Authors

Melissa Thierfelder is a former early childhood teacher who lives in Wisconsin with her husband and three children. 

If she’s not actively homeschooling her three kids, Melissa is running her kids to activities, baking for the local farmer’s market, working in her garden, or reading. Melissa loves a good historical fiction book; her current favorite is the Outlander series. Melissa and her husband take a secular approach to homeschooling their three children.

Melissa also has a homeschooling YouTube channel, The M Word by Melissa, that focuses on homeschool encouragement, curriculum flip-throughs, and all the fun of homeschooling. 

Monica Olivera is a homeschooling mother of two, author, and a freelance education writer. Her site, MommyMaestra.com, helps Hispanic parents get more involved in their children's education by providing resources, tips, and opportunities.

She is also the author of The Latino Family’s Guide to Homeschooling and the Heritage Journal Series. Her education articles have appeared in numerous online sites such as NBCNews, Woo! Jr., and PBS SoCal. 

Shruti Gupta lives in Tupelo, Mississippi, where she has been homeschooling for the last eight years. Whenever she feels the need for sanity, she meditates. Her two sons, Kabir (age 11) and Arjun (age 8) love homeschooling with BookShark. While Kabir loves to read anything and everything, Arjun loves science books and experiments. While Kabir loves imagining stories in the backyard, Arjun loves digging and constructing in the backyard. They fight like normal siblings, yet they can work as partners too, as they did in Children of The Sun: A Child's Journey Through Our Solar System.

Shelly Bergman is a homeschooling mother of two children ages 2 and 7. After trying various educational options including private Montessori school, museum-affiliated PreK, public schooling, and homeschooling, she and her children fell in love with the hands-on, literacy-based curriculum of BookShark.

Shelly blogs about her family's travels and lifestyle at DIY Mama.

Jennie Arcand-Johnston is deep in the throes of having very little figured out and embracing the journey. Her children, ages 6 and 2, are wonderful little creatures with an infinite amount of patience for her. Jennie started homeschooling her daughter using BookShark PreK and is now using BookShark Level K.

Jennie says, “How very easy it was for me to go into other families' homes and provide support, direction, and encouragement on their parenting as an in-home therapist. How quickly I realized upon having my own children all of the support, direction, and encouragement I needed of my own. Every day! This parenting life is a daily splash in the face of the constant need to re-evaluate what works, what is making people happy, and what to let go.”

Ashley Panzica-Tolbert is a skirt wearing Army veteran who also happens to be the homeschooling and adventure finding mom of 2 boys. Her massive caffeine addiction and BookShark curriculum get her through the frequent moves and deployments of military life as a homeschool family. 

Terri Kurcab is a homeschool mom who lives in Nevada with her husband and their two daughters. Nature has provided the cornerstone of their homeschool journey which began in 2013. National and State park visits, mountain hikes, and outdoor-based learning adventures are what Terri and the girls can be found doing most often. When homeschool is not in session, you can find Terri in the garden or spending time with a good book and a cup of tea. 

Daughter, wife, and mama, Felicia Johnson has been homeschooling for 17 years! She has 8 kiddos ranging from ages 1 to 20, with a varied sampling of special needs: deafness, ADD, sensory issues, and dyslexia.

At The Zoo I Call Home Felicia writes about homeschool organization and curriculum, with one overarching theme—the desire to find rest in the chaos. She admits that our busy, distraction-filled world can quickly overload her calendar with amazing things to do or get her sucked into Pinterest or Facebook for hours. To find rest in the middle of all life's chaos takes clear intention. 

Brenda Priddy is a professional writer and homeschooling mother to two girls in Dallas, TX with a passion for books, DIY, and creative education. Her blog, STEAMsational, is all about homeschooling, crafts, green living, and fun. Keep up with the fun here!

Jamie is a wife and a busy momma of 3 in Tidewater, Virginia. Outside of their full-time jobs, you'll find Jamie and her husband Michael (her Mr. Fix-It) chasing chickens, shearing sheep, and teaching their farm-kid-crew all the stuff they won't learn in school.

She writes to remind herself—and to encourage others—to be intentional about family time and let all of life be a school room. She blogs at Walking in High Cotton about redeeming the everyday grind, with boots on!