Transformation

An attic filled with junk has so many possibilities. Those possibilities are far more ambitious than gathering dust and storing stacks of Holidays gone by and memorabilia. One year ago, the storage space in our very large attic reached capacity. After prayerfully deciding to leave my career in education as a second grade teacher and stay at home with our children, our attic began to burst at the seams. 


Seeing the greater part of my life savings (er, I mean my teaching materials and books) stuffed into boxes that required a full body work out of stretching, lifting, bending and scooting to reach we decided to renovate! I made that sound so simple. However it did require quite a convincing sales pitch to the husband who just so happens to be a contractor, convenient, I know. 


And, for the record our August-January renovation just so happened to be when I was VERY pregnant with our second child who was born in January. (Note to self, next renovation needs to be done when decisions can be made with a clear mind and not one that is running solely on hormones)


You can take a teacher out of the classroom....but...in my case we just brought the classroom home.


This year our 3 year old truly adored his preschool and made some incredible friends. Turns out..so did I! I have been so fortunate to create some incredible friendships through his preschool! In our particular preschool class several of us became great friends. These friends and their precious boys have now become my guinea pigs for my first toddler book club in out attic-to-classroom. Because of the actual physical space of the classroom, I am sure five mommies and five lively three year olds will fill the room quickly! In time I am sure it will be fun to expand and be able to invite many others to join us!! 


Here is a glimpse of our attic-to-classroom transformation.

Creating the bookshelves in the backyard. Our yard looked like it had snowed for a few weeks after this project. Good old white paint! 

 Making Progress....

In the midst of the renovation the attic contents took over the house. This was torture for a nesting pregnant lady.

 DIY Window Valence (The hubby cut the wood but I take all the credit for the over stapled handy work.) I enjoyed the staple gun.

The fabric was found at a boutique designer fabric shop originally and was around $30 a yard. I knew there was no way I could justify spending that much on the fabric so I moved on. A few days later I found that EXACT same fabric at a outlet store for less than $7 a yard. Between Pinterest, my bargain fabric and a automatic staple gun...this girl had a great time!!

With the help of Facebook and kind friends, I was able to acquire an old unwanted projector and a 5x8 dry erase white board! 

Projector Fun (Thank you Steve!) with Pattern Block Overhead Templates

We enjoy our whiteboards! (Thank you Heather) The large one was given to us by a friend. The two small ones were purchased over time using a local craft shop's 50% off Sunday coupon from the paper. 

More Staple gun Fun! Old cork board covered with new fabric. Little one's art work from preschool attached to it. Below - a past gift from a precious student (it is an Art holder) showing off some Birthday cards.

It is safe to say the attic has transformed over the year. And, indeed so have I. I used to identify myself first as a teacher, then as a mother. I have had the unique and priceless opportunity to now experience what it is like to be able to focus first on being a mother and enjoy teaching and learning with him and our friends. For more on my views of educating my kids please read this.

I look forward to sharing with you the many ways our Knee High Readers fall in love with books this summer.