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Hola! I’m Carolin Jensen. Originally from Peru, Spanish is my first language and I speak both Spanish and English fluently. We are a military family and we have been in Leavenworth for the past 2 years. The first year here we joined the Recess group, what a wonderful community! I love the freedom to let the kids play each Friday, to meet new moms, and to have meaningful conversations. I have 4 kids; 3 daughters and a son, and this is our 11th year homeschooling. It has been a ride! When my oldest daughter was 2 she wanted to read, so I taught her how to read, write and do basic math. She wanted to learn, she was always craving learning, and she learned fast. By 3 she was reading books all by herself and when she turned 4 I did what everyone did and put her in school, but it was not a good fit. She was bored and did not thrive in the school environment. I found a good friend that introduced me to homeschooling and together with my husband we decided to embark on the journey. It has brought us closer as a family and taught us what learning is truly about. Now I look back and see the beautiful memories and the hard learning moments we did together and it is clear that homeschooling truly is part of our family culture. Being part of The Social Homeschooler has been great, we don’t have to have just a designated day to create a community, in fact we have plenty of opportunities, I love how flexible it is, and that we can join or create an activity any day.I love that my kids have plenty of time to pursue their interests and passions, to enjoy having a garden, and to connect with nature. I hope to see my kids learning and growing in confidence as they keep participating in the activities. I hope to share with other families the flexibility and the value The Social homeschooler brings, and to help facilitate more opportunities for our children to learn, to grow and to develop their talents.
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By, Stephanie Wharton-Lynch
Often when you are searching out homeschool co-ops you have a list of questions about the program, the materials used, the dynamics of the group, and the requirements for participating, but it isn’t very often people ask about the why behind the group. Because of the unique dynamic of The Social Homeschooler we think that the why behind the format is as important as the rest! To understand the heart of the group creates appreciation for the part each member plays and allows you to benefit the most from what is being offered. Why a Board? There are many practical reasons for having a board versus a single director/leader, one of which being the simple fact that many hands make light work! Sharing the load of running a homeschool co-op frees up more time for the board members so that they can partake in the fruits of their labors at the many offered events. Another reason The Social Homeschooler is run by a board is because we believe in the importance of ownership in our families’ educations, the benefits of diversity, and in the value of input from many voices as we continue to evolve the community to meet the needs of its members. Each board member brings to the table their own unique perspectives, talents, and ideas that help create a space that truly serves the community to the best of its ability. The Social Homeschooler being run by a board also serves a very straight forward purpose and that is the ability to transfer ownership of the group as families grow and move beyond homeschool years. The necessity for this co-op was the driving force behind its coming to be, but we don’t want everyone to have to do the undertaking of building a co-op from the ground up! It is no small task and we want to ensure that if there is a desire for this space to thrive beyond our homeschooling years that it is set for success in doing so. How Does it Work? Board officers are voted into position by the current year's co-op members after submitting their names for the ballot. Board director is voted in place by current year’s board members after submitting their name and interviewing for the role. After voting takes place, newly elected board members come together to discuss the roles and tasks they would like to learn and how they would like to contribute to the board. This board is broken down into the following roles: Officer 1, Operations Liaison Officer 2, New member Liaison Officer 3, Events Liaison Director These board members work together to act in the interest of the co-op with things like overseeing the day to day operations, keeping the handbook and guidelines up to date and aligned with the goals and values of the community, hosting Community Conversation events and Recess dates, recruiting new members, facilitating community wide events, and visioncast for the future years of the co-op. These members are active co-op participants whose families participate in attending and hosting events as members and meet the same criteria for membership. Their participation lends itself to the additional role they have in acting as the voice of the broader group in all decision making. The Social Homeschool board meets together a minimum of six times a year, but often many more times than that in order to make all the magic happen for the upcoming year. Once a quarter the board hosts a town hall meeting to invite members to join in the conversation about what is happening and the ways The Social Homeschooler would like to serve the community and its members. The meeting minutes from board meetings are available upon request, as The Social Homeschooler values transparency in its operations. Who Fills These Roles? There have been a handful of hardworking and passionate members who have taken these roles over the course of the first year and a half of The Social Homeschooler Co-op! Follow along over the next few weeks as each of our board members takes the time to introduce themselves. We are confident you will enjoy them and the efforts they put into making The Social Homeschooler a great place for our families to connect! By Stephanie Wharton-Lynch Founder and Director of The Social Homeschooler My natural curiosity and desire to learn were the driving force in pursuing something different for my own children’s education. I was the product of the public school system and gave no thought to doing anything differently for my children. But when we stepped onto the scene as my daughter entered kindergarten I realized just how different from our day to day life her world would be, how much of our time would be spent apart, and how little say she got in it all. I watched as her excitement and enthusiasm for learning was tucked away as she acquired the skills of fitting in and following rules. This was occurring simultaneously with my own revelation of love for learning in its pure form; stripped of its legalities with curiosity leading the pursuit of knowledge. And so, after two years in the public school system, we stepped away to embark on a more natural path of interest-lead learning. I knew my goal was to foster a love of learning that comes from easy pursuit of ideas and that I wanted my children to lead their own way. We created a family dynamic that allowed space to explore, lots of books at our fingertips, and we rekindled the relationship that our time apart had changed as we sat in conversation over anything and everything that was on our minds. We were making learning a part of our everyday life. As time went on we found ourselves in need of new inspiration and we would find it in the connections we made with friends and family. But these connections weren’t as easy to foster as we thought they would be. It became clear fairly quickly that there was a lack of space in our local area to gather intentionally; a safe space to learn and grow while pursuing friendships and connection. I knew that if we were going to thrive and if my children were to truly seek out the wealth of knowledge the world has to offer we need connection to people, both for our physical health and to spark curiosity. If there is one lesson I have learned from jumping into homeschooling it is that we cannot play a passive role in our children’s education. When we came up short of finding the community that fit our needs I set to work to create such a space. In the following years my family hosted nearly a hundred park dates, invited families into our home, counseled new homeschoolers jumping in on the journey, created space for families to serve the community, shared our love of reading through book clubs, and hosted holiday parties. Even though we were making connections and actively engaging in endeavors we valued, there was still something missing. The time put in wasn’t being shared amongst the participants, but was being shouldered by my family. The result was burnout. I knew something had to change and I knew I was surrounded by a group of families that could make it happen. I sat and shared my heart with a dozen homeschool mothers, ladies on the same path as me seeking a different kind of learning community for their families, and together we embarked on creating such a space. Starting with the value of connection as key to learning and growth, we created The Social Homeschooler to be a connection focused group that allows families to invite others alongside them in their passion pursuits: sharing skills, building friendships, embarking on adventures, and everyone joining in on learning and teaching; reciprocity bringing the balance we had lacked. The result of these efforts is the social co-op you are finding here today! Our hope is that you will find this to be a warm and welcoming space for your whole family to expand their opportunities to learn, a community to offer support on the journey, and a place where you are inspired to learn and pursue new goals. Facilitated by a board of volunteers, this space is for anyone looking to expand their homeschool opportunities and build relationships. We have laid out a flexible participation plan that ensures reciprocity in the efforts expended and the ability to enrich your homeschool without sacrificing the natural flow of learning within your home. Whether for a season or for the duration of your homeschool experience, we want to grow in community with you and support you in creating the exact homeschool experience that you and your children need to thrive!  |
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September 2025
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