Community Corner
Homeschool Program Aims to "Put the Fun Back in Learning"
Canton Homeschool Resources offers a wide variety of homeschool classes and tutoring options for Cherokee County students.
Canton Homeschool Resources recently moved into a home at 670 East Main Street in downtown Canton. The program offers a wide variety of homeschool classes and tutoring options for students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade.
Patch sat down with Tammy Nunley, a certified teacher who started the program in an effort to homeschool her own children.
1. How did Canton Homeschool Resources get started?
I wanted to have some fun, yet academic homeschool classes for my own kids to participate in but I was not able to find a perfect match for our family. I wanted hands on learning rather than just traditional text book learning and I did not want a full curriculum. Learning should be fun and preferable, close to home. When I could not find what I was looking for, I decided to offer a few classes out of my own home using my background in education. This expanded into offering classes at other people's homes as well. I quickly saw that there was a need for this in our area and my husband and I decided to get a building to expand so more teachers could join in and we could offer even more classes and activities to local families.
2. What services do you offer? Who do you target?
We have many services available to all families whether they are home schooled or not. We offer affordable, hands-on academic and elective classes to students who are in kindergarten through 12th grade. Classes include everything from marine biology with dissection labs to writing, math, cooking and sewing, robotics and LEGO classes. Music and art are on the schedule now and drama is in the planning stages. For those parents who wish to have our curriculum but for some reason can not bring students to class, we offer our classes to parents via email. We will send the parent the class info each week just as if the child was in class so the student can do it at home. We also offer after-school classes for all students whether they are home schooled or traditionally schooled. We offer tutoring for all grades and subjects for $35 per hour.
3. How many classes do you all have?
We have approximately 80 classes on the schedule right now ready to start in January and we are adding more to begin shortly after. Classes have a minimum of four students and a maximum of between eight 12 students. Some students take one class while others take many.
4. I understand you have a background in education. Can you go further into that?
I hold a master of arts degree in education: curriculum and instruction and am a currently working on a doctoral degree in education administration. I have been certified to teach multiple subjects in a self contained classroom in grades k-12 in the state of California and am in the process of transferring my certificate to Georgia. Over half of our teachers are certified to teach in Georgia and some hold master of arts degrees in education as well. All of the teachers have degrees and they teach in their personal specialties.
5. Can you tell our readers where you are from?
I am from Orange County, California. I moved to Georgia in 2002. I moved back to California in 2009 and back to Georgia in 2010. I graduated from Lutheran High School in Orange County, got my bachelor of arts degree from Concordia University, Irvine, and my master of arts degree from Azusa Pacific University. I currently reside in Canton with my husband, three children, three cats and dog.
6. What makes this program unique to others offered in the area? Why should parents and students give you all a closer look?
Our program is unique in that there is nothing quite like it around. We have some great options for home school families in Cherokee County, but nothing quite like this. We are not curriculum bound, meaning that we are not locked into any one curriculum. We offer hands on activities to teach students instead of read this, answer these questions techniques. Since our teachers are experienced, we often create our own materials and bring in ideas from several sources for a more rounded class.
While we are Christian-based, we accept all people and do not feel that anyone would feel uncomfortable in our classes. We do not put pressure on anyone. We do not discuss evolution versus creationism in any of our classes. We put the fun back in learning and while we are not totally relaxed and a free for all, we are not super strict either. It is a nice easy middle of the road program.
Editor's note: Classes resume on Monday Jan. 6, 2014, and a list of classes can be viewed on the company's website. Further questions can be directed to cantonhomeschoolresources@gmail.com.
Patch sat down with Tammy Nunley, a certified teacher who started the program in an effort to homeschool her own children.
1. How did Canton Homeschool Resources get started?
I wanted to have some fun, yet academic homeschool classes for my own kids to participate in but I was not able to find a perfect match for our family. I wanted hands on learning rather than just traditional text book learning and I did not want a full curriculum. Learning should be fun and preferable, close to home. When I could not find what I was looking for, I decided to offer a few classes out of my own home using my background in education. This expanded into offering classes at other people's homes as well. I quickly saw that there was a need for this in our area and my husband and I decided to get a building to expand so more teachers could join in and we could offer even more classes and activities to local families.
2. What services do you offer? Who do you target?
We have many services available to all families whether they are home schooled or not. We offer affordable, hands-on academic and elective classes to students who are in kindergarten through 12th grade. Classes include everything from marine biology with dissection labs to writing, math, cooking and sewing, robotics and LEGO classes. Music and art are on the schedule now and drama is in the planning stages. For those parents who wish to have our curriculum but for some reason can not bring students to class, we offer our classes to parents via email. We will send the parent the class info each week just as if the child was in class so the student can do it at home. We also offer after-school classes for all students whether they are home schooled or traditionally schooled. We offer tutoring for all grades and subjects for $35 per hour.
3. How many classes do you all have?
We have approximately 80 classes on the schedule right now ready to start in January and we are adding more to begin shortly after. Classes have a minimum of four students and a maximum of between eight 12 students. Some students take one class while others take many.
4. I understand you have a background in education. Can you go further into that?
I hold a master of arts degree in education: curriculum and instruction and am a currently working on a doctoral degree in education administration. I have been certified to teach multiple subjects in a self contained classroom in grades k-12 in the state of California and am in the process of transferring my certificate to Georgia. Over half of our teachers are certified to teach in Georgia and some hold master of arts degrees in education as well. All of the teachers have degrees and they teach in their personal specialties.
5. Can you tell our readers where you are from?
I am from Orange County, California. I moved to Georgia in 2002. I moved back to California in 2009 and back to Georgia in 2010. I graduated from Lutheran High School in Orange County, got my bachelor of arts degree from Concordia University, Irvine, and my master of arts degree from Azusa Pacific University. I currently reside in Canton with my husband, three children, three cats and dog.
6. What makes this program unique to others offered in the area? Why should parents and students give you all a closer look?
Our program is unique in that there is nothing quite like it around. We have some great options for home school families in Cherokee County, but nothing quite like this. We are not curriculum bound, meaning that we are not locked into any one curriculum. We offer hands on activities to teach students instead of read this, answer these questions techniques. Since our teachers are experienced, we often create our own materials and bring in ideas from several sources for a more rounded class.
While we are Christian-based, we accept all people and do not feel that anyone would feel uncomfortable in our classes. We do not put pressure on anyone. We do not discuss evolution versus creationism in any of our classes. We put the fun back in learning and while we are not totally relaxed and a free for all, we are not super strict either. It is a nice easy middle of the road program.
Editor's note: Classes resume on Monday Jan. 6, 2014, and a list of classes can be viewed on the company's website. Further questions can be directed to cantonhomeschoolresources@gmail.com.
Don’t miss any of the local news you care about. Subscribe to Canton-Sixes Patch’s free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here
