Well...I must admit this feed has been severely neglected over the last few months. We have had a long winter full of ups and downs, and in between we have been working on home renovations. Really though, it began a year ago when the "stay-at-home" measures began. I'm a bit of a fidgeter and while I appreciate the slow life, what I dislike is a "do nothing" life. One day I announced that if we were locked up any longer I would paint the whole house! I laughed, my husband laughed, then I grabbed a screw driver and began taking apart the kitchen cabinets. One year, 3 main rooms, and a stairwell later, we have now shifted our focus to the backyard now that the weather is warmer. We are still locked up in case you're wondering.
Perhaps as a result of my grandmother's influence, I believe a fresh change is good for the imagination. Twice a year Grandma would diligently rearrange her furniture for a summer or a winter look. My husband, on the other hand, despises change. He panics if I so much as move the couch even slightly just to vacuum. So, while renos took center stage, next on the list, was taking plenty of breaks with the Mr. to just breath. I'm happy to report that not only has Tim come on board with my desire to rearrange our home, but he has fully embraced the changes and is now helping tremendously with each project (that, or he just desperately wants it to be over...but at least phrased this way, he gets credit for being a trooper, which he whole-heartedly is!).
Next in line to the kitchen which was first to be overhauled (and before I could snag any "before" photos), our biggest project was our basement. Seven years into homeschooling I decided it was finally time we had a dedicated space for our learning (read: I wanted my kitchen table back). Our biggest challenge was just too much junk! Thankfully for my family (feel free to read that last bit with all the sarcasm you can muster) I have absolutely zero sentimental attachment to anything we own...with the exception of like maaaayyyybe 3 things. Clearing the clutter was the easy part, and to be honest, even the most hesitant of family members found freedom in the space the more I removed.
As much as I dislike things, if you have been homeschooling for any longer than about 10 minutes, you'll know that the biggest problem we were up against was...BOOKS! Don't get me wrong, I could toss them all tomorrow...if I had to, but I don't, so the books stay! Although we did downsize our collection quite a bit! What I didn't want was shelves with rows and rows of books, it felt too heavy and cluttered to me, so we needed to break them up. Second in line to books was space for our rapidly growing craft collection. Crafts that I like having around, but not crafts I wanted to have in the line of sight.
Armed with more enthusiasm than we had endurance, we got to work, all the while underestimating just how long this would take. I'm happy to report, four months later, we are finally done. And if you're still reading this and didn't just skip to the before and after shots, God bless you for your own endurance! You might just have what it takes to makeover your own homeschool space!
Finally, here is the space that was once my "office nook". As you can see from above, my desk is now a built-in on a larger unit, and this wall now serves as a space for our homeschool wall displays. The map is a scratch map we found on Amazon. The kids love scratching off the countries and their matching flag as we study each location. (You can also see a glimpse of the stairwell that got a makeover.) I added a space heater into the corner as the basement can get chilly. With a little imagination, it creates the illusion of a cozy fireplace.
