Ariel 73, This is off-topic, but was mentioned in your post.... One of my children has some learning disability. He qualified for a McKay scholarship and has been going to a private (Christian)school for a year where he has made straight A's. This scholarship is NOT income-based, only disability based.(Not knocking home schooling, either. But I'm a single parent and that would be too much for me.)McKay scholarship pays for extra tudoring and school uniforms and bus transportation. Sugarcane52

Like your desk... it's not one bit "ugly" to me. Sure it looks functional, but that's what it's meant to be (I just happen to like that look anyway LOL). you and Martha Stewart. Once, several years ago, I sw in her office that she had a huge "paper pusher's desk" from the 1950s. Steel office furniture. And she still have a big metal "1950s office furniture"-looking table in her office for meetings. However I'd like to see a workable round table in my FR. But I like the idea of being able to put it away, however putting it away could be a problem...no place to put away. What about an office-type table? Where all the legs fold in, and you can roll the table behind the big wall unit (pull it out from the wall a bit to make room? There are some lightweight ones in the world, and you and DD can make getting it out and putting it away part of the classroom routine. If public-school teachers can have a "salute the flag, sharpen the pencils, take attendance, carry stuff to the office" type routine at the beginning of their day, why can't you have a similar business-like routine? In fact, you would teach her something really valuable by teaching her to set up her stuff for whatever she's doing, and break it back down. Round is nice bcs you can roll it--lifting isn't needed. But since she's 7, you might want one w/ more adjustable legs. I've seen that mostly in rectangular. But the blow-molded plastic tops make them REALLY lightweight. I have a small one in the church nursery, and it only needs two 2-y-o's to carry it ANYWHERE. True, it wouldn't look like fine furniture. But it would look sturdy and functional. and if ever you wanted it to look nicer--well, there are tableclothes (nobody looks at the legs) The FR is strictly for dd to play and watch tv (kinda like she can break her own tv). Sounds like that's a sensible place for home schooling, then. Here is a link that might be useful: Molded plastic table w/ folding legs

We have too many books to have them all in one room (well, we could turn a room into an entire library, and I admire some of those rooms when I see photos, but just havent' been inspired to do that in any one of our current spaces), so I have tried to use bookcases and shelves appropriate to different rooms and have some semblance of a plan for a type of book in different places. Poetry in one place, gardening books another, a lot of fiction alphabetically on a couple of large shelving units, and so on. Books actually add a lot of warmth to rooms, but the trick is to be able to remember what you've got where. I would think you could add books to your family room easily--with photos and a few special objects--but you would be the one to know WHICH books would go best there. Also, if you have a good storage unit there, such as for games, movies--you might be able to store certain less often -used items there. So, one question is, do you absolutely not want to use your family room for any of the storage or activities, or do you lack the right furnishings to help you do things in that room that would be fun and appropriate to do? Lots of times, that's the problem for me. But, for home schooling you may be trying to create and maintain a certain type of separation. I just have experienced with my kids in school out of home, that our family room was the designated area for certain projects and crafts and therefore a few related supplies, and also homework and computer use, though I kept a lot of school and office supplies in another area. This is not intended to say you shouldn't pursue your one room-itis, but you might be able to think of some things that are a lesser priority for the schoolroom. Then the alternative is, as above, to see if you have yet to make the best use of your schoolroom space with vertical shelving, better storage units, and so forth.

My son who is entering 9th grade next year & my daughter, who is soon to enter 10th grade, are both homeschooled. If your child plans to attend a 4 year university right away after HS, as parent, it is your job to do a little investigating. In the HS years they should take all the college prep classes that the colleges require. For example for CAL States: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 2 years of science with a lab, 4 yrs English, 2 years Foreign Language, 3 years of History, etc. Then you as the parent should put together a high school transcript documenting all these courses & years of study. Your student should take the SAT or ACT. Then with a parent issued diploma, they can apply for university. The Cal States state that homeschooled highschoolers can be admitted on the same grounds as traditionally schooled students. Which means they must have completed all necessary prep classes with a high enough GPA and score high enough on the SAT. Now if your homeschooler does not plan to attend 4 yr college right away (just like many public schooled kids) you can forgoe the SAT prep and some of the college prep classes in HS. Many kids in public school do not take the college prep route and plan to attend a community college before transferring to a 4 year & this route is fine for a homeschooler too. In the end both routes end with a 4 yr degree. Community college courses are just as rigourous as 4 yr college classes and transfer students do just as well as those who started at university from the start. There are some benefits to attending community college first as well. It is less expensive. It also gives kids two extra years to really plan what career path they are going to take and to choose the correct university. It is a great option & definitely not a "backdoor" way into college as others have so rudely and wrongly called it. There are plenty of people who are accepted into great 4 year universities every year and yet choose to go the community college route for a variety of reasons. The mother of your neice sounds like she just misplanned a little. She should have prepared a HS transcript & made sure her daughter was taking collge prep classes. But it's not too late to construct a transcript and then she can choose one of two options: 1) complete the missing college prep classes at home & add them to the transcript, take the SAT & apply OR 2) go directly to community college and begin the next level of her education right away. It's not a big deal at all and is exactly what many public schools kids with public school diplomas do! They will place her in the correct classes for her level as far as English & Math and she can begin enrolling in the classes she'll need for a nursing major. After successfully completing her 2 yrs of community college work she can transfer to the nursing school that is right for her, provided she does well, and from what you say about her, I'm sure she will. Also remember that 3/4 of homeschoolers go on to college. That number is higher than what public schools can boast.