Living Unabridged

It's that time of year again: the time when homeschoolers do not go "back to school".

As tradition dictates around here, I'm interviewing my six children for this post. All opinions are their own. They have approved anything I say about them here.

Child #1, Daughter #1, Academic and Occasional 3rd Parent:

Age: 16, 17 in December
Grade level: 12th. Senior. Rhetoric stage.
Favorite subject: Science
Least favorite: Math
Favorite thing about homeschooling: sleeping in

Mad skills in: knitting, multitasking
Looking forward to: her first "real" job (shelver at a local library), graduating
Strengths: diligent, organized, creative
Weaknesses: perfectionist, still inclined to be bossy (according to her younger siblings), anxiety issues
Favorite book: Emma by Jane Austen but favorite genre of books is sci-fi or fantasy
Favorite movie: the Marvel series (hard to choose just one)
Recommended YouTube channel: Super Carlin Brothers and / or Film Theory; Mark Crilley for art tutorials
You can find her: Working at the library, helping out at home
Plans for when she’s grown-up: attend community college for at least the first year after high school graduation. Probably get married (no current plans!)

Child #2, Daughter #2, Organizer and Younger Brother Whisperer:

Age: 14, later this month
Grade level: 9th. Freshman. Rhetoric stage.
Favorite subject: History
Least favorite: Math
Favorite thing about homeschooling: sleeping in (Have you begun to suspect that we aren't Early Birds around here?)
Mad skills in: writing
Looking forward to: the co-op play (Canterbury Tales)
Strengths: reading, musical, fabulous penmanship, organized, great at following instructions
Weaknesses: can be short tempered, occasionally fearful, sometimes reluctant to get started working, dislikes change
Favorite book: The Lord of the Rings
Favorite movie: Sci fi - Star Wars; Animated - Wall-E;
You can find her: curled up with a book, working on string art, volunteering at the library, reading aloud to younger siblings
Plans for when she’s grown-up: to live near family and raise her own family

Child #3, Daughter #3, Artist and Dancer:

Age: 11 (will be 12 next February)
Grade level: 6th-ish? Her grade level is one of the most ambiguous in our home. Logic stage.
Favorite subject: penmanship
Least favorite: Math
Favorite thing about homeschooling: not having to sit at a desk and being done with work before public school kids

Mad skills in: ballet, making friends
Looking forward to: spending more time with friends
Strengths: artistic, musical, making people smile, eager to learn new things
Weaknesses: cries easily, easily distracted, not great with details
Favorite book: Harry Potter series
Favorite movie: Mirror, Mirror
You can find her: dancing to, from, and during ballet and tap classes
Plans for when she’s grown-up: to live in a big city and maybe be famous

Child #4, Daughter #4, Mom's "Mini-Me," at least in looks:

Age: 8, later this month
Grade level: 2nd / 3rd. Another one of our, "I'm not sure what grade you are, actually" children. Grammar stage.
Favorite subject: Art
Least favorite: Math
Favorite thing about homeschooling: going to co-op

Mad skills in: Wii, making Mom laugh
Looking forward to: starting ballet again
Strengths: Still super cute, funny, artistic, curious
Weaknesses: can be short tempered, addicted to digital things, avoids work, not reading independently yet
Favorite book: The Saturdays (This is our current read aloud.)
Favorite movie: The Last Jedi (Mom's note: this is NOT a movie this child watches on a regular basis.)
You can find her: In front of a screen or asking for screen time, playing Barbies or Playmobil when she's not allowed to have a screen
Plans for when she’s grown-up: work at the Creation Museum (I actually asked her where she wants to work when she got her first real job and this is what she said. So. We'll see.)

Child #5, Son #1, Voted "Most Like His Granddad" five years in a row:

Age: 5
Grade level: Kindergarten
Favorite subject: crafts
Least favorite: sitting still
Favorite thing about homeschooling: lots of time for playing

Mad skills in: building elaborate things in almost any medium (legos, wooden blocks, tinker toys, etc.)
Looking forward to: going back to a trampoline park sometime
Strengths: highly verbal, makes us laugh, quick thinker
Weaknesses: impatient, messy and not inclined to help clean up said messes
Favorite book: The Animals of Farmer Jones (he said that and then said, "I mean, The Bible." He does enjoy his Sunday School and Wednesday classes but he's not exactly reading the Bible himself yet.)
Favorite movie: Lego Batman
Recommended on YouTube: Storybots or various videos of kids unboxing toys and / or playing with those toys (Reader, this is a ridiculous thing in my opinion. But my children insist it's legit.)
You can find him: playing with trains or Legos, running around outside (usually in cahoots with his 5 year old cousin)
Plans for when he’s grown-up: to be a police officer (this is a step up from his previous ambition of "being a bad guy")

Child #6, Son #2, Voted "Most Like Daddy"

Age: 3
Grade level: preschool
Favorite subject: he said "a cat", so maybe...science?
Least favorite: when he has to be quiet and it's not convenient for him to be so
Favorite thing about homeschooling: having his sisters home

Mad skills in: melting hearts
Looking forward to: Happy Meal Wednesdays with his cousins
Strengths: Super Cuteness, helpful, playing games, imaginative
Weaknesses: messy, can be stubborn (quietly. Just like his dad!), bossy (voted 2nd Bossiest by the sibling council)
Favorite book: Go Dog, Go
Favorite movie: Toy Story 3
You can find him: playing in his room or in the living room, watching a screen, bouncing on mom's bed
Plans for when he’s grown-up: to be a farmer (? Not sure on this one. He also said something about "I will be a pig again." And he laughed when we tried to clarify what that meant.)

I can't believe our homeschool journey is almost complete for our oldest child. She's been an excellent guinea pig and we can't wait to celebrate her accomplishments next spring.

But for now, the journey continues. We're anticipating a great year and we wish you the same, whether you homeschool or not. (Stay tuned for more posts about what we're actually studying this year and what's working for us right now.)