đź’–GET COMMUNITY AND WEEKLY SUPPORT

Hi!  We are Kim and Jenny

 

Hi!  We are Kim and Jenny.

We are former public school teachers turned homeschool moms. Combined, we have more than 60 years of experience working with children in just about every environment and capacity. Our own children are now in their teens, and we're passionate to give back to the next generation.

We founded The Homeschool Well on the belief that homeschooling moms need a place to come for encouragement. We know homeschooling your own children can be overwhelming, exhausting, and sometimes, quite frankly -- lonely.  We created this space to be a God-centered, trusted place for homeschool moms to share ideas, ask questions, and get help.

Homeschooling is a big job—but it's also an incredible opportunity to shape your kids' minds, hearts, and lives in a way that will last forever, as we have personally experienced with our own children. We believe that every mom can homeschool her own kids, and if God calls you to it, He will, in fact, bring you through it. Even if you don't have any idea where to start, feel unqualified, or like you're failing at this whole homeschool thing….YOU CAN DO THIS. We have prayerfully created resources, classes, and this community to help guide you through every step of the way and find answers to your questions.

Our goal is to help you be the BEST teacher for your child that God has called you to be.  We offer an interactive community, classes, and coaching to help you do just that. Come gather around The Well with us and be refreshed!

>>Have questions? Please reach out!  We would love to hear from you.

Our Story

We found each other thirteen years ago at our church where our boys were babies in the nursery together. They looked like twins when they were little, and we found ourselves getting together and hanging out frequently -- and here we are years later! We have taught together and individually, countless hours of Wednesday night kid classes, Sunday school, VBS and every special event which involved our kids. We loved teaching together because, quite literally, Jenny was the deep breath to calm Kim's frazzled excitement, and Kim was the creative spark of fun to jazz up Jenny's lessons!

We both have our own reasons why we decided to homeschool our kids.  You can read our individual stories below, but mostly we both believed that we could enrich our children's lives and the lives of our families with individualized education for our unique children. It has not been easy, but we have learned to lean on God through it all, and we have learned SO MUCH.

We believe the Lord brought our families together to bless each other with the encouragement, enlightenment, and empowerment we both needed during different times of our journeys. We now both have a desire and goal to help other moms like you homeschool WELL.  We're leaning into His voice and plans for us in this new space that involves bringing those same good things we've given to each other to you and your kids. What an honor to serve Him in such a way and time as this! We are sincere in our passion and belief that each child is made with unique strengths and abilities, and we created The Homeschool Well to speak life into you and your precious children.

About Kim Godfrey

 

I’m a daughter of the one true King, wife to Mark and mom to Anastasia and Wyatt. I attended St Pete College and the University of South Florida where I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Exceptional Student Education. I worked for nearly a decade as a public school teacher for students with special needs in a wide array of roles, but my favorite position was as a homeschool mama to my two children.

When time came for our daughter to enter Kindergarten, excitement arose about being involved in public school again. Although Mark thought homeschooling would be an obvious and more suitable choice, I confidently corrected him with my love and nostalgia for the entire school setting. Besides, I had a one-year old boy to play with! But, as the school year started, it found us…you guessed it…. homeschooling as we waited for a spot to open at a stellar magnet school program for which we had applied. 

We continued our fun adventures and added in “real school” experiences daily. A few weeks went by, and I was thrilled that a spot at the school opened up. She started in without a hitch, and I quickly signed on as a volunteer. By the end of the school year, I was at that school a few times a week working with them in their garden and in the classroom with students who needed additional help. It was one particular day that I realized what I was doing. I was finishing up with a student as the class was filing out to lunch. My girl walked by and excitedly asked me when it was her turn to work with me. My heart dropped with the realization that my baby wanted me to be her teacher, and there I was giving my time away to her classmates. It was apparent that Mark was correct, and we all were incredibly excited to begin our homeschool journey that next school year. We made an official classroom in our kitchen, student desk and all and actually began in July. 

I look back on how much our journey changed over the years and can now laugh at how we started. I was filled with anxiety as I looked at the clock and knew the public school had started already. Gradually, I learned to let go, take advantage of our new found freedom, and I connected with a like-minded community in which we thrived.

It was in this homeschool community where we planted roots and created experiences and friendships foundational to the support of our school and life in general. My kids found that social outlet, and I cherished the relationships with my new friends and fellow leaders in the group as we worked together to create rich learning experiences for our kids. We just thought we were teaching our kids alongside each other and we sure had fun. What we didn't fully realized at the time was that, in the process, we were making wonderful memories and a beautiful legacy. 

As my own family's homeschool journey ends, I’m drawn to help others as I continue to see the great need for support and community that made the difference for me. I’m passionate to bridge the gap, and continue teaching and lifting up other families to the Lord to create their own beautiful journey.

About Jenny Barr

 

I'm a follower of Jesus, teacher at heart, questioner, nature enthusiast, wife to Britt, and mom to two teenage boys. I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a Master's in Education from the University of Florida (go Gators!). I have lived in Florida my whole life, so my other interests involve all things beachy, West Florida sunsets, and spending time with my boys and hubby of 22 years. I have worked with children for about 30 years in almost every capacity -- after school care, first grade teacher, reading specialist, tutor, reading intervention teacher, online teacher, club volunteer, and church teacher.  I started homeschooling when my oldest son was in second grade and public school just wasn't working out for him.  He is the type of kid who doesn't fit in the "box" and so I was getting many notes home, phone calls, and spending a lot of time at his school.  After several years of this struggle, God so beautifully aligned the stars for us so that we were able to take him out and give him an amazing education that fit his gifts, interests, and personality, and we eventually added our younger son to the homeschool mix, too.  We were so grateful to be able to teach to his different strengths as well.

Our first taste of homeschooling was a homeschool hybrid model which helped us transition to homeschooling. Students attended school 2-3 days a week and the other days were spent at home where I implemented their plans.  This worked out very well for us initially, but after a few short years, the school closed down.  That's when we made the decision to jump into real homeschooling! It was PURE FREEDOM do learn and study whatever we wanted/needed, and I have to thank Kim for giving me the courage to go for it -- I wish we had done it sooner, honestly! I homeschooled both of our boys for 7 years, and now they are currently enrolled in public schools with special magnet programs. 

Over the past few years, my life has evolved in such a way that I find myself doing a lot of work with struggling readers and spending a good deal of time helping moms teach their kids to read.  This culmination of events is partly where the The Homeschool Well has found its beginnings.  I absolutely love working with kids, and my passions involve teaching beginning literacy skills to kiddos and encouraging moms who want to teach their own children. I am thrilled to be able to help other moms dive into homeschooling and help them individualize their child's education.

CLICK TO JOIN US!

Need help getting started homeschooling?

 

Download our FREE checklist to help you focus on the essentials and eliminate the overwhelm!