Hello! Welcome to my little neck of the woods. I wish I could be chatting with you on my yellow porch chairs over a hot cup of chai tea latte, but for now this will have to do. Let me tell you a little bit about myself…

How I Fell in Love (with School): As a kid, I used to “play school” with my neighbor and younger sister. We would create math textbooks using spiral notebooks and use them to teach our pretend students…even taking them outside with our whistles for recess! Yes, we were intense with our pretend play. Many years later, when it was time for me to go to college, it was easy declaring a major. I wanted to be a real elementary school teacher so badly. I was already designing my future classroom in my mind. I got my first teaching job right out of college in 2002, and I’ve been teaching ever since in some form or capacity. I love using my creativity and my gifts to teach. It was a passion of mine as a little kid, and it still is now that I have kids of my own.

From Public School to Homeschool: My husband, another elementary school teacher, and I got married in 2004.  I ended up leaving my 3rd grade classroom in 2008 to stay home with our first child. Since my husband and I were both teachers, we knew we wanted a good education for our kids. We made the decision to begin homeschooling when my oldest began preschool in 2012. Now I homeschool all three of my kiddos, which means life is delightful and dreamy. I sit around all day happily sipping my tea while watching my kids soak in all the wisdom I have to share with them. Actually…what I mean by delightful and dreamy is really draining and demanding. And instead of happily sipping tea, I’m hiding out in my bathroom with the door locked, cold chai tea in one hand and my phone in the other, furiously texting my other homeschooling friends to pray for my sanity.

Life Now: I’m a wife and mother to three dirty kiddos who love to play in the woods and creek by our house. They can often be found chasing our ducks and chickens around the yard or helping stack firewood with my husband. In 2016 we bought our dream home, an 1800s farmhouse that just needed a good cleaning and a little love. My husband often spends his weekends fixing something in the house while I, on the other hand, am usually inside listening to a podcast while cleaning my bathtub for the 8th time this week. Kids’ dirty feet = a constant brownish ring around my shower. But I love it. Dirty kids means they have been busy exploring and making memories together.

Why This Website: I started this website to be able to share my passion for teaching. I love to share with others what I’ve learned and resources that I’ve created. The past few years I’ve been learning what it means to savor my homeschooling days with my children (and the brown rings in my bathtub), and I have a strong desire to help others do the same.

I hope this website blesses you as you poke around. I’m excited to share with you all that God’s teaching me about being a wife, mother, teacher, new dog-owner and fake-farmer. So grab a cup of caffeine and join me on my front porch!