August Fields

first day of homeschool 2011!

deanie is 10 1/2

dancy is 8 1/2

boone is almost 7

hank is almost 5

homeschoolers are so ummm….different.  *smile*

the night before i set the school table

each of the four big kids (the ones actually doing school) got a package of fun pull apart erasers and smarties.

of course dubs got a pack of smarties too 🙂  the kids had so much fun going into the schoolroom in the morning and finding the surprises.

english was the first subject we tackled for the day.

this is my area in the schoolroom.  i found this desk over the summer and painted it gray.  i love having my own spot.  and yes indeed, we had to pull out the teacher’s manual for math on the first day! 🙂

a couple other new things this year are the big white board and the stick on world map, both from the office supply store.

boone was so excited when he completed his first real english lesson!

one of the many joys of homeschooling right here people!  opa came over to bring lunch and stopped in the schoolroom to check out all the work that had been done. 🙂

my white slipcovers for the couch and loveseat

i love love getting email!  i receive questions, compliments, suggestions….i love it all!
one of the most common questions is regarding the white slipcovers on our sofas.
sofa set #1
this is the loveseat from the set.

when we moved we brought our red floral couches with us.  
they are really pretty they just don’t
really go with the look i am going for in this house. 
so rather than spend a fortune on reupholstery,
i opted to try slipcovers.
(the picture below is from our previous home)

the loose, white slipcovers are from wal-mart.  you heard it hear first.  wal.  to the mart.  
 they are the classic sofa slipcover.  if the link doesn’t work in the future,
hopefully you can just search that name.  
they do have a subtle stripe through them (white) and don’t
fit my couches as tightly as the picture online…but they do the job.  
and for the price point and one cent shipping it was worth it.
so if you see LOOSE white slip covers in my posts they’re the wal-mart ones 🙂
sofa set #2
if you see TIGHT slip covered couches in my posts…these are from ikea.
 yes, they get dirty.  yes, you need to wash them. 🙂
the loose covers are easy to pull off and throw in my washing machine.
so far with the tight, ikea covers we have just spot cleaned them.  eventually,
this white set may move to the downstairs family room to fulfill a “beachy” look.
at that point we will put some pieces that are a darker shade with more texture,
but until then i love these up here! 
i don’t mind a little smudge here and there, but that’s just me 🙂 

the school room. school is now in session!

welcome to our school room!  
tomorrow is the big day.  and we. are. excited!!
we have homeschooled our children from the very beginning.
so we’re going on 5-6 years.  if you want to count my over ambitious
preschool with our first child! 🙂 🙂
i have no greater joy 
than to hear that my children are
walking in the TRUTH!  3 john: 4
these are the words we wrote on the doorpost of the schoolroom
during the building phase.
in our previous home our schoolroom was set up in the basement
with very little natural light.  one of the top elements in this
schoolroom was to have LOTS of natural light.
the reading nook.  boone is forever sneaking away to this
couch to read!  the wall shelf just has some favorites in it right now,
but i will be rotating either seasonal or topical books.
awww…remember the pillow from so long ago 🙂
little dubs is happy as a clam for about 10 minutes in his playpen.
this is his spot when i am reading aloud to all the kids.
typically Bible, history and/or a storybook.
the artwork display wire is from ikea.  i think we typically
have 8 to 10 new pieces of artwork daily.  they don’t
all make it to display *smile*.
another fabulous ikea purchase.  a large clock!  great for teaching time
and great for checking what time it is on your own.
the sink with bowls for water when painting.
some schoolroom necessities (at least for us!).  a copy machine/printer and a laminator.
on the other end of the counter i have a jar of sand with a bible verse and a water fountain.
i really like a lot of the montessori concepts, especially the setup of their schoolrooms.
so i included a live plant and this water fountain.  unfortunately, this particular
fountain will not be here for long.  i bought it at target for pretty cheap,
and well, it is cheap.  i can’t even hear the water over the motor.  boo.
newer, nicer water fountain is on the list! 🙂
ahhhh….lamplighter books.  they are so beautiful.  inside and out!
the stories are purposeful and the covering is gorgeous.
Bible books!
each child has a crate where their particular books are kept.  
this is deanie’s 🙂  she is starting fourth grade.
i’m looking forward to the journals.  i don’t proof these.  they are for 
expressing thoughts and learning to put them on paper.  
here is one from deanie 🙂
this is her schedule.  i fill one week out at a time for each child.
usually on sunday evenings.
our bible time basket.  it is the first thing we do each day.
we spread out the sheet and i read a bible lesson aloud while 
the children color or play with something quietly.
we pray and sing.
peek a boo.  this door remains open a majority of the time and peeks right into the kitchen.
i ALWAYS know what is going on in the schoolroom! 🙂
and now…at this point little dubs has had it.  all soft toys and books have successfully been
thrown out of his playpen.

Homeschool Room Part One

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the TRUTH.” 3 John: 4


this is the verse that is written on the doorframe to the school room.  and truly it is my prayer.
you can read more about marking our house with scripture here
a schoolroom.  as a homeschooling family this is a major deal for us.  a separate room just for school!
now,  i don’t think this is a necessity because i know many homeschooling families that do school all over the house.  
currently, we have a section in our basement designated for all of our school stuff.  
when we were designing the new house we put a lot of thought into the schoolroom.  
we came up with ideas such as: 
1. schoolroom should be close to the kitchen
  this gives easy access for drinks and snacks.  also, i am often in the kitchen so that would keep me in close proximity to the kids while they’re in the schoolroom.
2.  schoolroom should have plenty of natural light.
currently, since our schoolroom is in the basement, we have no natural light.  i wanted to be able to see the rain, the leaves and the sun.
3.  storage for supplies and shelves for books
this is pretty basic for any homeschooler.  i’m happy with our system now so we just needed
to incorporate something for the new room.  there will also be two simple desks (you can see built
against the wall below) for independent seat work or tests.

4.  an old school door
so excited that i actually did this! you can read about the great search here
the Bible verse is cased in now.  pretty cool to know that the WORD is forever in that frame.
the door came with plenty of ‘scribbles’.  the 3 big kids are trying to wipe some of it off. 🙂
5.  a checkered floor just because 🙂
edited to add this post to Met Monday over at BNOTP

house update: trim, wood floors, tile

i have lots and lots of pictures to share!!  so many changes are happening at the house.  tile is being installed, wood floors laid, crown moulding put up, and built-ins are getting started.

master bathroom….starting to take shape….
and more recently.  windows trimmed out, carrera tiles starting to go down….
boy’s bathroom.  i am standing in the bunk room looking into the bathroom.  
the hallway entrance is to the right.  
straight ahead is the tub/shower alcove.  square, glossy, grey tiles.
on the floor:  tiny white rectangle tiles with grey grout.

the nursery.  this will be one of my favorites to finish up 🙂  i’ll be posting more about it later!
oak floors are down.  they will be sanded and finished (painted white!!).  
board and batten up. 
this room will eventually transition to something else when we are no longer 
needing a nursery 🙁
school room.  built ins are almost done!

mud room.  we went with a dark slate with dark grout (my flash is deceiving you).  
we are very pleased with the way this has turned out!
side porch.  the door will be varnished so it will have a little pizazz. 🙂
the crown moulding is going up in the family room.  mr.daddy was in charge of this…
and i will say i am very pleased with his selection!

bonus/family room above the garage.  this is the room i think we will spend a lot of time in!
the window is looking out to the back of the house.  the stairs on the right go up to the hallway.

this is a walk thru “fort” that we are doing for the kids…but they don’t know! 🙂  
it was dead space so we decided to utilize it as a playhouse.  
obviously they see it when we go to the house but 
they just think it is for storage.

okay….last picture 🙂  the siding is starting to go up.  we went with hardie cement board.
this is the stock light grey.  since there will be a final color coat painted later
we will be able to tweak it a bit if we want.  i’m thinking just a teeny bit darker….
thanks for looking!  
i will say overall the process of designing and building a home is going very well!
i’m pretty sure i would not want to do it again,
but that is just because it is such a long process.  
i always hear so many negative stories about relationships or drama that can 
happen while building a home.
i would like to be a positive voice and say “we love it!” 🙂
thank. you.