Soy una educadora en casa de segunda generación, casada con un maestro de una escuela privada tradicional de la Ivy League. Nunca planeamos repetir mi infancia (ya que no todo fue maravilloso y color de rosa, aunque
estuvo llena de momentos mágicos). Sin embargo, cambié de opinión rápidamente tras investigar y darme cuenta de las opciones a las que nos enfrentábamos justo cuando nuestro hijo mayor cumplió 5 años. Nos vimos obligados a reconsiderar todo, y aunque mi pareja y yo no siempre estamos 100% de acuerdo en todo, ha sido una aventura increíblemente equilibrada y positiva, con altibajos y todo. No perfecta. No siempre ideal. Pero siempre
mejor que la alternativa.

Con nuestro enfoque en desarrollar conductas y relaciones por encima de construir promedios académicos, la ‘Fase II’, que consiste en tener algunos graduados, universitarios, trabajadores de oficios y algunos que aún están
en casa, es mejor de lo que jamás hubiéramos imaginado y va más allá de lo que habríamos logrado si yo hubiera estado lejos de nuestros 7 hijos durante más de 8 horas al día.

Estar en casa me permitió ayudar a iniciar la primera cooperativa en Fort Mill (posiblemente la primera en Carolina del Sur), el primer CC en Rock Hill, ayudé a asumir el liderazgo de nuestro grupo de apoyo local,
comenzamos Faithful Scholars en 2008 y este año añadimos nuestra nueva extensión, FS Village, que es nuestra comunidad en línea dirigida por mentores y diseñada para padres, que sirve no solo a Carolina del Sur, sino
a todos los educadores en casa, sin importar las fronteras. Nota: FS Village es gratuito para los miembros de Faithful Scholars, con una tarifa para los demás.

My husband and I have been married for 22 years, and we have four amazing children. I was first introduced to homeschooling when my oldest was five years old. My daughter was excited about the idea, but I felt intimidated. It wasn’t about not wanting to teach her—it was about my fears and doubts about teaching! So, I held off on fully diving into homeschooling until she started high school.

As time went by, I began to notice how much stress she was facing, and I realized I had the chance to offer her a more supportive environment. Was it easy? Definitely not! But it’s been worth every challenge.

We’ve been on this homeschooling journey for six years now, filled with plenty of ups and downs, learning and growing alongside our kids every step of the way. I’m very excited to be part of your homeschooling journey and hope to help you and your child grow in both knowledge and confidence!

“Homeschooling is not about bringing school home; it’s about creating a nurturing environment where children can learn at their own pace and follow their interests.” – Unknown

I came to homeschooling as a complete newbie, only planning to homeschool until my precocious oldest had made it through the early years of foundational education. Fast forward several years, and I have two homeschool graduates and two who transferred to traditional school in grades 10 and 9, respectively. Somewhere along the way, I became friends with this amazing lady we all call “Katie,” and a few years and several jokes about how fun (dangerous?) it would be if we ever teamed up, she welcomed me aboard her Faithful Scholars staff. After so many years of Katie encouraging me in my homeschool endeavors, it is a privilege and joy to encourage and guide homeschool parents a few steps behind me on this road.

Mary & her husband, Michael, are raising four children to love the Lord and see His hand in all parts of creation. While helping to lead a Classical Conversations class, Mary befriended Katie and her children at their shared community, and the rest is history! After starting a CC community to help others join, Mary now helps lead, equip, and encourage many local CC communities in the Upper Midlands of South Carolina. With a passion for seeing mothers turn their hearts toward their children, Mary is excited to share classical Christian education with families and help them discover that they can homeschool through high school.

My background was fully entrenched in public school as a student and then a teacher of public school for 18 years. I came into the homeschool world when we moved to Tennessee and my youngest son was immediately singled out as way below grade level by their standards. We struggled through the third grade with him, offering full support and outside tutoring only to be told at the end of a full year that he would be mandatorily retained. The one thing I knew after all my years in teaching was that retention does not work and the only thing that does is intervention! Intervene I would and my homeschool journey began.

Moving to South Carolina introduced me to Katie, Faithful Scholars and Writer’s Circle. Through her we were able to help my oldest son graduate from high school with a diploma and a solid start at life. I joined the team teaching for Writer’s Circle for the 2020-2021 school year and shortly thereafter became her assistant as well working for Faithful Scholars. I have been a team member ever since.