noe schooling

Fun at the horse farm!

A friend in our homeschooling group has a horse farm (and does riding lessons too!) and so she invited us all over for a little lesson on taking care of horses. The highlight? All the kids got a little lesson and got to ride on a horse! My little animal lover Joselyn was definitely the one who appreciated this all the most. We actually plan to start lessons with them some time soon!





The kids all watched some of the teenage girls do some trots and jumps. It looked so fun... what is it about horses that makes you just feel so wild and free? They are such beautiful animals! Joselyn also told me she got to clean out a stall- although I never actually saw it!

KY nature spots - Yuko-en on the Elkhorn (Japanese Garden)

This little park/garden is located in Georgetown Kentucky. 

Didn't take a whole bunch of pictures this day, but this is definitely an easy field trip that we love. The garden is small and beautiful- and there are also some trails. This place is beautiful in the fall and spring- so we will for sure be going back!

our school room

The world is really our classroom. I intend for there to be lots of learning wherever we go. No set curriculum or expectations as of now. I just want my kids to be kids and grow their love of learning while they are young and their imaginations are wild. I want there to be lots of cuddling on the couch reading books together and talking about how things work while we talk over making dinner together. But I also wanted to have a space where my kids could go to practice their writing or make crafts, where they could easily find maps of the world and books about everything (which I hope to have some day!). What used to be a shared office between me and my husband then turned into our school room. 

I honestly didn't know how to arrange the space. I knew I wanted a large IKEA Expedit shelf and another wall open to put my white board/maps/posters etc. But I didn't know where I was going to put my desk. Sometimes I just don't think... so I consulted my amazingly talented professional organizer friend Nikki from NeatNik for some help.  She is amazing and available for hire. I will sing her praises all the day long as this isn't the first time she's helped me out of a nightmare. Maybe I'm just clueless but I never thought of putting my desk against the window and I love it there!

My table and chairs were both a find at a local flea market/peddler's mall. $10 each for the chairs and $20 for the table. It was basically a steal. Except the table was a light pine color and the chairs boring. I wanted a walnut table with unique chairs- so... great story. When it comes to refinishing furniture I like to take the easiest route possible. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. With the chairs, I basically spray painted them straight with no sanding. I wanted to distress it all with a chippy look so did it out in the humidity. I actually love the way those turned out. The kids even helped me carve their names into their chairs. 





As far as the table goes, well... that's another story. Once again, I tried to take short cuts. I heard of the finish called poly-finish that claimed it took minimal sanding and could be applied over exsisting finishes. SO I applied a nice thick coat to the table. It looked awful. One big sticky sloppy mess. It was so awful that I skipped the crying and went straight to laughing. That very day, I was talking to a friend of mine who happens to be AMAZING with furniture!  I thought she would get a kick out of my adventure. She totally did- and then offered to finish the table FOR me as a trade for a photo shoot! SCORE! And look at it. It just turned out amazing. It's exactly the color I wanted. 

 

As far as organization for all the supplies, I LOVE found things and baskets. I got most of my baskets from HomeGoods or Michaels over the years. I got the pepsi crate and tin cans at the flea market that I love so much and used them to store our most used school supplies. 














 I'm hoping to one day find some amazing school pull-down maps to hang on the opposite wall. I know this room will change a lot over the next few years but I am excited for all the learning that will happen here and the memories that will be created!