How it Started

Welcome to The Nook & Scholar!

This is a corner of the world for the cozy, eclectic homeschooler.

My name is Emily. I bounce a round from interest to interest that usually involves something extra crafty… until it starts to stress me out or I find I can’t perfect it how I want. Or sometimes I just need a break to do something else.

I’m a homeschooling mom to four kids- ages 5 to 14. I fell into homeschooling when my oldest came to me asking to learn to read at the age of three-and-a-half. The rest is chaotic history.

Here are five things on how I decided to start The Nook & Scholar.

1 —

I’ve Tried This Before

I’ve done the blog and instagram and Etsy shop thing. I have explored the creative outlets in an attempt to make a little side money or at least feel like I’m making a difference out in the great big void of the internet and all that jazz.

I honestly don’t know if this time is different. But I know I need an outlet.

2 —

I Want to Make a Difference

I want to share the chaos that is our homeschool life in hopes that it connects with others.

I love watching other moms on social media, but I always find myself questioning how much is real and how much is presentation. I can’t promise you won’t question the same with me, but I can promise that my mess doesn’t look like I cleaned and then allowed a little mess to stay behind.

My hope is that other moms who are homeschoolers questioning every season and every step and every missed history lesson won’t feel so lonely when they stumble upon my Insta/Blog/Space.

3 —

I’m in a New Season

All of my kids are school-aged. This is a first.

If I’m honest, I miss the baby days. When my oldest was nine and my youngest was a baby and my two middles were three and five. I loved the season when I could still really focus on school with my oldest, enjoy kindergarten with my second, and just play with my youngest two.

But I’m not there anymore.

Now the chaos feels more pressing and I feel I worry more now than I did then. I worry about them getting the attention they need with the lessons I’m giving them and hoping that they’re all soaking up the knowledge. I loved school when I was young, and I want them to love learning… but I also have to remember that everyone is different. My kids are great at reminding me of that.

4 —

I’m Missing a Village

We have moved five times since having kids. When we moved to where we live now in Western NC, it was 2020 and it was a month before the world shut down. Not to mention, it was a different season.

After exploring co ops and making friends and losing friends and teaching and leaving teaching… there has just been constant change and our village seems to have thinned out year after year. It happens, I get that. But that doesn’t make it less lonely.

Moms carry so much and it gets harder and harder to find a village, and I want this space to be a village to those that may not have a physical one.

5 —

Too Many Books

My first idea was to just sell used curriculum and books.

I wanted to make a little extra money, and crafting for money isn’t always fun (it loses its appeal). I found we have so much curriculum lying around that I haven’t used or barely used, and same with kids books. Maybe if I sold them, even if it was for pennies, it would add up.

That’s really how this all started. Too many books.

And then I started thinking some more, and realizing that I missed blogging and I missed treating social media like it was a job to connect with others. So now I’m exploring this space and expanding it and just kind of going with it. I know the proper thing is to have a clear direction/niche… but that doesn’t always work for me.

So I’m just going to be authentically me and hope for the best. If it fails, it fails. If it doesn’t, well— we’ll see what happens.