But my friends call me Katie. I am a wife, mom, photographer, popcorn fanatic and Charlotte Mason advocate. This is my education story. I hope it gives you hope, opens your eyes to the lies of public education and gives you the courage to believe in yourself.

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All throughout my public schooling in elementary, in the midwest, I detested going to school. To say that I dreaded every single day is an understatement. 

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Around the time of first grade, I was held back one year because I was struggling so much. During this time, my parents were going through a divorce which made it harder for me to perform at school. I remember that time vividly because I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I wasn't like everyone else. It was a combination of personal problems and my personality that made it very difficult to learn at school. That was the start of me hating school and it lasted all the way to high school.

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When I entered high school, I lived with my dad and step mom and they homeschooled. The lightbulb finally turned on and passion crept into my life. I experienced things that I wouldn't have experienced had I been in public or even private schools. Had I not been homeschooled, I don't think that I would've discovered my love for photography, but that is another story.

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Fast forward a number of years when one of my first jobs was at a Christian preschool. It was mediocre at best and to make it worse, I had to train my supervisor. It seemed like a random/ meaningless job and I did it only for the money (which wasn't spectacular). But it wasn't random or meaningless. In 2007, I moved to Washington D.C. and took another teaching position but this time it was at a well-regarded Reggio Emilia preschool.

 

I believe that God directs every step and none of it is random or chance. Yet it took me until 2018 to realize that that those two early childhood development jobs had a purpose. 

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Now I have two daughters of my own. In 2017 our little family moved to a town in East Texas after my husband took a position at our church's retreat center. To be honest, I needed to work and with that I had to put my 5 year old in the local public school. I was so upset. I had my heart set on homeschooling and that wasn't going to happen. Instead of wallowing in self-pity I took that time to study Charlotte Mason's philosophy and the history of public education. I truly believe that Charlotte Mason's philosophy is the answer for today's issues with public education.

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Starting 2019 school year, we are homeschooling FINALLY and I am prepared. I used that time to educate myself to be the best for when it came time to homeschool. I certainly am more thankful for the opportunity to homeschool now. Sometimes you have to go through the darkness before you can appreciate the light.

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So follow us on this journey and I hope you gain ideas and believe that you too can homeschool. No one will fight more for your child's education than you.