Carnival of Homeschooling: School Rooms and the Places We Learn

Welcome to the September 28th, 2010 edition of carnival of homeschooling - the 'School Room' episode in honor of 'where we learn'. If you have been a long-time visitor here, you'll know that I have MOVED a lot over my homeschooling years and I've 'done school' just about everywhere in the houses we have lived in. Some houses have had dedicated school rooms (sometimes frequently used, other times neglected for the kitchen table) and others haven't (read: 2 bedroom apartment living in Arkansas). This post is in no way meant to intimidate or compare - we're all about sharing ideas and bringing you little glimpses in to the homeschool areas of others. Today you get to be a 'fly on the homeschool wall'.

But first....

Just what is a Carnival? A carnival is just a blog post - but it has the fingerprints of many bloggers... links to the best posts of all those who choose to participate, in fact. Anyone who has something to add to the homeschool community - whether informative, uplifting, humorous, or crafty... anyone who has something to say about educating kids in a homeschool friendly way can join in and be a voice in the Carnival of Homeschooling. Each of us has a perspective of value to offer! We all have something wonderfully varied and interesting to add to the homeschool blogosphere. So if you are new to the carnival scene, browse through these posts and read what other homeschoolers have to say... then check out the bottom of this post to see how you can join in (maybe next time?).

School rooms and learning spots...

Perhaps the most famous and well loved school room on the blogosphere - Ann Voskamp's. I am sure she has had more than a dozen homeschool moms beg to come live with her and do school in her hand-crafted, heirloom-sprinkled space.

A Holy Experience
Best Ways to Organize a Homeschool Classroom
Quote: "Education is the atmosphere we breathe, the envelope of wonder that surrounds us, held by the gravity of our daily habits."

The Homeschool Post
The 6th Annual Homeschool Blog Awards
Quote: "While our site brings encouragement and and great parenting and homeschool-related content to the web all year round, we especially enjoy rewarding our fellow community bloggers during the annual awards season. We are partnering with some wonderful homeschool-friendly products and services to bring our winners prizes and introduce the homeschool community to a whole world of excellent blogs. Check out our 4 prize pages and see what the winner loot will be!"

Sage Parnassus
Rain, Passports and Gifts, Oh My!

HSH Mommas
Our Preschool Classroom
Notes: "Crisc shares how she organizes her Preschool Room."

It is funny how school rooms often inspire the decorator to use bright colors! Our school room walls are teal blue - a perfect match for our many wall maps. You can see photos of my school room here (in case you haven't seen it before). We call it our 'underwater school room').

Life with my Giggly Girls
The Story of a School Room
Notes: "A Story of how our friends at IKEA and Got Junk helped us transform our school room that had become a pit of despair."

Home Spun Juggling
Characterizing Learning
Notes: "A look at favorite characters and how they were educated."

A Pilgrims Heart
Weekly Writer Club: A Review
Notes: "Tipping other homeschoolers off on a Weekly Writer Club that makes reluctant writers eager to write. No more tears!"

Everything Home...with Carol
Homeschool Support Groups

Habits for a Happy Home
The Freedom of Frugal Living
Notes: "Every once in a while I need to make fun of myself. See, I’m afraid I’ve become that stereotype. That bread-baking, homeschooling, make-your-own mixes type of mama."

For more great shots of this school room, visit this post (which wasn't included in the carnival... 'All Things Chalkboard'.

HodgePodge
Make Supper at Lunch
Notes: "The secret to survival on 'those' days. There's a yummy meal waiting even if. And besides. And in spite of."

Parent Community and Forum
Make Time for Rhyme

Alasandra's Homeschool Blog
Another Bigoted View of Homeschooling
Notes: "Apparently Jacqueline Espinoza has no clue that homeschoolers belong to homeschool groups, join recreational sports teams, boy/girl scouts, theater groups and other organizations where they interact with their peers on a
regular basis. Nope according to Jacqueline Espinoza we just sit home all day & night never laying eyes on anyone outside our immediate family."

Barbara Frank Online
A Fun New Math Book
Notes: "Review of a math book good for homeschooled kids with or without developmental disabilities."

A Day in the Life
Hints for Combining Resources

You'll notice that no matter what type of room homeschoolers use for school, one thing is certainly similar about them all: BOOKS!

Home is Where You Start From
Our Learning Areas
Notes: "Photos of our learning areas (we don't have a dedicated homeschool room)."

The Thinking Mother
BIC
Notes: "ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother discusses how important the concept of BIC is for learning and content mastery to occur while homeschooling."

Tea Time with Annie Kate
This Week at Home: Frost, Salsa, and the National Parks

School Survival Blog
Free Online Homeschooling
Notes: "How to use online school to supplement homeschooling, and get a normal high school diploma"

Notes From A Homeschooling Mom
What Does an Elementary School Homeschooler Really Need to Know

Another common place for a homeschool spread-out is the kitchen or dining room table. There's nothing like opening the blinds and letting in the sunlight as you tackle the books with ample elbow room! It beats the 'traditional' school desk for sure!

No Ordinary Piece of Clay
My Classroom Tour
Notes: "My small but mighty classroom, it works for us."

Homeschooling Hearts and Minds
Homeschool for FREE: Reading

The Legacy of Home
Supper Time with Precious Helpers

Habits for a Happy Home
The Habit of Working Together

Online College Courses
50 Best Blogs for Linguistics Students

I love natural light - and the view out this window is not shabby, either. When you can't be outside, it's nice to have a little sunshine streaming in to keep things cheery.

Satori Smiles
School Room Week
Notes: "Some of us have a dream setup: a writing center, art corner, nature nook, learning loft, reading room, kraft kitchen and more!"

C h r y s a l i s ღ
NEWS: Celebrating 100 Years of Scouting
Notes: "Celebrating the Adventure. Continuing the Journey."

Two Kid Schoolhouse
Homeschooling parents, please watch your children.
Notes: "A plea to parents."

Spell Out Loud
The Art of Winging It: The Preschool Edition
Notes: "There are seasons in homeschooling where planning is done more on the fly. I've explained how I am successful at looking like I"m winging-it-- but really have a plan."

All over the house - a little in this room, a little in that...

The Kelley Eight
Schoolroom....4th Times A Charm?
Notes: "My quest to find what works for classroom organization."

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
Top Ten Homeschool Lunches
Notes: "My family tends to get in a rut with lunches. I've shared our top ten favorites and would love to hear a few of yours!"

PARENT AT THE HELM
SPECIAL REPORT: U.S. Schools Embracing Technology?

Let's Play Math!
Math Project: Measure the Earth
Notes: "Now is a great time to perform Eratosthenes’ experiment of measuring the earth. My homeschool math club did this and came up with a very accurate number---fun!"

DANDELION HOUSE HOMESCHOOL
Busy Hands, BUSY WORK or both?
Notes: "Please join us for adventures in OUR CREATIVE, ECLECTIC AND INTUITIVE homeschooling adventures!"

She says she dreams of schooling in an old schoolhouse... and these lovely barn-wood walls are evidence of her style. I'm in love!

The Faithful Homeschool
Snapshots of Homeschool
Notes: "This post is about where we typically homeschool and how it is not in the traditional way or places... but rather everywhere as needed!"

Crack the Egg
Home Education: 9 Unusual Ways to Share What You Learn

Becoming THAT Family
Home School Answers - What grade are your kids in?
Notes: "This is a question I get asked a lot, even before people know that we home school."

Bachelor Of Science
96 Essential Sites & Blogs for Gifted Homeschoolers
Notes: "Homeschooled children are often ahead of the academic pack when it comes to learning and retaining information. These websites and blogs are aimed at gifted students and give parents ideas for lessons and field trips that will stimulate their gifted homeschooler."

Why Homeschool
A Break Down on the Cost of Higher Education
Notes: "Henry understands a little better why the cost of higher educations has for decades climbed so fast."

Blah, Blah, Blog
Starting the Funschooling Year at the Academy of Sciences

Here's a school room condensed... into a tiny shelf full of clear workboxes. Sometimes I prefer to shove the contents in to a duffel bag and load up the class for some 'carschooling'. Amazingly, a change of scenery often is just what we need to squelch our cabin-fever and motivate the kids to hurry with that dragging math page.

Sprittibee
The WHERE of School
Quote: "When I think of a school 'room', I just think of where to store my books. School can't be confined to a room - learning happens everywhere. Not just at home, either."

Masters in Special Education
Top 20 iPad Apps for Teachers
Notes: "Technology has transformed the classroom, teaching, and learning in general. One of the newest gadgets, the iPad, can be of great use to teachers."

Greg Laden's Blog
What is life? (New Biology Textbook)

Homeschool Bytes
Awesome Free Hovercraft Science Experiment
Notes: "Here is a source of fun free science experiments that helped my kids get excited to learn!"

The Ultimate Guide to Online University Accreditation
Top 20 Most Influential People In Online Learning
Notes: "Online learning is an incredibly important, and growing, field. This is a list of 20 people who have done wonders for distance education."

Heart of the Matter Online
Not Back to School Blog Hop, Week 2: School Room
Notes: "Can't get enough of looking at people's school rooms and finding out where they do most of their learning? Check out this treasure box of schoolroom links!"

I didn't include photos of all the other places learning happens in home schooling. Educating your kids is a way of life rather than a room inside of a house where you store your academic manipulatives and books. In the past three years our homeschool family have been through a dozen states on road trips (or more), toured and field tripped at numerous wonderful sites in off-peak traffic, learned the joys (and life-skills) of bringing another little person in to the world and caring for them (a lesson you can't get anywhere but at home)... and much more. None of these things were ever confined to a room in our house - but rather happened as we journeyed along the way. One of the best things about home education is that it is a moving, living, breathing way of life... outside of the box... built on a relationship between parent and child. Our school rooms are wonderful places where we can extend our personality and learn organizational skills - to be good stewards of our resources and blessings... but the learning continues where-ever we go!



Quick Links from Why Homeschool about the Carnival:

Submissions for CoH
CoH Archive
CoH Schedule

CREDITS:
Photos of school rooms were emailed to me by the bloggers listed on the pictures. Two of them were 'stolen' because I couldn't resist taking them. I have given proper credit through links (see below each photo for their entry).


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