goodbye school room

i'm planning to homeschool all of my kids for kindergarten (one down, two to go). i love giving them an extra year of childhood, reading out loud, field tripping everywhere, and spending that precious time with them before they're real school aged kids.

to house (and display) all the paraphernalia that homeschool brings, we turned our unused dining room into a school space. over one summer, i had the kids decorate all the letters of the alphabet to get the room ready for september. clothesline criss-crosses the ceiling to show off fresh artworks. backyard treasure hunt finds, handprint projects, and watercolors adorn the walls. the little table that fits perfectly now will all too soon be outgrown, and i daily savor watching the coloring and creating the kids do while sitting at (or laying under) it.

but as fun as this space has been, getting organized has to take priority. the meager and mismatched storage in here is overflowing, and on the other side of one wall, in the mudroom, a mountain of backpacks and snowclothes are going to avalanche soon if something isn't done.

so, ryan is at 8-1/2, which means demolition is coming in the next few weeks. we're reducing this room by half (and making it a real office), expanding the mudroom and adding a main floor powder room lest we all go insane.

before we power up the saw and start cutting out flooring, i'd like to say a proper goodbye to our sweet little school room.

ok, i'm good. now where is that sledgehammer?