Meet the board: Arlee

​Hello! My name is Arlee and somehow, we are rolling into our sixth year of homeschooling this fall! Like many, we reluctantly began homeschooling in 2020 when Covid policies made my child's education even lower on the ladder of priorities for the private school we attended. It was never my plan to homeschool, but I wanted what was best for my child so I had to adjust my plans and start down a new path. It wasn't an easy transition for myself -  or my kids! - but now that we are through that season I'm really glad we stuck with it! Our family primarily enjoys the freedom and flexibility that homeschooling affords us, but I often marvel at how fulfilling it has been to devote myself to this work and all the little moments I get to be a part of because we chose this path. 


Fast forward five years and I'm now educating a 7th, 4th and 2nd grader! We have a rhythm to our days and learning happens in all kinds of ways - in our home, at the park or library and during field trips, classes, hikes or parties with The Social Homeschooler. We love our weekly Recess meet ups and it's made all the difference for us to know there's always a place we can make new homeschool friends because, let's face it - it can be hard to make friends in person these days!  

I very much love the philosophies of Waldorf education and the work of Rudolf Steiner deeply shaped how we've raised our children. I thankfully stumbled upon the teachings of Melisa Nielsen, with Waldorf Essentials, and for the last four years it's been like having a map to keep going on a diverse and rich educational path that allows me to individually tailor my kids educational paths to them. What a gift it is to have the freedom to explore these different paths!


I have served on the board of The Social Homeschooler for the past 3 years now and it's a joy to get to work with other ladies who are committed to building community for our families. I'm honored to be able to serve this group, knowing it helps to build an ever-growing community around us who are investing in our children's education and creating a safe environment for them to practice all that they learn. Although we didn't even want to start down this path in the beginning, having The Social Homeschooler in our lives has been like a breath of fresh air on our journey and reminded us that we weren't made to do this on our own!