Like most families, our children have VERY different interests. Tyler LOVES geography, history and museums. Rachel doesn't like them.  Rachel LOVES art, photography and dance. Tyler could go either way depending his mood.

The kids and I recently hopped into the van and traveled to an area rich in American history for a school field trip.



Rachel found an abundance of fascinating objects around the colonial farm and Continental Army encampment to shoot.

Finding things to do and places to visit that both children enjoy is a challenge! However, as our field trip proved it can be accomplished.  Now, where should we travel to next ... hmm?

During the summer of 2011, my husband and I decided not to send our daughter back to public school.  The stress from school had destroyed her self-esteem, and was also affecting her health.  You would think that would have made our decision easy, but it was still a difficult choice to make. We knew homeschooling would mean changes for our family.  Little did we know in what ways we were to be changed.

Last year, Rachel and I would "hangout" once a week with a homeschool writing group in another state.  Technology can be a great thing!  The group read the book Chains, a story about a young slave girl set during the Revolutionary War, which led to the students doing I-Search papers under the umbrella of slavery.  Each student then gave a presentation on their research. 

Rachel's topic question: How does my everyday living affect modern day slavery?

The first step was determining how many slaves work for our family and in what capacity. Seventy-three, that's how many slaves worked for us. To say that number was very eye opening is a gross understatement.

The research was both heart-breaking and enraging.  With a sense of relief, we knew that we could reduce the number of slaves working for us by changing purchasing habits and researching brands and companies before buying.  We also knew that if we were to enjoy things like electronic devices and cars we would continue to use slaves and forced laborers. 

One of the easiest ways we found to eliminate the number of slaves working for us was to buy fair trade products.  The cost of our s'mores is a little higher, but we've found that not only does our conscience feel better, the organic chocolate we now buy actually tastes better.

This year, Rachel is studying economics with Economics for Everybody: Applying Biblical Principles to Work, Wealth & the World.  The curriculum has continued to convict us that we need to be discerning not only in how we spend and invest the money given to us, but in how the management of our money impacts others.  We can no longer claim ignorance regarding how our everyday living affects the lives of others and our role as consumers in contributing to the use slave and forced labor.

We are going shopping for shoes and clothes today.  At this point, the kids are fairly confident about what brands do and don't use slave and forced labor.  If we have any questions about a brand, we can always look it up on my smartphone.  The irony is not lost on us.

If you guessed Language Arts, you're a winner!  Tyler created a scene with Legos, and is working on a story based on the scene.  I can't wait to read it!  It's sure to be filled with a lot of action and adventure, and perhaps some bloodshed. Later this month, Tyler will be working on a stop motion video.  He has enlisted his very talented sister to make the backdrops.  Wanna bet the video will be starring a few of his minifigs?!


Well, there you have it, a glimpse into Tyler's school day.  So, what do you think, will Tyler decide homeschooling is for him?