeschool's existence.

  • Computer area. I strongly urge you to include a computer in your homeschool. You will need an area in which to locate it and its peripheral devices, such as a printer.

  • Audio-visual equipment. There are many resources available on cassette, videotape, and other means. It can be helpful to have equipment to present these materials in your schoolroom.

  • Storage. Your going to need storage – as much of it as you can carve out for your school. In addition to storing the materials you are actively using, you will need someplace to store files or materials you have already used for documentation purposes.

  • Project table. Projects are likely to be an important part of your homeschool. If you can put a large work surface like a table in your schoolroom, you will have an easier time working on projects.

  • Couch or other comfortable sitting area. Reading to your students and having them read to you is an important part of their education. An area where you can sit close to one another while reading makes it easier for everyone to hear, and it is just plain nice to be able to be close to your kids while you read.
Although not required, it can be helpful if you actually draw up a plan for your schoolroom so you know where everything should go as you prepare the room. This plan can be quite simple. Just identify the location of all the major features. If you make the room to scale, you can save yourself some work moving furniture around (it is a lot easier to move a paper desk than it is a real one!).

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