Hello, all! My name is Dayna, and I’m honored to be serving as the new member liaison for The Social Homeschooler. This is my first year on the board, and I’m looking forward to supporting this wonderful community.

We are a military family, with my husband currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth. We have three children—a 7-year-old son, a 5-year-old daughter, and a 2-year-old son. Because we’ve moved often (four times since my oldest was born!), we know how important it is to find friends and community wherever we land. We feel so blessed to have found TSH, where we were welcomed into an established network that is also so open to new faces.

I first became interested in homeschooling when my oldest was about a year old. I dove into research on child development and parenting—both scientific sources and the lived experiences of homeschooling families. What began as a plan to keep my children home until school age quickly grew into a vision for a lifestyle of learning together. With the frequent moves that military life brings, I wanted our home to be a constant source of stability, closeness, and belonging for our children.

Right now, our homeschool is less about formal academics and more about living and learning in the everyday. For us, childhood is a time of exploration—of the world, of relationships, and of oneself. My kids are naturally curious, and I’ve seen how quickly and joyfully they learn when they are interested in something. My role is simply to make space for that curiosity and to trust the process, even when doubts creep in. I’ve been deeply influenced by the works of John Holt, Peter Gray, Raymond S. Moore, John Taylor Gatto, and many unschooling families who have shared their journeys.

Motherhood has been the greatest teacher of all. It has stretched me, humbled me, and grown me in ways I never expected. The mom guilt is real, but so is the grace. Little by little, I see growth—not only in my children, but in myself as I learn to be more patient, present, and understanding.

This is the hardest work I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding. I am so grateful not to be walking this path alone. Community matters—people to lean on, learn from, and encourage. I am thankful for the amazing women who make this group thrive and who continue to build it up for the sake of raising good humans.
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I can’t wait to get to know you all better!

Hey there!
I am Stephanie, founder and director of The Social Homeschooler. My love of people and passion for homeschooling has led me on a journey to learning so much more about myself, my children, and my hopes for the world we get to share. We may be taking a less traditional approach than I had expected, but it is one that has brought so much joy and contentment that there is no doubt that we are on the right path!

Our homeschooling journey began in 2017 when I decided to follow my gut and withdraw my daughter from public school. Our homeschool has shifted and grown over the years since stepping away from the traditional school forum, moving through developmental phases as my two girls have grown into teens. While we embraced unschooling in our early years as I dove deep into the words of wisdom of John Holt, reminding us that we are always learning through living, these days we have a slightly more formal approach as we embark on the journey into high school and transcripts. The flexibility that homeschooling has created for us has been invaluable, allowing us to seamlessly flow to and from things that we use in service of building our learning capabilities. The uniquely tailored education that I get to provide for my children was the motivation for stepping into this lifestyle and it continues to be the thing that I value the most about our choice to homeschool.

When laying out the hopes and dreams for our homeschool experience I quickly realized that homeschooling isn’t something meant to be done alone. Sure, a lot of the learning may take place inside the walls of your home, but in order for our kids to continue to feel the pull of curiosity they have to get out and explore their world and they need peers to explore alongside.  More than that, I needed peers for this new exploration journey I was on! Homeschooling was a brand new idea to me and I was eager to find those in the same boat as me, as well as those who had gone before to quiet the doubts in my mind and assure me that I was on the right path. I had an idea of what this community could be and in 2022 we officially opened enrollment for The Social Homeschooler. 

These days I feel like I am settling in well into the many different roles I play, both within my home and within the homeschool community. When you see me around at homeschool activities you will likely find me chatting with the moms, as my teens are independent now and I am less hands on when we are out and about. I still enjoy hosting the varied age groups (multi-age play and learning is invaluable to all parties!) and I love that I get to do that through our Community Conversation events as well as full family book clubs. It fills my cup to get to be in the company of the families who participate - connection is so important to me! I am also still doing my own learning and growing as I navigate what it looks like to facilitate a growing homeschool community and I value the experience that I am modeling for my girls of what it looks like to truly be a life long learner. 
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When I am not doing homeschool things you can find me busy on my little homestead; tending the gardens and the chickens, setting the table for family meals, and tinkering with crafty things like sewing, painting and writing. I live with a cup of coffee in one hand and a pen, a book, or a spatula in another;  eager to learn and grow my skills. There is always a seat at my table and I love when people drop in and keep me company while I work at the things that bring me joy.

Enough about me, I want to know about you! What do we have in common? I'd love to hear!