Big kids room makeover

Since my last day of daycare was Friday (yay for being able to sleep in now!) we decided to spend today making the kids room more fit for my older kids (and rehanging all the pictures and things the little daycare kid ripped off the walls in the last year or so) and giving it a deep clean. We got everything clean and even disinfected all the kids toys but it's still a work in progress as far as the decorating goes. I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture, but here's what we've got after a day's work...

I moved in my old sewing desk to use as a kids art/learning area. The computer is password protected so they have to earn time by doing chores or working on their preschool books and then have mommy or daddy unlock the computer for them. They have a few games they can play (minecraft, asteroids, and chess) or they can play on pbskids.org. We'll have to see how it goes with leaving the craft stuff down. They usually have to ask for me to get that stuff down but I'm hoping they're old enough now that they can have access to everything without getting into too much trouble.

I made these chore charts a few weeks ago and they have worked wonders for getting the kids to help around the house. They know if they want computer time that they have to earn it and (usually) do their chores without me having to nag now. We moved this in from my room and put it by their door so they'll see it every morning and be reminded to do their chores.

All the kids toys are up in the closet so they have to clean up their current mess and ask for a new box if they want to play with something else. We've been doing this for about a year now and this seems to work great for us and it keeps the messes more manageable so we don't have meltdowns when it gets to be clean up time. I just found free clip art online to make the box labels.

When we got the kids their bunk bed last year we got them matching blankets and let them pick out fabric for pillowcases and art to hang in their area. It's nice to be able to have it all up again.

What I'd still like to (eventually) do: -line the curtains so they darken the room better and possibly shorten them a bit -touch up all the ripped up paint where the day care kid liked to peel it off -sand/paint the rocking chair and create a reading area with a spot for all the kids books -rehang the art rail (it's basically a couple of rulers with clothespins glued on for the kids to show off their art) -find a place for the vintage alphabet cards to hang I'm sure I'll find a million other things I want to do in there but that's it for now :)