The Heart of Our Home

I thought I'd take a moment to share some of the changes we've made to our playroom over the past year as we embarked on our first year of homeschooling.  You can see what our playroom looked like before. 

The biggest change is that we took out the big toddler toys, a workbench and a kitchen.  I was sad to see those things go because it meant the kids were growing up, but I have to admit, the moments that we experience in our classroom/playroom now are so much richer. 

Sure, there's been plenty of tears shed over not wanting to do school, feeling discouraged, or flat out having a bad day.  But there's also been many priceless moments of excitment, incredible teamwork, accomplishments and creativity. 

There's nothing too fancy about our set up.  We reused our IKEA Docksta table from another room and simply moved some things around.  Many items are from Target's Dollar Aisle.  My favorite part of the room are the IKEA Trofast storage units we have.  SOO practical and not too bad looking either!  It gives me plenty of cubbies for organization, plus a place for me to spread out... I need my piles.  :)

Harmony.  How lovely it is when it happens.  :)

Mission Control.  Our main school wall with our calendar, places to display projects, word wall and wipe board. 
All our papers, math manipulatives, and some toys are stored in the bins. 

Our classroom/playroom from the door

Our reading nook

Typical week... letter of the week with a verse of the week. 

Now, over my 10 years of teaching 3rd grade, I don't think there was a single year that I didn't move things around.  So, this room will definitely be progressing and changing throughout the months and years!

Lastly, of course, this post is purely about logistics and how we have set things up for our first year of homeschooling.  Some day soon, I'd love to share with you why we chose to homeschool and why we are commited to do it for another year.  In a nutshell... it was something that I never thought I would do, but felt a calling as our oldest was ready to head into kindergarten.  It's not for everyone, it's not the only way, but it's the way for us, for now.  :)