Where the Fun Happens

Learning happens anywhere and everywhere, both in and out of the house (and a lot happens in the car from one place to the other, for that matter). However, several places in our house are particularly kid-centric, and since we'll be relocating pretty frequently with the military, I though it'd be fun to have a record of what the entourage's life looked like at every stage. Please note that I've tried to catch our house at its cleanest. Usually it's full of all the signs of great young minds at work, that is, utter chaos.

The Reading Nook

This space is actually their closet, and it also has a dresser and hanging clothes. I just hope they have this much room when they're teenagers! (Their bedroom, while kid-centric, really is just beds and stuffed animals--nothing too interesting.) The bookshelf also holds their "push lights," LED lights that you just push to turn on and they have a 5-min. automatic turn off. This lets the big girls--ok, mostly just Bug--read books if they wake up too early or just aren't tired yet at bedtime.

The Study

Our routine is to hang out in here between lunch and naptime in addition to whenever they just wander in. I read books, and Monkey and Bug either cuddle up to listen or, more frequently, listen while they color or practice cutting. This is also where they do other quiet play activities like worksheets, flashcards, and puzzles. Goose has her own basket of toys, and she received a set of non-choking-hazard crayons for Christmas. This room is also full of shelves full of books, and Daddy and I have a small desk for us to work at too.

The Playroom

This playroom is thanks to generous relatives and good consignment sales, and we love it! It's also gotten rave reviews from kids much older than the entourage, which just confirms its awesomeness. Obviously this is where most of the playtime is spent, although the contents of the playroom tend to ooze across the house over the course of the day.

The Backyard

This space just became kid-centric over Christmas, and we are looking forward to spending many hours out here! During the summer we'll spend a lot of time out front too with trikes and scooters when all the neighbors come outside to enjoy the long days and cooler evenings.