Skip to content
Brianne of Oregon
- My husband, Kels.
- My daughter, Samantha.
- My sons:
- Zackary
- Michael
- Matthew
- Daniel
- Nathan
- Gabriel.
- We have a dog and two rabbits.
Autumn H. of Scotts Mill, Oregon
- Michael is 9 and currently in the 4th grade. His hobbies are coding, Spanish class, and riding his scooter. He desires to be a astronaut.
- Amelia is 7 and currently in 1st Grade. Her hobbies are reading, makeup, and horses. She wants to be both a vet and a mom to 10 kids when she grows up.
- Keith is Michael and Amelia’s Dad. He works in the construction industry. When not at work he usually has his family somewhere fishing.
- Autumn (Hi, that’s me!) is a stay-at-home mom who never dreamed she would one day be homeschooling her children. Due to circumstances at the local public school we felt it was the best choice for our children. Now going on the 2nd year of homeschooling it is the best decision we ever made.
Michele of Eugene, Oregon
Mom, Dad, Sonny, Keen, Koko, Neva, Hiro and one on the way named Juna. We are horse caretakers, coffee delivery, athletes, that love to garden, be outdoors, play games, travel, spend time with friends, and study the Bible together with hopes and dreams of teaching others about the good news of God's Kingdom.
How do you Timberdoodle?
Brianne: We have used numerous Timberdoodle products over the years! I love the hands-on approach to many of the offered products.
Autumn: We came across Timberdoodle after doing a general internet search for homeschool curriculum. Last year we ordered my son's 3rd grade curriculum from Timberdoodle and loved 90% of it. We ordered elsewhere for my daughter's kindergarten curriculum and had a horrid experience. From here on out I know the majority of our homeschool curriculum picks will be from Timberdoodle. I love that the curriculum is open and go. Makes it very easy on me. My kids love that there are fun games and activities mixed in. The Mobi Math game has become a favorite of my families.
Michele: We learned about Timberdoodle thru our school. We got to check it out during a curriculum exploration day and we absolutely love the hands-on interaction. We spend a lot of time doing free play learning with the amazing STEM and arts materials. We also like the fun visual project based books. We try to spend everyday doing a little of something but most days spend time on math and literature since there is so much to read and do!!
Tell us about a typical school day at your house.
Brianne: With many different ages and grades we "start" at different times throughout the day. My oldest two get up and start high school at 5:00 a.m., moving on to chores, breakfast, and morning things at 7:00. The junior high boys get up and start at 6:00 a.m., also moving on to chores and morning responsibilities at 7:00. The two grade-schoolers get up at 7:00 a.m. and get morning responsibilities out of the way before starting school at 9:00 a.m. My 2-year-old tries his best to "help" the others out and works on colors, letters and shapes throughout the day in many different ways.
Autumn: We have a very laid-back schedule. Both kids know that they have to get through math, spelling, reading, and writing everyday. As long as they get it done they are free to work on it as they see fit. My daughter makes breakfast for everyone (other than her father who leaves before she is awake). My son is on lunch duty and makes everybody lunch. I make dinner usually while my daughter reads to me, or my son tells me about some interesting fact he’s learned. On Wednesday afternoons both children attend a Spanish class. On Thursday they meet up with fellow homeschoolers at the pool for swimming. Friday we have co-op. Then Sunday is church and Sunday school.
Michele: The morning starts out with free play and waking up while we feed horses and lead them to pasture. We then transition to reading and writing. Then take a little snack break and play a little. Then it's back to math. After that we play outside and eat some lunch. Then spend time on science, either outside or inside, depending on what works best. We do art and social studies during morning or afternoon depending on the science and math work. We try to be flexible and have fun since we are a big family with many small children.
If we peeked inside your home on a random Wednesday afternoon, what would we see?
Brianne: On a typical Wednesday afternoon we are finishing up school for the day and getting ready for church that evening.
Autumn: A 7-year-old teaching her pet bloodhound (LadyByrd) whatever it is she learned that morning. A 9-year-old trying to talk his way out of having to do math.
Michele: On Wednesday afternoon we are usually at our most active with the whole family involved in whatever learning and playing we have planned or not. It's nice that we get to spend time all together that afternoon.
If you could take your family anywhere you wanted for vacation where would you go?
Autumn: Cuba.
Michele: Ocean in Hawaii.
What tips do you have for surviving a hard day?
Autumn: Go outside and have fun.
Michele: Take some deep breaths, say a prayer and remember it's temporary and tomorrow is a new day.
What’s your favorite school day lunch?
Autumn: Nachos
Michele: Sandwich and soup
How would you manage if you had to homeschool without the internet?
Autumn: The only time we use the internet is to stream documentaries. So I guess more trips to the library.
Michele: We actually love to use books rather than technology so we would manage just fine.
What tips do you have for other families?
Autumn: Some days the book work doesn’t matter. Get out in the world and experience it.
Michele: Enjoy the time you have teaching and playing with your children. It goes by so fast.
Tell us about your family’s favorite games.
Autumn: Stomple
Michele: Monopoly is definitely our family's favorite game right now.
What is your exercise routine and how often do you do it?
Autumn: 30 minute minimum outside play no matter the weather. We have some big foam dice that have exercises on them. Every hour from 9:00 - 5:00 we have a alarm go off and we each roll a dice then together do the three exercises. We also have some little balance pod things that the kids stand on while working at the table. Or they line them up in different patterns and walk on them.
Michele: We don't have an exercise routine because we get bored so instead we just play and run and jump as often as we can, but Sunday nights we do play basketball with friends.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in your homeschool that you called a “science experiment”?
Autumn: Dissected/gutted a fish. Haha... my husband fishes a lot.
Michele: We boiled eggs and pretended they were the earth. And we tasted disgusting Jelly Bellies to learn about our sense of taste.
What did you do just for fun with your kids recently?
Autumn: Trampoline park.
Michele: We went to a snow park. We don't get much snow where we live so we had to travel up the mountains.
What would you name your boat if you had one?
Autumn: Yo Ho.
Michele: Bob.
If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?
Autumn: Knitting.
Michele: I would love to learn how to hula dance.
If you could sum up your homeschool style or philosophy in one phrase what would it be?
Autumn: Book work is important but not as important as experiencing life.
Michele: Very flexible and accommodating.
What’s your favorite school day breakfast?
Autumn: Toast with a side of fruit and yogurt.
Michele: Smoothie.
What’s the funniest thing one of your kids ever said?
Autumn: “My hearts beeping” -Amelia (age 2)
Michele: "Mo." That's what my toddler says for the word "No" and it makes me laugh every time.
What do you do for fun as a family?
Autumn: Fish, hike, dance, beach trip.
Michele: We spend almost every day having fun playing hide and seek, Marco Polo, or just wrestling around.
What are favorite healthy snacks at your house?
Autumn: Carrots, peas, plain popcorn, popped rice, yogurt.
Michele: Apples, banana, fruit, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cabbage.
What’s your favorite in-a-pinch dinner option?
Autumn: Taco salad, spaghetti, or eggs and toast.
Michele: Salad.
What’s the strangest place you’ve done school?
Autumn: At the river.
Michele: In a barn.
What do you do for P.E. in your homeschool?
Autumn: Swimming at least once a week. Exercise dice daily.
Michele: We play basketball, run, play Frisbee, baseball, football, jump, tag, anything fun.
Tell us something interesting about your local area.
Autumn: Amazing waterfalls.
Michele: We have some amazing wildlife and live on a refuge so we get to see deer, cougars, wild turkeys, raptors, snakes, duck, and all kinds of other creatures and plants.
