The 7-year old's bedroom

I think the bedroom says a lot about the personality and interests of kids. Here we show a (literal and figurative) snapshot in time of Anya at 7.

 From the hallway looking at her door. Just a few Harry Potter posters. She's all about Hermione Granger right now.

This is how her room typically looks on a weekday. She has to clean it on Saturday mornings, but within a day or two it reverts back to its normal, messy state. We have some books on the floor (I spy Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, which she has been reading to us at night), shed pajamas and underwear from quick changes. The thing dangling from the light was a gift brought back from Grandma and Grandpa Lodwig's trip to China. I see some scissors on the floor, so she was working on a project (probably after bedtime).

 The drawer that contains most of her school uniform pieces is open (typical), since she was in a hurry to get dressed this morning after being distracted by toys/books/etc. Half of the clothes in the laundry basket are probably clean. She's going to have to fix that after school and put the clean ones away.The red thing is a bean bag chair she received from a neighbor. It doesn't really fit neatly in the room, but she loves it. On top of the dresser is a hairdressing mannequin and some other items. That white horse by the laundry basked was passed down from friends. I'm not a fan of that thing (it scratches the floors and never stays upright) and look forward to passing it on to someone else when Anya will let me.

The mural was created by our good friend, T., maybe 3 years ago. We think it's very "Anya". The HugglePod in the corner was a gift last Christmas from Santa. It's like a hanging, teardrop-shaped fort/nook and was a great purchase for her. She sometimes reads in it, but mostly she climbs it to the ceiling or uses it to chill out or calm down when she's upset.

Unmade bed, more Harry Potter posters. Elephant is still here. She always sleeps with him, sometimes uses him as a pillow. I see a notebook on the bed. She often writes and draws after bedtime. She was also doing it this morning when she was supposed to be getting ready for school. The pentagonal ball thing is stuffed and has her name appliqued on it. I got it for her when she was a baby. She only showed interest in it this year and likes to keep it on her bed, but, man, it takes up a lot of room. The duvet cover needs to be washed, since the dogs lay on it with the whole family during bedtime reading.

Book shelf and toybox. The books are a mess, but again will be straightened this weekend. It's hard to be upset about a messy bookshelf, since that means she's often grabbing books. On top of the books is her robot dog (received this Christmas) that's charging. In the toybox (which was mine when I was little), she has various dressup items, her American Girl doll (Kit Kittredge), a box with some horse fairy things that were passed down to her from an older child. The picture on the wall was put up before she was born, Curtains were made by me when she was about 3 or so. 

So there you have it. She doesn't mind clutter, loves to read, write, and has plenty of active, creative time in her room.