"Education is an Atmosphere"

Summer is finally here in the Pacific Northwest. We finally have the warmth and blue skies that most of the country has had the opportunity to enjoy for months now. And true to the nature of our area of the world, it is also the end of the summer holiday season that this weather comes upon as. Just as neighbors and shops start to get ready for school, the kids are finally enjoying their freedom.
For the homeschooling family, this is a busy and exciting and stressful time. Time to plan. Time to organize. Time to figure out what worked last year and what didn't. What we want to re-use, and what we want to pass along. Reformatting ideas and schedules and placements of educational resources.
Charlotte Mason relied heavily on the idea that "education is an atmosphere" and that is what I'm trying to convey in my household. While last year, for the first time, I had a room dedicated solely to our schooling, this year we are back to the dining room table. I loved that school room. I enjoyed setting it up, giving everyone a small space to do their work, filling the walls with maps and art and timelines. But that room is now the safe space of a little boy, and all of our school supplies are boxed up and struggling to find a place of their own.
Education is an atmosphere. This gives me hope that we do not need a "room" in which to learn. Education is not just found at a desk, or in a textbook. It is found in the everyday experiences. It is found outside and inside. Within relationships and during quiet moments.
And so, our dining table will be the plateau that holds the paper and pencils, but the education will not need to be contained in our small eating space. And while I yearn over large beautiful rooms dedicated to exploratory learning, my kids will be learning on the table where we eat, the couches where we lounge, the floors where we daily walk, the counters where we bake, the front porch where we rock, the sidewalks upon which we walk.
This year, I do not need to dedicate my time to arranging a room for learning. I need to arrange our whole atmosphere.