Kitchen Table or Bust

We are trying to move over the river to Portland. This has been in the works for a while now (like, a year) and we are just waiting to hear if we have been approved to rent a house we've checked out. It will be a big change for us and it will change the way we live.

Right now we have about a 400 square foot room for schooling, art, scrapbooking and lego building. It also is where we keep our library and computer. It's where we display some of the things the boys have been making. It's where the boys go in the morning to play before the rest of the house wakes up. And it doesn't matter (to me) if it's clean. It's pretty much a luxury and I've viewed it as such all three plus years we've lived here. I think that most home educators don't have this kind of a set up. I didn't when I started.

The house we are hoping to get is about 500 square feet less than what we have now. No extra bedrooms and only one living area and that means one table...the kitchen table. And that means we're back to doing schoolwork, art projects, experiments and math games there. Which of course means we have to keep it clean. That may not be such a bad deal. I can use some help staying organized.

I began this venture at the kitchen counter with my preschool aged son. We got through Kindergarten at the table...sometimes using the piano bench and the couch. We've done first, second, third and part of fourth grade here. But, there doesn't have to be a designated room to teach in. I kind of like that we'll be forced out of the box, to making learning more a part of everyday life instead of relegating it to a room.

No matter where we end up moving -- we're still pretty mobile -- we will end up learning and I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the size of our room.