Someday I would like to write curriculum. This is what I would say to myself and others when I would think about what I would do to occupy my time after I had finished raising my children. It seemed like a natural extension of my arts education background and years of elementary school teaching.

The day when I would have the time to write curriculum seemed far, far away. For now, my days were spent teaching my children, changing diapers, chasing toddlers, going to and from soccer practice, and all the other things that mothers do to keep things going. My plan was to begin writing when the children were grown.

God had a different plan for our family. It often seems to work that way. One summer God began to reveal his plan to us, bit by bit. The school year was over, finally! I was looking over what we had studied that year and what we would study the next year. I wanted to feel relieved, but I couldn’t help but feel guilty about the things that we had missed; the subjects that we had skipped because we just didn’t have enough time (and energy!) Mostly, I regretted that we had not spent one minute on music and art, the very subjects that I was trained to teach.

I sat at the kitchen table, and wondered why I had neglected a subject for which I had so much passion. I vowed that we would make up for lost time over the summer. With much resolve, I located all my project books and idea guides. I had the best of intentions, of course, but my plans seemed to always fall short. The week we were to study Van Gogh, the book we needed was checked out of the library. Then, I had high hopes to study The Grand Canyon Suite, but the download stalled and we only had half the music we wanted to study. Frustrated, but determined, I continued this way through the summer.

There must be a better way to do this, I thought.

One day while I was in the shower (I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t the truth) all the seeds that God had been planting over the past year were finally put together in one big “aha moment.” Stepping out on faith, Handle on the Arts was born.

So, now my days are spent teaching my children, changing diapers, chasing toddlers, and writing fine arts curriculum. It is my privilege to be able to share my passion for the arts with you and your family through this curriculum. It is my hope and prayer that our products empower you to teach the arts to your children, and in doing so, you awaken a passion in them that will overflow into all aspects of their education and their lives.