Who am I

About Me

Hello and welcome!
My name is Maria, and I’ve been homeschooling for 17 years. I hold an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree and hope to one day earn my B.A. in Education.

Three of my six children have already graduated through homeschooling:

One earned a B.A. in English, graduated Summa Cum Laude, and is now in his second year teaching English in Shimane, Japan—while working on his first novel.

Another is starting at the University of Washington this January (2025) as a junior with a 4.0 GPA.

The third graduated with straight A’s and is heading into the trades as a construction apprentice.

Currently, I homeschool my youngest three: a 9th grader, a 7th grader, and a 3rd grader.

My Faith and Values
I give all credit for our homeschool success to the Lord. As a follower of Christ, I’ve leaned heavily on the wisdom of Scripture—especially the book of Proverbs, which has guided me in teaching my children strong values and a good work ethic.

We attend a local non-denominational, Bible-believing church. While my homeschool template is largely non-religious, you may see one quote inspired by Scripture about running your race to win.

My Planning Approach
Over the years, I’ve used a variety of curricula. For high school, I’ve especially leaned on video-based instruction, including online subscriptions and lessons from our local high school.
For years I planned with Microsoft Excel, printing and binding my lesson plans. It worked well for planning and bumping lessons—but lacked digital features like marking assignments complete.

Later, I experimented with CANVAS, a free platform we used while one of my kids was earning dual credit. It worked for a season, but didn’t fully meet our needs—especially when it came to engaging my boys or keeping them on track.

Why I Use Notion
I’ve been using Notion for less than a year—but it’s been a game-changer.

Here’s why:
Each child has a personalized portal page customized to their interests.

They use my Notion account on their own devices—no separate logins needed.

They can easily check off daily schoolwork, which helps them stay motivated and on task.

The learning curve was real—but I had a clear vision for what I needed:

What I Needed in a Template:
Student portals for personalized access

The ability to reuse lesson templates

A system to track credits for transcripts

Tools to bump lessons forward and automatically skip weekends

I initially bought a template that fit most of my needs, but the creator stopped offering it. That’s when I dug in, learned Notion inside and out, and created my own version. Now I’m sharing it with you!

Final Thoughts
I truly hope this template helps bless your homeschool the way it has mine.

Thanks for visiting—and happy planning!
Warmly,
Maria Smith
Let’s make homeschool work for your ideas