About Me

School hasn’t ever made sense to me; the rigid schedule, broken up subjects, and the lack of freedom. I’ve often questioned the “rules” of life and wondered why humans have always been expected to fit into the same old proverbial box for the acceptance of society. I guess you could call me a rebel. If someone says jump, my feet stay planted firmly on the ground.

My personal school experience lacked of any type of joy. I felt out of place and unintelligent. Trapped in an old brick building with very few windows for several hours a day- I felt misunderstood and craved a sense of belonging. I started skipping school and ended up making some questionable life choices as I grew into my teenage years. My experiences in school carried over to my adult life and impacted me in ways that I was not aware of until I had children of my own.

In my twenties, I started working as a teacher assistant for the very same public school system that I went through as a child. I worked in every grade from pre-k to high school as a substitute before taking a permanent position in a kindergarten classroom. I spent a lot of my time in the special education department and in behavior classrooms. Seeing the inner workings as an employee gave me a new perspective on what kids are having to endure on a daily basis and how broken the system is.

At home, we were dealing with my oldest son and his mental health struggles- a story for another day. At work, I was dealing with the same thing- only these kids weren’t mine to take home and love. I made suggestions and tried to encourage a change in heart with the way that the children were treated in the school, but to no avail. I even got certified as a kid’s yoga instructor and taught in the classrooms to support the mental health of the children and staff. I wasn’t able to make big changes, and I was left feeling depleted and stressed. One summer I decided to quit my job and pursue yoga full-time.

We sent our kids to school, not knowing there was another choice, but there was always an inner knowing in the pit of my stomach that it wasn’t right for our family. Eli went through two years of preschool and entered kindergarten, and Andre did half of a year of preschool before a global pandemic graced us with a universal pause. After years of struggling with behavioral issues, angry outbursts, and a multitude of confusing diagnoses given by psychologists and experts, Eli had a miraculous turnaround.

Being forced to have our children home changed our lives forever. We decided then and there that we would never go back to the way things were. Shortly after we started homeschooling, we stumbled upon the philosophy of unschooling. We knew right away that this was how we wanted to offer an education to our children.

Unschooling ignited a flame within us to start living life on our own terms, regardless of societal norms. It allowed us to reframe what learning looks like, changed the way we show up as parents, and inspired us to make shifts within our own personal lives. I began a journey of self-discovery, reuniting with the little girl that felt left behind many years ago. My mission is to bring light to the toxicity of the school environment and encourage others to explore a new way of looking at learning and how to take charge and be in control of the one precious life we have been given.