by Linda Kay

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 19, 2009

Creating a classroom in your home can be a fun and exciting endeavor. You can either set the room up as a family project, or do it by yourself.

To begin with, choose a room that has plenty of light. Whether there is ample window space or not there will be times when you will need good overhead lighting. If this is not possible you can make use of a good floor lamp. Take care to place a bulb no higher than the recommended wattage in the socket. Place the lamp in a place where it will be the most beneficial to your young scholars.

Another major point you need to consider for your chosen classroom will be the walls. Studies conducted on prisoners have shown shades of pink and red tend to encourage more aggressive behavior, whereas blues and greens tend to have a calming affect. (You may want to avoid combining turquoise and orange as it is known to cause hunger!) A good rule of thumb would be to lean more toward the pastel shades. Should you decide to hang wallpaper, again, avoid dark, heavy colors. Also, avoid any type of busy patterns. The very room itself should promote a sense of restful well-being.

Certain types of wall hangings are important. You, the parent, will be the best judge of what will work for your children. Always keep it age appropriate. For example, for young grade school children, use alphabet and number charts. Construction paper with the color printed in bold letters will help children if they learn to read phonetically as well as by rote. As they grow, write out important information such as spelling or grammar rules and affix them to your classroom walls.

As a mother of four, it did not take me long to realize some of my children were scholastic while others were more athletic. When feelings of inferiority cropped up, I worked at letting my athletic ones know they, too, were intelligent. I sketched a nice poster and hung it on the wall. Every day we would recite it as a group. This is the phrase I wrote for my children: "Learning is fun and learning is easy because I am smart!" It thrills me to know my grandchildren now recite this same phrase.

Seating is also an important point. In keeping with the beauty of home schooling, this can be done in a manner best suited to the individual family. Of course, you will want the work space compatible with the lighting. Some families prefer to work at the dining room table. Others have set cafeteria-style tables up in a designated classroom. A variety of school desks are also available. We bought

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