This month is about finishing up all of the major changes I’ve made to my online work. I’ve brought this website to a more narrow focus and moved everything else to my older domain (A Quiet Simple Life). I am still adding content to A Quiet Simple Life, but am looking forward to writing over there as well. I’m setting up a new newsletter provider to make sure newsletters are getting through. And I have so much helpful content planned for this website! (Update 2018: I took it down to simplify my life.)

In our homeschool this month

The biggest event in our homeschool will be more testing for Caroline. We will be returning to the same place where she had her testing and OT for dysgraphia. I’m certain there are still some other things going on and we’re biting the bullet to pay to have a variety of tests done. I’m praying it will give all of us some clear answers. I strongly suspect she will need accommodations in the future and we need to have them documented by professionals so she can get the support she needs for things such as standardized tests and exams. We’re all excited about getting the testing done and seeing what we can further learn about how she is wired.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing

We’re always homebodies and this is especially true in the deep winter. Although we aren’t doing total hibernation homeschooling this year, we do tend to stay pretty close to home in January.

My favorite thing this month

My favorite thing this month is my anniversary! David and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary later in January. That’s pretty great for two people who met online in May, were serious in July, got officially engaged in October, and married in January. He’s my best friend, my co-worker, and the most supportive husband I could have ever imagined.

What’s working working for us

We’ve found a groove that works for us most of the time. Our “formal” work consists mostly of math, handwriting, and reading/writing. Caroline was ready to tackle cursive this year so we’re working on that. I couldn’t find any handwriting pages that were simple and clean, without a zillion distracting embellishments so I created my own. I’ll have those for sale sometime in the next week or two as soon as we can get them packaged up and loaded into my shop.

Homeschool questions and thoughts I have

Caroline will be middle school aged next year and I keep wondering how this is all going to pan out over the next seven years. Later this month I’ll be reviewing an upcoming book about homeschooling 2e kids in high school with college in mind. I’m excited to read it and share it with you since this is a topic that weighs heavily on me. I’m hoping after reading the book I will have idea of where we need to get by ninth grade so I can work backwards from there while planning for the next three years. I have no idea if Caroline will desire to attend college, but I want her to have that option available to her if she so chooses.

A link to share

My exciting new thing this month is a new Kindle! I used a number of gift cards to upgrade my three year old Kindle as it was starting to show its age and act wonky. I use my Kindle primarily for streaming videos and reading. I opted to get an 8 inch because it also had Dolby sound and I stream a lot on it. The sound is so much better! It’s amazing how much bigger it feels with just one more inch! The case looks like a classic leather-bound book which I really like. It’s a bit more reddish and lighter than this picture shows. It’s lovely.

All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet, 8Fintie Folio Case for Amazon Fire HD 8, Vintage Antique Bronze

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On my website in case you missed it

So much has been added, expanded, and in other ways improved recently! All of these pages have been re-organized and expanded over the past month to include all my relevant content as well as outside resources.

• Parenting & Enjoying Your Only Child
• Parenting & Enjoying Your Highly Sensitive & Spirited Child
• The Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling A Right-Brained Child
• Resources For Parenting Your Gifted/2e Child
• Resources For Parenting & Homeschooling Your 2e Child
• Parenting & Enjoying Your High Need Baby

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And these are some of my most recent posts in case you missed them.

• Favorite Amazon Purchases For Our Creative Homeschooled Girl
• Keeping Christ In Christmas With Children
• Online Art Classes For Beginners
• How To Talk With Your Daughter About Puberty
• 100 Wholesome Books For Girls And Tweens

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Happy January!