Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Gaddy.
Hi Jamie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always wanted to be a teacher… to change the world “one little peanut butter encrusted face” at a time. And I was doing just that for about 10 years at a school in College Park. I was living my dream and starting a family at the same time, it was an exciting and precious time!
But we all know, that life is full of twists and turns and the adventure we think is our destiny ends up taking a big turn!
A few years into my teaching adventure, I was tapped to start a private school in a rural area South of ATL. Everything was going great, the school was growing… but there was one issue. My oldest daughter in fourth grade was being bullied. Of course, all the teachers and I were on high alert trying to document the bullying so that we could officially do something about it. Sadly, we were up against a smart bully and never could catch her in the act. Yet in the meantime, my daughter cried every day on the way to school and hated every minute of it as she went to class in fear.
With that weighing heavily on our minds, my husband and decided that we would take a leap of faith and start homeschooling! It seemed ludicrous to some that I actually WANTED to quit my teaching career to stay home to teach my children. But that is what I did and it was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.
The first year that I started homeschooling, I realized that I needed some type of employment to make ends meet, we were at that time already a family of six! It was then that I inquired about a content writing position with Time4Learning.com. They hired me and I began a new journey!
I started by writing about our adventures in homeschooling with all the good, the bad, and the ugly! I couldn’t believe how many homeschool parents were encouraged by our stories! Eventually, I was moved to administrate and manage the Homeschool Connect suite of websites which includes Homeschool.com and A2ZHomeschooling.com. Today, I’m the Editor-in-Chief of Homeschool.com, I’ve been featured on Fox News, ABC and NBC news affiliates, and even radio talk shows. I speak at Homeschool Conventions and now instead of changing the world one “little” face at a time, I’m helping homeschool parents find success as THEY make a difference in the lives of their own children and their “little peanut butter encrusted” faces!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The challenge has been that I’ve homeschooled my six children along the way while working from home. Making time to keep my family a priority while juggling work has often been difficult, but maintaining an intentional balance of “shutting off” from work and tuning in to family has made a huge difference!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work with one of the leading websites in the homeschool world. We put the homeschool community first and provide free advice, tools, resources, and even books that help homeschooling families succeed and flourish in their homeschool adventure. I’m super excited about our recent “Homeschooling and Loving It!” podcast! It’s growing and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.
I’m most proud of the fact that every day I get emails or social media comments from homeschool parents that thank me for giving them hope and the tools they need to homeschool well!
I’m very proud that we are able to provide this service to homeschooling families for free. So many times I’ve had a mom or dad ask me, “What does it cost?” And I love to tell them, it costs nothing except your time!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
When I first started writing and creating in the homeschool space, I had a lovely mentor. She was homeschooling her two boys through high school when mine were still in elementary school. It was such an encouragement to see her succeed. I learned from her that everyone is different and everyone is unique. This means every homeschooling family will have different and unique needs.
I’ve reminded myself of this over the years and when I felt inadequate or “not enough” in my homeschool efforts, I remembered that we aren’t all supposed to be the same. Homeschooling allows every student and every family to be unique.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.homeschool.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolcom/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolcom
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/homeschoolcom
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ZFPKmglmHJd20e0EyU3Ig
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/homeschooling-loving-it/id1476422247
Image Credits
All photos by Jamie Gaddy
