Welcome! I’m Laina Yeisley.
When my oldest came home from preschool complaining that school was boring and he hated it, I knew that I had to look for something different. At the time, I thought that meant just a different home in a different school district in our home state of Pennsylvania. So in the interim while we did some house-hunting, I began looking into homeschooling. I figured I couldn’t screw up teaching Kindergarten. That would give us a year to get settled elsewhere, right?
But after that year, we found ourselves uprooted and moving to North Carolina. The lack of snow and abundance of sweet tea were definite pluses; the confusion caused by figuring out county-wide school systems, magnet schools and year-round schedules was definitely a minus. Two years later, we were enjoying our new home and homeschooling our now 2nd-grader and his kindergarten-aged sister, and, we realized, we really liked it!
So here we are, entering our 10th year of this journey, and boy, has it been a journey! We’ve added a 3rd child to the mix, a full 10 years younger than his siblings. A teen, a tween and a toddler – oh my!
Along the way, I’ve tried just about every style of homeschooling, countless ways of scheduling, a half dozen co-ops and support groups, and new curriculum every 6 months or so. I’ve learned a thing or two in the process: I’ve learned to find the joy in the journey; I’ve learned that abandoning a curriculum is not a failure; I’ve learned that allowing my children to follow their passions is a great method of education. I’ve also come to discover that in eastern North Carolina, you just about trip over educational opportunities!
I still have to figure out this homeschooling high school thing, and how to officially launch a kid into adulthood. And right about the time I’ll think I’ve gotten that settled, I’ll be starting all over again with a Kindergartner. Oh, mercy!
So if you’re up for the adventure with me, subscribe below to get all of our updates and hold on tight! It’s going to be a ride!
Associations and Media
Founding member of Triangle Women in Business since 2019.
Laina was featured in the TWIB Member Spotlight in May 2019.