Strength in Adversity for Homeschool Families, Interview with Meredith Curtis

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Strength in Adversity for Homeschool Families, Interview with Meredith Curtis. Strength in Adversity for Homeschool Families, Interview with Meredith Curtis Sometimes life is tough and you need a little encouragement. These last couple of years have been tough for everyone. That's why Vicki was chatting with our friend and colleague at the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network, Meredith Curtis. She is also a curriculum writer (her website is PowerlineProd.com) Meredith is the host of the Finish Well Podcast. And she has finished raising a bunch of homeschool high schoolers well! She is the mother of five children: four daughters and a son. Vicki and Meredith started homeschooling back in the old days when homeschool moms all seemed to wear denim jumpers and drove huge vans. Both ladies kind of broke the mold because they never got around to doing either. However, both us us loved the time with our kids all the way through high school. For instance, we loved to help them develop their interests, skills, faith and character qualities. Meredith was busy homeschooling her family from 1991-2016, when she graduated her youngest. She was sad to finish up homeschooling. However, she found a renewed need for her experience in her local homeschool co-ops and helping out her oldest daughter who was married and had young children. Therefore, she became a supporter and mentor to those around her. Through her experiences homeschooling her own teens, Meredith developed curriculum that filled some holes in the material available to homeschoolers. She continues to share her materials and wisdom on her website and podcast. Both Vicki and Meredith have noticed that our kids were friends through their teen years and (what a blessing!) have remained friends as adults. We have noticed that they will go to each other for comfort or advice in tough times. They find in each other some strength in times of adversity. How to find strength in adversity for homeschool families Speaking of adversity...adversity has always been an irritation to Vicki that it happens. She freely admits that, as a young mom, she hoped that by homeschooling her kids in as safe and nurturing environment, they would be shielded from hardships. She quickly found out that, despite her best efforts, she was not in charge of the universe and that tough times happen to everyone. So how did we find strength in times of adversity? Let's give some examples: Some of the best ways to show how to survive adversity is to share specific stories from life. Vicki and Meredith hope you find some strength and encouragement for your tough times. Church planting Meredith and her husband are church planters. When they came to Florida to plant churches there, they experienced many times where the finances were low...of course, because building a tithing congregation takes time! There were many times that they prayed together as a family, "Lord, we don't know how to pay these bills and care  hospitably for these church members." She remembers feeling angry or fearful during some of these prayers. That is real. We can be authentic with God. In the end, she found that each month, something happened to get them through. Friends for our homeschool high schoolers Vicki's homeschool high schoolers were always active in homeschool co-ops, group classes, church youth group, choirs and other extracurriculars. Because they had so many experiences with their peers, they developed friendships. Unfortunately, occasionally those friendships would shift, leaving one or the other of her teens feeling sad and lonely.