Come take a tour of our homeschool room! Homeschool rooms should change ever so often, to meet the needs of the children. Our play/school room has changed quite a bit over the years, and today I’m sharing what our set up looks like now, as well as a few tips on how to create a space that can suit families with babies and toddlers.
Our set up is inspired in the Montessori method of education for the early years. I notice that my kids are happier in their exploration when everything is within their reach. In Montessori schools, the classrooms will generally have different stations set up throughout the room, and each station should have different materials for Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Biology and Geography. Montessori classrooms are designed to be peaceful and happy places, created to meet the developmental needs of each child in every stage of life.
Initially I wanted to create a distraction free room, but my kids learn a lot through playing, so I decided to set up different learning stations that would include educational toys too, instead of just homeschool materials. Here’s what I intended my stations to cover: Music, Reading / Language, Fine Motor Coordination, Art, Math and Homeschool Unit Studies.
Here’s our stations:
Reading Nook:
A simple and sweet corner for our reading time. I wanted to keep it minimal and cozy, the kids really like sitting down to enjoy their books here.
A Space for the Baby/Toddler:
One of the best things I did was dedicate a shelf for my baby’s favorite toys. My four year old son likes to play with these too, however he’s usually more interested in spending time exploring our unit studies and nature books. Whenever I sit down with him to read, or work on something homeschool related, I try to introduce a toy I know my little girl will like to play with. Most times she will like to stay occupied that way. This is her corner, and she loves exploring this area. Right now she’s 22 months old!
A Shelf for Fine Motor Coordination Toys and Seasonal Books:
This shelf has a few puzzles and toys that help them with fine motor coordination. I like to display our seasonal reads on top of the shelf, that way the books catch their attention better. We rotate the books according to the season we’re in. Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter, this shelf will always feature stories and themes that are inspired in each and every season, this has been a great way to get them connected with nature and the world around them.
Math:
This shelf pretty much stays the same all year round, I don’t change much because we don’t usually do math everyday. Levi’s favorite way to learn math is by helping me measure ingredients when we are baking, or counting his matchbox cars. Once in a while he will pick one of these materials and work on his math, usually when sister is taking a nap. Having these math materials within his reach is very helpful for us. He sees them as games, and all I have to do is observe his interests and follow his lead.
My little girl loves exploring these materials, but they are a bit advanced for her age (some have small pieces), so she gets to play with them under my supervision, when we get a chance. She does love the number puzzle, and is always excited to say her numbers. So cute!
Homeschool Unit Study Shelf:
I have one corner dedicated to our weekly studies. We rotate the materials and books every Monday, and this has been a great idea to keep Levi interested in learning!
We love our Montessori Inspired Shelf from Sprout Kids. I highly recommend it! This shelf allows the child to see the unit as a whole, because it doesn’t have any dividers. It makes it easier for the little ones to explore the materials and pick whatever they want to work with.
See more about our units and homeschool resources here and here.
A few tips to keep things running smoothly:
Allow Freedom of Choice:
I like to let my son choose what materials he will use first. He loves walking to this corner every Monday to see what we will be learning together. Instead of following a scheduled curriculum, I give him the freedom to choose the materials and themes, this makes our homeschool experience much smoother.
This concept of freedom in the classroom is well known among Montessori teachers, but it is frequently misunderstood, and many people take it to mean that children can do whatever they want in a classroom. The freedom of choice that Maria Montessori wrote about is meant to be encouraged in an environment that has clear, firm and reasonable boundaries. In the end, whatever the child chooses to do, the outcome will always be positive.
Keep it Tidy:
One of the characteristics of the Montessori method is that the “care of the environment” is built into every given lesson. My kids go through the process of cleaning it up every time they’re done with an activity. This is a habit training that has helped us so much! Cleaning up stations and preparing them for the next child to use is actually part of the Montessori practical life curriculum.
I also think that encouraging them to care for their belongings is a good way to teach them to be good stewards of our resources. I use the process of cleaning and organizing as a way to teach them to be grateful for what God’s given us.
Observe your children, take notes, make plans and have fun!
Here are some extra photos for you:
I hope this article can inspire you as you set up your own school room in your home. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Please spread the love by pinning your favorite pictures to your Pinterest boards. I really appreciate your support!
Thank you so much for stopping by,
Bru Masalin
nice post. Thanks