How to Homeschool in a Small Space

I grew up in the Bronx, New York so living in small spaces was just what I knew. I have never lived in a big, beautiful house…and that is just fine. We make do with what the Lord has blessed us with. 

After moving to Florida and getting to know some of the moms in the homeschooling community, it seemed that everywhere I turned “perfect moms” would homeschool their “perfect kids”, in a “perfectly big house”, with a beautiful homeschool room. Yeah, umm no. Never happened for me, so I thought I could never homeschool. 

In my mind I needed perfect kids to do it, oh…and a house big enough for a dedicated homeschool room. Perfect kids I had, but a big house… no. (kidding about the perfect kids, I am totally humble enough to call them almost perfect.)

Well, like so many other times I have been wrong, God has shown me that His plan is always 100 times better than mine. Ladies, we can homeschool our children and in whatever size home the Lord so chooses to bless us with. These are some things I have learned along the way.

1. A kitchen table is a jack-of- all trades.

 Yes, it gets messy after every meal. So, clearing the table has become a chore that is just automatic for us after meals. My 6-year-old son knows his job is to clear the table, place dishes in the sink. My 11 year old knows that she has to wipe off the table with the vinegar lemon concoction that I learned to clean with. Our table miraculously morphs into a science lab, a fortress, or math class… and sometimes all of these in one day.

2. You have to make time for adventure. Don’t forget to document the adventures!

Venture out of the house. Seeing monarch butterflies can spark ideas for nature studies and specific buildings can spark book reports on the humanities. Get a calendar, pick a set day of the month, and plan a lesson around a trip… outside. If your kids are like mine, they can make an adventure out of a trip to the grocery story. Use that to your advantage, the world can be your classroom.

3. Remember why you chose to homeschool.

Close your eyes for a moment. Can you remember the moment that you said, “this is it, I am going to do it.” All of us have that moment. For some, it is the knowledge of what public school systems teach, the bullying our child faced, or just the decision to want more for your children. Whatever the reason, remember that.

I knew this lady who went through some troubling times in her Christian walk. She was a mom of two and  her husband just … found someone else. She stayed with me for a few weeks until she found a more stable place to live. I tell you this, because I remember that while she was going through so much, she still found time to teach her children in the day. One of the main things she was concerned about was homeschooling her kids. What will she do now? It really touched me how much homeschooling meant to her and how she kept at it even in hard times.

What I want to remind you about is THAT one reason why you decided that homeschooling was the best thing for your family. Hold on to it and remember THAT very thing when you see your home and it seems so crammed that you want to scream sometimes.

We often do not have the means to live where we want to, but we do have the means to make the most of it. Not to mention, technology has made it so easy for us to obtain information within seconds. We can scan and store our children’s work on a USB. We have downloadable printables for every lesson possible. We have homeschool communities to co-op with and disposable egg cartons to use for painting. We can do it, it can be cheap and it is worth every second.

We can do it all in a small space. Remember why you chose to homeschool, and in the tough times, remember that it wasn’t our plan but God’s plan that made it possible.

I haven’t been able to afford a large home. Don’t get me wrong, if the Lord made a way, I would pack my bags like yesterday – but while I have this small space I will work as unto to the Lord in it.

Training my children in the way that they should go, whether it be in a spare room in a big house or a kitchen table, I can be creative about how to teach BIG with whatever the Lord has given me.

Do you have a small living space? Check out these awesome small space living hacks and other helpful ideas:

• 15 Must-Know Small Space Living Hacks
• 15 Ways to Save Space in Your Bedroom
• 44 Ideas to Organize Your Small Bathroom
• Portable Nature Center: How to Keep a Nature Table When You Don’t Have the Space
• Benefits of Using Digital Curriculum
• 10 Creative Storage Solutions for Large Families
• Organization Hacks

Just getting started? Here are some helpful resources:

How To Homeschool: A Purse-Sized Guide to Getting Started (Tiny Treasures from the Thinking Tree) (Volume 1)Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting StartedHow to Homeschool: A Practical ApproachHow to Homeschool Your Child From Preschool Through High School

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Jeannette Tuionetoa

Jeannette is a wife, mother and homeschooling mom. She has been mightily, saved by grace and is grateful for God’s sovereignty throughout her life’s journey. She has a Bachelor in English Education and her MBA. Jeannette is bi-lingual and currently lives in the Tongan Islands of the South Pacific. She posts daily freebies for homeschoolers!