Interview with Homeschool Mom, Inspire the Mom

Our latest interview features Jessica from Inspire the Mom! Jessica is a teacher turned stay-at-home mom who spends her days homeschooling her children. After much success teaching preschool lessons to her daughter, Jessica decided to keep educating her children at home, while making creativity a priority. We have loved seeing how she has incorporated our PrintWorks Paper and Cardstock into her lessons, while using her platform to inspire other moms to do the same!

Read on for more DIY projects, homeschooling tips, and to learn more about Jessica!

“Paper is hands on and timeless. Kids need to touch, feel, and explore with their senses to really learn.”

Tell me a little about yourself.

Sure, I’m Jessica. I’m a teacher turned homeschool mom of three. My husband and I have been married for fifteen years and we live in the Pacific Northwest. I enjoy gardening, crafting, education, and really, life in general.

How did Inspire the Mom come to life? What is it all about?

Inspire the mom was born out of my kid’s nap time and wanting to inspire other moms with some of the things we were doing at home.

I hope to give moms creative, useful, and fun ideas to make each day a little more smooth and little more special with their kids.

Jessica made this with our Kraft Cover Stock!

What made you initially decide to homeschool your children?

There are so many reasons why we homeschool. Initially, it was because I had already started preschool with my daughter and she was on a roll. She thrived and so did I, so we kept going.

How do you come up with your lessons/materials for your children?

I’m pretty eclectic. We use curriculum and materials that I’ve hand picked for each child that I feel supports them the best. When I get stuck, I do some research and find something that will work.

In your view, what are the benefits of homeschooling your children?

How much time do you have? There are so many! I love that my kids are excelling academically and still have time to play outside, use their imagination, get bored, create new things, and do extracurricular sports and lessons.

I love that we do life together, and that our family is close.

How important is crafting to your homeschool lessons?

I want my kids to have a life-long love for all things creative, so I would say, pretty important.

Where do you get your ideas/projects/creations?

Inspiration can come from anywhere. I just keep my eyes open and wait till it comes.

If parents are considering their options between public, private and home schools, what advice would you give them based on your own experiences?

Homeschool is a wonderful option to consider. I think we as parents are natural teachers to our kids already. We teach them to tie their shoes, write their name, and make their bed. And if we don’t know how to teach them, we find the people and resources that can help them. Homeschool is more of the same thing.

With that being said, each family is different and should make their education choices according to what they think is best for their family.

With all of the tech options out there to use for education, how important is paper?

Paper is hands-on and timeless. Kids need to touch, feel, and explore with their senses to really learn. Paper gives a real-life experience that simply cannot be replaced with screens.

Where do you see Inspire The Mom in the future?

Hopefully more creative, useful, and fun ideas.