Autumn in the Learning Room

Yesterday I spent some time cleaning in the learning room. It's hardly done yet, but everything looked so sunny and soft when I called it a day, I couldn't help but snap pictures. :)

As you can see my bookcase is in need of a good pruning! Especially that craft shelf and the budget basket - yeesh! (I have lots of autumn craft supplies stashed in that bookcase!) That small bulletin board will be coming down next week; I have a Thanksgiving project in mind for it. :)

Bill put up these little pumpkin lights the other night, as well as the wrought iron lanterns. With the afternoons growing dark earlier each day, I turn them on right after lunch. It feels so cozy as the light fades outside.

This is the other corner of the room, which is not quite big enough for a piece of furniture (I've tried) but roomy enough that it looks like it needs something ...

Our cat Smokey insists on sleeping in the in-box (much to the boys delight)! We use the inbox for any and every little thing that gets done through the week. I go through it on Friday (and/or over the weekends) and file things where they need to go. The ball jar on the left holds links from our holiday paperchain - I have a vague idea what we're going to do with them, but I'm still ironing out a few details.

Here is all my stuff spread out for some serious planning. (Our lessons had been cleared away for the day.) A clipboard, next week's folder, things I want to read (sections of the Globe and the October Martha Stewart), grocery flyers and coupon packet, and my journal set on top of my planner.

On the far side of the table are the boys' magazines that had just arrived in the mail. They were playing outside when they came, so I set them out in what I hoped was a tempting way. I believe that is called strewing. :)

More strewing! Above you see our learning center this week. As you can tell, we are studying Egypt. On the far right is a tray for loose paper, and the shelf below holds our "school" bags.

A close-up of our nature-blessings shelf:

A beeswax Celtic cross candle (which I never light because I want it to last!), a nest filled with feathers (and the tip of a red squirrel tail), three little acorns, my favorite starry silver candleholders, a lovely wooden sun face, tiny Indian corn and our Sumerian clay tablets (which have nothing to do with nature's blessings, but this is where they were set to dry).

This windowsill has become something of a catch-all for random nature things ...

You might not be surprised to learn I've started collecting little birds. :) My mum bought me the chickadee on the far left, and the paper mache bird is from our Christmas ornament collection. On the right is a sweet little brushy-bird I found at a country store last week (for all of $3!). (It's kind of like these which I LOVE.) In the middle is my tiny wooden red squirrel just below the suncatcher my parents brought me home from Vermont. In the far right corner is a wooden owl resting on a mushroom and two milkweed pods from our field.

Ah, those magazines attracted somebody's attention. :)

Well, this was a good start anyway. I hope to continue my autumn cleaning this weekend. Today we are hosting some friends for a playdate - a viewing of Evan Almighty and an eggnog tasting. YES, eggnog is back in the stores! And there are a few new flavors this year!

I'll let you know how our tasting turns out, but in the meantime, Happy Friday!