They call me Jessica with the cool hair
I am sure some of you who have come across this site are wondering just who the person behind Peanut Butter and Jelly Homeschool Louisville is. Well, here it goes.
As many of you have guessed, I am a mom. That's a good start. I have an nine year old son and a seven year old daughter. I have the best support system a girl can ask for in my husband and a dog and three lizards.
My dream job was to be a mom. Growing up I went through the gambit of "what do you want to be when you grow up" scenarios. At 3 I wanted to be a marine biologist, at 7 a teacher, an art historian, a museum curator, a baker, and many more. But in the back of my mind always a mom, but to be more specific a stay at home mom. One day that dream came true. I thought my time was limited, because I would be sending my kids off to school. Homeschooling was not in our path. During my time home with my kids I did and took them every where. I wanted them to have the best time with me while they were home and vise versa.
Before my son was 3 he completed pre-k and kindergarten requirements. He read his first chapter book at 3 years old. So I looked at my support system and said I will do homeschooling until I can not keep up with him any longer. My son placed into 1st grade at 3. I was shocked, stunned and well amazed. This is not me bragging folks, its just my story.
Along the way I found what worked for me. We had fun with doing projects and hands-on learning. We read books and became friends with the librarians. We learned the names (actual names) of animals at our zoo. We know that Cyndi is the older Rhino, Letterman is the younger. The Taper with the chip in his ear is well, Chip and so on. When he wanted to learn something we learned it until there was nothing left to learn. He has taught me so much and I hope he feels the same way about me.
I am not a teacher. I have a passion for learning. I love science, art and books. While I wish I could read more for myself my bed time is quite early. I live on coffee, cuss words and I could probably put the energizer bunny out of business with my power to go, go, go.
It has taken me a long time to remember who I am in this journey. I still love marine life. I love to bake and cook. A cold beer is nice any time of the year. Being creative with art is my happy place. I have the ultimate travel bug. I itch to travel whether it be hiking, camping, a festival, a museum or just people watching I need to be out and about. This drives my husband crazy. And tattoos are my me time.
I encourage my children to be creative and free. They do not call me "Jessica with the cool hair" for a reason. Expression is important. You may meet me one week and my hair be pink, the next it will be blue. I want a world where my kids know they can be who they want to be.
That being said. We starting homeschooling early. With my energy, I have found and keep finding some amazing things. I wanted to create a homeschool community to share what is out there, meet friends that are open minded and except all, and have a co-op that is hands-on project based learning. I know, I know it's a lot but I know it can be done.
Below you will find links mentioning our homeschool life.