Sewing Space

Okay, are you ready?  Drum roll please.....

 

Yes, more Ikea.  This bookcase and this desk.  And yes, I put it together myself.  I have to keep telling you that because that type of "assembly" thing does not come naturally to me.  Reading the instructions and/or manual is not normally something that I do- ever.  But because I was super excited to get it together...and because at 9pm my husband clearly was not- I did it all by myself.  Clap for me please.  Either that or roll your eyes because if you have ever assembled anything from Ikea you would know that any 3rd grader could do it!

I like having my fabric in clear view.  Before, I had it in those red canvas baskets.  I always had to dig through them to find what I was looking for.  Folding it was not really fun and I am honestly having a hard time bringing myself to mess it up.  So far it has remained untouched.

The top shelf displays my few sewing books, trims and buttons.  I have to tell you the story behind that cross-stitch you see there.  My best, dearest friend Camille made it for me.  She is the most un-crafty person (she admits to this) a fabulous cook...but not so crafty.  When I opened it I politely gushed over it for a brief moment and then set it aside.  She let it go for just a few seconds and then she said, "Friend I really want you to know how long it took me to make that and how much I hated every second of it.  It was horrible, a few times I even cried it was so un-fun.  I only kept making it because it was for you!"  I laugh when I look at it and it has become even more precious to me as I think about every little pain-staking stitch that she put into it. Every now and then I profusely thank her for it again.  That's how I know she loves me...she actually made a cross-stitch for me!  Ha!

Patterns.  I haven't had the foggiest idea what to do with all of mine until I read a little tip on page 65 of Sew U.  Instead of cramming it back into that impossibly small envelope, just tuck it into a large 8.5"x 11" sized one.  Then, tape the empty pattern envelope to the front.  I store them here:

So there you have it.  My new little space.  I guess all that is left to do is use it!!

Coming Home- Part 2: The Planning

Wow, thank you so much for all of your kind words of encouragement to me yesterday. I just loved reading your comments and was thankful that you took the time to leave them for me. Thank you all for being excited for us and supportive of our decision.

Well, I hope you won't be disappointed as I wade through part 2 of this little topic of mine. I am far less sure about the particulars at this point. There is so much information available out there for people like me who are just starting out.

I did the classic "Libby" thing and checked out 50 billion books from the library, spent countless hours on the internet researching curriculum and then found myself to be completely burned out and overwhelmed by all the choices. I knew from the get-go that a "box set" type of curriculum wouldn't be for me. I didn't want to be locked into an unfamiliar program for an entire year. I also know that my kids won't be very successful with workbooks alone. They definitely need some level of interactive learning.

So far, the Charlotte Mason�method of homeschooling really appeals to me. It is primarily literature based stressing the use of "living books" and many of the classic novels. She also incorporates nature study for science and art and music appreciation. It coincides nicely with the classical start my kids have been given. Ambleside Online offers a week by week schedule and reading list for each year. I like that it has a general structure but a lot of flexibility in terms of a day by day schedule. My friend Kristen has used this method successfully and has been a great help to me as I wade through all of it.

We are also supplementing with Shurley Grammar, Saxon Math, and Spell to Write and Read (for Hannah who will learn to this year!).

That's pretty much all I can say for certain on aspect of curriculum. I am still very much thinking it out. I am feeling the pressure somewhat as September approaches and hope to have a more concrete plan in the next 2 weeks. I would love to hear any suggestions or input you might have in this area.

Now, onto the more fun part- our room. In terms of space, we have the ideal set up. Our house is a split-level home with the entire downstairs area being composed of a bathroom, a laundry room, a huge walk-in closet and a large open family room. This is where we will do our school work. I am so thankful to have a completely separate space for this. I had nightmarish visions of our projects taking over our kitchen table.

I grabbed this shelf from a listing on craigslist for $90. I have only started filling it with books, I am sure it will be loaded by the end of the year.

Here we have a fabulous Ikea desk put together my yours truly. It is lovely to sit and look out the window with space to write and for computer work. One of my goals in the next few weeks is to make up some fun curtains.

I brought in an old table that we had in the garage for more intense cutting/pasting/painting projects. The seats need to be re-covered (also on the "to do" list) and Hannah informs me that the backs are uncomfortable...so I guess that will need fixing as well.

Here is Laurel's little corner. I am not sure about how it will work with her yet. We may be doing a great deal of our school work while she is napping :).

The room is pretty plain right now. I saving space on our walls for all of the lovely art work that is sure to be in abundance very soon. I also plan to make on of these for the ceiling. This room can get very dark and cold in the winter time so I want to add all the whimsy that I can. Patchwork pillows for the couch, a cozy rug in front of the TV, and maybe one of these?

There is one corner of the room that I have yet to reveal. My sewing corner. I am so excited to show you...it is exactly what I had envisioned. Next time.

Coming Home- Part 1: The Decision

I have this new thing...I am waking up EARLY every morning around 2am and laying there wide awake.  Occasionally, after being called in the middle of the night for a birth it is hard for me to get back on track.  I am also pretty sure that I have Restless Leg Syndrome.  It is super cool feeling like you must run a marathon at 2:21am while you are supposed to be lying there motionless in bed.  Good thing my husband is a heavy sleeper.  I would probably drive anyone else nuts.

So, here I am.  It is 3:06am.  I have already eaten a peanut-butter english muffin and now am ready to chat. I thought this might be a good time to talk about my decision to homeschool. Before reading on please hear my disclaimer.  I am not trying to convince anyone of anything here.  This is simply about a decision we made for the betterment of our family. Homeschooling may not be for everyone.  I have a lot of friends who are teachers and who's children remain in both private and public school.  In no way is this meant to offend anyone. Okay, here I go...ps: all the pictures are left over from our vacation. I just thought I would throw them in to break up all the words.

My girls attended a pre-k through 12th grade classical christian school last year (and the year before).  In terms of academics, you can't really get much better than that. Nearly all of the graduating seniors score in the top 5% nationally on college entrance exams.  The school's population is somewhere around 160 students and the culture of the school is very sweet. The upper grade students are so gentle and caring for the younger students- reading to them, holding doors for them, playing with them at recess. The average class size is probably around 13 kids or less per grade so the kids are extremely close with their teachers (who all have an aide working with them as well) and their classmates. In general, it is a splendid little place if you ask me.

Obviously, tuition at the school is not cheap. Carl was teaching art there one afternoon a week and instead of being paid- we were given a full tuition waver for one child.  This helped a lot but still the expense was great. Whenever we thought about expanding our family the question was always asked, "how could we afford tuition for more children?" It was definitely a limiting factor but money was not the main issue. So, if the school is great (generally speaking- no school is perfect) and we could afford the tuition....why am I bringing my kids home?

For me, the issue was time. For the kids, the issue was time. It seemed to happen so suddenly.  One minute you are basking in the long unscheduled days of playing with and enjoying your toddler and then the next minute they are off to school (and piano lessons and sports and every other activity) and you hardly see them in a day. I am not into suffocating my children and I have tried not to make this about me resisting the process of letting go, but our relationships were breaking down.  You can't build strong family relationships in the carpool line.  At least we couldn't.  I was sometimes making 3 trips a day down to the school (each trip was 40 minutes round-trip) for picking up and dropping them off.  Poor Laurel was beginning to think that all eating/drinking/sleeping was to be done in the car.  I missed having the best part of their day.  Instead, they would come home tired, grumpy and strung out. Each morning I would crumble a little as we all went our different directions. It felt so disjointed and separate- not at all holistic.  We needed to simplify.  I wanted them to come home.

 

At first mention my husband was reluctant to homeschool. "All the homeschooled kids I knew were weird." he said.  He is such a great balance to me.  Just when I was ready to sell the house, move to the mountains, buy some chickens and hunker down with the kids, he provided a helpful debate.  I set out to research some of those homeschooling myths for myself.  Are homeschooled kids sheltered?  Do they develop in a normal way socially?  Are they smarter? What will they miss out on?  What will they gain? Are they generally happy and successful in life?  After a ton of reading (a very small amount of it represented on my sidebar) and meeting with several homeschooling families I felt at ease with the answers I received.  As I passed along what I had learned on to Carl and as he saw me really thinking this thing out (vs my frequent tendency to make rash emotional decisions :) he became increasingly more supportive. I am thankful for his willingness make this decision with me.

So, here we are a homeschooling family- for this year at least.  We are committed to one year, and after that we will re-assess.  I am so enjoying our summer and don't feel sad at all when I think about it coming to an end. For the first time in long time there is no sense of dread when fall approaches.  I think I understand the huge undertaking that this is...but I have perfect peace.  I am so thankful that my girls are coming home.

**Come back tomorrow for Part Two which includes blather about curriculum and the making of our "classroom".