does your house layout effect your homeschooling?

[greenishmama]

I feel silly to write this... but I've always wanted a house with an open floor plan. Our house is very compartmentalized. Each room is separate. When my children are in the playroom I can't even see them unless I'm in there. If I'm cooking and they are in the living room I can't see them or talk without shouting. We haven't officially started homeschooling yet but I'm feeling that the layout of our house will effect our homeschooling and just relationships in general. Is that silly?
I've been thinking of trying to do some remodeling and open up between the kitchen and living room a litttle more. On one hand I feel that I'm being ridiculous and should be happy to have the nice home that I do. On the other hand, I just really don't like the distance between us being in different rooms. I'd actually love a round house!

any thoughts? Am I being crazy? In your own homeschooling and family life in general have you found this idea to be important?

[allisonintx]

We have an open floor plan. It is wonderful and entirely frustrating at the same time. I DO love having the kitchen and family room all in one. It keeps us together better. I always hated being secreted away from my family, in the kitchen. The problem with it is that when people come over, you can see into the kitchen from the front door! It means that if someone is coming over, the entire house has to be clean.

http://4-bedroom-house-plans.houseplancentral.com/houseplans-prod_detail.php?planid=HPC-2687-21#bottomlink

This is very close to our house, except rather than a bonus room and a separate formal dining area, there is an additional living area that kind of paralells the garage, in the front of the house (a formal living/dining space, though we use it as a music room) The Kitchen/Family/Breakfast Room is laid out like that, though.

[Titus2Momof4]

When we homeschooled, this was of the utmost importance. So, I don't think you're being silly. :hug

Even though we no longer homeschool, I am SO GLAD our house has a very open floor plan. The kitchen "runs into" the living room, which is joined to the family room by only a half-wall. LOVE IT because as long as we're all on the same floor (two-story house), I can keep my eyes on the kids no matter where I am.

Of course, upstairs is a little different since it's mostly bedrooms.

[Joyful Mommy]

I definitely think it does.
We are just starting out, and although our house is open concept, the living room is quite small and the only other play area is in the basement. I'm really wondering how it's going to work out, because I can't see N and A playing happily on the main floor for a long time without totally getting into our lessons. We almost bought a bigger house that had a playroom right off of where we would have schooled, and I'm really sad that it didn't pan out!

[Vipers_Princess]

It is. Ours is a second floor half double and the floor plan is very wonky. Sorry, that's the best term I can think of. The living room and kitchen/dining room are connected {and carpeted :sick} and open, but the rest of the house is all doors and hallways and so forth. I would LOVE to be on the ground floor so I could send the kids that aren't currently working on things that require being inside out to play or sit outside doing their work, put out a birdhouse, thermometer, rain guage, etc. I would also :heart an open floor plan for the same reasons {being able to seperate the kids I'm not currently working with from the one I am working with} I also long for a four seasons room. I think that would be the ideal 'classroom' There's a house for sale near my ideal in-state location that has just a room, and the current owners use it as a home office, complete with a long table of desktop computers in front of the long bank of windows :)

[kiloyd]

I've now hsed in 3 different houses and I don't think it affects us. We do most of our work at the kitchen table. It would be nice to not have our playroom/dining room open to the kitchen b/c then dds 1 and 2 wouldn't distract ds as much when they are playing and he's supposed to be at the table working.

[Codi]

I definitely think an open floor plan would help for homeschooling. :yes You can be in all the rooms at once, if you get what I mean. If one kid is doing work at the kitchen table and the other reading in the living room in an open floor plan (all rooms on bottom open to eachother) your in both places at once. That seems important to me. To be present to both children.

[ArmsOfLove]

It does because the whole house has become our classroom. Sometimes we sit at the table, sometimes on the bed :P Sometimes the couch. posters are up in various rooms, as are maps, etc. I wish we had a room to centralize everything but we don't :shrug3

[2TMama]

Back before we actually *started* officially hs'ing, I always fantasized about the "ideal" floor plan for our family as hs'ers. :O :giggle

Finally, I just embraced what we have and learned to be content. I'm not saying anyone else is DISCONTENT..........I'm just saying, I changed MY perspective. Instead of looking at our space and just seeing CHALLENGES or what a DIFFERENT house/layout would offer, I began to look at the space I'm blessed w/ and made it work for us. :yes

That being said, our living room *does* lead directly into the kitchen. Our house is around 950 ft sq. We primarily "do school" in the living room. Our desk (which the kids RARELY even sit at) is on the one wall w/ our bookshelf right next to it. I have a basket-type thing full of our flashcards, manipulatives, etc. Almost everything else is on the bookshelf. I have a "book basket" w/ all the library books that are go-alongs & a dry erase board that slides up next to the desk.

It is nice that that kitchen table is quite close -- if I'm sitting at the desk, the kids could sit at the table and talk in a normal voice and hear eachother ;). I guess the house being small definitely has it's perks.......I often make a quick run to switch out laundry or put some dishes in/out of the dishwasher while the kids are preoccupied w/ their book work-- and I'm never far away.

[tempus vernum]

I actually like not having a open floor plan but the way our house is, everything is kind of central off the living room. Not sure how to explain that except that everything happens close together. Except our upstairs.

I like that I can "send" one of the older children and dd3 in the playroom to read together and play while I work with the other child at the kitchen table. Even so, it gets LOUD sometimes. . . but I like having the rooms to separate and it's only 5 steps to the playroom from the kitchen table so it's not too far to go.

I actually was recently thinking about slowly moving the kids work into their rooms. Ds says he's ready for his own room and so we are trying to figure that out and if we loft his bed we could put a desk under it and then we can eventually have them work up there. They do better without distractions. . . The problem I see is that I don't like them "hiding" in their room so the rule would have to be "open doors" during school time or something. They both WANT more workbook and structure and I chose independent workbooks for dd so that she can do it without me :think I was considering moving her desk up into my room so she can focus without us and see how that goes :think just a temporary trial thing :think

Anyways, just a thought