Our Homeschool Space

Up until this point, we have been homeschooling in our breakfast area.... and while it is a lovely area with a bay window and huge window seat, it's just too hard to get the table cleared every evening for dinner, etc... Our supplies are also beginning to overtake the downstairs. So, I have been in the process of changing where we do "school". The upstairs of our house has a large bonus room, which has been used as the children's playroom/family room. It has a sleeper sofa and entertainment center. Additionally, it has a large closet and a huge walk-in attic space. In the next few days I will post pictures of the space - it is almost finished as our schoolroom and I am so excited! Here is a little sneak peak of the closet (and excuse the boys playing Wii in the background!):

See the organized closet in the background! I got these nickel bins (scroll down to the sixth row, second item from left!) from Target to organize books and I love them! I also have a place in the closet for all of the children's games and art supplies we have. The room had a bulletin board when we moved in, but it needed the cork board replaced, so I have done that and now it is usable again. I already had a bookshelf in the room, which will house all of the current curriculum supplies we are using, and each child has their own work table by a window. These are two lucky kids!

I will post pictures when the space is complete (hopefully by the weekend).

Top Ten Summer Learning Opportunities - Part 2

In my last post I talked about summer learning opportunities for my children. I'd like to continue with that today.

6. Learning new games! My children have been very interested in card games this summer. Two of their favorites have been "Garbage" and "Steal the Pack". Today at swim lessons (where my daughter always plays cards with other kids while they are waiting during siblings' lessons) one of the dads taught the children to play Gin Rummy. Great game! Whatever card game it be, I just see it as an opportunity to make a personal connection with my children and learn some good concepts and rules of sportsmanship, too.

7. Making new friends. Throughout the summer both of my children will go to Vacation Bible School and one other camp. This is a great way to meet some new children outside of our normal circle, which helps them be better "socialized".... because as homeschoolers they are not socialized! ;-) My daughter is very good at just walking up to a new child and saying "Hi! What's your name?". She did this the other night at tennis lessons and struck up a nice little friendship with a new child in the class.

8. Going interesting places. We have put our normal beach trip to the side this year - for two reasons. We usually go to my parents' house because they live very close to the beach, but this summer their house is for sale and it would be a lot to have company and keep the house looking good for potential buyers. Sometimes we also go to my sister's house, which is in the FL panhandle. As of this week she has been seeing oil on their beautiful beach, so a trip there is also out. Well, it is good to have family in nice places, and we are going to my other sister's home. She and her family live in Rochester, NY. We will travel there for close to a week and see The Erie Canal and Niagara Falls. I am so excited about this - will tie right in with our history curriculum!! AND, guess when we are going? The very first week that public school starts in our area. HA! It is so great to be homeschooling! Other side trips will include a day at Lake Lanier Islands and a day trip to Alabama for a family reunion. All of these experiences enrich my children's lives and make the summer fun.

9. Mom get to learn new things, too! I have been doing a lot of research in the past month about homeschooling Kindergarten for my son. I am learning so much! I have also been reading just for fun - I just finished "The Help", which was an excellent book and am moving on now to "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult. One thing I am also excited about is going to see "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in downtown Atlanta. My husband and I will be celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary and I am looking forward to it so much! As I was finding the link for the musical, I also noticed that "West Side Story" and "Hair" will be in Atlanta this year. I'd better start saving my pennies now, because I love musicals.

10. We learn who and what we are thankful for. As I write this I notice that I don't mention my husband very much - and this is because he works long hours every day to make sure I can stay home and enjoy this time with my children. I am very thankful for him, and thankful for all of the luxuries we have in our life. Wow - as I think about what we have done already this summer and will do in the coming months I am blessed beyond measure!

Top Ten Summer Learning Opportunities

This being the first summer we have been homeschooling, I am learning a lot about what true education is. For the month of June we have just been taking it easy and not thinking about school. Our new school room (formerly the playroom upstairs) is a mess! Many books are all over the floor, in piles by category. The closet is beginning to look organized with all of our games and educational materials. The attic storage area in that room is really looking great. Now, I just have to get in there and finish organization of books, buy another table and whiteboard, and some fun accessories to make it cozy, and we will be ready for formal "school". It is funny, though, that in our effort to not do school we have really been learning a lot. Here are ten things I know have really been fun and educational for my kids: