Kate

Kate was the first girl in our family. She introduced us to doll babies and dresses, "sugar and spice and everything nice", having four boys before her! She is a grown woman now- a wife and a mother. She is married to Kevin and has one little girl, Lauren. Kate is a giver. She enjoys taking meals to people in the church who have been sick or who have just had a baby. She often makes beautiful cakes for our many parties and she also loves to open her home to friends and family for get-togethers and delicious meals! Kate is one of the contributors to this blog-letter. She finds great tips for "Penny Pinchers", as she is faithful to find lots of ways to save money for her own household, and she also contributes many of the recipes. She takes care of some other computer work for the Learning Parent, as well. Kate is a great photographer. She is known for taking many pictures at all occasions- much to the grief of some of her brothers and sisters who don't like having their picture's taken! She is also very gifted in writing. When she was younger, she ws always working on a "book" or "novel". But, even now, she is great at writing and keeping it interesting. Kate has spoken at several home-educating conventions with us in the past and she just spoke in a class with Marilyn at our church. Here is a link to a couple of her workshops:
"Remember Now thy Creator- Reflections on my Homeschool Experience",
"Virtue- Proverbs 31 Style- Lesson's I've learned from my mother"
Kate stays busy with her little Lauren, who is a little ball of energy and toddler mischief! She loves being a mom and wife and she is very committed to both of those roles. We asked Kate a few quesitons about herself and here is what she answered. She apologizes for being so wordy, but that's just our Kate! I think you will enjoy her responses.

Something you are learning: How important it is to stay focused on the heart of my child. It's easy to get frustrated when she doesn't sleep as long as I want her to and I don't get all my housework finished in the time I allotted, or I don't have much time to do things like writing or photography,etc. that I want to do. But Lauren will only be little once, and the here and now is my opportunity to influence her life with the things that really matter. Housework and my interests will still be there when she is older. For now, my focus needs to be on leading her little heart to Jesus... and she needs to know that she has my heart, which equates TIME intentionally spent with her!

Favorite Food: Where do I begin? :) Barbecued beef, homemade macaroni 'n' cheese, chocolate, anything coffee- or mocha-flavored, Caramello candy bars and Nestle Turtles

Favorite childhood memory: Visiting my grandparents almost every summer at their home across the street from the harbor on Cape Cod, Massachusetts... including the anticipation beforehand, the "Going to See Grampy" song my dad made up that we sang at the top of our lungs each trip, and the smell of store bought sweet rolls (that I never really liked) that we had for breakfast in the van as we embarked on our 12-hour trip!

1 reason you are glad you were home-schooled: (if you are glad, that is) = ) I didn't always appreciate it at the time, but I'm very thankful for the time I had with my family that I would not have had in school. My parents put much more emphasis on the spiritual than even most Christian schools could ever do, and I know I would not have concentrated on my spiritual life nearly as much if I had the distractions of the social life at school. Also, because we LIVED "outside the box," so to speak, I learned not to be afraid to think outside the box and question whether something is right just because everyone is doing it. The most widely accepted way may not always be the best way! The older I get, the more thankful I am that I was home educated all the way through 12th grade.

Be sure to check out Kate's favorite Learning Parent Products as a wife and mother under "Kate' s Picks"