June 23—FARMINGTON — Victoria Staples, 31, knew from an early age that she wanted to focus on education.
“I remember specifically playing ‘school’ with my siblings and pretending to be a teacher while giving lessons on the whiteboard. After attending three different high schools during my teenage years, I graduated and went on to university, focusing on early childhood education,” she says. said.
She founded Root & Bloom Homeschool Co-op last year and it has grown to include dozens of families.
Staples was born in Maine and grew up here. She has lived in the Franklin County area for 10 years.
She and her husband, Jacob Staples, have two children: a daughter, Finley, 5, and a son, Alder, 2, with a third child on the way.
“My life for the past four years has consisted of staying home with my children and homeschooling my nephew and my children as they grew. It is truly a blessing to be able to live this life… Our kids are growing too fast, and my favorite part of our homeschooling journey is the extra time I get to spend with them. Every moment is an opportunity to build a memory together, and that’s not something I want to pass up.”
I became involved in homeschooling during school closures in 2020. At the time, my oldest was 2 and I transitioned to homeschooling my cousin because online learning was not a viable option. I knew I could provide personalized education that met his specific needs, interests and learning styles. As my own children and family grew, I began connecting with other homeschooling families in the area and quickly saw the benefits of this approach to education. We have been homeschooling for four years.
I started Root & Bloom Homeschool Co-op, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, in September 2023 when I saw a growing need for a supportive community among homeschooling families in the western mountain region of Maine. Many parents, like me, looked for opportunities for their children to socialize, collaborate on projects, and participate in group learning activities. By creating the co-op, we wanted to provide a place for relationships and community with like-minded families, as we seek to homeschool our children and help them learn and grow in the educational areas of their interests, where children can learn and benefit together of each other’s strengths in a structured yet flexible environment.
Many families have turned to homeschooling for various reasons. I think the initial growth came from the closure of schools and families wanting a better way of learning for their children. From that point on, many families, like me, saw the benefits homeschooling had in their lives – the ability to get a customized education, more family time, freedom in their schedules – and chose to continue because they loved loved the lifestyle and it worked for them. Another big part of families choosing to homeschool is the vaccine bill passed in 2019. If this law had not been passed, many families would still be attending public schools in our district. Other reasons that have been brought to my attention through conversations with families include removing their children due to bullying in the public school system, being able to provide specialized education tailored to their children with special needs, having safety concerns, the concern that academic learning is a problem. a lower priority than social-emotional learning, including sexual orientation and gender identity, and the fact that families simply want more time with their children.
I am really surprised by the participation! I remember thinking, “What if no one joins?” (but) our co-op has grown steadily over the past year as more area families choose to homeschool and look for community and resources to support their educational journey. I feel blessed to bring a sense of community to many families! We currently have a waiting list and cannot accept new families at this time.
I have organized co-op days on topics such as science, cooking/baking, maths, literacy, art and more specialist education to supplement what the parents have been teaching. I have organized educational workshops for parents to complement their homeschooling journey. I’ve planned field trips within our community, our state, and even held our second annual out-of-state trip last month to the Museum of Science in Boston and the Franklin Park Zoo. Visits to museums, historic sites, farms and more play an important role in providing children with hands-on learning experiences and engaging them in their communities. I also held a science fair and an art show, which gave our kids the opportunity to work on bigger projects, give presentations and show off the work they put into it. We have also partnered with our local homeschool sports league to create Root & Bloom Homeschool Sports, offering football in the spring and fall, with the hope of adding more sports to our offerings next year.
Have I ever! It is incredibly satisfying to see the positive impact our cooperative has on both the children and their families. It is rewarding to see the children grow both socially and educationally. The sense of community we have built and the support we provide each other makes all the efforts worthwhile. Knowing that we are helping to build confident, competent individuals who are excited about learning gives me immense satisfaction!
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