Given that this was my first year homeschooling where I didn't have any super-unusual complication (living half the year in DC...having a newborn...pandemic living), we got into more of a school stride, which was really nice. Having our Murphy bed to turn our guest room into a school room made a huge, positive impact on our days. These are some truly terrible pictures, but this is how we set up and used our room:
Murphy bed all closed up (and sporting artwork)
We filled the shelves flanking the bed with school supplies, which was a huge upgrade from needing to store everything away in bins and baskets in the dining room or living room at the end of every school day (so that we could use said dining and living rooms for their intended purposes). These particular books are up very high so that very little hands cannot access them. And tear them up.
I fill this basket up with activities and games for Lily to work on independently while I work with Claire.
The next shelves hold supplies for Lily that she can access herself (books, school supplies, her workbooks are in one of the bins, her completed activities are in the other).
Each girl has one of these buckets with pencils, colored pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, etc.
On the bottom is Hallie's bin and baby toys.
The other side has some decorative items, as well as some small baskets holding some of my stuff I want accessible to me but not small children (push pins, tape, adult scissors).
These bottom shelves are part of our pseudo-Montessori setup, with books, toys, puzzles, surprise learning paraphernalia (in Brynnie's bin) reachable and accessible.
Across the room from the Murphy bed is this cube unit setup. Yes, it goes almost to the ceiling. If we've learned anything by having all these people in this house, it's that vertical storage is The Way. These cubes hold all the things: Claire's work cubby, Claire's storage bin, my bins of teacher's manuals and supplemental reading, art and craft supplies, books, puzzles, learning manipulatives. All the things.
Claire's cubby with books, pencil sharpener, etc. for her daily work.
This folding table and chairs serve as Claire's work station.
And because the Murphy bed is the most interesting part, here's what it looks like in action:
Our actual school days usually start around 8, after breakfast and morning chores. Part of our day looks "traditional," with instruction and seat work/practice. Part of our day is spent reading together. Part is spent on projects and playing. We're done with the bulk of things before lunch (minus Claire's independent work that she does in the afternoons).
A significant element to our school rhythm is our participation in our Classical Conversations Community. Our community meets on Fridays, so our school days on Fridays look really different (in that we aren't at home, and instead, we're doing school with other families). For the 2021-2022 school year, I was the tutor for the littlest ones, which was a new and enlightening experience for me. I ended up loving it! Lily was in my class (Brynn was still in the nursery and Hallie stayed home with Brad so that she could continue napping).
Ready to go
And again.
Our community actually met at our church this year, and my classroom was in one of the really fun preschool Sunday school classrooms (play kitchen, stuffies, reading loft, blocks). We were also still under an indoor mask mandate as a city until March. Thus, Lily's mask as she shows me her stuffie setup.
One element of our community days- even for the 4-and 5-year olds- is oral presentation. I got this picture of Lily one week. It's amazing to me how much about public speaking even the youngest ones can absorb.
We're still loving homeschooling and continuing to have fun and adventures. I'm glad it's the path we're on right now.
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