Hanson's Ridge
On Monday, we were out hiking with our preschool group, the Traveling Acorns. One of them invited me to join a weekly playgroup that meets on Wednesdays, and I mentioned that I work on Wednesdays.
"Oh! I didn't know that you worked." I get that a lot. But I do have a part time job, working from home, and I love my job. I thought I'd explain a little bit about the company I work for, how I got started, and what I'm up to at my job. Two years ago, I was working on a local farm for barter. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I learned how to milk a cow, which weeds are edible, and a whole lot about gardening. When I was working one day, the farmer mentioned that she had a friend who was looking for someone to write about American history for her company, History Unboxed. She connected the friend and me, and I was initially hired to develop American history content. So what is History Unboxed? Here's the description from the website: "History Unboxed offers subscription boxes and on demand educational resources for students ages 5 and up. Recipes, crafts, art, myths, and relatable details enable students to experience history with many of their senses and form a lasting and meaningful bond with the past. And the best part? Everything ships right to your door. All you have to do is open the box and start learning." It didn't take me long to fall in love with the work and with the product. It's pretty much a dream job: I spend my work hours researching and writing about history, and I get to choose my own work hours and work from home. I write articles, stories, and recipes for the box, and help check over the accuracy of other elements of the box. I also do a little bit of social media work, helping out with the newsletter, Pinterest, and Facebook page. So far, there are two timelines available for subscriptions: Ancient History and the Middle Ages. I'm working on the American history content, where I have more creative input on the activities and artwork, in addition to my writing. I'm really proud of the product that I work on. I feel like it's something really special. I get super excited when I see the materials that go into the boxes. It's actually made me really picky about the subscription boxes I get for the kids. Materials for the boxes are often imported from the country of origin, such as papyrus from Egypt or a boomerang from a store run by Australian aborigines. Each box has custom artwork. And the activities are often really unusual, beyond your usual craft project. I don't want to put out any spoilers for this month's box, which just shipped, but I got giddy when I saw it. It has some seriously niche contents. This might sound a little bit like a sales post, but I promise it isn't. All of my work on Ancient History and the Middle Ages is hourly. By the time someone orders a box, I've already gotten my paycheck. In the interest of full disclosure, I will earn royalties on the American history boxes when they are released. It's also a perfect job in another way: I live in the same town as my boss, who is also a homeschool mom. Every week, we get together for a coworking session and our kids play together. Today, I was over there for five hours and barely saw AW the entire time. AW adores one of my boss's daughters and spends all week thinking about the games they will play together. I get to talk to another adult about history, squee over the products, and occasionally just sigh with happiness about getting to be so nerdy. (Note: Some of you will remember that I had my own parenting consulting business. It still exists, but I have turned all of my energy onto this work and homeschooling for now. I do the occasional babywearing consultation here and there).
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AuthorHi! I'm Stephanie Hanson. I live with my husband, Himself, on Hanson's Ridge in Virginia. Archives
September 2017
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