Play Room To School Room Conversion

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!  We're still getting back into the swing of things here after being out of town for the better part of the last week and a half.

I was able to go to Ikea right before Christmas though and pick out my favorite part of our newly converted school room...four Trofast units and bins .  They were so easy to put together and turned out great.

Somehow I bought four bins that were too small for these units.  Not quite sure what I was thinking, but I know we'll put them to good use...and, it gives me an excuse to make another trip to Ikea.  Love that store!  If you're not lucky enough to have one nearby, they're also sold on Amazon.

While on Christmas vacation, I put together January's "curriculum" and ordered quite a few new manipulatives I've been wanting to try out.  They should arrive within the week, so stay tuned for reviews.

When I started working on this room this morning, it was a complete and total disaster area.  Up until today, this room functioned as our playroom and was chalked full of stuff including toys both kids have long since outgrown.  I forgot to take a "before" pic, but here are a couple of "after" pics.

I'm very excited with how it's coming along.  Still a lot of work to do, but it's a great start.  Now if my laminating machine would get here already...

And So It Begins...

I am the proud mom to two amazing children...Hayden, age 3.5 and Sophie, age 22 months.

My husband and I made the decision to homeschool when Hayden was still an infant.  Although we haven't been following any formal preschool curriculum up to this point, Hayden knew all the letters of the alphabet before he could talk.  Now, at the age of 3.5, his natural desire to learn has helped him read at a 1st grade level, count like nobody's business, and memorize things like the planets and their moons, songs, names of dinosaurs, and the pledge of allegiance just to name a few.  Sophie is busy, busy learning about her world and trying to keep up with her brother.

I never imagined that I would be planning a preschool curriculum.  I thought we would be going about our business learning casually at least until Hayden turned 5, but the learning pace that he has set is crying out for more structure and organization.

It is already challenging to keep both children engaged at the same time.  I know all of you with two or more children face the same challenges as well.  Hopefully, a little organization and planning will go a long way.  This blog will be focused on the adventures we take along the way.  Whether you homeschool as well or are just looking for some ideas to keep your toddlers and preschoolers engaged, I hope you'll join us!

First up, converting the playroom to a schoolroom.  And so it begins...