Welcome!
I’m Lisa- lover of family, coffee, homeschooling, and memes (usually in that particular order).
I am the wife of an amazing husband and mama of four incredible kids. My oldest daughter is now married and has two daughters of her own, so I am a Granny as well! I have three kids still at home: a 9th grade son, a 7th grade daughter, and a 5th grade son. With two teenagers in my house, the biggest daily struggle is food prep/cleanup!
About Me
I grew up in Omaha and attended UNO for college, where I majored in Elementary Education. I completed my student teaching in Millard Public Schools. After I graduation, I moved down to Overland Park, Kansas, where I was a classroom teacher for five years. While I absolutely loved my job and those I worked with, I decided to stay at home after the birth of my third child. We moved back to the Omaha area in January of 2012.
A few years ago, I received my State Substitute Certificate. I missed being in the ‘traditional’ classroom environment, so I decided to pop into a few classrooms now and then. I have subbed in three local school districts and found myself very surprised at just how much public school has changed since I had my own classroom. . .and not in a good way. This is in no way a reflection of the quality of teachers we have; I have a huge place in my heart for teachers and have several friends who still teach in public schools.
The truth is, teachers are being asked to do more than they can reasonably manage, combined with a student population with ever-increasing individual needs. A lot of what is happening in classrooms today is not developmentally appropriate at multiple grade levels, for several reasons. The role of technology in kids’ lives (both tech-driven educational ‘tools’ used in classrooms, as well as social media/texting) has changed the way kids interact with each other during the school day. The kids are hurting. The system is broken.
Several events have led to the creation of this website:
- Seeing daily posts in local groups asking for homeschooling resources
- Frustration with the ability to organize information in an easily-accessible, user-friendly way within Facebook groups
- A heartbreaking experience subbing in SpEd in a local public school
- A desire to overcome my tumultuous relationship with technology in order to help connect local families with the resources and information they need to make the best educational decisions for their children
Homeschool Journey
Even though I was homeschooled for three years myself (5th-7th grades), I never really planned on homeschooling my own children. My husband and I did our house-shopping based purely on local public school reviews, because a quality education for our kids was important to us.
We stumbled upon homeschooling when my oldest daughter was about to enter seventh grade. She had been generally enjoying her public school experience thus far, but we decided, together, to give homeschooling a try ‘for a year,’ to see how we liked it. And, well, we’ve been signing on ‘for a year’ for 12 years now.
I’ve now home-schooled every grade from Pre-K through high school, and am excited to share with you my tips and encouragement for how to make it work for your family, too. There are SO many great resources available in the greater Omaha area. I’m excited to get this information organized for anyone who needs it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Lisa