For many years I’ve lived in two separate worlds – professional and personal. Here I’ll try to bring them both together.
Professionally, I am a writer, consultant, and entrepreneur. My background is in training, communication, software, business, and human learning.
I also serve as the Executive Director for Accrescent Institute, where I get to delve into research and source material and work with a wonderful team to create training on the “why” behind behavior and why memories matter.
Personally, my standard line for twenty years was “Work At Home Homeschooling Mom to 4 Fabulous Kids”. Though these days, those fabulous kids are all grown and graduated, and living their adult lives as twenty-somethings.
Mostly I’m interested in learning and growth, with it’s many facets.
I love helping others make progress on their goals, and encouraging others to keep learning and growing, even if it’s in little bits. Cuz Little Bits Add Up!
Scattering seeds of encouragement and inspiration is important to me, as is creating supportive spaces for taking small intentional steps towards the things that call to your heart and what matters most to you.
I’m also pretty passionate about embracing our kids interests, supporting, coaching, and encouraging our kids in their own individuality. … And in a customized education…
I truly believe there is room for each of us and One Size does NOT Fit all.
In real life, if I’m not traveling, you’ll find me in the Houston, Texas area, on 5 acres, with my family, two rescue horses, and two rescue cats. I’m very often reading, writing, working, cooking, or playing in the garden.
What You’ll Find here
Here, you’ll find a mix of various sides of me, what I think about, what I write about, and care about.
Essentially, fresh insights, reflections, and tidbits, from my current journey, as a parent, as a human, as a writer. And the challenges that I host so that we may grow and accomplish our goals together.
In some ways, this is more like the old school “blogs”, and in other ways, not. Here I share my older content, and my new content. Embracing the journey I have been on, and the journey I am on now.
Embracing the Journey
Encouragement & Insights on Learning, Growing, & Living Life off the Beaten Path
Life is a Journey, where we are always learning and growing. As humans, as parents, as individuals. It’s not always pretty, often messy. But it is a beautiful thing – especially when you are living off the beaten path.
A Life you are creating, for you and your family.
A life that embraces the individual you are and the precious individuals you’ve been entrusted to care for.
Here, it is my hope, that you will find encouragement in your journey, as I reflect on my own.
The Parenting & Homeschooling Years
For our entire parenting journey, and then our homeschooling, I have written, spoken, and mentored others, sharing the insights I’ve learned along the way.
Paying forward the lessons others have taught me, and the deep dives I’ve delved into, looking for another way to support my kids and myself in the learning and growing process.
As a periodic contributor to Texas Unschoolers, my bio reads:
Shannon is a veteran unschooling mom with four “kids” and a sometime contributor to Texas Unschoolers – usually on topics related to dyslexia, autism, adhd, and following kids’ diverse interests.
While it’s not why I chose to homeschool, our kids ended up stretching my thinking about learning and education, because they are not wired in the same way I am, and they don’t process the world the same way I do. And in that, I have sought to customize our kids education, heavily to how they learn best. To Who They are.
Here you will find a selection of that work, as well as resources and other writings others often ask me about. My CapturingCredit.com and TasteTestsandSparkle.com projects share more of my thoughts and experiences on what this looks like in the teen years.
And please, Pardon my dust, as I bring things over from where they were originally published, as I can, and add in new content, ideas, and reflections.
Monday Morning Reflections
From January 2021-August 2021, I posted a weekly live-recorded video on my Facebook page, sharing thoughts, insights, and reflections from my own growth and journey as a parent. Some of the topics I covered were:
- Learning (specifically, how we learn outside the school paradigm)
- Parenting
- Growing as Humans and as Parents
- Living Life Off-the-Beaten Path
- Mindset, especially when Life is Hard
I am slowly bringing those videos and transcripts over here, even as I create new content, and new reflections. In the meantime, feel free to head over to Facebook for the full list of Monday Morning Reflections Videos.
“Life is a Journey, where we are always learning and growing. As humans, as parents, as individuals. It’s not always pretty, often messy. But it is a beautiful thing…”
Shannon Stoltz