Busy, Busy, Busy...with STUFF

Between adoption paperwork - all of which must be on it's way to our Attorney in FL by next Thur or Fri the latest - and getting ready for our first year of homeschooling, there is little rest time around here. Mike is heading the paperwork effort, and while he could certainly use my help 10 hours a day, doing so would leave JR to fend for himself. Ain't gonna happen. So, I've been trying to get him involved in getting our room ready. We're using the office/playroom for our class since it was the biggest space we had available. We cleaned through his toys, and pared them down to the ones he plays with - storing the ones he's " outgrown but waiting for Harry to come home" toys & games in the shed & attic. We painted the entire hallway in a bright (brighter than I had imagined) blue, and bought a sheet of homasote to use as a big bulletin board where we'll have our monthly themes, and hang his masterpieces. The board isn't done yet since Cap needs to frame it first, but we did hang this picture on the opposite wall, with a quote from Proverbs22:6. It thought it would keep me focused and determined, when I start to unravel during this first year! We used some left over paint from various projects over the last year, and gave the class area a little contrast. We've been hanging stuff, and sorting stuff, and preparing stuff, and organizing stuff, and moving stuff! There's lots of "stuff" we still haven't found (like a big, oversized beanbag chair for example) and still have lots of "stuff" left to do, but Skip suggested we put a picture of our room on the blog so people could see. (Yikes, he's begun to understand this Internet thing!) Therefore, here goes:

JR especially likes his countdown rocket. He has mastered counting by 10's to 100 awhile ago, but I wanted him to learn to count a little higher and recognize what the numbers look like. THe biggest benefit I think from this, is he'll learn to count backwards by 10's. Since I have a ton of scraps from scrapbooking, it was easy to make this one. I've been practicing using the panorama feature of my new camera, but haven't gotten any better at it, but this picture, which shows you our counting Caterpillar, didn't come out "too" bad...

Our word wall - which is really a funky corner or the room - where we will post all the words he can recognize & read without assistance.

We're still trying to remember all the words he does know already, but most are here. When the wall is completely full, he'll get a reward.I am most excited about the vintage school desk I found. You know, one where the desk is attached to the seat, has an inkwell hole, and opens up for storage of books. Just like the one I had in grade school! I had hoped and hoped to find one, and last week there was a sign at the top of our street that said "Yard Sale" with all the details - then another on top that said, EVERYTHING FREE. I almost didn't go by, but it was just around the corner on the cul-de-sac, so I figured what the heck. There was my desk! FREE! It's been around the block a few times, but Cap said he can restore it, no problem! We're working on a homeschool blog, which hopefully will be up by the time we start. I'll let y'all know when we're in business! For now, it's back to ABC's & 123's...