Hi! I’m Sonya, a former environmental educator turned yoga teacher. I was in the middle of a career as a personal yoga instructor (I still am, check out www.myhealingyoga.com to schedule a personal or family yoga session) when covid turned me into a homeschool teacher for my two kids.
If you’re wondering how a yoga teacher can help with creating educational units, don’t worry, I have many more qualifications! I’m the product of a k-12 public education and received both a B.S. and Masters of Engineering in Agricultural & Biological Engineering from Cornell University. After receiving my degrees, I decided to forgo private industry in hopes of inspiring fellow women and students of color to pursue careers in the sciences.
My experience includes working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, running a multicultural education program for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, documenting tinkering projects and correlating NGSS standards for the Community Science Workshops Network, running diversity trainings for California outdoor education schools, and running field trips for the City of Watsonville’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. Although I loved inspiring a love for science in kids, I suffered from burnout and turned to the less stressful career of teaching yoga. The name Aumschooling is a combination of aum – a sacred sound considered by many ancient philosophical texts to be the sound of the universe often used at the beginning and end of yoga classes – and homeschooling, my two current professions.
When I began homeschooling, it seemed very natural to integrate all of our studies into one cohesive unit. My goal was to create mini experts who could seamlessly explain whatever topic we were studying. I wanted my kids to understand the human connection to the science we were studying and to explain that connection in an eloquent manner. I wanted them to understand the details of our topic well enough to provide accurate illustrations and diagrams for others to understand. The beauty of my method is that we all learn together. I don’t try to make myself an expert before teaching the kids – we all read, study and learn as a family.
If you are interested in learning how to homeschool the Aumschooling Way, contact me to schedule a consulting session.