kiddo-friendly craftspace.

i have mixed feelings on homeschooling. i love the idea of having more time with my kiddo and getting to teach her our family's values before the scary, sex-crazed, and selfish tendencies of our society gets its hooks into her. however, i also don't want my kid to be ostracized for being the only kid on the block who has never heard of superman. but, as my wee babe gets closer and closer to preschool age [what! already?!?!?!] i am starting to think about the ways i want to start teaching her the basics.

here are some of the ideas that have been super inspiring to me!

first off, i love the idea of making your own "first words" book for your little one. i saw this beautifully done one awhile back, and bookmarked it for later. it would be pretty easy to do with an online scrapbooking type thing like shutterfly, and i can only imagine that it would be really helpful for a little one as they are learning the words for things to be able to associate the visual part with the stuff they see every day in their own home. [especially putting mommy, daddy, and pets in there- how sweet is that?]

first word book by party perfect

along those same lines, it would be fun and easy to make your kids their own coloring book pages. you could draw a simple outline on a piece of white cardstock with sharpie, or download several cute pre-made pages and print them out on your computer! you could also make old school trace-the-letter sheets.

coloring book page by rawbin.

i think one of the ways to keep your sanity if you are homeschooling, is to have a dedicated space if at all possible. i think everyone remembers that feeling of leaving school in the afternoon, and that fresh breath of freedom! i was already loving the idea of a chalkboard wall, but when i first saw these pictures of a renovated playroom with one, i immediately thought what an awesome schoolroom it could make! you could write everything from math homework to art class right on the wall! [kind of eco-friendly too, since you would use less paper!]

playroom reveal at show and tell

i know i've written about it before, but also on the wall in my imaginary-dedicated-learning-space-full-of-inspiring-beauty-to-make-my-kids-genius is the life with little ones magnetic tray...
and also this clipboard wall for clipping little fingerpaintings and crayon drawings and macaroni glue artwork on display. you could do a full wall, or one for each child:

clipboard wall by smile and wave

[whatever you do, do not visit her house tour on flickr. you will want to tear your house down and rebuild it in an exact replica of hers. i love it.]

i'm currently working on a diy version of this awesome storage/organizer. great for toys now, and useful for sorting crayons/glue sticks/play dough later on:

storage bins by pottery barn kids.

when she gets a little older and is able to do some of that picking up toys or feeding the dog type things herself, i think some little polaroid-esque reminders that live on the fridge would be perfect.

magnetic chore cards by the creative mama.

and of course also on the fridge, you'll need some alphabet magnets [my favorite] to teach letters and the spelling of tiny ones' names:

fabric letters by chez beeper bebe,
and these modge podged ones too!

almost makes you want to open a preschool, right? almost.

[all photos are thanks to the sources mentioned. don't miss their awesome sites!]