When my husband and I were first married, we beganadiscussionabout homeschooling. By the
time our first child was born five years
later, we knew that we wanted to homeschool. I had been a schoolteacher, teaching second grade and then special education. However, I quit working to stay home
with our first child. Three more children
followed within the next six years. We
affirmed our decision to homeschool.
The plan was to begin homeschooling,
and when the last child was school aged,
I would go back to teaching at the small
Christian school where I had previously
taught, and the children would all go with
me to attend school.
God led us in a different direction,
however. By the time the fourth child
was school aged, I knew that home-
schooling was the best thing for our
family—for the long term. My husband
agreed, and we decided to continue
homeschooling. The small Christian
school also closed up that year, making
the decision an easier one.
We’ve continued to homeschool, with
two children now in their high school
years. I’m now homeschooling Kathryne,
16; Charles, 14; Ashlyne, 11; and Rachel,
10. Entering the high school years has
been a little scary, but I’m truly enjoying
homeschooling teens.
When we began our homeschooling adventure, we were living in a fairly
large house. There was a large front room
that could be a formal living room/din-ing room but which quickly became our
school room. It was great, and we had
tons of space. And then, through a series of decisions, God led us to move to a
smaller and more affordable house. This
house is fairly small for the six of us, and
we’ve had to get pretty creative in making
as much space as we can. Making a place
where school can happen and where
we have room for all of our books and
school things was a priority.
In this house, we also have a front
room that could have been a formal
living/dining room. But in this house,
the room is much smaller. And I have
very little space in the kitchen. So, the
schoolroom also includes the table where
we eat meals, as well as pantry shelves for
food storage, and an extra refrigerator.
With so much happening in this room,
it really is the central hub of our home. I
want it to be a pleasant place as well as a
place that’s organized to make the most
of the space we have.
I’ve learned to get quite creative with
my space. I have a large, old wardrobe
with cubby holes made in the inside.
I’ve repurposed this as a craft cabinet. It
holds all sorts of odds and ends that the
kids can use to be creative. It’s a great
storage place for all of those items, and
it keeps things neatly stored and out of
sight. Other arts and crafts materials are
stored in labeled drawers for easy ac-
cess. Needless to say, the kids don’t al-
ways return things to the proper drawer.
But I clean out the schoolroom once a
quarter, and I make sure that old mar-
kers are thrown away, old glue sticks are
disposed of, and items are returned to
their proper drawers.
Show & Tell
Leah Courtney
Our Schoolroom:
Making the Most of Small Spaces
I’ve learned to get quite creative with my space.
