“Thank goodness I was never sent to schools … it would have rubbed off some of the originality.”
-Beatrix Potter
September, with its fresh crisp mornings and warm afternoons, cool evenings and painted leaf-tips, is here.
And so it begins … another chapter in our homeschooling journey … the pencils are freshly sharpened, the work books not yet creased and worn, excitement brimming as we all anticipate another lovely {and sometimes, challenging} year filled with learning new and wonderful things about this world God has created …
The girls have been asking to start our school year for a few weeks now, but I was not ready – there were still things to organize, lists to create (I’m not sure I ever did create those lists, except for in my head), books to arrange and supplies to be refreshed. And yet, here we are again, ready to begin. I think it is safe to say that we all love home educating here at the Gauthier home. We have never regretted the choice to school the girls (and soon, boy!) at home. That is to say it is not always easy – but it is a choice and a lifestyle we have embraced.
A few weeks ago, the girls, Abby & I worked on installing some new bookshelves and organizing the home library for our school room. Thus, the school room received a bit of a makeover. I still need to freshen up the (painted) floor (I find I have to paint it every six months or so from all the wear) but other than that, it is pretty much ready.
I located a cozy braided rug off Kijiji for the room and it just helps make everything feel more at home. We love the addition of the woodstove since we moved in nearly four years ago. It has made a world of difference in our very-chilly-old-farmhouse. My plans were to make this room as cozy and inviting as possible for little ones (and big ones), especially during the winter months when we are indoors more than the summer months. We may not always “do school” in this room, but it is a room where we can sit and read our books, work on nature journals, listen to audio stories and just have life happen. School, that is to say, the book work and such, happen anywhere in our home – but this room does give us a designated location for our general home education.
Here is the room view when I last updated it …
I may remove the little couch later and put a table there for the big girls for school work, crafts, etc. but we will see.
our lovely new bookshelves …. where in the world did I put all these books before? We still have at least two (large-ish) bookshelves in nearly every room of the house. We LOVE books. 🙂 I working on making our home library as self sufficient as possible.
the morning together-time basket …
… little bits of nature …
… a chalkboard I made to remind us of the character trait of the month (I hope to write a post on that later)….
… the little girls’ writing/work space … and a handy book ledge that Abby made from a recycled pallet …
It holds our library books so they do not get confused or mixed up with our regular reading material (oh, you homeschoolers know what I am talking about …)
little Laz checking out the lower shelves…
our nature section (one of my favorite sections in our library)…
of course, a basket of books and some rocking chairs by the fair is a must …
a selection of our audio library for cold, chilly winter afternoons of listening …
and a basket of toys and puzzles for all the little ones to play with …
So grateful for yet another year of homeschooling about to begin!
(Linked up with Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth)
by Gigi
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