Ashlyn was in K-5 and Amielle started preschool at the same time. I turned part of their bedroom into a school room. For example, we had a bookshelf and reading area in one corner. I brought in a special blanket for reading time. We placed a desk in the room for them to do their work. Since this served as their bedroom, too, this only worked for awhile. I also lined the walls with teaching charts. I soon realized that they needed a home. We lived in a fairly small apartment on the mission field compared to American standards; therefore, I had to be creative.
I made a few adjustments. The reading blanket and bookshelf could stay, but the charts had to be taken down. I came up with a great plan. We had a huge “scoff” (wardrobe) against one wall in the center of the room. The doors opened up during the day with charts on the inside. The room transformed into a school for the day and a bedroom for the night. We had shelves inside the wardrobe, and these served as storage space for material. Everything was pulled out for the day hours and stored for the night time. We liked this arrangement, because it allowed us to have a feeling of home when school hours were over. We seemed to relax better in the afternoons. I soon found out that the first step for being a homeshool mom was learning to be creative.
-The Chosen Path, L.Burch, 2008
*photo taken about 8 years ago
