This month we are zooming in on rural Minnesota to get to know Arie K.’s family! This spunky, smiley kindergartner is new to Venture Upward this year.

Parents, tell us about your family! 

Q: Where do you live? 

A: We live on a farm in Southwest Minnesota. 

Q: What do you look forward to as a family?

A: Every winter, we like to go somewhere warm to escape the cold for a few days! Our favorite trips are on Disney cruises and to Arizona. 

Q: What area does your student shine in?

A: Arie excels in Math! 

Q: How did you decide to home educate?

A: We saw extreme changes in our older kids when they went to kindergarten, and we wanted something different for Arie. We wanted him to be able to continue to learn through play and real-life experiences.  We heard about Venture Upward through a local home education group. We had been looking at hybrid options, but unfortunately they were all an hour away from our home until Venture School came to our area! Balancing work and home education can be tricky, but it’s doable with planning and a support system. 

Q: Tell us about Arie’s home education!

A: We use Venture Upward’s online program, Venture school and The Good and the Beautiful curriculums alongside real-life experiences and spending time outdoors and playing games. Arie enjoys the extra time he gets with his parents and grandparents. Venture school has allowed Arie to learn from other adults and kids, and he loves the different topics and hands-on activities. Our favorite thing about home educating is being able to spend most of our time together and being able to see those “lightbulb moments” when Arie learns something new. 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do as a family? 

A: The kids and I enjoy playing board games together. As a family, we enjoy an annual vacation. 

Let’s hear from Arie!

Q: If you could trade places with any character in a movie or book, who would it be? 

A: Lloyd the green ninja, because he has powers, and he knows spinjitsu!

Q: What do you like about home educating? 

A: I like learning Spanish at Venture School!

Q: What is something you did in your home education this year that you loved and why? 

A: I made an exploding volcano in science class at Venture School, and that was really fun!