The Cast

The Ridenhour crew

Me (Gwyn): I’m a wife and mom, environmentalist, advocate of quality education with an emphasis on gifted kids, vegetarian, artist, and a lover of books, good coffee, watching birds and growing things. I’m an east coast mountain girl living in the midwest on the upper plains of North Dakota. By trade, I’m a librarian and a home educator.

Kid #1 (Ian): Ian is an 12 year old music machine. He’s a percussionist, avid reader, game developer, and stage hound. His dream is to travel the world playing music. He has a strong sense of ethics and values fairness. Ian was accelerated two full grades in the public school before we began home education three years ago. He homeschools, takes one course online, two courses at the local high school and one at the local middle school,  music theory lessons with a university professor, as well as drum lessons from a private instructor. Check out his website: www.ianridenhour.com.

Kid #2 (Eva): Eva is a 9-year old story-teller, artist, reader, and Harry Potter fanatic. She is the author of three books, which have sold more than 130 copies. She also has a series of five 2-minute video lectures in which she teaches the craft of writing; these videos are have been viewed more than 4,000 times in six different countries! Eva’s dream is to be a successful author and perhaps a scientist. She is always looking for ways to make people happy. Before we began homeschooling, Eva was accelerated one grade in the public school. This year she was accelerated one additional year so that she could take band at the public school. You can see her books and videos at www.evaridenhour.com.

Husband (Jamie): Jamie is a professor of English at a local university. He specializes in 19th century British literature. Jamie’s also a writer; his book Barking Mad is a 1920s comedy murder mystery that also happens to have a werewolf in it. His dark short stories have been published all over the place, and he’s created two short films (also very dark and creepy) called Cornerboys and House of the Yaga. He’s currently working on his first young adult novel. Jamie is our go-to for history fact-checking, literature exploration, and writing tutelage. He’s also a great cook. And of course he has a website, because we love websites over here! Visit him, check out his books, and watch his films at www.jamiesonridenhour.com.