Our learning stations

We have made a few changes in how our school is set up since the move. At first I lamented that although the house is bigger than our old place, there was no unoccupied room big enough to dedicate as a school room. There was only a tiny spare room and the rest of the school would have to be scattered about the house. Oh my! I envisioned messes everywhere and myself running from room to room to attend to the schooling, housework, etc. But the Lord has a way of knowing better than we what we need. It occured to me that I could set up learning stations (a more grown-up sounding name for “centers”) here and there for the different subjects, with all the books and materials for each subject located in those spots. So I went about setting up the stations, sorting, arranging, categorizing, etc until I got them how I wanted them. Result? I LOVE it!It is working especially well since we are moving back towards our real strength and doing more hands-on projects.

Here is a look at our stations. (Keep in mind I just set these up to be functional last week and I still have alot of “prettying up” to do. )

Here is my favorite-the “geocenter” (geography and geology). I like it because it is wide enough to spread out with all the maps and things Superboy needs for this type of work. My wonderful husband built this center himself and it contains cubbies underneath and a bookshelf on the end. One cubby works perfectly to hold Superboy’s rock tumbler.

You can see his North America salt-dough map project in progress. I love that he can leave the supplies here ready to dig into again tomorrow.

Next are the Living History corner and the Math lab. They are side by side with math left and history right. Superboy built one bookshelf and dh the other.

You can see a math project in progress (more on the projects later) and the black photo box holds various manipulatives and tools, compass, protractor, etc. The plastic drawers underneath the table hold craft supplies we use often for many subjects.

Next is the Language lab:

Pretty obviously a computer and magnetic whiteboard (we use magnetic word tiles alot for grammar) and bookshelves. It sits right next to the Nature Center:

Right now our focus is the Biology project, but all of our nature study materials will be corralled here.
The main benefit of this set-up is that materials for projects “in progress” don’t have to be put away in order to move on to the next subject. They can be tidied up and left at their station while Superboy moves on to the next spot for the next subject! Wow! This is really saving on transition time!

Next benefit: I have put up a little cork bulletin board at each station with a notecard pinned to it on which I have written Superboy’s assignment or project directions. After I explain it once, he knows where to look for reminders and is much more independant and asks me for directions less often. When he finishes a task he hands me the card, I look over his work (which I am constantly interacting with him about anyway) and I tack up a new card. Simple as that! Added benefit: I can jot down ideas for fun projects on cards whenever I get inspired and then just tack them up when the time is right. That way I always have a stash of project ideas ready to go.

Final benefit: Superboy LOVES it!

He really likes the variety of moving from spot to spot for different subjects. He also likes the quicker transitions with less break-down and set-up time. He is doing some wonderful work with a great attitude and what more could I ask for? This is especially welcome at a time when traditionally the homeschooling doldrums set in and attitudes can get a bit less than stellar. I can honestly say we are having a tremendous amount of fun!
Next time I will tell you about Superboy’s current projects and what JBug is up to as well!

Until then, I hope everyone is having as much fun as we are!