Our featured winner this week is Sarah of Poppins Classical Academy. Sarah was one of the 2005 winners of the best Canadian Homeschool Blog.

Tell us a little about your family.
My husband is from Germany, works as a librarian at a university, and does marathons and triathlons. My kids are 10 and 8 and are so different from one another that you can’t call them opposites;they’re not on the same scale. One’s an oval, the other’s plaid. We like being as active as possible, playing boardgames, watching Avatar and eating sushi.

I read that you love tea. What is your favorite kind?
Red Rose. It’s a kind available only in Canada, making a lovely reddish brew with a full-throttle flavour.

Who is your favorite Lord of the Rings character?
Sam. He’s longing for simple homey pleasures while he’s being the strongest member of the group. He doesn’t get much credit, but he’s such a hero.

What led to your decision to start blogging?
A desperate need to talk to other adults, and a need to put my days into words and have them seen. So much of what we do as homeschoolers is invisible or intangible. Blogging is a way to pin a day or thought down. And the incredible community-building aspect of it is intoxicating. I have learned from, and learned to care about, people all over this planet.

Who was the first blog you read online?
http://www.caerdroia.org/116/. Steph was part of one of the very first Yahoo groups I joined and I’ve counted her as one of my internet friends ever since.

Can we see a photo of your desk where you blog?

What is your favorite topic to blog about?
It changes. I’m always pursuing new passions. Right now it’s art. But there are two common threads to my writing: I like to make people laugh and I like to make people think.

What do you love most about the homeschooling lifestyle?
The way we can live moment by moment, not forcing things on someone else’s schedule. The way it lets me and the kids follow the natural rhythms of our bodies and habits. We’re handcrafting our lives into works of unique beauty.