Mike Smith:
Chris Tigges, a homeschooling mom of six, has been sharing this week how her family uses a year-end review. Chris, what sort of unexpected things did you learn about your children from these reviews?

Chris Tigges:
Well, as far as school subjects went, our family’s read-aloud time of great literature and history was the overall favorite part of our school day.

Anna’s already a talented pianist and violinist, and she thought adding voice lessons would be something she would still love to have. It showed us she absolutely loves music.

Joel, who began his thoughts with, “Mom, I don’t think you want to hear this … ” told us that he wanted to quit violin and learn the drums! That was tough for his classically trained mother. He also wanted to learn more about Virginia birds.

Emily wanted to try her hand at drama. But she really got my attention when she lovingly pointed out that I do a lot of school and music with her and her brothers and sisters, but she wants time with me that’s just fun!

Our time with an older son helped us realize that working our farm as a summer job would continue to be an issue. Jon saw that engaging him in the practical projects of establishing his new business practice would better match his talents and motivations.

Mike:
Chris, I’m sure your family’s experience could be an inspiration for many other homeschool families! Thanks for sharing that with us today! And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.