Where do we learn?

[For those of you new here, visiting from the Not Back to School Blog Hop, welcome!  I'm the mommy and learning assistant to four little ones, ages 5, 4, 2 and almost 5 months old.  I'm currently doing "school" with my oldest, Tornado... age 5. ]

Before I get into the pictures, let me first give you the real answer.

Everywhere!

And I don't just mean outings (field trips), I mean everywhere!

Driving in the car, walking through the grocery store, picking tomatoes in the garden.  Sometimes it's inspired by something that we see... sometimes by a question from one of the kids... sometimes because Daddy or I see an opportunity to teach something (character, civics, Bible).  Math fact questions get thrown out at "random", referencing literature happens all the time as we think of it. 

Everywhere!

But that's not what this post is really about.  One day I may just have to devote a whole post to the "everywhere" concept, but today it's about the learning I plan for. 

It doesn't get too fancy.  We live in 5 rooms (including the bathroom... and the kitchen and living room aren't separated by a wall) over 720 square feet.  There is no dedicated school room.  There isn't even a dedicated shelf (you'll see that later).  


 Here you see Tornado working at our kitchen table and you may notice that the table isn't necessarily even "dedicated" to learning while we're there.  Exhibit A:  garlic chives on the table waiting to be dehydrated later today. 


Usually Sweet Pea and Little Man join us at the table for at least some of the time playing with stickers, Tornado's math manipulatives, coloring or whatever else they've found to do. 


Another place of learning.  Tornado loves to read.  He's reading Farmer Boy (one of the Little House books) aloud to us these days.  Picture books, chapter books, toddler books or my Bible.  He doesn't discriminate... and often he reads them right here. 


Here is where our active "school" books live.  Among other things.  Our "circle" books are usually standing upright, but one of the kids put them away today.  And the bag from Lowes used to be somewhere else... until we needed it for something and it didn't get put away. 

On the left are my Polished Cornerstones and Plants Grown Up books from Doorposts.  I'll be working them in one of these days.  For Instructions in Righteousness is in there somewhere too.  I've been starting to use that one.  I've so excited to finally have them!

Missing from pictures is our living room floor where we all sit for "circle" time in the morning after our chores are done and my computer where we watch a 3-5 minute video with each new math lesson (usually once a week) and sometimes Netflix videos on animals or the ocean, etc.  But usually those are reserved for when I'm sick. 

This is where the children's books live.  Just above the toys.  You see the mess of toddler books on the floor by the cubicle where they should be. :)

And this is where Tornado does a bunch of his daily quite reading.  Usually he's on the other side of the bed by the window where it's a little bit brighter, but he wanted to sit on his pillow this time.  Since it's a bunk bed and I didn't like him sitting so high so close to the edge, he moved for me. :)  Since they all share a room, each day during nap time, he sits quietly and reads all sorts of books while the little ones sleep.


Tell me?  Do you have a space set aside for teaching your little ones?  Or does it kind of blend with life like mine?


Joining in here:

Labels: Homeschooling 2012-2013

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 2:05 PM