Homeschool Room Tour //
Hey, friends! So… I’ve been wanting to do this post for a lonnng time! I was hoping to have our homeschool room completely finished before sharing pictures with you all… but that hasn’t exactly happened. Like all of the other rooms in my house… it’s a work in progress! I still have dreams of getting the perfect velvety reading chair in the corner of the room, hanging a school house clock over the bookshelves, adding a fabulous rug, and doing some more personalized art projects with the kids. Hopefully over the summer we can put some finishing touches on the room!
What I do like best, is that it’s an eclectic space filled with things we love! Most of the time, my motto is ‘less is more,’ but not in this case! This room is brimming with art work, garland, and pops of cheerful colors… plus lots of natural light! It has proved to be the perfect spot for school work, board games, and art projects! It definitely has become our favorite room in the house!
I started researching school room setups this time last year {just prior to our move}. I stumbled across the wonderfully informative site, Confessions of a Homeschooler, where I got the inspiration for the Ikea desks. I loved that it was easy to build… and quite affordable! The desk is a 5 foot x 5 foot square, which seats four. It’s comprised of 4 sets of file drawers and 2 table tops! It has worked out very well for us this year! It’s super easy to clean — as long as you get the glossy white table tops!
Our bookshelf is the Kallax Shelving Unit from Ikea. It has 16 box openings which works out great for keeping the kids’ books and learning games/manipulatives separated. The chairs were quite a find! I love the industrial modern look! I found them at Target {they come in sets of two}! My kids literally stand on them, jump from them, and abuse them further by flipping them over to create trains, forts… you name it! They’ve held up beautifully! I LOVE these chairs!
On to my favorite felt garland! It’s from Land of Nod. I could go crazy in that store, you guys! In fact, nearly every time we make a trip to Orange County, we stop in there! I could furnish and accessorize our entire school room, kids’ bedrooms, and shared spaces from there and be FOREVER HAPPY! The darling curtains are also from Land of Nod.
The maps, grammar, and math posters are all from my favorite learning supply store… Lakeshore. I wish I had them laminated prior to hanging them up… but I was impatient. The cute chore charts are a random find from Cotton On – Kids. {Not only does that store have cute clothes… they also have the most adorable notebooks and pencil cases!}
The ‘READ’ letters were also a Land of Nod find. {Love!} They are made from basic brown, light-weight kraft paper that we gussied up with bright pink dot stickers! Do you see the little turquoise Ikea cart? I’m sure you’ve seen this before! I use it to hold extra paper and dry erase materials. It’s actually a kitchen cart on wheels… but it’s so versatile!
To hang the kids’ art, we simply purchased the wire line and clips. It’s hung on just one wall, high enough so it’s out of the way, but still visible for all to enjoy!
The small white book shelf, from Ikea, is functional and sturdy. The numbered cube bins and striped ones are all from… you guessed it… Land of Nod! I adore their fun storage containers! The striped bins contain extra chapter books for the kids to read, math manipulatives, and anything else that has a difficult shape to store alone on the shelves. The numbered bins house extra work for each child. They each have their own number where they have age-appropriate educational games, flash cards, and knick knacks.
So, this room’s main purpose is as a school room; however, I do have an active toddler! While teaching the oldest three, Mr. Finn is always close by playing. {Part of our school room had to function with him in mind.} I have educational games for him in his numbered bin, as well as lots of picture books on the shelves, and his favorite board books in a metal bin on the ground near his rocking horse.
There is also a basic easel {a steal from Ikea} where Finn draws in the corner of the room.
One of my favorite pieces, we found for the room, was from an antique store on the mountain near where we live. It’s the vintage globe! It actually lights up! We hope to collect a few more antique globes… both big and small! The lovely giraffe was hand carved by my grandfather for my son Seth… who happens to love giraffes! I cherish that special piece… in fact, we all do!
The math manipulatives are perfect for Sophia who has been in Kindergarten this year… but also for Finn to practice his counting and sorting.
We have extra markers, twistables, and sharpened pencils in pretty glass jars on top of the book shelves.
We have a keyboard {that we bought years ago at Costco} in the room that the kids use for their piano lessons! We are so lucky that our piano teacher actually comes to our house each week!
Inside the closet, we have lots of puzzles and toys that are easily accessible. Finn typically sits on the ground and plays quietly while I teach the others… or I focus on teaching two, and the other child plays with Finn to keep him happy and entertained!
We have dress up clothes, and bulkier toys {stored in tupperware containers} like wooden blocks, train tracks, and wooden castles on the other side of the closet. We use the cute wire basket for recycled paper… however, Mr. Finn has many different purposes. He likes to dump the recycled paper out, and use it to play basketball in the shower of the bathroom nearby! He also has a ‘thing’ for cutting up rubber bands right now. I find countless cut-up rubber band pieces spilling out of the basket’s holes! Ha!
I hope that you’ve enjoyed our homeschool room tour! Practically everything cute and major in the room was purchased at either Ikea or Land of Nod — so easy! It’s a simple space… but it’s filled with love and learning!
I’d really like to see your homeschool rooms! Leave the link in a comment below if you have a blog post dedicated to yours! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Also… I plan on doing a post soon with my favorite curriculum from the year… and learning activities that your kids can do over the summer to keep them reading, writing, and doing math in fun, creative ways! 
Jamie says
May 29, 2014 at 8:33 AMI am so happy that you shared your beautiful school room. It is so happy and filled with so much love!
I love all the artwork! So cheerful!
I just wrote in my prayer journal this morning about how blessed we have been this year to be teaching and growing with our children. What a beautiful gift that we have received. It has been an amazing year:)
Simply Happenstance says
May 29, 2014 at 9:43 PMThanks so much, Jam! We have both had a blessed year with our kiddos at home! God is good… :)) I think we need to share your room! xoxo
Megan says
May 29, 2014 at 11:48 AMSara! OMG! This is the cutest room I have ever seen. I love your attention to detail with so many little things, like the pencil buckets and trays for puzzles. Your kids are so lucky to have such a loving momma who provides them such a beautiful space to learn and grow. xoxo
Simply Happenstance says
May 29, 2014 at 9:44 PMThanks so much, Megan! You’re too kind, my friend! It has been such a fun space to create for the kids. We’ve been fortunate to always have a fun room like this in the houses we’ve had… but the desk is all new to us… and I LOVE it!! Thanks for commenting! I adore you! xoxo
michele b. says
May 29, 2014 at 4:31 PMThis is AMAZING! Can I be in your “class”? đ I’m not nearly structured or organized enough to homeschool (luckily my kiddos seem to do well in traditional public school here!), but this room is still a dream! Gorgeous touches, all the essentials, and everything seems to be laid out to make it super-functional too…win! Thanks for sharing!
Simply Happenstance says
May 29, 2014 at 9:47 PMOh Michele! You’re too sweet! You know… I’d love to say that I’m structured at this point… but I’m more of a free spirit when it comes to teaching the kids. The room is fairly organized, but my days are not always that way! Ha!!! I try my best! Kids do love structure! Thanks so much for stopping by our blog and taking the time to comment! So kind of you, my friend! xoxo
Kelly says
May 31, 2014 at 10:57 PMWhat a great space, Sara!! A room that will contribute to their learning and memory making = PERFECTION!
Simply Happenstance says
June 1, 2014 at 10:50 PMThanks so much, Kelly! You’re the sweetest! It is such a happy, uplifting space. Just thankful we have the room for it in our house! I hope you are well!! xoxo
MARY says
June 24, 2014 at 6:37 PMwow! beautiful! You’ve got to help me here… where did you find the metal rack for holding your puzzles? I’ve searched high and low looking for something like that!! đ
Simply Happenstance says
June 27, 2014 at 8:43 AMHi Mary! Thanks so much for the kind comment! The puzzle rack is from Lakeshore Learning Supply store. You should be able to find it online! xo
Elizabeth says
August 9, 2014 at 3:57 PMHi! LOVE your room! Such a fun room to learn in! Homeschooling is SO important ~ congrats to you and your family for doing it!!!!
Any chance you could take a picture of the ‘Reward Chart’? I LOVE it and Cotton On is no longer carrying it. đ
Would u mind posting it or even just emailing me a photo?? It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!
Thank You and God Bless!!
Liz
ps …. I love cotton on!!!! it’s great for everything!!!!!!!!
Simply Happenstance says
August 10, 2014 at 8:45 AMHi Elizabeth! We just moved, so everything is packed at the moment, but I will surely email you a better photo, once I find the charts! Thanks so much for stopping by! xo
Elizabeth says
August 23, 2014 at 5:02 PMPerfect!
Thank you SO much!!!
Lindsey says
September 28, 2014 at 9:10 AMThis homeschool room is amazing! I am so inspired! We’ve begun our homeschool makeover but now you have me rethinking things…
Simply Happenstance says
September 29, 2014 at 11:04 AMI am sure your homeschool room is amazing! You’re too sweet for stopping by and commenting! Wishing you the best year ahead teaching your little ones! xoxo
Amy says
January 8, 2015 at 6:28 AMI wish a photo of the room were provided so that we can see what the entire space looks like, not just close up shots.
Simply Happenstance says
January 8, 2015 at 6:40 PMHi Amy! I really wish I had a shot of the whole room to share with you. Unfortunately we have since moved… and at the time, I had shattered my camera lens and had to use my 50mm which only gave me those up close shots. Please let me know if you have any questions about the space!
Heather says
February 21, 2015 at 2:24 PMThanks so much for sharing this! I have been scouring Pinterest for examples of how to create a space to house all the materials that come along with homeschooling, but to also accommodate my toddler as well. There are so few examples of this that I have found. Yours is a great one!!
(I would like see a wide-angle shot of the whole room though, as I don’t really get the big picture from all the beautiful close ups you have posted).
Simply Happenstance says
February 21, 2015 at 7:03 PMHi Heather! Thanks so much for your sweet comment! You know… that is my one regret when I took those photos last year. I had shattered my wide-angle lens and had to use my 50 mm. We have since moved, otherwise I’d take a picture for you right now! Sorry, friend. The room was basically situated with the large desk unit in the center of the room with the bookshelves on one side. There was a large closet that housed the toddler toys, montessori materials I used with him, dress-up clothes, and puzzles. Everything else, was pretty much hung up on the walls. đ
Laura H says
March 29, 2015 at 11:33 AMHi! I sent you an email too but wanted to drop you a comment as well. i love your room and was wondering how the desk and chairs are holding up, if you are still happy with your purchases, etc. we are setting up our room as we speak and wanted to get the same ikea desk and target chairs. thank you!
Simply Happenstance says
March 29, 2015 at 5:31 PMHi Laura! Thanks so much for the comment! Well…. it’s been over a year and a half with our kids using the unit daily. It has completely held up… but there are definitely some small dents in the table tops. It’s nothing too noticeable…. and to replace the tops, it would be under $100, so in the future we may do just that! The target chairs are AMAZING! They are tortured and look the same as the day I bought them!!!
Blythe says
April 28, 2015 at 10:11 AMI love the room! i’m currently trying to plan our room out before we make a shopping trip next weekend! could you post a picture of the whole thing so we can see how the whole room looks? I would love to do the large table in my room but it’s only 11×14 and I’m afraid it will look too small!
Simply Happenstance says
May 3, 2015 at 12:14 PMHi Blythe! I wish I could, but we have since moved! I regret not taking a more full framed photo at the time — but I had shattered my camera lens and had to use a 50 mm which meant close-ups only. The table was 5 feet by 5 feet… so it is quite large. We have moved to a new house with a smaller space. I have recreated it… but it is tight!!!
Brooke Bidegain says
August 15, 2015 at 10:19 PMI LOVE you homeschool room! I’m pretty much re-creating it! Did you ever find a super cute rug? Thanks for posting!!
Simply Happenstance says
August 17, 2015 at 9:32 PMYou are too sweet, Brooke! That makes me so happy! I did find a rug! Have you seen that black and white tribal rug from Ikea that everyone seems to have? I’ve been obsessed with it for a while… and it comes in a perfect square which accommodates the 5′ x 5′ desk system! I love it! Email me photos of how your homeschool room turns out! xoxo, Sara
Erin says
September 24, 2015 at 9:01 PMSuch an Awesome room. I have been drooling over it since you first posted about it. I am finally tackling our homeschool room and am totally going to copy your cubbies! My room isn’t bit enough to have the desk unit from ikea, but i got old school desks and painted them in each of the kids favorite color. It turned out cute. I was wondering where you got the magazine holders that are in your cubbies? Looks like you have them in blue, orange, pink, and grey. Are they from the container store? Thanks!
Amanda kabel says
August 1, 2016 at 7:10 AMI love your homeschool room. We are just starting to homeschool our 4 kids this year. Thankfully we have a large bonus room upstairs that going to be converting to a classroom. What siZe are the 2 tabletops from ikea? Thank you
Simply Happenstance says
August 30, 2016 at 10:09 PMThe table is 5 feet by 5 feet once the two are placed together! Hope that helps! xoxo
Ashley Cross says
January 26, 2015 at 11:22 PMYour post is so beautiful! Are you the one took those images?
Simply Happenstance says
January 27, 2015 at 6:39 AMI am! Thank you so much, Ashley! What a sweet compliment! xoxo