Happy September Bulletin Board

School has always meant cheerful bulletin boards to me, the smell of sharpened pencils and the bright bouquet of markers. I've wanted to create a large bulletin board for our homeschool but have lacked space, funds, creativity or all of the above. Last week I saw this bulletin board kit on clearance at Michaels and knew the time had come for our house to be christened with a seasonal bulletin board of our very own. One that'd have pumpkins-turkeys-snowflakes-hearts-shamrocks-flags all over it. Be still my heart! I can't describe how giddy I was as I approached the register, part of me fearful that they'd claim it was a big mistake and that I'd misread the clearance sign.

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The kit (including the calendar, monthly banners, numbers and seasonal cutie tags) was originally like a gazillion dollars marked down to $3.97. I HAD to have this. For this price. All of my warm, fuzzy childhood memories and the future of my children's was at stake here. My relief was tangible as I forked over the money. And that night, long after the children were in bed, I lovingly unpacked the kit and assembled my first bulletin board, using a recycled (code word: stolen, er...borrowed) board from the basement of the house we're residing in. (It had been abandoned, I swear. A poor, lonely, orphan bulletin board.) I used red school-themed scrapbook paper behind the calendar and push pins to keep the interchangeable parts in place.

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I feel like the value of our homeschool just shot through the roof with the addition of this oh-so-happy bulletin board to greet us daily, telling us the date and keeping us on track. Actually, it was a boost to me as a teacher, helping to create the "right" environment for school. See, though I am extremely passionate about homeschooling and am convinced that this is what God wants us to do and that it's the best for our family, there are moments that I feel sad for the things they may not experience because we homeschool. Riding a school bus. The excitement of that first day of meeting a new teacher and the other kids. And the awesome bulletin board - now we have our own. Happy sigh. If you are a school bus driver and you see a crazy woman flagging you down, begging for a short spin around the block with her embarassed kids, that'd be me and I would appreciate it if you would stop.