School Room Makeover

For some reason it didn't occur to me until this evening, when it was dark, to take pictures of our school room to show y'all what we've done. So, I apologize in advance at how dark they are. And please keep in mind that this is an ongoing project. It is in no way finished, but it's good enough for now. :)

Ok, so this is the only "before" picture I have so I'll point out a few things. First off, the AWESOME blue indoor/outdoor carpet. Do I need to say anything more?! Second, the lovely blue plaid wallpaper. Is it just me, or does your mind go straight to Al Borland from Home Improvement.?! Robert and I actually love watching reruns of Home Improvement, but I'd rather not reminisce via my walls. :) Third, the lovely "planter box" wall lights. They are all kinds of awesome. Forth, the fashionable window blinds. So much goodness in this picture. Some we've done away with already, some of it we'll do away with in time.

So, we still have the AWESOME blue carpet. BUT, much of it is covered with our soft, fluffy area rug. The Al Borland wall paper has been removed and replaced with our favorite blue/gray color. My very handy husband (thanks, babe!) took down the planter box lights, moved the location of the electrical wires and installed the wall sconce lights. The lovely blinds have been taken down to let in the great morning sunlight. And we now have a comfortable, laid back school room. And seriously, how cute is that restored vintage desk?!

Things are continuing to go well as we figure out our new normal that now includes school. Collin is loving it and Emma is picking SO much up just listening to us go over things. I'm excited to see where we end up at the end of the school year. :)

Until next time,
Kristal
#prayformayberry

Homeschooling....

This fall we'll begin our first year of homeschooling. Well, not official as in starting kindergarten, yet, but a pre-k program. It has been an interesting journey coming to the decision to homeschool. It was never something I considered. Not because I had any negative thoughts or experiences with homeschooling; in fact, one of my best friends was homeschooled all the way through high school. It's just that I went to public school and Robert went to a private Christian school in Albuquerque. I just assumed we would send our children to a private Christian school, if we could afford it. But then we had Collin...and everything changed. Suddenly homeschooling was on the table and we both were ok with it. We weren't completely sure that it was the right fit for our family, but we did want to pray about it and learn more.

So, last year I attended a homeschooling convention in town. We were both feeling pretty confident that homeschooling was right for our family, but I wanted to attend the conference, hoping it would provide clear direction either way. And it did. Within the first few hours of the conference, I knew homeschooling was the right choice for our family. And after talking with Robert that night at dinner, we both committed to it. However, I definitely experience moments of "oh my goodness, can I do this?!"

I haven't been too vocal about our choice to homeschool. There are two responses I get, supportive or unsupportive. Thankfully, our family-specifically my parents and Robert's parents- and close friends are very supportive in our decision to homeschool Collin and Emma and any other children we may have (no I'm not pregnant :)). However, I do meet people who are not so supportive of our decision. I've been told many times "I could never homeschool my kids. I don't have the patience for that." On the one hand, it makes me panic because I don't always have patience with my kids. So will I really be able to homeschool them?! And on the other hand, I think I'm no more capable or "special" than anybody else, so if I can do it, you can do it...if you're called to do it. 

So, this fall we'll begin our first year of homeschooling. We won't start anything too intense. Collin will just be starting pre-k. I'm looking forward to it though. We have a great room that was used as a game room by the previous owners that we're transforming into our school room this summer.