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LaNita of Hernando, Mississippi
My husband and I have 5 children, one daughter-in-law, one grand baby, and another grand baby baking until June. Four of our children are grown and flown, with three in college. Our youngest (Adam, 12 years old) is in the 8th grade. We have a Sheprador (Millie), two cats (Jinx and Garfield), and a baby goat (Poppy). We are volunteer wildlife rehabbers for North Mississippi Mammal Rehab, Inc., so at times we have squirrels, raccoons, opossums, skunks, cottontails, and more!
Nic of Ocean Springs, Mississippi
I have 2 kids very close in age, one is gifted AND special needs. My husband's job has us relocating every 2-3 years. My daughter loves theatre and is VERY strong in linguistic areas, but hates math. My son is methodical. He loves math and science. All of us are very hands-on learners. Love to go places and lots of activities when we are at home.
The Wright Family from Mississippi
Violet, Eustace, Tracy and Darrick. We have two cats a dog and a goat.
Kimberly of Luka, Mississippi
Kimberly and Bryan are mom and dad. Hannah is our 2nd grader and Evelyn is in pre-K. We have a variety of animals, but our favorites are the husky named Cassie and our pomeranian-chihuahua named Popcorn.
Linda of Mississippi
- Dad- minister, scholar, Grill Master, wood whittler
- Mom- homemaker, Bible school teacher, crafter, reader
- Daughter- artist, crafter, reader, dog lover
- 10 dogs- 3 permanent, 7 puppies that will begrudgingly be rehomed
How do you Timberdoodle?
LaNita: I found out about Timberdoodle by reading a Cathy Duffy review a couple of years ago. We buy the kit and add on a few extras. It is fabulous to be able to purchase the top notch curriculum in each subject all at once from one supplier instead of having to contact and order from several companies. My son’s favorite product has been Mystery of History. We have completed volume one and we will finish volume two in a couple of months. All the activities after each lesson have been fascinating! We have two notebooks full of interesting history projects that Adam will treasure. Last year we really enjoyed Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics. The experiments were fun and we made the periodic table out of sugar cookies! Adam learned notebooking technique and how to document experiments.
Nic: The Timberdoodle products we like most are the extracurriculars. My son loves Archi-Doodle and my daughter likes the Design Studio. WE are getting ready to start Stopmotion Explosion. We also discovered Fluenz French on Timberdoodle.
Wright Family: We have enjoyed our curriculum this year. I would say our favorite items from the kindergarten kit have been Around the World Mazes and Smart Farmer.
Kimberly: We've been using Timberdoodle since Hannah was 4 years old and in Kindergarten. The best thing about Timberdoodle is that you can do it at the park, in the car on the go, at McDonald's, home, or anywhere else you like.
Linda: I discovered Timberdoodle through my research into homeschool curriculums in 2012, and have been a fan ever since. While I have never used Timberdoodle's full curriculum packages, they have been a great source for add-ons that compliment our curriculum, and for birthday and holiday presents. There has not been a year since I discovered Timberdoodle that I have not purchased some art, STEM, or thinking skill item for a gift. My daughter received a ColorKu last Christmas, and she still pulls it out weekly to play with.
Tell us about a typical school day at your house.
LaNita: We get up at 6:30 and try to start school by 8:00. Between 6:30 and 8:00 each morning, we get chores done and have breakfast. Adam takes Millie out for a walk and makes sure she has food and water. He makes his bed and cleans his room. I do daily cleaning jobs during that time. We have a notebook to track our daily schedule and attendance. Each day has a different schedule to keep our days from being too routine or boring. We have a checklist of the schedule for each day, and it’s a feeling of accomplishment each time we have all our boxes checked. Fridays are the most fun because we focus on the fun, tactile subjects such as Solitaire Chess and Doodle America. We usually schedule any field trips on Friday as well.
Nic: I try to start no later than 9:00 a.m. but I have to keep things pretty fluid. We have good days and bad so unfortunately I don't have the structure we need.
Wright Family: We start after breakfast and normally stop for lunch around noon. We usually wrap things up after lunch. I chose to use the online schedule provided from timberdoodle. We try to stick to our schedule the best we can most days.
Kimberly: We start around 8:30-9:00 each day and cover all the basics of math, science, history, and language arts. But I love teaching the STEM, Bible study, art, music, and language. We have begun to incorporate chores as part of our 'home ec' lessons, which is great for both of us. Typically we break for lunch and can be done with lessons shortly after.
Linda: We usually start our school day after we have taken care of our animals, and we try to do Bible, language arts, and math daily. Then we do history, geography, and science almost daily, but if something needs to get dropped for the day it's these. We do music weekly, health biweekly, and intentional STEAM twice monthly. Also, my daughter usually does art daily.
If we peeked inside your home on a random Wednesday afternoon, what would we see?
LaNita: We would be upstairs in Adam’s room. His room is large and separated into two sections, bedroom and classroom. We share a long desk that faces a big window so that we always have a beautiful view of the woods. On Wednesday afternoons we would be working on Writing with Skill and literature lessons.
Nic: Piles of books in various places. Our garage is more of a rec room and has most of our school stuff. Mostly science kits that need to be used.
Wright Family: You would likely find us having class in our dining room. Perhaps playing a game.
Kimberly: Wednesday afternoon would likely catch Hannah practicing her typing or creating something artistic.
Linda: My husband and I both teach Wednesday night bible studies, so on Wednesday afternoon we are usually preparing for our classes while our daughter reads, draws, or works on a craft.
If you could take your family anywhere you wanted for vacation where would you go?
LaNita: DisneyWorld
Nic: Grandparents live on the west coast. We don't see them often.
What books have you read over and over?
LaNita: Angela’s Ashes
Nic: I am not much of a reader. But my kids love history and Boxcar Children.
What dietary challenges does your family face?
LaNita: I have hypothyroidism, so it is very easy for me to gain weight. I do my best to eat clean and stay active. Adam plays outside daily and he plays on a soccer team, so with all of his activities he stays slim. Sometimes we have such a busy schedule that the easiest thing to do is heat up a frozen, unhealthy lunch.
Nic: We are gluten and dairy free. I have to plan ahead constantly when going places.
What tips do you have for surviving a hard day?
LaNita: We have learned to take breaks. Adam struggles with algebra and sometimes gets very frustrated when we add anything new to his familiar, comfortable repertoire. After having a rough day, when tempers flare, we will have a day off. We might work outside or have a movie marathon the day after an emotionally charged encounter. That is a benefit to homeschooling- flexibility! Any time we take one of these nonscheduled days, it adds a day to the end of our school year.
Nic: Early bedtime and watching a good movie.
What’s something your child has done that thrilled your soul?
LaNita: He told me that he wouldn’t want anyone else to be his mom. Those were sweet words to hear!
Nic: Any act of kindness.
How does your family celebrate birthdays?
LaNita: I bake and decorate cakes and cookies, so I normally make all the family birthday cakes. We gather together to have a meal and celebrate!
Nic: Family day. We do whatever event/activity person likes to do and we eat out for one meal, no diet restrictions.
