3. Our homeschool classroom wasn't Instagram worthy by any means, but what helped keep the clutter down a little bit was having binders for everything. All of our completed work that wasn't in a notebook would go into a binder. Once we reached high school, we needed to get individual binders for each course, and we'd keep everything for each subject in its dedicated binder. We didn't have room on a shelf to keep all the binders, so we'd just lean them up against the leg of the desk or against the wall in our classroom.
For book storage, my sister and I each had kiddie backpacks from Lands End. We had these leaning up against the leg of the desk or against the wall, and we'd stand our books up in them. We had so many books, we couldn't close the backpacks, but at least having the backpacks kept all the books together, which was helpful. Not sure if any of this will be helpful for your particular situation and needs, but I wanted to share just in case!
Nov 14, 2023·edited Nov 14, 2023Liked by Diana Cantu, Walther Cantu
We don't have a homeschool classroom, just our living and dining rooms, an art cart for art supplies, shelves, and one of those magazine display stands for workbooks. At eight and ten, clutter is mostly handled by either me reminding them to come back to put things away, or just handling it myself throughout the day. Chores happen when they're working. I don't need to sit with them as much as I used to.
I am perennially trying to back off from external motivation so my kids can develop their own internal drive, while at the same time, via lecturing and limits, inculcate some sense of you need to *practice* music daily, choose more difficult math work, and pick up a book--any book--instead of watching whatever grandpa has on TV. And go outside and play with the dog!
Seriously, I start most days having them write down their plan for the day (including math, reading, and writing). I have a schedule for meals (7:30, 11:00, 2:30 snack, 6:00) that we roughly follow. Computer gaming time is limited to one hour per day, and otherwise TV is limited in time and to educational content. We don't get out of the house enough, though we finally have a group of fellow homeschoolers to meet with once or twice a week. We don't do enough (?) science and history reading or lessons. I'm looking into curricula for those as they get older.
Biggest surprise: My wife no longer thinks she could do it better than I do. Whether that's because I've gotten better at it, or she's realized how challenging it is after a few days of trying it herself, I don't know. After all, it's not day one that's hard, it's day twenty-one, and twenty-two, and twenty-three...
Oh my goodness I love this response! What a great idea to have them write their schedule!! Also I sort of love that you have a relaxed schedule but that it has some structure so they know what to expect. I love all this advice and wisdom! Thank you!!
Thanks! Don't get me wrong--they may write a schedule, but only my 11-yo ever comes close to following it. But it did help stop their complaining that "there isn't enough time in the day to do all this work!" when their own plan clearly demonstrates it could be all be done by 11am if they just did it.
I highly recommend Seton Educational Media's website (www.setonbooks.com) for book ideas and resources. Seton press publishes a lot of their own books, and their grade/middle school history books are really enjoyable and approachable for students. I believe they're also coming out with their own grade/middle school science books now. Just wanted to share the link in case you may find it helpful!
I’m definitely worried about the whining and resistance that will surely happen at some points. I’ve also already, even though we haven’t officially started homeschooling yet, run into resistance from extended family members who are, at best, skeptical of homeschooling. Is it ever hard for you to stay positive and focused on what your family needs if/when you’re tempted to listen to other voices or compare your kids to their peers?
I think as long as you're prepared you can deal with the whining.
As far as what others say: I struggled with this at the beginning. But I think it was a struggle because I wasn't confident. Now I am very confident in our choice so it's much easier for me to (kindly) sidestep those traps. Even my mom, who is really supportive asks me things like: 'so when are you going to put them in school?' hahaha I just calmly tell her we are happy doing this and if we need to change we will.
I think it helps to stay calm, and not get defensive. Even if that family member says something hurtful like: 'you didn't even finish college how can YOU teach them??' Or something like that
Unnecessary comments like that say more about that person than you. You stay focused on the beauty you will see unfold before you and that will give you the confidence you will need to keep going.
My mom has a large rolling cart that she keeps a lot of the school-supply type stuff on! Books… well, books are everywhere, but that’s just their whole house.
3. Our homeschool classroom wasn't Instagram worthy by any means, but what helped keep the clutter down a little bit was having binders for everything. All of our completed work that wasn't in a notebook would go into a binder. Once we reached high school, we needed to get individual binders for each course, and we'd keep everything for each subject in its dedicated binder. We didn't have room on a shelf to keep all the binders, so we'd just lean them up against the leg of the desk or against the wall in our classroom.
For book storage, my sister and I each had kiddie backpacks from Lands End. We had these leaning up against the leg of the desk or against the wall, and we'd stand our books up in them. We had so many books, we couldn't close the backpacks, but at least having the backpacks kept all the books together, which was helpful. Not sure if any of this will be helpful for your particular situation and needs, but I wanted to share just in case!
James’ school does canvas seatback book-bags for this exact reason.
What sorcery! I didn't even know these existed! 😍
We don't have a homeschool classroom, just our living and dining rooms, an art cart for art supplies, shelves, and one of those magazine display stands for workbooks. At eight and ten, clutter is mostly handled by either me reminding them to come back to put things away, or just handling it myself throughout the day. Chores happen when they're working. I don't need to sit with them as much as I used to.
I am perennially trying to back off from external motivation so my kids can develop their own internal drive, while at the same time, via lecturing and limits, inculcate some sense of you need to *practice* music daily, choose more difficult math work, and pick up a book--any book--instead of watching whatever grandpa has on TV. And go outside and play with the dog!
Seriously, I start most days having them write down their plan for the day (including math, reading, and writing). I have a schedule for meals (7:30, 11:00, 2:30 snack, 6:00) that we roughly follow. Computer gaming time is limited to one hour per day, and otherwise TV is limited in time and to educational content. We don't get out of the house enough, though we finally have a group of fellow homeschoolers to meet with once or twice a week. We don't do enough (?) science and history reading or lessons. I'm looking into curricula for those as they get older.
Biggest surprise: My wife no longer thinks she could do it better than I do. Whether that's because I've gotten better at it, or she's realized how challenging it is after a few days of trying it herself, I don't know. After all, it's not day one that's hard, it's day twenty-one, and twenty-two, and twenty-three...
Oh my goodness I love this response! What a great idea to have them write their schedule!! Also I sort of love that you have a relaxed schedule but that it has some structure so they know what to expect. I love all this advice and wisdom! Thank you!!
Thanks! Don't get me wrong--they may write a schedule, but only my 11-yo ever comes close to following it. But it did help stop their complaining that "there isn't enough time in the day to do all this work!" when their own plan clearly demonstrates it could be all be done by 11am if they just did it.
I highly recommend Seton Educational Media's website (www.setonbooks.com) for book ideas and resources. Seton press publishes a lot of their own books, and their grade/middle school history books are really enjoyable and approachable for students. I believe they're also coming out with their own grade/middle school science books now. Just wanted to share the link in case you may find it helpful!
I’m definitely worried about the whining and resistance that will surely happen at some points. I’ve also already, even though we haven’t officially started homeschooling yet, run into resistance from extended family members who are, at best, skeptical of homeschooling. Is it ever hard for you to stay positive and focused on what your family needs if/when you’re tempted to listen to other voices or compare your kids to their peers?
I think as long as you're prepared you can deal with the whining.
As far as what others say: I struggled with this at the beginning. But I think it was a struggle because I wasn't confident. Now I am very confident in our choice so it's much easier for me to (kindly) sidestep those traps. Even my mom, who is really supportive asks me things like: 'so when are you going to put them in school?' hahaha I just calmly tell her we are happy doing this and if we need to change we will.
I think it helps to stay calm, and not get defensive. Even if that family member says something hurtful like: 'you didn't even finish college how can YOU teach them??' Or something like that
Unnecessary comments like that say more about that person than you. You stay focused on the beauty you will see unfold before you and that will give you the confidence you will need to keep going.
My mom has a large rolling cart that she keeps a lot of the school-supply type stuff on! Books… well, books are everywhere, but that’s just their whole house.
'books are everywhere' 👈 the secret to a good homeschool!!!
Will bear these in mind, for the time when I've kids, so glad I found your substack!