Meet a Member of the Content Creator Team
Did you know that HomeschoolingFinds.com is part of the Homeschool Influencer Network? This network is one of the many ways that homeschooling companies share their products and services through advertising with The Old Schoolhouse®. The network is made up of three teams:
- Content Creators
- Influencers
- Evaluators
Here at HomeschoolingFinds.com, you will find the work of our evaluators as they write evaluations of different homeschool products highlighting each product in a separate post. If you follow our Instagram account, you will see the posts we share from our Influencer Team. But we have one more team whose work is just as valued as the rest of our team members. The content creators share testimonials and photographs directly with our advertising clients. These photographs and testimonials are then used by the individual companies on their websites, social media accounts, and in advertising campaigns.
Today we are going to meet a member of our content creators team, Shelby Dersa.
Q: Share about yourself and your family. How long have you been homeschooling? Why did you start?
A: When I began homeschooling eleven years ago, it was supposed to be temporary, but it ended up becoming a permanent educational choice. When my now high school senior was in kindergarten, she was struggling at school, and her teacher did not have a clue as to why. After I took her to be evaluated and she received a dyslexia diagnosis, I was informed that our school district did not have the necessary knowledge or resources to help her learn how to read. Between taking her to a dyslexia specialist and teaching her at home using proven techniques, she successfully learned how to read. Although spelling would always continue to be an issue, she managed to thrive academically, her self-esteem was high, and she had the time and freedom to discover new interests and pursue her passions.
My other children are homeschooled now and have learning differences of their own, including ADHD and autism. We’ve grown to have our own homeschool style when it comes to teaching and learning. My children are so different and have many strengths and struggles that it is impossible to use one curriculum or program for every school subject. Each of them has a unique set of courses tailored with their learning styles in mind, what they need more improvement on, and what will build upon their strengths.
Q. Describe what you see as one of the biggest challenges in homeschooling that families face today.
A. I think the biggest challenge that homeschool families face today is managing time for what’s important. Parents want their children to have the best education, which sometimes might mean they try to cram a lot of information in or attempt to do too much, causing stress for themselves and also their children.
I hope that parents will remind themselves that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to learning and that they are not ever afraid to homeschool their own way.
HomeschoolingFinds.com Guest Author
Shelby Dersa is the author of A Homemade Education and Homeschooling Wildflowers. She can be followed on “A Homemade Education” Facebook page along with 160k other fans who enjoy seeing daily homeschool inspirational posts and gaining sage advice.