My story? Here it is in a nutshell:
I made a ton of plans for my future
and God switched it ALL up on me.
No, seriously. It’s true.
My dream was to teach, get married, own a home, have 3 kids and be happy…all before the age of 30.
I think God was humored by all my plans and entertained me for a bit. By 25, I was a teacher, wife and homeowner.
But it ended there.
The next decade was full of so many surprises.
We ended up becoming church planters in our very own city. (Pastorship is something I never wanted.) I had to wait several long years and shed many tears before I finally became a mom to my daughter in the most unexpected way. Ended up leaving my 12 year career as a NYC classroom teacher to become a stay-at-home mom (the very “vocation” I once looked down upon during my college years). Gave away my house that I had made plans to profit from and went back to apartment living (which I swore never to return to). And then I answered the call to homeschool. (You got the pattern here…I did NOT want that either.)
Yup. None of these changes, N-O-N-E, were in my plans.
But they were in God’s plans.
So after all the whining, complaining, and crying were done,
I swallowed my pride and obeyed God’s will for my life.
As we say in Spanish, “El hombre propone y Dios dispone.”
(Man makes his plans but God is the One who decides.)
Which leads me to the here and now.
Today, I am a home educator who was once in desperate need of peace in our homeschool while transitioning from traditional school. The Lord answered my prayers when I was introduced to Charlotte Mason through God-sent friends. However, my heart as a former public school teacher has always leaned toward a multicultural education for children through the use of diverse, living books. As a result, I’ve battled with seemingly monocultural approaches to implementing Miss Mason’s philosophy. (Read more) With the help of my amazing co-hosts at Charlotte Mason for All Podcast who are walking this journey with me, I’ve been able to push through and understand her methods are transferable to any family dynamic, regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status or zip code. (I know now Miss Mason would’ve wholeheartedly agreed with me as well.)
It has broken my heart when I’ve heard mamas like me say they looked into Charlotte Mason (CM) but didn’t continue because Miss Mason didn’t seem diverse enough for their families. Or when mothers are intimidated by picturesque country photos on Instagram, leaving them with feelings of inferiority as they walk city streets with their children.
And that’s how this website came to be.
Here, I share stories of struggles, victories, answered prayers, discoveries and resources as I navigate through giving my daughter a living, multicultural education that’s creatively designed for our family of color, while finding God’s beauty throughout our urban neighborhood. (Read More)
I’ve been blessed with a loving, supportive CM community to guide me in this homeschooling journey. My heart’s desire is to be for others what my “tribe” has been for me. If that’s you, I invite you to walk this journey with me.
I would love to get to know you and your story. Let’s stay in touch!
