Meet the Creators!
It all begins with an idea to help homeschoolers and teachers all year long. Why offer so many resources at such an affordable price? Because we believe a quality education should be accessible to ALL families, regardless of budget.
Welcome to our FOURTH ANNUAL A Simplified Year thanks to our talented and generous creators.
Crystal Wiley // Simple Studies
Crystal is a homeschool mama since 2014 and Founder/Creator of Simple Studies, an award-winning, Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool curriculum serving thousands of homeschoolers worldwide. She and her family recently moved from the PNW to sunny Florida!
You can often catch this mama her kids hiking, reading, identifying birds, jumping in the waves and playing sports. @Simple.and.Free_ or @cm_simplestudies
Stephanie Hathaway // Stephanie Hathaway Designs
Hi! I’m Stephanie, a Kansas City area artist and homeschooling mom of two sweet boys. I create unit studies and educational resources inspired by nature, art, science, and the magic of everyday life. I intend to help the next generation to be kindhearted, life long learners and well-rounded people who are prepared to take on the exciting challenges of the future!
Follow Stephanie on Instagram: @stephhathawaydesigns
Whitney Newby // Brighter Day Press
Hi! I'm Whitney. I’m a pastor’s wife and homeschooling mama to four incredible children. I have a Bible degree from Moody Bible Institute, am a registered nurse, and since 2018 I have enjoyed delving into homeschooling more than I ever could’ve imagined. At Brighter Day Press, we create life-giving educational resources that are literature-based and gospel-centered to help families navigate the world from a biblical perspective. Charlotte Mason guides our methods in her spreading of a "feast" full of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Follow Whitney on Instagram: @brighterdaypress
Cherelle German // Embracing Homeschool
Cherelle is a busy, extroverted mama to three wonderful children and one who's deeply immersed in eclectic homeschooling. Through her website, Embracing Homeschool, she's on a mission to help fellow busy moms not just survive, but thrive in their homeschooling journey. Her passion for helping busy moms also shines through her eclectic and family-style curriculum, The Simplified Feast, where she offers them an easy way to provide a rich and abundant learning experience for their children, simply.
Erin Cox // The Gentle + Classical Press
Erin is a joy-chasing homeschool mama to 4 babies, ages young adult down to elementary. She married her grade-school sweetheart over 20 years ago, and lives to love him well. Erin writes about homeschooling, taking hard moments captive for Christ, and loving her family well at Life, Abundantly. She is the author of multiple early-years Charlotte Mason and Classically-inspired programs at The Gentle + Classical Press.
Follow Erin on Instagram: @gentle_classical_press
Laura Stroup // Firefly Nature School
Laura is the founder of Firefly Nature School, a nature study curriculum designed for homeschooling families, co-ops, and classrooms. She has a degree in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University with an emphasis in natural resource education. A former zoo educator and science teacher, she now leads a nature school in her community. Helping inspire her family and others to appreciate the great outdoors is one of Laura’s greatest joys.
Follow Laura on Instagram: @fireflynatureschool
Katie Chancellor and Leslie Rutland // Learning Through Literature
Leslie and Katie are the mother-daughter co-creators of Learning Through Literature (learningthroughliterature.com) where they are dedicated to helping families navigate the world of children’s literature. They’re passionate about sharing the power that great stories can have to influence hearts and minds and create strong connections to knowledge. As a former homeschool mom (Leslie) and a current homeschool mom of teens (Katie), they both love to help families who are seeking resources for meaningful literature-based learning.
Follow Katie & Leslie on Instagram: @learningthroughliterature
Christina Franco // Rooted Homelife
English teacher turned homeschooling mom of five, from preschoolers through high schoolers, Christina is passionate about learning through play, family-style learning, and learning through travel and experiences. She creates learning resources for her children and shares them on Etsy at Rooted Homeschool, and shares all about homeschooling, and her lean towards unschooling on Instagram @rooted_homelife and YouTube at Rooted HomeLife. She’s passionate about showing other families the freedom available to them through homeschooling.
Follow Christina on Instagram: @rooted_homelife
Bethanyanne Howard // Little World Wanderers
I was raised as an Air Force kid, so I had the unique opportunity to travel all over the world as I grew up. I was born in Adana, Turkey near the Syrian boarder and lived in Turkey for a couple years when I was young. Some of my first memories are of the flower lady who sold carnations on our walks home from the bus stop, and sipping Turkish tea in shops. We lived in England for 4 years during elementary school and I took a class called Host Nations. We learned all about the country we were living in, and let me tell you, I was hooked on history from that point. When we moved back to the United States, I remember thinking everything was so, young. During our time living in the states, we did a couple trips to the Bahamas, until my parents moved to Germany while I was in college. Time to travel again. We went all over, back to Turkey, Croatia, Italy. Traveling, and learning about different cultures is a passion of mine. After I graduated college, I taught in North Carolina before moving to Colorado with my husband and starting our family. Now, my husband and I have a sweet little girl that we homeschool and a wonderful baby boy. Our son came to us through adoption and has a diverse heritage. Teaching our children about theirs and other cultures and countries continues to be a high level of importance for us. We can’t wait to go on our own world adventures as a family!
Follow Beth on Instagram: @Little_worldwanderers
Jess Collier // Silo & Sage
Jess is a former teacher turned homeschooling mama to 5 boys from elementary to teen. She and her family live on a small homestead in Wisconsin with a bunch of chickens, where she spends her time sewing, gardening, canning, and cooking food barely faster than her boys can eat it! In their homeschool, they value good books, interest-led learning, time in nature, and real life skills. Jess runs an online business called Silo & Sage where she helps other homeschool moms integrate homeschooling into their everyday life through courses, printables, and membership community, The Literary Lounge.
Follow Jess on Instagram: @siloandsage
Min Jung Hwang
Min could not have imagined God’s plans for her as a Pastor’s Wife with four creative children, getting to live out her passion for Christ through homeschooling, mentoring mothers, and capturing beauty through art for Truth and Beauty Studio. She is the founder of the Life-giving Motherhood nonprofit, and shares her homeschool resources on her ever-evolving website, MinJungHwang.com, while also serving on the Charlotte Mason Institute’s Board of Directors. Min’s desire is to help mothers curate the Christ-centered education their hearts ache to give their children —cooperating with God to build a legacy aligned with His everlasting Kingdom.
Follow Min on Instagram: @min.j.hwang
Hannah Stevenson // Lily & Thistle
Created by Hannah Stevenson, Lily & Thistle offers online art courses perfect for the whole family. From Watercolor School to Nature's Art Club to Art Makes Me Smart, there is something for all ages. New courses coming soon!
Follow Lily & Thistle on Instagram: @lily_and_thistle
Heidi Illian // Brilliant Mornings
Heidi Illian - writer, podcaster, English teacher, history researcher, and second generation homeschooler - developed an appreciation for history at a young age, as she internalized the World War II survival stories of her immigrant grandparents and the experiences of her father, an escapee of Communist Poland.
Having taught English and writing in public and private schools, she now relishes the wonderful freedom to implement Charlotte Mason’s principles with her own children, who thrive on living books and have developed a fascination for world cultures and languages. Heidi's writing now focuses on historical research writing, which allows her to bring history and archeology alive to children through her podcast, Brilliant Mornings, and history magazine, Artifact!
Follow Heidi on Instagram: @brilliantmornings
Natalie McCatty // Raising Up Wild Things
Natalie is a nature-loving, homeschooling mama of three wildlings, living and adventuring at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She began creating guided nature journals for her son in 2019 and opened her online shop, Raising Up Wild Things, shortly thereafter. She hopes her hand-illustrated journals will help kindle the spark of curiosity in children around the world.
Find Natalie on her blog: Raising Up Wild Things
Follow Natalie on Instagram: @raising_up_wild_things