Hi friends. I wanted to talk about our environment at home. After making the decision to homeschool, I immersed myself in books to soak up everything I could on the topic. I fell in love with Julie Bogart’s way of life. Her book Brave Learner (affiliate link) is my very favorite resource and I go back to it for inspiration frequently! She talks about an “enchanted education” and isn’t that just the most beautiful way to put it?
“Enchanted education and living are all about small surprises of happy—scattered, littered, peppered throughout garden-variety days.” -Julie Bogart
I have focused my energies on creating a space that promotes wonder, joy, curiosity, and interest-led learning. I want our home to be a haven of comfort. I want to create space to allow for free-flowing ideas and projects, and crafts. I want my girls’ education to be a joy.
Today, I’m sharing all the ways that I have curated a home that promotes, what I believe, an enchanted education. These ideas do not take much money. In fact, I have thrifted the majority of these things or turned to the Dollar Tree! You also do not have to do or have any of these things. Take what inspires you and feels good for your family and toss the rest. But for us, these feel just right for our home.
Book baskets on every level of our home – A basket for library books, a spot for living history books, stories lining their bedroom shelf, a book basket in the living room, an early reader basket… we have baskets of books all over the house and we read morning, noon, and night. Books are naturally enchanting.
A window bird feeder – One of the best investments was this feeder on Amazon (affiliate link). It’s so much fun to see who comes to our window. We have identified a few of our local birds and it leads to a little researching every once in a while.
Relaxing playlists – I use Spotify to find relaxed classical or meditation music. There are so many great seasonal playlists and we love putting something on as background noise.
Plants to care for – We have a few plants around the house that bring beauty to our home. It’s also nice for the kids to water them and take pride in that.
A shelf of reference books and nature guides – I can’t stop collecting reference books and nature/science reads to save my life! But these are so nice to have on hand for deeper dives and to spark interest. I have found many of these at the thrift store, but I also invest in ones that I believe will serve us for years.
An abundance of cozy blankets – Blankets for forts, to cuddle up with, to lay down and picnic on… just blankets blankets everywhere. LOL
Art supplies within reach – I keep all our art supplies within reach for little hands to use whenever the inspiration strikes. If you have small toddlers and babies then this is not feasible just yet, but hang in there!
Soft lighting – Lamps, dimming overheads, and twinkle lights are a must in the colder/darker months. They add a magical touch to our days.
Wildflower garden – I planted a variety of wildflowers and plants in our backyard to look beautiful, but even more so because I wanted my kids to have a plethora of “ingredients” at their fingertips when they play outdoors. So much backyard soup and potions!
Cabinet full of board game – I shop our local thrift store for board games and hardly ever buy new. Seriously… I have filled an entire cabinet up this way! Games also make GREAT gift ideas for birthdays and holidays. Here are some of our favorite educational games.
Totes for our main lessons to take with us anywhere – I shared more about this system here, but I love these totes because they allow us to carry everything we need anywhere in the house or outside. We don’t always school at the table and it keeps things interesting!
A basket of puzzles – I shop the Dollar Tree for puzzles every few months and add to a basket. My kids love love love puzzles. They are doing up to 100 pieces and we will spend an afternoon working together on them. They also love large floor puzzles (you can find them thrift!)
Yoto player for audiobooks – We were gifted a Yoto player and it has been a gamechanger. My girls love listening to music or an audiobook while they play, craft, or eat lunch. It is pricey but worth the expense (IMO) but if it isn’t in the budget, it is a great birthday/holiday gift if someone asks for ideas.
Reading lights – My kids love their book lights. I allow them to stay up and read/look through books with their lamps if they aren’t tired when it is bedtime.
Letter-writing station – Stickers, envelopes, stationary, stamps, gel pens… add to a basket and your child will naturally practice their handwriting/spelling skills.
But the most important part of an enchanted education? Providing my children with the space and time to play and explore their own interests. Bookwork will only get you so far. It’s the interest-led moments and rabbit trails and science experiments and messy art projects and baking and couch cuddles that will make a lasting impression and turn out compassionate, creative, and confident humans. x
