Goodbye, July!

Summer is just rolling right along. August is going to be a busy month at the Carpenter household. VBS the first week and then family coming from CA for a 3 week visit will keep us hopping!
We're not ready to talk about the "S" word yet... you know... school ...shhhhhhhh. (HINT: Highlight the blank space to reveal the "S" word) However, I do have some fun ideas bouncing around in my head. For example, wouldn't it be cool to have a chalkboard wall? Or how about a magnetic wall to hang all our fabulous artwork? With 4 kids, my refrigerator doesn't stand a chance! I have so many cool magnets and we could even create our own. A place to hang our calendar, charts and photos... the possibilities are endless!
The idea that excites me the most, however, is Rain Gutter Bookshelves. We have enough books in our house to open a small library. If the books were more accessible and on display I think they would be read more frequently. The fronts of the books would be showing, as opposed to the spine, so they would be much more intriguing. Although Emily might look at this as a new opportunity to climb the walls! All I need is a hack saw and I think I can do it (when Steve isn't looking, of course).
These and many more awesome homeschooling tips and ideas can be found at a blog I recently discovered Raising Olives.