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ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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Hi! Thanks for stopping by to meet me! My name is Dorian Holt. My husband, John, and I loved homeschooling our son, Ryan, for eight years (from grades 5-12). I have a background in teaching, with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Olivet Nazarene University, with a specialization in Language Arts. Before Ryan was born I taught preschool and kindergarten. Life and job experience have also taken me to the fields of customer service, sales, and marketing. John will tell you that I am the writer, and that he is "just" the husband. Don't let him fool you! Yes, I am the writer, but I truly could not do this without him! He handles all of the printing, computer-related tasks, the publishing and business aspects of Learning Adventures. John has a Master's Degree in Business and is the Church Administrator at our church here in Seymour, Indiana in addition to managing Learning Adventures. Now that Ryan is grown, out of college, and working, Learning Adventures consists of just the two of us. There are no receptionists or staff writers, no shipping managers or accountants - so when you call us here at home (where our office and printing/publishing location is) - we will be the ones to answer the phones to greet you. We love working together, and we have a passion for learning and homeschooling - and for unit studies! How the Learning Adventures Series Came to be Written Ryan was in the fifth grade when we brought him home to learn. We had spent a year investigating the possibility and the different methods of home education. My teaching background and our love for books made the unit study approach the most logical and obvious choice for us. We truly believed then and still do - that learning should be a wonderful adventure - and the unit study approach is the most meaningful and enjoyable way to learn! Back then, I started putting together units that followed a chronological history line and integrated the other subjects into that as much as possible. I have always loved creating lessons for children, so putting together these units was fun and exciting for me! It was very time consuming, however, and I relied on other resources in the homeschooling market to make it possible for me to have the time to create AND teach Ryan. That means not everything was integrated, and I increasingly saw the benefits of connecting as much as possible. It wasn't long before other homeschooling parents began asking me to show them how we learned at home. They were eager (and some were desperate) to implement more meaningful ways of learning in their homeschools. In the process of happily showing them how they, too, could help their children love learning, I quickly realized that while I loved putting together my own unit studies, others lacked the time and confidence to create their own. They wanted a "teacher's guide" to a unit study - so they could reap the benefits - but not have to plan it themselves. I knew then, that this was a way I could help other families experience the joy and delight in learning that we were experiencing! So, the Learning Adventures series was created after we had walked the pathway ourselves. The things that worked best for us became a part of our unit studies, and the things that didn't work for us weren't included! Elements that I had always wanted to include originally but lacked the time to integrate were also included. The result was a modified unit study approach, with the benefits of real books, projects, activities, and meaning - but all within a structured format with daily lesson that made the curriculum user-friendly and still very flexible. I hope that you will enjoy learning about our unit studies as you make your way through the pages of our web site! ~Dorian |
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