Class in session

Brad Apperson walks to school each morning.

It isn’t far. His classroom is in the basement of his family’s four-level Mead home. The sixth-grader’s desk is tucked below a window. A map of the United States and a multiplication chart hang nearby. His sister’s brown and white rabbit, Ariel, frequently peeks at him from underneath a foosball table. Bookshelves line the room. Clear plastic totes filled with art supplies and Legos are stacked within easy reach.

Apperson is just one of many home-schooled students in the Spokane area. According to a survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2003, more than one million children were home-schooled in the United States.

For Brad’s mom, Ann Apperson, the decision to home-school was an easy one. “I love to learn and I wanted to make sure my children had that same love of learning,” she said. “I dove into home schooling. I tackled it like it was a full-time job.”

For Apperson, organization and accessibility are important in a home-school classroom. Having a room designated for schoolwork means she doesn’t have to put everything away at the end of the day. She said, “My resources are at my fingertips.”

Another home-school family has found a different kind of location for their classroom. Kara LaVoie, who lives north of Chattaroy, is the mother of five. She transformed her formal dining room into a classroom.

“You have to use your space efficiently,” she said. Originally she’d set up their classroom in the basement, but found the kids were always wandering upstairs. She said the family rarely used the dining room so it made sense to convert it to a classroom. The bright, open space just off the kitchen makes the classroom feel like the hub of the home.

LaVoie teaches 11-year-old Andrew, and his siblings, Maddie, 9, Bethany, 8, and Nathan, 5, in this cozy well-lit room, while nine-month-old Benjamin plays nearby.

A map of the world, and one of the United States tucked under a sheet of plastic laminate adorn the table in the center of the room. “I sit here,” said Nathan pointing at his name under the plastic.

Tall oak bookshelves line the wall. Each child has his or her own shelf. The children eagerly showed a visitor their school supplies, books and journals.

A comfy beanbag chair awaits children in the reading corner. “Everybody reads in the afternoon,” LaVoie said.

Posters of the planets decorate an area devoted to the study of space. LaVoie purchased a telescope at a garage sale because Andrew is very interested in the solar system.

A corner computer area sits under a whiteboard filled with the family’s schedule. LaVoie is part of Deer Park Homelink, a parent partnership program where parents of home-schooled children and teachers from the Deer Park school district work together to define goals and materials that parents and students use at home.

LaVoie said, “I’m comfortable with academics, so we do all our academics at home.” She paused and smiled. “But I’m not a lot of fun, so we go elsewhere for fun.”

LaVoie said Homelink provides enrichment programs like pottery and sign language.

The children are enthusiastic about their classroom.

“We can do a lot of different things,” Maddie said. ” My favorite is Latin.”

Andrew added, “I actually like being around my family all day.”

For Bethany, the artist of the group, the best part of the day is after she finishes her schoolwork. Then, she can take her art supplies outdoors and paint.

“I like to paint outside,” she said with a shy smile.

LaVoie stresses that each home-school family is different.

“Make your room work for your situation,” she said. “It doesn’t have to emulate a traditional classroom.”

LaVoie glanced around the room decorated with photos of her children.

“I would never want anyone to assume that one could not home school unless there was a room available,” she said. “The only things needed to successfully teach are a table, a library card, a box for books, time and the desire.”