We are the Knowles family! We live in the Orlando area with our ten children, two of whom are now young adults. I have published the Hope Chest Home School News e-magazine since February 1998. My husband Thad is a Realtor and a Trustee. You can see his web site at www.ThadKnowles.com Since we are self-employed, we decided to skip traditional health insurance and join a Christian health cost sharing program called Samaritan Ministries. We have been members for the past four years and saved thousands of dollars each year. I have also written an article on Saving Money on Health Care that you might like to read. As a side business, we have also decided to launch a Christian Book Distributors affiliate web store, which you can visit here: Virginia's CBD Affiliate Store.
On the rest of this page, I would like to share with you about our children, our home school journey, and our church.
OUR CHILDREN
(Click on pink highlighted names to see their own web pages.)
Mary (June 1987) married Mr. Ryan Tindall on May 8 in a messianic (Christian) Jewish ceremony. She just graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Central Florida, where she scored an unprecedented perfect score on her portfolio review. She is spending the summer with a prestigious Dow Jones editing internship at the Wall Street Journal in Princeton, New Jersey. You can see Mary's Wedding Pictures on my blog.
Julia (April 1989) graduated from our church's home school covering, The Regent Academy, at the beginning of June 2007 and left later that month for a 10 day Mission:X meical team trip in southern Bolivia! She hopes to return there someday. Julia works full-time as a receptionist and bookkeeper for a restaurant equipment company owned by friends from church.
Rachel (February 1991) will be a senior in high school this fall. She loves playing piano and singing. She has a great laugh and enjoys reading and taking pictures. She's considering a medical career as a nurse.
Joanna (December 1992) will be a sophomore soon. She loves her church, friends, and family like crazy. She enjoys music, Starbucks, photography, and reading (especially theology.) She went on a Mission:X trip to Niceville, FL, last July, and wants to go to Bolivia next.
Lydia (October 1994) is our really wacky child. She and Rachel sing incessantly. Lydia loves to make up skits with her friend Emily and cook for the family. She is an entrepreneurial at heart and longs for a pet rabbit. She hopes to participate in our co-op's student council.
Andrew (May 1997) loves figuring things out, riding around the neighborhood on his bike, and spelling long words.
Micah (July 1999) loves building with Legos, painting, science, and soccer. His favorite color is purple. He likes reading, and hates rice. He has quite a sense of humor, and his dance moves are groovy.
Naomi (February 2001) chatters non-stop, and is thankfully learning to read more fluently! (Maybe that will provide us with some quiet moments!) Nail polish, shoes, and anything pink is her thing.
Benjamin (February 2003) amazes us with his intelligent conversation. He surprised us all by learning to read with very minimal help. He is a cuddly little chap! And he has a super funny laugh! He and Melody are fast friends.
Melody (August 2005) loves music, but even more, she loves to be held! That's where she is in our family photo -- in my arms! She's learning what an advantage talking can be to her, and has been firing off quite a few words lately. She says "tootie" for "cutie." :) And she knows she is one!
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Yeah, we're totally crazy...
Many people comment on the extraordinary size of our family. Yes, we know we're weird, and it's definitely different chasing a toddler around while I'm in my forties, with two young adult children, too. I thought you might be amused by a little poem I wrote when I found out, in late 2004, that we were expecting a new baby.
OUR HOME SCHOOL JOURNEY
We started home schooling unofficially in the very early 1990s, when Mary was three or four years old. We have made myriad transitions through the years, starting out with unit studies and lots of hands on manipulatives, adding in more formal curriculum and classes as the years rolled by. Our children have all learned to read well between the ages of four and seven. I love the Charlotte Mason approach, but we use an eclectic mix of just about every style of education. Now, with two graduates, several school age children and still two preschoolers, we're about halfway through our journey of home education! The "right choice" for us is now a once a week all day academic co-op which offers math, English, social studies and science for all ages through high school. I teach middle school English (literature, writing, speech, critical thinking, grammar, etc.).
The home schooling lifestyle sure presents challenges, and we've made many mistakes along the way (maybe you can learn from some of them!) but I wouldn't trade it for anything!
If you haven't already signed up to receive my free Hope Chest Home School News e-magazine, click here for more information: Hope Chest Home School News E-Magazine
OUR CHURCH
Our family is blessed to attend Metro Life Church in Casselberry, Florida. Metro is a part of the Sovereign Grace Ministries family of churches. We have contemporary services, and the theology is a refreshing mix of Reformed, Baptist, and Charismatic all rolled into one. Metro Life has been a great place to raise children, and there is a lot of practical and spiritual support for the home schooling lifestyle. I have written a pair of articles called "Why the Church?" and "How Can I Bless My Church?" You can read them here: The Blessing of Church.
How did my spiritual life start? Find out at My Story of Liberty in 1976!
The journey isn't over! What have I learned in the past years?
Find out at:
With Beauty and Justice for All
Over Utah In January: Thoughts on Wonder and Family
Truth and Grace in the Stories of Our Lives