There's a lot of stuff happening in the world right now. A quick skim through social media or perusal of your favorite news app reveals an overwhelming sense of fear, anger, and negativity. Many of us are asking, "What kind of world are we leaving for our kids?" Never has the role of homeschooling been more integral or meaningful as it is today. This is the very heartbeat of everything we do here at Gather 'Round: paving the way for the next generation. As Jonathan and I have been praying, we felt led to do something kind of radical, and we're dishing all the details in our live today at 2pm EST. You can watch on Facebook or our free app, but if you're joining on Facebook, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss our live updates!

Number Sense is Live!

If you've been following the updates, you'll know that over the past year we have been developing a brand new math curriculum that is broken up by topical units and incremental (or modular) steps. Each step takes about a month if you do school four days per week, and you can put it together however you want: either doing multiple steps back to back for a mastery approach or to catch up, or doing one of each unit as they are released. As a homeschool mom, I was tired of buying these hefty math curricula that are designed for a whole year that weren't really suited for what my kids need. I was always compromising: either pushing them ahead and having to supplement to fill a gap of something they forgot or having to go back and do an earlier level because they were missing something foundational.

We've spent this year working with a few hundred families who are testing out the books with their kids and giving us their feedback. It's been so exciting to hear the reviews and we are finally ready to release it to the public! This series will be released every 5 weeks (which is how long it takes to do a step if you do 4 days per week) over the next two-ish years and our first one, Number Sense, is live now! We can't wait to hear what you think of this minimalistic math! No Teacher's Guide, no hands-on prep or materials required, and no more tears! Try it now . . .

In other news, we are coming near to the end of our first unit in our Online Academy. We're even having a special guest (a real astronaut) join us to share some real-life stories and answer questions. Truthfully, the Academy has blown my expectations out of the water. We have over 700 students joining from all over North America. Many of our families started off with just one or two days a week but ended up upgrading to full access because something is happening . . . our students are interacting and engaging. They are motivated and inspired. With this unique approach, we have finally found a way to be consistent in our schools without having to abdicate the role of homeschooling to someone else or drive out to all the things. Our next unit is Vikings (starting October 20th) and we'd love to have you join us! Learn more here, and otherwise I hope you have an amazing week. May you be encouraged and refreshed, filled with all hope and peace and joy, and may God give you strength and inspiration for the months to follow. This matters and this is worth it.

Keep on keeping on . . .