The Changing Faces of the Parties

Our digital camera died. I know I've already whined about that to you, but that isn't the point of this post.

The point is, I needed to get some pics off the memory stick and while doing that, I found a smaller memory stick that originally came with the camera. And there were pictures on it!

Turns out it was Sweetheart's 6th birthday party. She looks so little to me.

Am I a master party planner or what? Look at that ladybug game Mama came up with. Pin the spot on the ladybug. I think it was Sweetheart's idea and she couldn't have been more delighted. Sharpie, red posterboard and black construc.....well, I won't give away all my wonderful party secrets.

Really, our birthday parties have fallen into a formula around here. There is cake and presents and decorations of course. There is a collection of whatever (Wiggles, dogs, Curious George.....) on the fireplace. There is the ever-present HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner. There is a pin the tail on something game. There is a craft. The kiddos have been really easy to please so far.

Plus we haven't had a friend party all out bash in a long time. See, we have built-in party guests in the form of cousins. Plus when you get all the family over here there isn't much room. But Little Bit might need a friend party this year. She's never had one. But then she doesn't need a lot of gifts either seeing as how I'm just now hacking the path through the toy room and getting rid of things right and left. That's another topic.

But back to those birthday guests. They have changed a bit over the years.

Look at the bald babies!!!

Look at Little Bit's chicken hair here at her 2nd birthday. I don't know what was up that day, (besides her hair) but I slicked it down 2 times before the party and it kept popping up. Can you see it?

Gnat, Sweetheart and a friend at her 7th party.

What a difference one year makes. These two are crazy.
Fast forward several years to Little Bit's 5 year old party. Now everyone has hair.
We might need to work on manners.

And I cannot believe that soon we will celebrate Little Bit's 6th birthday. Sigh.

Aiming For the Ideal

Several months ago I ran across this blog and was inspired by these pictures of her homeschool room.

Oh how my heart stopped.

That room! If only I had that room!!!! What wonderful things could I get done with a homeschool room like that?!

Of course, I am blessed to have a room in our home that we can use for school. I KNOW that a great many folks do not have that luxury. What do I have to complain about?

Nothing.

And then I read this where Cheryl wrote about her ideal homeschool.

I realized I have been planning for the space I have, not the way I really want things to be. Why have I been limiting myself in this way?

No more. My ideal homeschool would have:

1. a table big enough for all of us with all of our supplies in neat little containers in the middle where everyone can reach them.

2. a corner with soft pillows to read in.

3. an organized area for arts and crafts (painting, etc.), an easel, a place to hang pictures to dry, a place to clean up.

4. both carpeted and hard areas of flooring.

5. a cozy place to read together with maybe a lamp and quilts nearby.

6. bookshelves that face outward (like these) and maybe a table to set up a display of our current theme.

7. areas to hang up work.

8. lots of shelves and cabinets to store things in--some hidden from view and some open.

9. tons of paper all stacked and ready to use.

10. access to a TV, DVD player, CD player, computer, etc.--lots of media.

11. areas to spread out on the floor or table.

12. an area for the girls to play school with their dolls. :)

Hmmm. What else? I'm still thinking about this and likely will add to my list in a few days. I have to work to NOT picture our current homeschool space while I dream. It takes effort!

But here is the kicker: now I have to figure out how to get as close to my ideal as I can.

Well,

1. we have a great table so I just need to shop for some containers to go in the middle.

2. The girls have a reading corner in their playroom. I can add some pillows there!

3. I can find a place to get all the art supplies in one place instead of scattered in different locations throughout the house. Wouldn't that be great? I can add wipes, hang a clothesline, and have our folding easel nearby for the girls to set up when they need to. I'll have to think about the best place for this, but it would be SO NICE. It might end up being in the coat closet, who knows?

4. We have a rug on laminate flooring. Done.

5. Our living room lamp is right by the box of blankets and the couch. Done. (but I might like to add a little lamp in the homeschool room too!)

6. My husband can build bookshelves for me. Time to start sweet-talking. :)

7. I can get a small bulletin board to hang up for work display. Actually, husband could build that too if needed.

8. I can clean off the shelves we have and move non-school books to our bedroom. Some shelves can be covered with curtains.

9. I have been looking at one of these paper holders for paper. Nice!

10. We have media all over the house. Some of it can be moved to the homeschool room for easier access.

11. Haven't figured out how to create more square footage, but I can rearrange.

12. If I rearrange there might be room for this. We'll see.

I think the lesson is to start thinking about what I'd like to see in our homeschool space and then find ways to get that--even if it's throughout the house, INSTEAD OF thinking, "well, this is all the space we've got so...."

We probably can have more of the things we want in our homeschool space if only we would think out those things ahead of time and THEN work on making them a reality. That's what I'll be trying to do this year anyway!

What about you? What are you dreaming of for your homeschool space?

Diary of a Room Makeover: Tweaking

OK--so I've been looking for fabric for the girls' bedspreads for the new room. I have to have fabric so I can pick the paint color. July has been named "The Month of All the Painting" as sister and I plan to paint 2 or 3 rooms this month. I can't paint until I find THE fabric. Not exactly sure what I'm looking for. The girls picked light green and royal blue. What do you do with that?

But we've made one teensy tiny little bitty change. We'll be decorating the OTHER room. Yep, we switched the rooms this weekend. It's a sickness. We have good reasons I promise. And it really didn't take me all that long to adjust the plan seeing as how I've made zero progress on said plan.

Have you ever seen someone write endlessly about something that HASN'T EVEN BEGUN TO HAPPEN? Proof I can talk about anything.

So, the girls are now in Sweetheart's old room, beds unbunked and very happy. The larger of the 2 rooms, Little Bit's old room, will be the play room. And golf club storage. And bookshelves will be in there. And a little TV/DVD combo area. It's a rec room, really, only minus the shag carpet and pool table.

I bet you just can't wait for a "Diary" post that shows actual decorating. Won't that be neat?

Fitness Friday: The Linky Edition

ACK!!!! I'm not ready!!!! Husband is off today and it totally didn't seem like Friday and I flat didn't get ready in time!!!!


I'm going to go ahead and throw up the Mr. Linky for those of you who remembered what day of the week it was. I'll be back later with my actual post. Sorry!

I Should Have Just Read This First

I'm reading a really old book this week. It was written in the 80's and as much as I hate to admit it, that was a really long time ago. I think it was written when I was in high school.

When I first began thinking about homeschooling, I researched a lot. I read a lot of books. I read a lot online. I studied scripture. I took notes. I'm a nerd.

I came to a lot of conclusions and the book I'm reading this week is like a big 'ol summary of everything I decided back then. I could have saved time had I read this book!

The book is The Christian Home School by Gregg Harris. Father of Josh Harris. Father of Alex and Brett Harris.

One thing I liked was his thoughts on John Holt's philosophy of unschooling. I read Learning All the Time back then and something just didn't sit right with me while I was reading. I mean, I kind of agreed with some of it.....and yet. What what is? I finally decided that a Christian homeschool would be orderly and disciplined because those are godly characteristics. Unschooling doesn't seem like either one of those things to me. Feel free to disagree with me. Mr. Harris had some thoughts that really put into words what bugged me about that book. He said it very well.

He also had the best definition of "delight directed learning" I have ever heard. Now THIS I agree with. He said that all the necessary things in life were also made pleasurable by God. For example, we need to eat--God made food taste good. We need to see--God made us see in colors. Procreation? You get the idea.

Learning is also necessary and God made it to be pleasurable. Our children should enjoy learning. We should try to make things fun and delightful for them. Of course, they won't love everything they have to do...but neither do we need to operate under a "learning takes pain" philosophy. He also talks about how much our children will learn when they are delighted with something and how we can plan accordingly. The difference is the parents are still in control. He said it really well.

I'm not quite through reading, but I can't believe how much of what I'm reading was exactly what I was thinking about when I first started this journey. What other homeschooling books are must-reads out there? I think going back to thinking about all this is a good thing to do on summer break. It's helping me set my mind on next year and remember the reasons we are doing this.

So, any book suggestions for me?