KELLY JOHNSON
Co-founder / Instructor
Hi! I’m Kelly, wife to Andrew and mom to Annabelle & Graham. After a four-year stint of living in southwest Michigan, we recently moved back to northeast Iowa to be close to our family again. And what’s more – we traded suburban living for a quaint little farmstead, complete with a historic round barn!
Homeschooling our children was never part of our ‘plan’. In fact, both our children attended preschool elsewhere – one in a traditional classroom setting, and the other at an outdoor nature preschool – and our oldest child spent most of her kindergarten year at an innovative school with collaborative and creative offerings. However, it didn’t take long for us to realize that home educating would be a better fit for our kids’ personalities and learning styles. After lots of research and contemplation, we decided to embark on the journey of educating our kids at home. Now, over five years later, I am very confident that home education is the right fit for our kids and family during this stage of life! By homeschooling, and therefore removing the overstimulation and overwhelm of the traditional classroom, our children are better able to focus their attention and energy on learning in a way that benefits their mental and emotional wellbeing.
Many ask us if we will continue homeschooling until our kids graduate. The short answer is, I don’t know! Right now, we are taking life as it comes, and paying close attention to our kids’ emotional & developmental needs as it pertains to their education.
BETH ANN KAPPMEYER
Co-founder / Instructor, Master Educator License
Hello! I’m Beth Ann! My husband and I both grew up in Waverly, and we moved back here 2 years ago! We have three boys, Hayden (7), Jace (5), and Owen (2). We love doing all things outdoors and exploring.
I have an elementary education degree and masters of education in literacy, both from UNI. I spent nine years in a public school classroom teaching first grade and fifth grade, and then as an interventionist specializing in early childhood literacy and development.
When my oldest child became school age, we decided to fulfill our educational experiences through homeschooling. I love being able to provide such hands on, sensory-based learning experiences! By homeschooling, I’m able to provide my kids exactly what they need by still allowing them to socialize and explore our natural world and let them be kids!
JORDAN WHITE
Instructor
Hi, I’m Jordan!
My husband and I live in Waterloo, Iowa with our two children, Roman and Wrenley. We love hiking, biking, and hanging out in our backyard together. Roman particularly enjoys visiting my parents’ dairy farm on weekends.
My journey working with children began at a Montessori preschool in Dubuque, which led me to study elementary education at UNI and then go on to teach kindergarten. Each experience in the world of education and child development has taught me so much and eventually has led our family toward a path of homeschooling. As my kids have inched closer to school-age, I have read lots of books, consulted with other parents, and dreamt of the many ways that learning might look for our family. Building a strong community has been the ongoing theme. I believe caring for our growing children and guiding their experience is not meant to be done alone, which is why I’m so excited for us to be part of the Cultivate community.