Setting Up Our Home for Our Active Learner






Our homeschool space, through the years, has been ever-changing and evolving...

My 2e daughter, as many preschoolers do, loved to imitate what I was doing.  So she loved to "help" me cook, and clean, and even sort the laundry.  We set up a small kid size plastic kitchen, in our kitchen.  She used that when she needed her own cooking space, while I was at the stove, etc. 

 She loved helping with laundry each Thursday.  That was math, ie sort the towels by size and make sets. We counted the washcloths, and practiced "same" and "different" with the laundry, too.

I remember starting out with my 4 year old, Explode the Code Primers, and a cute Micky Mouse desk from my friend, that we set up by the living room window.

She could watch for birds at the same time as she was doing her letters....and she learned to love nature...



Science happened wherever we were, as long as we had a pail for collecting her important specimens.....It was all about collecting every leaf that she could find.  And, of course, in the kitchen, when we made cookies, and did simple kiddo science experiments.

In the kitchen, we encouraged our young artist, with pudding fingerpainting, drawing, gluing, cutting, and even painting with apples.  I just had to remember to cover the table with a plastic tablecloth, first, lol!

One day, we went out to gather apples, and that became a lesson in stamp making with apples. I got a small smock at the thrift store, and that came in really handy for our art projects. 

Setting up for Art - I just cleared out a drawer in my kitchen, and that became our art supply storage area.  It was big enough for the paper, paints, and other necessities for my little artist.  I love doing arts and crafts for fine motor skills, and creativity.

Homeschool Storage - What did we do for storing away our books and other supplies?  Well, we live in a smallish home, and did not have a dedicated homeschool room available.  So I bought a small bookcase, and that became our homeschool shelf.  

There was plenty of room for my kiddo to keep her books and her children's computer right there.  I tucked it away in our living room, and added a small curtain to it, to cover it when we were done with school.

Reading Space - Most of our reading was done on the couch, snuggling together, or with her dad, at bedtime.  But I soon found out that my little one needed a special quiet place, for when she needed to settle herself.

So we created a small reading nook, in her bedroom.
For a reading nook, I used a bookcase from the thrift store, and filled it with books, changing them out as she developed her reading skills.  Most of the books were either presents from family or found at one of our local children's consignment stores.

Here is how our Book Nook looked, in the early years...


Quiet Breaks - It was wonderful to have this space for my daughter to go to, when she needed to quiet herself.  

Active Breaks - We also used our living room or our backyard for active breaks, when my little one needed to get her energy out.
For her active breaks, she loved using her spinner, a large exercise ball to bounce on, and the swing in the backyard.

Having both options was super for my daughter, who had some ADHD-like behaviors as a gifted 2e little one. 

And all the bouncing on the large exercise ball, and spinning in her dad's desk chair, really helped her to get the sensory input that she was needing.

For more information on homeschooling 2e young active learners, click on the Early Years if you like.


Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy




Betsy is a veteran homeschooler who blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early yearshigh school and college too.  She offers homeschool help and free messages at BJ's Consulting.  She is also the author of "Homeschooling High School with College in Mind" on Amazon, and has been picked up by the Huffington Post.


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