Melissa G. of Tennessee

Melissa
Danny
Elle

B. Brown, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

The Browns: Corey and Breann, Anna 16, Roan 15, Isaac 12 and Cora 11...
Dogs: Sofie and Crockett round out our crew.

Lacey of Cleveland, Tennessee

My husband and I have three children, Gymnastics Girl, Red, and Baby Bear! I teach ESL classes to Chinese students and my husband isn’t called the Codeman for nothing! He is a software engineer! We have 6 pets! Two dogs, three cats, and a baby beta fish named Queen Cherry!

Rebekah G., Chattanooga, Tennessee

Our family is husband and father, David, who is a commercial banker. His hobby is power lifting and he is ranked in the state of Tennessee. Charlotte is the oldest. She is 6 and in first grade and loves arts and crafts and being with friends. Eleanor is 4 and enjoys playing dolls. And Henry is almost 3 and builds amazing structures with his magnetic tiles. As for me (Rebekah), when I am not homeschooling and taking care of the family, I love to bake and to read books. We do not have any pets although Charlotte keeps lobbying for a snake!

How do you Timberdoodle?

Melissa: We heard about you online. We love the curriculum kits that allow us to have easy access to courses that work with our little one. Making it easier to select things for her grade minimizes my stress levels.

Breann: A friend introduced us to Timberdoodle and we are so grateful she did!!

Lacey: We have been Timberdoodle fans for years! One year we did curriculum kits and other years we have done bits and pieces. Our favorite are the art projects and fun extracurricular kits!

Rebekah: I heard about Timberdoodle by chance when I was researching homeschool curriculum options as my daughter approached kindergarten. I purchased an elite kindergarten curriculum kit, which gave me a great feel for various products and helped me ease into the homeschooling experience. For first grade I used the first grade curriculum kit to help me design our school year. I love the supplemental activities that Timberdoodle includes, such as the math wrap-ups and the Mobi Kid Tiles. These are fun ways for us to get extra practice, especially during "non school" hours!

Tell us about a typical school day at your house.

Melissa: Typically start school at 10:00 a.m. We cover reading, math and spelling daily, while adding other subjects in between throughout the week.

Breann: We start school between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. This varies from day to day depending on which kid is making breakfast for the day. Some do school primarily on the couch and others at the table. Depends on the day and subject.

When we aren’t schooling all 4 kids competitively rock climb so that keeps us busy. Chores are interspersed throughout our days depending on whose day it is to walk the dogs, empty dishwasher or weed the garden (or whatever other need arises)

Lacey: We get started around 7:00 or 8:00 EST. We do most subjects every day but alternate science and history. We eat healthy, homemade, gluten free meals everyday from home. We cook free and real food as often as possible. We do chores after school. Everybody gets some!

Rebekah: We usually start school around 9:00 a.m. and finish by 11:00 most days, give or take 30 minutes. We do reading, spelling, writing, and history every day. Twice a week we do math and three times a week we do science. Once or twice a week we add in geography, standardized testing practice, and fun critical and creative thinking pages. Everyone eats breakfast before school and when we are done with school we usually have physical education time and do a workout as a family or go outside and play. Then it's lunch time. We use the afternoon for reading and playing. After dinner is when we often do our chores and get ready for the next day!

If we peeked inside your home on a random Wednesday afternoon, what would we see?

Melissa: Coloring and giggles.

Breann: Roan using her wood burner, Isaac sweeping the porch, Anna working on Spanish and Cora finishing up an America the Beautiful lesson on The Golden Gate Bridge.

Lacey: Messes!!! Okay, well,this last Wednesday we were knee deep in creating Valentines and Valentine boxes. So, that project took over the whole kitchen table! We often do cat school and the house is very busy and noisy! You will usually hear a clarinet, recorder, or piano playing at any given time.

Rebekah: On Wednesday afternoons, we are usually hanging out - sometimes we are catching up on school if we had Mom's group that week, and then we get ready to go to church for dinner and our weeknight activities.

If you could take your family anywhere you wanted for vacation where would you go?

Melissa: On a scenic route road trip.

Breann: Costa Rica.

Lacey: We love the Emerald Coast on the gulf coast the best! We go any chance we can!

Rebekah: Italy.

What books have you read over and over?

Melissa: Guardians of Ga'hoole

Breann: 

• The Bible
• Winter Wheat
• A Proper Pursuit
• Wonderland Creek

Lacey: 

• All-of-a-Kind Family
• Grandma’s Attic
• Little House on the Prairie

Rebekah: 

• Magic School Bus books
• Jerry Pallotta alphabet books.

What dietary challenges does your family face?

Breann: I have one child who is gluten free and another who is dairy free. On top of that a child with a liver disease. We focus on whole foods to nourish us and keep us going.

Lacey: We are gluten free and try eat healthy, whole foods. We cook mostly at home and make a lot of our own gluten free treats.

What tips do you have for surviving a hard day?

Melissa: Go for a run to relieve stress and anxiety.

Breann: BREATHE! And find positive things to focus on.

Lacey: Go outside! Go to the park and run it out! Hugging it out is also good, too!

Rebekah: Take breaks. Sometimes we all need a little space and time to give ourselves a little reset. Then we take a big breath and try again.

What’s something your child has done that thrilled your soul?

Melissa: Started to love reading.

Breann: Loved each other well.

Lacey: My ten year old showed kindness to a friend with special needs! She relayed to me that this child was older than the rest of the girls in the church class and being bullied so my daughter decided to sit with her and be her friend 🥰.

How does your family celebrate birthdays?

Melissa: Having a party with family and friends.

Breann: Simply. And with a birthday blessing. Everyone takes turns encouraging and verbally blessing the birthday person.

Lacey: We go big!!!! We either have a huge party with lots of friends or we have an experience birthday.

Rebekah: Every year each child gets to choose what they want for breakfast on their birthday and also what they want to do for dinner - sometimes they ask for a home cooked meal, sometimes they want to go to a restaurant and sometimes they just want to order pizza! Every few years we let one of them have a friend birthday party.

What have you done recently for the first time?

Melissa: Ran 50 miles.

Breann: Visited White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

Lacey: We went ice skating!