🌱 Welcome to Growing Up Holistic!

If we've never met, I'm Charity Shultz, and I'm glad you're here exploring an alternative to the traditional education model 😊

Here is a little bit about me and why I decided to start Growing Up Holistic in the Morristown community...

I'm a second-generation homeschooling mom of 11, although 4 of my children have now graduated! Bittersweet for sure!!

After leaving an abusive relationship 5 years ago, I found myself no longer able to homeschool my children and enrolled them in public school for the first time so I could get back on my feet.

I was a little anxious to see how they would do as I used a Charlotte Mason approach, which included no testing, lots of nature, good books, narrations, and projects that interested them. To my delight (and huge sigh of relief!), they all went to the top of their class. I remember one of the teachers meeting me in the pickup line and sharing how impressed she was that they had been homeschooled. I decided not to share that I had never given them a test before, and we had to rehearse what grade they were in before dropping them off for the first time :)

But what surprised me the most was at the end of the school year... most of my children struggled to go back to homeschooling because they really enjoyed connecting with other children. I say most because one of my nature-loving sons felt the school was like a prison, and one of my high schoolers went to online schooling after one semester.

And that is when I realized: what if I combined the elements that help children thrive and enjoy learning while making healthy connections in a supportive community?

Trust me, there were a lot of things we didn't miss about the public school. However, I'm grateful for the experience because it taught me so much, including how to trust God with my children while I worked hard to go back to homeschooling ... and that the Charlotte Mason approach really works!

As a Naturopath and owner of Holistic Wellness Center in Morristown, I've spent the last few years helping families heal at the root-cause level and hearing similar stories as mine. Parents want to raise emotionally healthy, spiritually grounded, and naturally minded children, yet don't believe that is what the public education system offers.

And over the last 5 years of doing a lot of emotional healing, I've learned how important nervous system regulation is for both a parent and child. When a child's brain is in constant fight-or-flight mode, learning is not the priority … survival is.

Most homeschooling mothers I meet feel overwhelmed on how to pull all the elements together without getting burned out and feel disconnected and unsupported.

My vision for Growing Up Holistic is to partner with homeschooling families and work together to provide a place where learning feels natural and calming, nature is prioritized, and families are supported while learning how to connect with each other at a deeper level so they can stay healthy!

We are creating a peaceful and nurturing environment where engaged learners can excel at their own pace through a rich academic feast inspired by the Charlotte Mason approach.

Students who attend our learning center will also be prepared to live a holistic lifestyle that will keep them healthy as they fulfill their purpose. They will go into their future with tools and principles that will guide them on the path God has for them.