Desks- Yay or Nay

[PennyP]

Do you use desks for your kids when homeschooling? Why or why not?

Honestly, desks are too associated with the rigidity of industrialized schooling for me... so I'll skip them. Space is also an issue.
I'm not trying to recreate school at home. Homeschooling has so much to offer that I don't feel it needs to mimic school; its an entity unto itself. Desks just seem too "I want to be just like a real school, only at home" to me.

[Mama Mko]

Right now we sit on the floor. We plan to buy just a regular table and chairs for the homeschooling space at some point.

[frugalmama]

We have one for DD, but she is an only and loves desks.

[skueppers]

Originally Posted by PennyP

Do you use desks for your kids when homeschooling? Why or why not?

The only thing we use desks for around here is as a home for desktop computers. I can't really imagine a desk for homeschooling, though I suppose that when my kids are older, they might decide for themselves that they wanted desks.

[WhaleinGaloshes]

I so want one for DD, and I'm hoping when we move we'll have the money/space.

My reason is ergonomics. When she started writing and drawing in earnest, I really felt that it would be kindest and easiest for her to have a dedicated surface to do it where the tabletop is the right distance from the seat for her little elbows and her feet touched the floor.

We're settling for a booster at the kitchen table (this is a kid who has sat in a normal chair on her knees for meals since 18 months, I literally only went and bought her a booster for the first time at age 4.5) at the moment but her own little writing(/drawing/painting/crafting) surface would be better.

ETA: And she has a child-sized computer desk for her desktop computer, too, but it doesn't double as a writing desk so I'm not counting it.

[AAK]

Yes and no

We don't "homeschool" at the desk. We use the kitchen table, the couch, the yard, etc. But, my kids asked for desks and we have the space for them. My oldest wanted an organized space that was "her" space for her work. She wanted to be able to leave a book open on the desk and not need to move it for dinner. Also, she sometimes needs a quieter space to work and likes her desk in her room for when she needs/wants this.

My second child wanted a drafting table. She loves to draw and likes that the angle can be changed. She calls it her school desk too. Like her sister, when she needs a quiet space to work, she goes to it. Most of her schoolwork though isn't done there--just her drawing.

My third child has a play desk. We bought it years ago second hand for a place the kids could color that could also fit in lots of other rooms so that they could be in the room with me and still have their coloring space. She loves that her desktop opens and she can store her papers there. When the other girls retreat to their desks, she will often do the same. However, it is usually housed in our computer/craft/homeschool storage room and she is at her desk when I am at mine (for the computer).

So, in short, not needed for homeschooling. But, can be a good addition to the home if your purpose isn't too narrowly defined.

Amy

[annettemarie]

For years, we all did school wherever-- mostly on the couch or around the table. But this past year my oldest (5th grade at the time) was finding it too distracting with a kindy, third grader, and toddler all in his space and asked for a desk, so we got him one. IMO, the absolute best part of homeschooling is being able to listen to your child's cues and help him or her learn in the way that best suits.

[nov05mama]

We currently just have school wherever...we have the dining room table for most of our 'work' and then the couch for reading, etc. However, I could see the statement below applying once DS is older.

Originally Posted by annettemarie

For years, we all did school wherever-- mostly on the couch or around the table. But this past year my oldest (5th grade at the time) was finding it too distracting with a kindy, third grader, and toddler all in his space and asked for a desk, so we got him one. IMO, the absolute best part of homeschooling is being able to listen to your child's cues and help him or her learn in the way that best suits.

[kittywitty]

No. We did at one point when our table was pretty much not usable. But they're collecting dust in the attic at the moment. If you have room for "real" desks for the kids, I think that's pretty cool. I wish we had enough space for my kids to each have a desk not just for school stuff but for everything else.

[Ruthiegirl]

DD asked for a desk last year and we got her a little one from a friend, but she quickly realized that she didn't like working alone in her room. It went in the last garage sale.

The kitchen table is our gathering place for school stuff right now.

[candycat]

My assumption is that each child will have a desk in his/her room and we will "school" at a shared table. When I went to private schools with small class sizes we always sat around a table for learning, but I also always had a desk at home, not only for homework but for drawing, writing, keeping art supplies, putting puzzles together, or whatever. I just see that as a default for kids' furniture in their rooms.

(For those whose space is limited, how about those bunk beds with desks under the beds?)

But as far as sitting at desks for the regular part of homeschooling, no. Kitchen table will do it, probably.

[ebethmom]

We don't have any true desks, but we do use adjustable height folding tables. They have ironing-board style legs, and I can store them next to the fridge. I set them up in the kitchen next to the kitchen table. They work well for us!

We do some reading on the couch or on a bed, and workbooks and writing at the tables. We have an pretty kitchen table with a rather fragile finish. I want to keep it pretty, so noone is allowed to write on it. (Including my dh, who tends to be rather careless.)

[WhaleinGaloshes]

Originally Posted by ebethmom

We do some reading on the couch or on a bed, and workbooks and writing at the tables. We have an pretty kitchen table with a rather fragile finish. I want to keep it pretty, so noone is allowed to write on it. (Including my dh, who tends to be rather careless.)

Completely off-topic, but my husband's signature is 'etched' into my antique kitchen tabletop. Can't blame that on anyone else, can you? is how I feel about it.

[elizawill]

my kids do writing at the island in the kitchen. sometimes they'll use a TV tray (but that's rare). my kids do crafts/painting in the "school" room where there are table & chairs. we do reading in my bed usually. i think a desk is a fine thing & not rigid.... i just think of it as a place to write or a personal work space... but i certainly would never require it.

[lach]

I have a desk that I use. I don't consider it rigid or uniform or industrialized. I consider it an organized space where I keep my things and where I can devote myself to my work.

I agree with the above poster that I just kind of consider desks part of the normal kids bedroom furniture set. My kids already each have a little play table in their rooms, for playing or coloring or whatever. When they outgrow them, we'll move on to a more big kid/grown up desk. We have a big round table in the "school room" where they color and my daughter does craft projects and her activities, and that's where I imagine we'll do most of our schoolwork. But I think it's important for kids to have a dedicated work space of their own that they can keep organized how they'd like and where they can get quiet work done. I don't think that's "industrialized," I just think it's respectful of their privacy and personal space.

[lach]

Originally Posted by WhaleinGaloshes

Completely off-topic, but my husband's signature is 'etched' into my antique kitchen tabletop. Can't blame that on anyone else, can you? is how I feel about it.

Even more off topic, but you'd THINK that the rule about "no eating or drinking in the living room" is because of my two small children. But no, they've never spilled anything in there (and, yes, I do let them cheat a little when DH isn't home and can't claim bias). It's because of the giant coffee stain in the middle of the rug (which was brand new: only a month or so old at the time), and the untold number of glasses of chocolate milk, soda, coffee, juice, and even water that he's spilled. Gah. How annoying is it that a grown man is even more careless than two toddlers!?

[luv2homeschool]

Our first year the girls had large desks pushed up against each other in a school room. The only problem is that I got nothing done in the house. We were stuck in that room all morning. For the past 2 years we use the dining room table. The dining room has all our homechooling materials that we use every day. That way I can do dishes, prepare lunch,etc while we are doing school. Plus, we have more space for what we are doing. Many times dd15 goes to her bed to study or work on something. She has a drafting desk for her art.

[Marsupialmom]

Desk YES!! Desk have been around before organized school. Desk are used for so many things.

Desk give a person their own space to work....and leave it there so they can finish later. I was against desk at first until we started having no place to eat, have a family game, or cook. Kitchen table was taken up. Coffee table someone was writing on. Heave forbid in either of these places something got spilled. Yes, we have had a few accidents at desk but they only ruined their own stuff --not some one else's hard work.

This doesn't mean they are forced to sit there and do work. My 12 year old's desk now has a computer on it so she can type. My 15 year old now has a desk that most likely will move with him.

Some families have a table they can sit around and work. We don't have this space were small desk can be tucked into a corner, or dragged out to the couch, or bed This is what we had at first -- http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...60/School_Desk (I got them free) As they have grown we have moved to their own personal choice piece of furniture they can move with them.

My kids all benefited from having something to sit at and on that was their size...and their own personal space. Now my two oldest has moved to computer desk and enjoy them not just for their computer but also for projects.

[kittie313]

Yes, I have 4 school desks. For us, its a necessity. We keep their individual workbooks in their assigned desks, and then they choose if they want to do seatwork at their desk or elsewhere. One-on-one teaching though, that we do either at the computer desk or on the floor and coffee table. I just wish I had a dedicated schoolroom for us to use so that I could get the desks out of my living/dining area.

[VisionaryMom]

I would like to get a multi-purpose desk for DS, but I haven't yet. While they're at the ILs' house next week, it's something on my list.

DS & I have been doing some diagnostic-type work, and he's fine at the dining room table. DD is going to be joining us whenever it strikes her fancy, but I can see, as a PP said, that the table is a bit tall for her to be comfortable. She also eats on her knees. She prefers it that way, but she's a little too precarious when she's writing or coloring to be truly comfortable.

I don't associate desks with "industrialized school." If I were buying an exact replica of the desks we had when I was a kid, maybe I could, but heck, even the schools here use cooler, modern desks than when I was a kid! I do like the idea of a place that DS can keep his things organized, however, and *he* is an organizational fanatic. I can see him really wanting a desk.