Homeschool Organization Ideas to Make the Most of Every Space

It can be so frustrating to explore homeschool organization ideas in the Pinterest world, can’t it? I mean those pins with those precisely appointed bookshelves and totally organized desks for each student make it seem like you are somehow failing when you only have a small book shelf in the corner of the dining room that’s overly stuffed with papers, notebooks, and half-finished projects.

While having a dedicated, completely organized, homeschool space might be the ideal the reality is most families do not homeschool that way. Instead, homeschooling moms carve out small niches within the home, gather some shelves, or tables and a place to store things. Then, homeschooling happens all over the house. It might be reading on the couch, math on the floor, history in the car on the way to a doctor’s appointment, and science at the kitchen sink or in the backyard. Homeschooling happens everywhere!

But how do you create a workable homeschool space within the footprint of your home?

Homeschool Organization Ideas for Maximizing All of Your Homeschool Spaces

Homeschooling in the Dining Room or Kitchen

Often the number one place for homeschool spaces is the dining room. It makes the most sense. There is a table large enough that all the kids have a place to work, and usually there is enough space, even a small corner, to set up a bookshelf for keeping the necessary supplies.

• • Do you have a china hutch filled with seldom-used dishware? Why not clear that out and utilize the hutch for organizing your science equipment, a library of readers, and math manipulatives.
  • Do you have a pantry closet? If so, it’s a great space to get things organized for homeschooling near the dining room. You’ll need to carefully consider how you can configure your kitchen cabinets to keep your food handy, but if you have enough cabinet space to meet that need, then your pantry might make a good storage solution for your homeschooling materials.

Homeschooling in the Living Room

Couch schooling or homeschooling in the living room is a reality that homeschool moms deal with daily. How often do you sit down to fold laundry only to end up with a child sitting beside you with a few readers? When was the last time you found the library book hidden in the couch cushions? It’s just the reality of a homeschooling family’s life.

• Perhaps you can think about clearing out a nearby coat closet and organizing it to store items that aren’t used every day.
• Instead of worrying about hiding the homeschooling readers, turn your living room into a small children’s library. Buy a small end table that also has some shelving.  Thoughtfully display those books within the end-table. Place a medium sized basket on the coffee table and store daily readers there. Line your mantel with books. Those beautifully colored titles will make a lovely display.
• Set up a small desk in the corner. Set it up to function for online or digital learning. Make sure you have electrical outlets nearby. Keep a container of sharpened pencils, some notepads, and coasters for drinks on the desk as well. Set up your laptop, desktop, or tablet there so that you can keep an eye on kids who need to work digitally.

Homeschooling in the Car

Homeschooling in the car is a regular thing. It really is. But it doesn’t have to look like chaos. You can set up your car to be an organized homeschooling space that’s at the ready for any last minute trip or errand you need to make.

• Hang a backseat organizer on the front seat backs as a storage solution for books, CDs, DVDs, and hands-on learning manipulatives for little hands.
• Keep flashcards and clipboards handy in a multi-purpose car organizer that fits between the captain’s seats in your van or SUV.
• Speaking of clipboards, keep one for each child in the car, it will keep the papers from flying while the kids work on learning their spelling words or practicing math facts.

Homeschooling at the Library

So the library isn’t your home! And you have no control over how the librarian organizes their space. But, you can organize your homeschooling on-the-go bag.

• • Get a bag that has plenty of pockets. You want to find one that has at least one pocket that can be zippered or snapped shut. That’s where you’ll keep your library cards.
  • Use other pockets for pencils, notepads, and Post-it notes.
  • Clip small binder clips to the strap or top of the bag to keep pages together after a long day of research.
  • Bag insert organizers. Have you seen these inserts that fit inside your bag that have sections to keep things organized? They make for great homeschool on the go bag organizers! You can use them to keep bottles of water and snacks for the kids, or as a way to organize which borrowed books, belong to which child.

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Homeschooling in Nature

Homeschooling often means getting out of the house for a nature study. It might mean a walk at a local hiking trail or a study of the pine trees in the backyard. How do you stay organized when you are homeschooling outdoors? The idea is to keep the things you need for your nature study ready and at-hand for when the moment comes to head out. When everyone has to go searching for shoes, jackets, and clipboards, what could be a 45-minute nature study turns into an hour and a half of your day gone.

• Keep a shelf near the back door where you keep your kid’s outdoor shoes and jackets.
• Place an organized grab-n-go bag there as well. In it keep clipboards to contain papers for the study, water bottles for your thirsty explorers, and perhaps a snack for each as well. You can also add extras such as magnifying glasses, butterfly nets, insect cages, a pocket knife or other things you might need for your nature study exploration.
• Keep rain boots near the door as well.

Whatever homeschooling space you find yourself in with your kids if you keep some areas of your home organized it will make homeschooling, life schooling so much easier to manage.

If you are looking to homeschool more minimally, here is another resource that can help.

Tell us, what are your best homeschool organization ideas and tips? We would love to hear them.

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