How to Create the Happy Homeschool You Always Dreamed Of...
You want your child to love learning, feel
confident, and thrive in life—but homeschooling can feel overwhelming.
If you’ve ever felt frustrated with disconnected lessons, unsure of how to balance
it all, or worried about your child’s future, you’re not alone.
With over 20 years of experience, I help parents like you turn homeschooling
struggles into joyful, thriving experiences.
Together, we’ll create a learning environment
where your child feels inspired, confident, and independent—
and where you find joy in teaching.
Hi, I'm Shari Keller
Twenty years ago, my oldest son started kindergarten, and I quickly realized that traditional schooling wasn’t working for him. He lost his love of learning, and I knew I had to find another way. So, I made the leap to homeschool my three kids—a decision that completely transformed our family.
What started as a leap of faith became a deeply rewarding journey. I remember the moment my son lit up during his first hands-on project—that’s when I knew I was on the right path. I created a homeschool environment where my kids were free to explore their curiosity and watched as their confidence, and independence grew.
Along the way, I’ve shared my expertise as a writer for Empowering Kids, a speaker at the SHAPE Homeschool Conference, and a VELA Education Fund founder, where I’ve had the privilege of connecting with and supporting homeschooling families like yours.
I’ve loved every minute of homeschooling my three kids—including the challenging ones!
Our homeschool...
I’m an educator and former academic with a doctorate in cultural anthropology (UT Austin 2000), world traveler, lifelong learner, and social entrepreneur (with a fair trade business in Jaipur, India, and a lot of travel with our three kids between North Carolina and India when they were young!).
I have three grown kids and was a homeschooling mom of all three for over sixteen years, from kindergarten through high school. Homeschooling has been one of the most rewarding, fulfilling, . . . and humbling experiences of my life.
As we worked our way through projects, quests, hands-on learning, scavenger hunts, and experiments, I saw what a difference inquiry-based learning makes.
When my kids graduated from high school and went on to college and to own a business, I missed the engagement with them and our activities.
So I decided to take what I’d developed and launch Quest Schooling to help parents and teachers like you!
What Makes My Approach Different
Homeschooling is about more than just academics—it’s about raising capable, confident, and compassionate individuals who are prepared for whatever life brings.
At the heart of my teaching is the Independent Learner Framework—a comprehensive approach designed to make homeschooling simple, joyful, and effective.
The Independent Learner Framework
The Independent Learner Framework is built on over 20 years of hands-on experience as both an educator and a homeschool mom,
combined with proven research.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach—instead, it’s designed to adapt to your child’s unique needs and your family’s rhythm, making learning both effective and joyful.
Whether it’s guiding your child through a hands-on science experiment or using
storytelling to bring history to life, my framework works for every learner,
every family, and any curriculum.
How I Can Help You
I offer a range of resources to support you, whether you’re new to homeschooling
or refining your approach:
Homeschooling is about more than academics—
It’s about nurturing a lifelong love of learning and creating meaningful connections with your child.
Let me guide you to make homeschooling the joyful,
rewarding journey it’s meant to be.
Start Raising a Happy, Independent Learner Today
Watch my free webinar,
The 3-Step Blueprint to Stress-Free Homeschooling,
to discover how to
transform your homeschool with ease and joy.
A holistic approach...
Homeschooling should be a child-centered journey that places your kid at the heart of everything you do.
I believe in integrating life and learning—kids absorb knowledge from everything around them, including books, nature, technology, art, and physical activity.
My vision combines intellectual growth with emotional intelligence, encouraging time for play, creative exploration, and physical development.
At its core, this approach helps children retain and nurture their natural curiosity, empathy, and kindness.
And it sparks their lifelong love of learning.
Child-Centered Learning
We need to see kids as people first. My mission is to help children become the best version of themselves by honoring their unique learning styles, interests, and pace. Every child is naturally curious and motivated to learn, and each one is different. By adapting our teaching to fit each child’s needs, we can create an educational experience that is personal, supportive, and effective.
Real-World Learning
Kids are constantly learning—through real-life experiences, community involvement, and hands-on projects, just as much as through textbooks and worksheets. I believe education is about finding a balance between mastering academic skills and developing real-world abilities like creative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving—skills they gain naturally through real-world learning.
Active Learning
I emphasize learning through hands-on activities and exploration, connecting 'book learning' to real-world experiences so that learning becomes active rather than passive.
Kids thrive when they develop strong critical thinking skills, a sense of independence, and a love of learning. Through exploration, engaging projects, and an “I can” mindset, they gain the confidence to learn and grow on their own terms.
Curriculum and Assessment
I help you learn how to choose a curriculum that will work for your kids. Think math that helps kids learn concepts and skills mastery, history that teaches critical thinking, ELA that inspires and teaches communication skills and a love of language and stories, science that takes lessons off the page and into real life...
I do not focus on testing or traditional grades. I focus on qualitative assessments and constructive feedback designed to help kids grow and gain skills mastery. My focus is on mentoring kids to grow, and become resilient, self-reliant, lifelong learners.
Family Involvement and Mentoring
As parents, our relationship with our kids is essential to building a strong foundation for learning. By acting as mentors rather than traditional teachers, we support their learning journey, encourage continual growth, and inspire a love of lifelong learning.
Kids develop social skills, empathy, and a sense of community through collaborative learning activities and mixed-age group settings. Providing opportunities for learning in unconventional environments empowers them to build valuable social-emotional skills.
Secular, Inclusive, Child-Centered
The resources here are for everyone—they are both secular and inclusive. And they work for both non-traditional schooling and traditional schooling approaches. They incorporate play, games, observational learning, hands-on learning, and real-life experiential learning as part of the educational process.
Through child-centered learning, parents and teachers become mentors, helping kids learn how to learn.
And kids learn how to take ownership of their learning.
