Teaching with TLC: About Tamara Chilver

I am currently focusing solely on homeschooling. Even though I miss blogging, writing books, providing workshops, and appearing on television shows, I recognize there are different seasons of life and I wish to embrace them all. Perhaps I will return to some of those things in the future...only God knows the path He has for me. In the meantime, I have left up the posts on my blogs to share with you. Enjoy! ~ June 2014

When people ask me how many kids I have, I tell them:

Five.
They gasp and then say, "WOW!"

When people ask me about my children's ages and genders, I tell them:

From 21 to 4 years old. Four boys and a girl.
Their eyes enlarge. They have a puzzled look on their face while thinking about the large range in ages and all the energy four boys can create. They can't understand why I am smiling and how I'm still sane.

When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them:

I homeschool my children.
Usually they have turned very pale by now. They look at me as if I am from another planet. They can't grasp why I have so many children and why I choose to spend all day with them (but I can't understand why I wouldn't). They quickly change the topic of conversation.

Welcome to my world. This happens at least once a week. What I'd like to say before they change the topic is:

I feel extremely blessed to have a large family, and I'm grateful to have the freedom to homeschool them. God's grace is more than enough to equip and encourage me through my homeschool journey. Even though our home may be a little noisier and look a little more chaotic than the average home, our days are filled with joy as we live, learn, and grow together.

Once upon a long time ago I was an elementary school teacher. I taught first through fourth grade for six years and then became a curriculum specialist. One day an adorable little boy with light blond hair and large blue eyes stole my heart. I later had a lightblub moment and decided to homeschool him, which I did from preschool to high school. I continue to home educate my other four children, too.

After homeschooling for several years, I was asked to lead a parent workshop and share some tips and tricks I had learned along the way. I was super excited (and a little nervous) and spent weeks consolidating what I had learned from my teaching experiences into a handbook for the workshop. The moms encouraged me to have the handbook published, which led to my first book How to Teach Your Child.

After my book was published, my mentor motivated me to begin a blog to share more teaching tips. At the time, I did not even know what a blog was! I took her advice and this blog, Teaching with TLC, was born in 2007 being one of the first homeschool blogs on the web. More books and resources have been written along the way, as well as more education blogs. I've continued to provide workshops and have appeared on radio shows, as well as television shows on Christian Television Network and FOX's Mom Squad.

15 totally random things about me:

	I am a bit obsessed with finding fun and creative ways to teach children. I am passionate about teaching and want my kids to love learning.
	I am extremely organized. I can't go to sleep unless my house is completely picked up, including closets. My husband thinks I'm a little O.C.D. He is probably correct.
	I get so much creative energy sometimes that my head hurts- for real! I have a hard time focusing when working on projects because my mind will go a hundred different directions.
	My initials were TLC even before I was married. My parents didn't realize those were my initials when they named me.
	I am addicted to Cracker Barrel and eat there a few times each month. I literally have withdrawals if I go a whole month without it.
	I have donated close to $250,000 in free Kindle books.
	I have been homeschooling for 16 years and still have 13 years to go. That thought makes me tired just typing it.
	I love interior design and my husband is a home-remodeling genius. (He even hosted a home improvement television show in SWFL). Over the past two years, we gutted our entire home and remodeled it one room at a time. By the way, it was not nearly as exciting as it looks on TV with 7 of us living in the mess.
	I cannot sing. Not even one note. Don't ask for a demonstration. Just trust me on this.
	I am a redneck girl at heart. I grew up listening to country music and met my husband line-dancing. My family's annual reunions are at a dude ranch with a rodeo, horse-back riding, and two-stepping at the saloon.
	I have a blast creating homeschool t-shirts. It is one of my creative outlets that is just pure fun to me.
	All my children's names begin with "C." It makes a very interesting tongue-twister when calling them.
	I am the happiest when I am traveling with my family, and we are all crammed into one hotel room together. However, I am the crankiest when I am packing for seven people. (And never, ever ask me to go camping.)
	I share teaching tips using multiple outlets, such as radio, television programs, magazines, blogs, and newspapers, but my favorite outlet is being a part of FOX's Mom Squad. I secretly dream of co-hosting a Christian television program just for moms someday.
	Even though I enjoy sharing tips with parents, I do not like being the center of attention. In fact, it makes me very uncomfortable. I prefer to fly under the radar at homeschool conventions and other educational gatherings. I like going "undercover" as my close friends say.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11: By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.