Who are we?

   I have been wanting to write more about homeschooling on here. It has been such a blessing in our lives that I would love to encourage others that are also on that journey or might be thinking about trying it with their children. I also realize that not everybody is able to homeschool and hope that these posts might still be able to encourage you in your parenting someway.

  I had thought I would start by telling why we homeschool but lately I have been thinking so much about the uniqueness of each child we have and then yesterday I was at a workshop that talked about learning styles and personality traits and since that is on my mind I decided I would start with an introduction of the cast of characters at our homeschool. I often find those sort of sketches about other people interesting so thought you might find them so as well - and if not, I thought it would be fun for me to have for my records anyway.

Up at the "top" this summer on our way home from Yellowstone.

One of the beauties of homeschooling is the ability to do it in a way that works for your family and in ways that work for each person involved. It is not a one size fits all model.

Here is a bit about who we are:

Ken (Principal and back-up teacher)
He is: A leader (strong leadership is shown in our home and community), smart, a good test taker, enjoys computer programming, likes a thinking problem to solve (not a plumbing problem), runs a business (very well, too), is good at writing and public speaking, loves to play games and enjoys sports, loves maps, can build things, is very neat and orderly and is not very handy at fixing things around the house (we are looking forward to the time that Jonathan can do all of that - as he is more gifted that way).

Me (Main teacher)
I am: Left handed and consequently right brained (at least so I am told), I do tend to have those characteristics. I am a musician, I love making things, I am not real scheduled, I love variety, I also enjoy having quite a few routines however, I like to manage things/people but very much dislike confrontation, I am a lover of the beauty that God has made, I love to read and learn, I like efficiency very much, and tend to be efficient, I tend to procrastinate, I can easily overbook myself and then get overwhelmed. Patience is something I strive for and often fall short on every day.

Mara (14 and doing 9th and 10th grade work)
She is: Academically inclined, a very self motivated student, loves to read and write (she is currently working on a novel but also writes short stories and poetry), Plays the piano fairly well, Is fairly quiet now (which is still hard for me to believe as when she was little she could talk like crazy), loves to tell stories, struggles with stuttering at times, enjoys acting very much, can cook and bake and run a house pretty well, tends to be methodical and not that efficient, loves learning about nature and can name hundreds of flowers and herbs and edible plants, Is good at cross-stitching, beading, sewing and other crafts, Is not shy but doesn't make close friends easily.

Jonathan (12 and doing 6-8th grade work)
He is: Very neat and tidy (and tries to keep everybody else in the house that way too), loves to make things (especially with Legos and carving), Shows strong leadership tendencies (the other kids think he is bossy) in our home but those outside our home haven't noticed it that much, loves to laugh, does not care for workbooks of any kind, loves to read himself and to have me read aloud, loves to build things and help with projects, likes to bake and loves snacks, gets upset when he can't get something (like in schoolwork) figured out easily, is a mover/wiggler and has a great singing voice and enjoys using it.

Aaron (10 and doing 3-5 grade work)
He is: A player of piano and ukulele and likes to sing (has been working on singing harmony lately), a whiz at math (mental or on paper), a slow reader but is finally this year reading a few books voluntarily, a deep thinker, a good listener, efficient (though not always thorough), good at baseball, easy going, can get hyper, loves farms and chickens, never wants to get married, enjoys sewing and some other crafts, does not like to write if he can avoid it, likes to play with Legos and enjoys cooking outside over a campfire.

Megan (7 1/2 and doing 3 grade work)
She is: An artist (she draws every day and goes through paper like you wouldn't believe!), a bookworm (she loves chapter books), a girl that likes best to wear dresses and look pretty, finds schoolwork fairly easy but can get distracted from it by drawing pictures on all her pages, the messy child in our family, a crafter - she nearly always has some project going, likes friends and being with people but also seems to need solitude at times, likes to "print" (type out stories on the computer), a little scatterbrained and likes to try to keep up with her brothers and all their wild play.

 These sketches are of course just a little glimpse of who we are. There is a lot left out and all are written from my viewpoint - others might see us differently. Anyway, it was fun for me to do and a way for me to reflect on the family that God has given to me and how I might be able to better teach them.