Verity Ed
Verity Ed

Our Home School Story

Todd and I knew we wanted to homeschool from the time we were engaged (the full story, along with a fun video of the two of us, will be available in January for our Summa Cum and Socrates Club Patreon members!). Because of my studies in philosophy and my own experience homeschooling from 3rd - 7th grade in the 1990’s, I had a vague conviction that we would use classical methods, but we really hadn’t made any concrete decisions before having babies.

The summer we had our first child, I took a part-time job tutoring at Regina Caeli Academy, in Norcross, GA. The university-style hybrid model was wonderful, and I got to see firsthand how it could truly offer families the “best of both worlds.” I also was offered opportunities to visit conferences and even do some one-on-one training with Laura Berquist, author of Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum. Together, Todd and I got to know classical education like we know our alphabet. I realized that this was what my mom had been making up “on her own” for us all those years. 

From the time our eldest was 6 weeks old, we entered a homeschool community of parents working together to educate their children. Those first years were very lean times in the Ahern homeschool: due to a health issue with Todd that depleted our savings we were on WIC and had little money for books or supplies. Through the generosity of so many (parents, colleagues, friends, etc.), however, we were able to enroll our young children in the hybrid while I taught. The rest was all public library, walks outside, and naps when we could catch them!
Our first year full-time homeschooling was our oldest’s first grade year. I was suffering a terrible case of back pain and postpartum depression, so that year is one I like to characterize as an “unschooling” experience. In spite of the pain, and the fact that we had just moved from Georgia to South Hadley, MA, for a temporary stint in a post-doc, we were able to visit the library, use library passes for museums in the Berkshires, enjoy the ravishing beauty of the Pioneer Valley, and do some math. I also was blessed with my one child who potty-trained herself. 
We moved again and did “portions of” a classical Catholic curriculum for 2nd grade and Kinder, then helped open a satellite Regina Caeli in Connecticut. 
So we were back in the hybrid, but this time I was pregnant (unschooling again!) and working full time.
I worked full-time for seven years, tutoring and working as the Director of Education at RCA (2013-2020), until now. We are back to full-time homeschooling and loving (almost) every minute!

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How We Do It

So, since 2011, we’ve been a family where both mom and dad work and both are involved in educating our kids. We found a rhythm that works well so long as we:
  • Kept “first things first”: namely, centering our lives on our Catholic Faith
  • Both found work with flex schedules and were willing to give up some earnings to “buy time” with our family
  • Made sure my work was integrated into the kids’ education
  • Split the household tasks and the homeschooling in ways that play to our particular (and very different!) strengths
  • Reached out for community and family support for times of pregnancy (I have hyperemesis) or illness
  • Set regular dates for… dating each other!!
The hardest of these priorities have been:
  • Making time to date
  • Finding “fair” in splitting household and homeschool tasks (we spend many dates working through this!)
For our kids, we’ve always used a classical curriculum and supplemented with lots of books, art, and music. 
Now we are at the “Who the Heck Am I?” stage where we have teenagers and infants at the same time. Although it is a lot of work, I love this season of life. Even the hard days are good, because we are together. 
We’ve also been at it for a very long time, both personally and professionally, so we have the weird feeling that we should be experts but still have new situations thrown at us daily. And then we have college coming up. I’ve advised a lot of homeschool families through the high school years, but it’s always a little different when it’s your turn!
So, that’s our home school story. It’s not finished yet, and there are definitely difficult moments and a feeling sometimes that we have no idea what we’re doing. 

WE WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD.

2

Loving Parents

6

Happy Kids

15+

Years Home Schooling Experience

100%

Invested in Helping Your Family

We Can Help

You don't have to be perfect to home school. We certainly aren't. You just have to ask yourself, is it possible my kids and family could be happier, healthier, freer, well educated, and closer to one another if we pursue home education? 

If the answer is "yes" -- or even "possibly" -- everything else is just a matter of figuring out how. We can help with that!

                    

Phone Number

+1 (203) 500-3891

Email Address

erika@verityed.com

                    

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