Chiming in a little late….I have four boys, ages 11, 10, 7 and 5. Our “schoolroom” is in the smallest of the bedrooms. We have a large table with 5 chairs (the table is height adjustable). It’s used for math and spelling lessons….and for building Legos and drawing and such. We do most of our schooling in the living room. However, math is upstairs. They also do their “independent” work at the table in the schoolroom. If someone REALLY needs to get away from their brothers they use the desk in our bedroom or the dining room table.
In the room I have 2 large bookshelves, 5 shelves each. All have books except for one shelf which has their nature study/drawing books and 3 boxes of art supplies. There is one plastic shelving unit (like you’d have in your garage) for their big boxes of Legos, K’nex, etc. all labeled and in separate tubs. On the top shelf of this is the microscope, globe and a few other “accessible to big boys but not little visitors” type things.
In the closet is “my” stuff. A big metal shelving unit (again, think garage) with all the math books and manipulatives, phonics/reading games/letters, pre-school type activities, a 3 drawer organizer with scissors, tape, markers, etc. Basically it’s all the stuff I need to teach and the door can be shut so little friends can’t get to it.
We’ve pretty much had this set-up in every house we’ve lived in for the last 5 years. The layout changes a bit so does the size of the room and what’s hanging on the walls. But it definitely gets used. More than the “play room” does!
Heather