Welcome

I work with new parents who are just beginning this journey and have infants, toddlers, or preschoolers and who are worried about how their early decisions about education and childcare will impact their child’s future growth and development. I help them learn how to foster secure attachments and strong communication which will lead to future successes across all areas of child development.

I work with families who often, from lack of choices, did “what was expected of them” and followed the traditional public or private school journey but now find out it isn’t working for their child. I help them discover other paths to success and find ways to reclaim joy in their family.

I work with unschoolers/worldschoolers/homeschoolers… who have reached the adolescent years and now wonder “what about university?” I help them to translate all the variations of learning they have been doing into strong and successful transcripts and essays and use these to get into top programs?

I have been in the field of education for over three decades with most of those years in teacher education, psychology, and child development. I am a professor of both psychology and education, have been a college Dean, helped open two brand new international universities, I have taught in public schools, run parent and child play groups, provided oversight to homeschoolers for evaluations, taught medical professionals about pregnancy and lactation, and I serve on the boards of child-focused international organizations including the research arm of Attachment Parenting International. I have published articles in academic journals, written books, and invited to present at conferences around the world.

I have a PhD in Family and Child Development from a large US research institution. I worked on a post doctorate in child development at Harvard University. I have a Master’s in Educational Leadership, a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. I also have a couple of Associate Degrees. I like learning!

But my primary learning and knowledge laboratory has been from my own five children who range in age from 32 to 13. I have three highly successful young adult men and two amazing teens who are happy and a joy to live with. I consider my five “children” to be amongst my closest friends and I am so proud of who they are. All of their learning journeys have been individually curated to help them be the successful person they are today. From unschooling to worldschooling, Hawaiian kindergarten, thematic education, Dubai Waldorf elementary school, to attending universities around the world, we have experienced a range of opportunities. I will share their paths to success as well as case studies of other adolescents and young adults to help you feel confident making your own decisions about education; with help.

What I will do:

As your Family’s Educational Consultant, I will help guide you to make decisions about your child’s learning journey that are strong and focused on success. You will use research-based decision-making processes working with me to discover what success looks like for your family. You will receive information that is based in scientific research about the pros and cons of varying approaches to learning and styles of educating children. We will examine these options and paths and how you can choose one that most closely aligns to positive outcomes for your child. Research-based decision making must also take into account our intuitive inner voice that is calling to us. Often in our modern, 21st Century parenting journey we aren’t guided to listen to this innate messaging system and we miss the biological cues our child is triggering within us and in themselves. I help you learn to tune in to this and use it to help make these decisions; along with the research.

I can attest that my home is filled with laughter, long conversations about life and the world, big brothers calling or dropping in for dinner (or laundry), creative learning projects, shared TV and movies, and online classes and work. We work together as a team and truly enjoy each other’s company. Family life should be a haven from drama including decision making about education. I will help you find that.