Personal Note: I looked at lots of authors’ websites while working on mine, and while I realize that most of those seem to be written in third person, I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t write mine that way. Third person feels so impersonal. I’m hoping you’ve come to my site because you want to know a little more about what I’m writing and who I am.

And this is who I am – down to earth, ready to have a conversation with you about some of my favorite topics! So welcome. And please come back. Now that I’m retired and writing full-time there should be much more to come (as time allows, of course!).

MY WRITING

I began writing when I fell in love with the rich history of Wurzburg, Germany, during an extended stay (6.5 years) many, many years ago.  As life moved on, my writing continued on a seemingly forever widening circle of topics. Some of my writing has included:

— of our travel adventures and the travels of others;

— of Da Vinci and of Lewis & Clark (and the unsung hero of their travels, York);

— to encourage homeschooling parents in the how-to’s and what-for’s of homeschooling;

— on topics of American government and Civil Rights;

— a guide to reading Shakespeare with high school students, borne out of many years of readings at with my own children and my other students;

— and countless other books, with hopefully many more to come!

When I was finishing my last year as owner of Creative Learning Connection, I was often asked what I would do with myself when I retired from homeschooling and running the store. My answer was always “Write more and travel more.” Those that knew me reasonably well wondered how I could possibly do more of either, but those who knew me really well would just smile. Come along and maybe you can smile too.

MY TRAVELS

Sometimes I feel like I was born to travel! I came into the world in the Panama Canal Zone the first time my father was stationed there. In the 60 years since then I have traveled throughout Central and North America and much of Western Europe (At my last count it was all 50 U.S. states and 33 other countries).

I attended high school in Michigan and then went to M.I.T. where I met my future husband, Daniel when we were both in R.O.T.C. After college, my travels continued as we moved across the country and overseas with the military. IT was during this time that we lived in Wuerzburg, Germany. I wrote my first book during that time.

I have spent most of the last 30 years educating our 12 children, while also teaching classes for other homeschoolers — classes from Shakespeare to Government to Economics and more. When I teach, I strive to make history come alive for my students. I immerse them in each subject, including taking them on trips across the country to experience history where it happened.

We followed the Lewis and Clark Trail in 2005 with family members and volunteered at Jamestown during the 400 year anniversary in 2007. On a trip back to Panama in 2008 I started my “Horsey and Friends” series, which has continued during recent “school trips” to Washington, D.C., Virginia, and more. I also took students to our state capital to learn more about the legislative process and I coached several high school Mock Trial teams every year for twenty-one years.

My passion for learning is as strong as my passion for teaching, and I seek out and attend teachers’ workshops throughout the country on a diverse set of topics whenever I can.  I have attended over a dozen teachers’ summer workshops on topics ranging from the U.S. Constitution, Economics, Civil Rights, and the Civil War (to name a few).

Happy Reading!

Cathy

MY FAMILY

P.S. I don’t write blog posts often on either of my blogs about my family, but I do occasionally, and thought a link to one of them here might be useful: Relaxing with Family, Atlanta or Bust,