Homeschool Counselors
Below you will find biographies and emails of counselors
that are ready to serve your family. If you have questions about administration
please check
FAQ or call the HomeLife office at (888) 560-0774. If you have specific
questions about teaching, scheduling, recording keeping, grading, etc. send an email
to a counselor below and they will reply very soon.
The Carey Family
"To me, home education is not about books
- it's all about raising up Godly men and women as future leaders and parents."
HIGH SCHOOL GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
LANI CAREY Since June, 2003
Hi, my name is Lani Carey (pronounced like Loni, but with the Hawaiian spelling).
My husband, Christopher, and I have four children. We started home educating our
oldest daughter, Amber, when she was in the tenth grade back in 1991. I didn't know
anything about home education then and had no friends who did. But Amber had friends
who were home educating in Memphis and she decided that was what she wanted to do.
She's now grown with two girls of her own (whom she also home educates) and a baby
boy. Our oldest son, Justus, is in the tenth grade, Jonathan is an eighth grader,
and Christin is in the fifth grade. I run an academic co-op in Fayette County, TN,
which is about forty-five minutes from Memphis. We teach history and science from
a Biblical world view and various additional classes.
I am by no means an expert on home education, but I have encountered
a lot of the situations new home educators face. I'm excited to serve you as a counselor
for HomeLife Academy!
I have discovered that if you are just going to home educate for one or two years,
you do it differently than if you are certain you will never put your child in school.
You are constantly comparing what you are doing at home with what the school system
is doing, and you worry that they will be behind when you send them back to school.
I knew I would be sending Justus back to school in the second grade because Jonathan
wanted the same Kindergarten teacher that Justus had liked so much and Justus wanted
to go to "protect" him. (Now that I look back, that seems rather sad.) I was constantly
asking myself if he was "up to par" with what he would be doing in school. I had
a three-year-old and a new baby at home, so we learned things by doing puppet shows
and taking imaginary trips to Africa, by digging in the dirt, and singing songs.
We played dominoes, played counting games with jars of beans, we made cookies, and
watched PBS. But when Justus finished the second grade and his teacher asked everyone
what they had learned, he respectfully (but honestly) told her "nothing." I could
see that he had learned something - he had learned to hate learning. All of that
changed, however, when I told him we would be home educating from then on.
My philosophy is that you make learning fun so that kids love to learn,
and then they will learn to love. It's like a never-ending circle.
The more they learn about God and His creation, and the closer they are drawn to
Him, the more they can love Him, and in turn, love others. I have seen this happen
with my own children, as well as in many of their home educated friends. Even if
they didn't learn anything else, I would home educate for that reason. The added
bonus is that they have developed a love of learning in all areas, so they are way
ahead of the public and private schools.
I also believe that children need to play - unstructured play time is where kids
rehearse for adult life and learn to work out life's problems. Psychologists have
learned that the reason so many children are suffering from stress is because they
don't have time to just play. So I let my kids structure their own time as much
as I can, leaving them as much free time as possible. It's hard with the busy schedule
we keep, but I never want to just imitate the school system.
At our house, if Dad is home, the boys are usually busy working with him. We have
over five acres with an acre lake, so there is constant yard work. Since my husband,
who is a carpenter, is rebuilding our entire house one section at a time, there
is constant work on the house as well. It's good for the kids, and I consider their
work with their dad just as much (if not more) a part of their education as what
I'm teaching them. To me, home education is not about books - it's
all about raising up Godly men and women as future leaders and parents.
I am here to help you with high school questions. Please check the High School FAQ pages first and if you don't find the answer to your question(s)
just email me at lani@HomeLifeAcademy.com
and I'll respond as soon as I can. If you have general administration questions
please check the regular FAQ pages or call the HomeLife office at (901) 380-9220. Thank you.
The Johnson Family
As a homeschool mom for seven years, my philosophy is multi-faceted.
I want to prepare my children for college and the world beyond college. I want them
to have the opportunity to learn more than they ever could in a traditional school.
I want to help them through their personal struggles so they can excel. I also want
their desire to learn to be a catalyst so they will move forward independently.
That has happened. Another great aspect of homeschooling is that our students can
spend the time necessary to improve upon the talents God has given them, like music
and art. In traditional schools, I believe their time is severely hindered due to
spending all day there and coming home to homework. My children have learned about
worldviews, why Christian worldview is what we believe, and how to recognize and
refute the others. They have become entrepreneurs, serving the Homeschool community
by giving classes and lessons that are sorely needed. Our family is close and works
together as a team. Homeschooling has enabled us to make it through some rough times
together, growing in our faith of God and each other, and still continue to excel
academically.
I am here to help you with high school questions. Please check the High School FAQ pages first and if you don't find the answer to your question(s)
just email me at karen@HomeLifeAcademy.com
and I'll respond as soon as I can. If you have general administration questions
please check the regular FAQ pages or call the HomeLife office at (901) 380-9220. Thank you
The Knowlton Family
"Homeschooling is
not something our family does from 8:00-3:00, Monday through Friday; it is a way
of life, EVERYDAY."
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
Hello from the Knowlton family. My name is Lynn. My husband and I, along with our
two children, live on a small farm east of Memphis, Tennessee. We have homeschooled
from birth our two children, ages six and ten. When I think back to the time when
our first child was born, I remember thinking how incredible these people were who
homeschooled. I thought to myself, I could never do that.
Well, a friend of mine living in Texas had been homeschooling their four children
for a number of years. As I was talking to her one day, she reminded me of how she
is a very unorganized person. Well I knew, of course, that this was very true. She
said to me, “If I can do it, as unorganized as I am, I know you can do it!” She
pointed to God’s grace as the reason for her success with her children. And I was
very impressed with her children. Well, she was right! Thanks for the encouragement,
Melinda.
So, here we are, and although we are not homeschooling experts by any means, we
can share with others our successes and failures. Homeschooling is
not something our family does from 8:00-3:00, Monday through Friday; it is a way
of life, EVERYDAY. Our days are filled with the educational activities
that are part of living on a farm. We feed animals, care for them when they are
sick, play with and train them. The children learn about birth, life, sickness and
death through the care of God’s creatures. We build fences, chicken coops, and sheds.
We learn to measure, follow recipes, and double or triple ingredients while cooking.
We write letters and knit dishtowels to send to grandparents. We learn about the
three states of matter, how to read a mercury thermometer and how to weigh objects
in ounces and pounds while making candles. We learn about the successes, failures,
struggles, courage, and Godly character of missionaries and other famous men and
women throughout history by reading great books.
Our family learns together by worshiping, playing, working, reading and doing formal
lessons. This method of education lends itself perfectly to life on a small farm.
Although this is the way we do things, it is important to remember that there are
many different ways to homeschool and just as many tools available. We use a muddle
of different resources. Here are a few of the things we use: The Holy Bible, Making
Math Meaningful, whole books, encyclopedias, Usborne books, English from the Roots
Up, and Teaching Reading at Home and School. The parent resources I most enjoy are
The Well Trained Mind by Jessie and Susan Wise, A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen
Andreola, For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer McCaulay and Educating the
Whole Hearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson.
We have learned that what is easy for one child will sometimes be harder
for the other. Likewise, what is interesting to the one is sometimes
boring to the other. But the most important thing we are learning is to love God
and love one another. I am realizing how much I really didn't, but should have,
learned in school. The most important things I, as a mother, am learning is to trust
God and to be patient.
I wish I could say that every day was perfect. It isn't. But by the grace of God,
the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the loving support of my husband, I am able
to move forward and my children are learning.
We are here to help if you need us. Just email
lynn@HomeLifeAcademy.com and we'll respond as soon as we can. If you have
administration questions check FAQ or call the HomeLife office at (901) 380-9220. May God bless you and
your family.
Ana Quesada
FLORIDA COUNSELOR
Homeschooling has been quite
a ride of spiritual growth for the whole family. In our tenth
year of homeschooling, we have come to understand a few things.
Among them, are these highlights:
- We are learning
and teaching our children HIStory and His Creation. Everything
else stems from that.
- Every child can
learn in His time…God created him/her.
- To question, What
are the tools I need, the teacher, to kindle or re-kindle the love of
learning, so that I may be more effective in our school?
- Curriculum choices
will grow, come and go from our homes. Just as we are ever growing
and changing.
- Learning styles
is just one aspect of teaching and learning, therefore one
of the many tools we can use to help us in our homeschool.
- Learning disabilities
will become strengths in those or other areas.
- Gifted children
will keep us alert…all the time. In time, we come to realize
this is a good thing.
- The Lord will teach
us perseverance through the High School years.
- If you use a planner,
never plan ahead in pen.
Our style is eclectic.
It serves the needs of my three very different children; The oldest
graduating this school year 2010. I like to describe our homeschool
as Charlotte Mason sitting next to Socrates, who just sat down with
some coffee next to the Apostle Paul. After some discussions,
they all go and take a field trip. The field trip may or may not
be about what the discussion was all about.
I put my curriculum together,
choosing from various sources. Something that’s considered a
text here and there, many of what are considered ‘living books’
are used as well. Most of our curriculum I out-line, put together
and go from there. This way serves the needs and likes of our
home, but just like each one of us is different, so are each homeschooling
families’ needs and likes.
God has blessed our homeschool
tremendously from the beginning. We have worked hard, but secured
in His hands. We have been blessed by the many kinds of rewards
spiritually and academically God has allowed us to have. It is
in my heart to pass the love and knowledge of homeschooling that God
has so graciously given me. As I continue to learn, I hope to
have the opportunity to pass those ‘nuggets’ as well.
You can email me at ana@homelifeacademy.com
and I'll respond as soon as I can. If you have general administration questions
please check the regular FAQ pages or call the HomeLife office at (901) 380-9220. Thank you.
Calente Tapp
ELEMENTARY COUNSELOR
I have been blessed to home school my children and feel that God led me to a ministry with Home Life Academy. It is my ultimate pleasure to counsel and pray families toward God's will for their life. My prayer is that each family be released from the fears associated with homeschooling and step into the joy of their children. May each family be blessed as they walk the path of learning lead by God himself.
You can email me at calente@homelifeacademy.com
and I'll respond as soon as I can. If you have general administration questions
please check the regular FAQ pages or call the HomeLife office at (901) 380-9220. Thank you.
Toll Free: (888) 560-0774
