Our Homeschool Update

It's been two years since my last post here, so here's an update.

My kids are now 9, 11, 13, and 15.

I've been running an etsy shop for over two years called ModernFangirl. I design and screenprint t-shirts for books and tv shows and other designs. Running a business of my own (my husband has operated a screenprinting business for the last 10 years) changed my life. It also made home life more hectic and stressful. There are trade-offs in any life choice, however.

I'm still struggling with the challenges that come from living with fibromyalgia and migraines. However, my life has never been as structured and smooth running as it is now. Three cheers for bigger kids!

We homeschool using an eclectic mixture of real books and math workbooks (A.C.E ); they don't like online curricula. We do history together using Memoria Press books and public domain ebookshttp://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/o/mlclassics.php. I write the vocabulary words, a copywork quotation, and important places on a white board. They copy this into composition books. My kids (mostly) love it, and I do too! We also watch Youtube videos related to our reading, and watch videos from The Bible Project.

I have them all read from Rod and Staff and Christian Light Education readers, because I feel like they are great for showing what strength of character looks like. And it's not something they would choose for personal reading, so it changes things up.

No longer do I have the sole burden of keeping up the house, and so I'm willing to host my eldest's Dungeons and Dragons group here on Fridays. It's amazing how something like D & D can cause personal growth in a kid, but I've seen my son grow in responsibility, work on his shyness, become more organized, and develop his imagination. He also does quite a bit of writing in a spiral as he plans his game.

We are in 4H, and our family signed up for machine sewing, crochet, pottery, and art journaling. I also help direct a homeschool co-op, where I usually teach a couple of classes. They don't always like 4H, but they enjoy seeing their friends at co-op. It gives variety to our routine throughout the year, and provides many opportunities for them to be challenged. I really believe in kids having to try some things that might annoy them or frustrate them at first. Life is full of things like that when you're an adult.

Some of the strengths I'm seeing this year in each of my kids:
W: skillful with hands/sewing machine, witty and strong vocabulary, kindness and hospitality
N: workhorse, dependable, organized, math skills, my backup brain for when I'm deep in fibro fog
G: great storytelling/writing, funny, creative eye
J: talented drawing skills, an eye/ear for beauty, teacher, designer