05/21/2025
Last September, I made the difficult but important decision to step away from teaching and release most of my clients in order to homeschool my son, James. As a single mom, it wasn’t easy—but it was absolutely the right choice.
James is 10 and was struggling in public school. His dyslexia went unrecognized, and instead of being supported, he was labeled as a "problem student." He started to believe something was wrong with him. That broke my heart.
Since we began homeschooling, I’ve watched him come alive. He’s learning—truly learning—for the first time. He’s happier, more confident, and slowly healing the social awkwardness that developed from feeling like he didn’t belong. We've built our learning around curiosity, nature, and hands-on exploration. His growth has been incredible.
We recently entered a nature-based competition together, thinking it would be about celebrating kids who live and breathe the outdoors. James has spent thousands of hours in the wild—hiking, exploring, sleeping under the stars, catching critters, asking endless questions. But we quickly realized the contest favors popularity and fundraising over heart, experience, and spirit.
It’s been hard to watch James realize that loving something deeply might not be enough to be seen in this format. Still, I wanted to share this story—not for sympathy, but for connection. For every parent who's had to pivot. For every kid who learns differently. For every family choosing a path that isn’t the easiest, but is the most aligned.
If you’d like to support James with a click or a vote, I’ll drop the link in the comments. But truly—just reading, sharing, or cheering him on from afar means the world to us.
Nature is our classroom. And watching James thrive in it has been my greatest reward.
