K.V.
K.V. is just finishing up her first year of homeschooling. She has four children - ages 7, 4, 18 mo. and a baby due this summer!
(year 2002)
No name
Karen Edmisten
Karen Edmisten lives with her family in the Midwest and has been homeschooling for sixteen years. Karen and her husband, Tom, a high school English teacher, homeschooled two daughters through high school and are still homeschooling their youngest. The family delights in the homeschooling lifestyle and have enjoyed being able to pursue each child's interests through a flexible, relaxed approach to home education.
Karen is a convert from atheism to the Catholic faith. She was received into the Church in 1995, and her husband was received five years later. She is the author of several books, including You Can Share the Faith: Reaching Out One Person at a Time, After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman's Companion to Healing and Hope, Deathbed Conversions, and others. When she's not writing, homeschooling, or drinking coffee, she can be found online at "Karen Edmisten: The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title." (www.karenedmisten.com)
Laurie Gill
Laurie Gill is a Catholic homeschooling mother, former editor of Homefront and co-author of the Celebrating the Faith in the Home Series (available from Emmanuel Books).
M. O'Brien
M.O. is a homeschooling mother of four, ages 17, 5, 4 and 2.
(as of ~1999)
M.H.
M.H. is an eleven year old Catholic homeschooler. He is an altar boy and a yellow belt in karate. He likes to read about cars, motorcycles, and airplanes. [MH has been reviewing books with us for awhile - he is now 12, Summer 2000]
M.N.
M.N. and her husband "live with our three kids in Denver, Colorado. We are only one year into homeschooling, but are loving it. We wish that poor DS-Second grade (Joey, turned seven yesterday) had never gone to school. He did kindergarten with a fabulous teacher, but his first grade teacher was an unreal nightmare. We decided he was better off back home with me again. We are all better for it. I teach while balancing the needs of a toddler and a new baby (aged five months)."
M.Z.
M.Z. "We have just finished the 8th year of home school. We have 6 children. We teach only to 8th grade. The children re-enter the public system at 9th grade level."
(as of ~2000)
MacBeth Derham
MacBeth is a Catholic homeschooling mother of four children, ages 11-17. As a biology major and professional naturalist before the birth of her children, she worked as a field naturalist for a consortium of school districts on Long Island. While there she conducted school programs in marine biology, fresh water ecology, geology, astronomy, history, pioneering skills, ropes courses and seamanship. Her family has used the Charlotte Mason method since the oldest was in first grade. She moderates the 4Reallearning discussion forum, and maintains a website and a blog.
Margot Davidson
Margot Davidson, married sixteen years to husband Dan, is a homeschooling mother of 5 children, ages 7 to 15. A former public school teacher, she now lives in rural northeast Pennsylvania. She has a Pennsylvania teaching certificate for elementary grades and for secondary home economics and English.
She also owns and operates Hillside Education, a small publishing company that produces language arts materials for homeschoolers. In leisure time, she enjoys baking, reading, sewing, and playing guitar and singing with the children--especially around the campfire.
Margot's husband Dan teaches at St. Gregory's Academy, a Catholic boys' boarding school. Margot and Dan met during their years at Thomas Aquinas College.
Maria Rioux
Maria Rioux began her undergraduate studies at Thomas Aquinas College, where she met her husband, Jean. Jean is a professor and chair of the philosophy department at Benedictine College, where Maria is a theology major slowly completing her degree. They have been blessed with eight children, and are eagerly awaiting the birth of their youngest son in January.
Together they have been home educating their children for the past 19 years. In those early days of homeschooling there were not many resources available. As a consequence, they developed their own curriculum which reflects their love for classical education as well as their affection for Charlotte Mason. It is now available upon request and will soon be available online online (no cost) at this site.
Maria loves philosophical discussions. She and her husband can, and have, spent a good part of a pleasant evening out wondering about such things as what would happen if you were travelling in a car at the speed of light and then turned the high beams on. She spends much of her spare time studying Scripture and theology. She also likes to study history primarily because it is, at the core, a study of human nature and God's providential care. (She is owner and co-moderator of the yahoo group, TheHistoryPlace.) She loves to write. She likes to take long hikes with her children, who also love to discuss, and especially enjoys the window into their minds and hearts that this provides. When she's feeling well (i.e. is not pregnant) she enjoys horseback riding and biking with her children and working on home improvement projects. She does not enjoy gardening, but will work hard at growing flowers and herbs for the sake of small children.
Maria has been a speaker at homeschooling conferences and a guest lecturer at Benedictine College. Her talks include: Living the Liturgical Year in the Domestic Church, The Woman's Role in the Church, The Best of Both: Merging a Classical Education with Charlotte Mason's Methods, The Blessings in Crosses, and Ora et Labora: Service as Prayer. Maria is a member of the planning committee which helped to develop the Charlotte Mason based curriculum, Mater Amabilis. She is a contributing author to Cay Gibson's book, "Literature Alive!" She occasionally writes articles for Catholic and homeschooling publications. She has helped to design religious garments for children (http://www.ourcoatsofmanycolors.com/), and is currently working on unit studies to accompany them.
She is also working jointly with Frances Butek on "Sacramental Scholastychs": a series of lap book type projects. Just as a triptych unfolds to reveal the icons within, the projects children can create with these kits merge the beauty of art with that of Church teaching as it pertains to the sacraments, in a three-fold manner. They explain the connections between the Old Testament pre-figurement and the New Testament fulfillment of each sacrament, clarify how, when, where and why each sacrament is received, and explore the lives of saints who provide lived examples of grace in action. They will be available through Illuminated Ink and Emmanual Books.
Of the various projects she has contributed to or worked on on her own, none is as satisfying as the one most suited to her vocation: that of caring for and educating the children she has been blessed with.