Our Method
Our Teacher
Hello! I'm Emma... I taught elementary grades for seven years before embracing the beautiful calling of motherhood. For the past six years, I’ve homeschooled my three children, leading them in discovery and wonder. I’ve also enjoyed leading a Natural History Club and a Charlotte Mason–inspired co-op, cultivating community and a love of learning through God’s creation.​I’m a Virginia-certified teacher with a Master’s in Reading Education and am pursuing my Charlotte Mason certification. I love teaching Sunday School and serving with RVA Hope Center’s Kids Outreach Program. Wherever I’m teaching—at home, church, or outdoors—I find joy in helping children see God’s goodness in the world around them.
One of my favorite pastimes is gardening—especially growing flowers to share with others. It reminds me of a line from Barbara Cooney’s Miss Rumphius: “You must do something to make the world more beautiful.” Charlotte Mason believed that education should cultivate in children a love for what is true, good, and beautiful—that learning isn’t just about acquiring knowledge, but about nurturing the soul. Just as a garden flourishes when tended with care, a child’s mind and heart grow best when surrounded by living ideas, noble thoughts, and beauty in God’s creation. ​​​
Willow Grove Cottage School was born from a longing to see education become something more life-giving—something that truly reaches the hearts of children. I’ve seen how even in well-meaning Christian settings, education can become focused on information and achievement while missing two beautiful truths: that every child is already a whole person, created in the image of God, and that it is the Holy Spirit who does the real work of education within them. Charlotte Mason’s philosophy reminds us that learning is not about filling a child up, but about awakening their mind and spirit to the living ideas of God’s world. My prayer is that together, we will nurture hearts and minds so that each child can flourish and, in their own way, make the world more beautiful.