5th-6th Grade Writing

I have a master’s degree in education and taught second grade as a credentialed teacher for four years before my husband and I started a family. I began teaching from home when our oldest entered first grade and graduated the last of our six children in 2020. During those 27 years, I enjoyed teaching a variety of classes to homeschoolers at HCS. I appreciate God’s gift of words and stories, and I see each child as special and worth pouring into.
Inspired by several of my own “struggling learners,” I strive to make classes that are memorable and fun utilizing games and visuals.

Intro to Literature, American Literature, British Literature

In addition to homeschooling my own children for fourteen years, I’ve brought my love of writing and literature to many students through high school literature classes (continually since 2014) and upper elementary writing classes (2010-2021).

I’m passionately enthusiastic about literature, and I love sharing that passion with my students. It’s wonderful to see my students’ minds open up as they discover a symbolic meaning or notice a new theme emerging in a high-quality literary work.

Throughout my own education, I immersed myself in a variety of writing classes, savoring creative writing and dabbling in journalism. My high school AP English teacher went on to create a popular writing and literature program that is still used widely throughout the world. I don’t use that program (it’s quite expensive) but I use many of her theories. In college, I ended up moving in a different direction, but my first (academic) love will always be the written word.

Algebra 1, Geometry

I began teaching during my transition from a professional CPA career where I experienced math daily in finance, accounting, and statistics fields, to parent and homeschool teacher of four children.
Math and science co-op classes designed to help children see math as much more than arithmetic operations developed into a lasting teaching vocation after our children graduated high school.

Math is a unique way of understanding our world and develops life skills for problem solving. There is beauty in mathematics, the “language in which God has written the universe” (Galileo) that I did not discover until my college years. I hope to share this with students even as we learn the traditional material needed for future courses and potential college preparation. The verse I strive to live by: John 13:35

Spanish 1, Spanish 2

I was born and raised in Italy until the age of 19, when I moved to the United States. Growing up, I was exposed to Spanish through my mother of Mexican-American
descent and also by listening to Spanish Christian songs to the preaching of visiting missionaries. It wasn’t until I enrolled in Southwestern College that I took my first Spanish courses for native speakers. I hold a B.A. in Linguistics (SDSU), a Certificate of Applied
Linguistics and ESL from the SDSU American Language Institute, and an
M.A. in Spanish with emphasis on Linguistics (SDSU). While taking graduate courses, I taught four semesters of Spanish 101 and 102 at SDSU as a Teaching Associate – a total of eight classes. The year I graduated I also became a mother for the first time and I chose to stay home and take care of my family.

Since I began homeschooling in 2015, I have taught introductory
Spanish at Bonita Class Day and Spanish 1 – in 2020 to a small group of HCS high schoolers, and in 2021 at HCS Academy for the first time. Since I had to learn English and Spanish simultaneously, I understand the struggle my students face in acquiring a new language. After living in Southern California for over 27 years, taking many Spanish courses in college, and making many
language mistakes (and learning from them), I am now often told that I sound like a native speaker.

Learning Spanish can create opportunities to get to know your neighbors, understand their way of thinking, and share God’s love to them. I hope that students will take this class with a true desire to learn
Spanish and use it in life for the honor and glory of God.

World History, US History, Government/Economics (Libertas)

I have been in Christian school education for over eighteen years. My educational background consists of a Bachelor of Science in History
Education and an M.A. in history. As a teacher, I have taught a multitude of history courses including but not limited to World History, US History, AP World History, AP US History, US
Government, AP US Government and Politics. Over the years, I have developed a curriculum which seeks to engage all students and develop a passion for the study of history. 

Psalm 78:1-7, tells us to teach future generations the past, in order, “… that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God but keep His commandments.” My desire is to teach history through a biblical
worldview so that students may continue to set their hope in Christ
and all He has done for us along with becoming lifelong learners who recognize what has made the United States exceptional to better engage our current culture.

Algebra 1, Algebra 2

My wife and I began homeschooling our two kids at Heritage around 2005. We stayed with Heritage until they both graduated from high school.

Professionally, I have a BS in Mathematics from Cal Poly and a high school teaching credential. Also, I have an MS in Math Education for Oregon State. I have been teaching math for 35 years. The last 32 years have been at Cuyamaca College where I have taught everything from pre-algebra to calculus to differential equations. I also taught classes in Economics and Geometry with Heritage while my kids were in high school.

My own positive experiences
as a parent with Heritage and my shock over the progressive
degeneration in secular curriculum have fueled my passion to help families who seek a way of escape from the influence of the world’s system.

General Science, Pre-Algebra

I come from several generations of scientists and teachers. God gave me a love of science when I was young, and I decided my future career at the
age of 12. I graduated from UCSD in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry and a minor in Creative
Writing. At UCSD, I taught several freshman chemistry classes and tutorial sessions.

While living my dream as a researcher (and surfer) at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, I fully committed my life to Christ and that life was forever changed. From researcher to ministry, to marriage, to mom, to homeschool. Life continues to be a wonderful whirlwind. I have taught homeschool elementary, middle school and high school science classes for over 15 years, and General Science is a personal favorite. It is a joy to help these students make the successful transition from elementary to middle
school learning expectations.

Spanish 1, Spanish 2

I was born and raised in Spain until the age of 19, when I moved to the United States. Therefore, I have been speaking Spanish my whole life! From
all my years in public Spanish schools, jobs I had, and my friends, everything once I stepped outside my home was Spanish. At the age of 19, I moved to New York City to work for a Ministry called “Metro World Child.” There I served within the underprivileged neighborhoods teaching children about God, and
a lot of times in Spanish! I was on staff there for over 11 years before
moving to San Diego, where I became a children’s pastor in March
of 2020.

During the covid lockdowns, I started tutoring/teaching Spanish to some homeschooling families from our church. This grew into other families asking me to teach their children Spanish as well, and slowly I began to take on more families of different
ages. I have now been teaching Spanish for a little over 2 years. I am grateful for this opportunity and so excited to teach your kids Spanish in a fun, creative and understanding way. I am a children’s pastor at heart, so this class will be fun, interactive, and wholesome!

US History

I’ve been homeschooling since 1985, all through HCS. My one dream job was to do just that and I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity. All of my six children had completely different learning styles and academic goals, which pushed me to dig into the mysteries of dyslexia, the perplexity of Physics, the appreciation of classical music, and much more.

Besides educating my own children, I’ve taught a variety of classes, and coordinated at class day. The last few years I’ve done some insurance and retail work, but my favorite job by far is teaching young people. From visiting places such as our Nation’s Capital and Mount Rushmore to diving into the Gold Rush and the great Chicago fire through historical
fiction, I have developed a love for American History. My goal is for the students to view this subject through a Biblical worldview, while learning the narrative and lessons learned from our country’s past.

Chemistry, Geometry

I began my homeschooling career in 2006 and love teaching students science and mathematics. My teaching credential is in biology, but I also have experience teaching chemistry, algebra, geometry, general science, and history. I hold a B.A. in Social Science, minor in Applied Ecology from UC Irvine. At the age of 21 I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ after being raised as an atheist. My life verse is 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

Composition, Middle School Writing

As a graduate of the University of Oregon, I am thankful to be following my passion as an educator within the community of home education, applying principles I believe in. Thus, my husband and I homeschooled our four (now adult) children, and since 2004.

I have been teaching and tutoring other high school (Introduction to Literature, American, British, World Literature, and Composition) and junior high students (literature and composition) either in my home, over Zoom, through Heritage Christian School’s class day, or at the HCS Academy. I truly love equipping students.

The backbone of my instruction centers around helping students to deeply engage with selected reading material and then respond in thought provoking ways while
measuring the words of the text against the wisdom of the Bible.
Engagement with the material occurs by way of context, annotation, and Socratic discussion. Responding to the material involves written work that requires organization, editing, and revision with an aim toward producing excellent written work. Additionally, my classes allocate time to building proficiency in the areas of style, writing mechanics, and critical thinking. My goal has always been to encourage improvement step-by-step while equipping middle school and high school students to shine brightly amidst the rigors of their calling.

Physical Science

I am so excited to be a part of the HCS Academy Family! I have been homeschooling now for seven years. The years I was not homeschooling I was volunteering at the private school my daughters attended. My oldest graduated from Heritage this past year and I look forward to homeschooling my other three through graduation as well.

My career started in owning long term care facilities in Washington State. I moved to San Diego in 2009 and focused on taking time off to raise my littles and help in ministry. I now currently assist my husband in our family business when I am not
teaching.

I have taught science in the classroom setting at HCS for over two years now. I absolutely enjoy helping all the students to achieve their potential and encourage their love of science. My favorite subject in high school was science and my prayer is for my students to enjoy it as well.

Middle School American History/English, Government & Economics, High School Geography

I am a homeschool veteran having homeschooled three of my four children from kindergarten through high school graduation. I’ve been teaching Government and Economics since 2015, first in a co-op setting to accommodate my own children during the last years of their high school experience and continuing to teach outside students once my own children graduated.

I am certified with The Institute for Excellence in Writing to officially  teach the IEW process and have been teaching IEW for over ten years. In addition, I teach grammar as well as integrated history, literature and
writing centered around the ancient, world or American history to both
middle and high school students. I have been teaching both in co-op,
classroom settings, as well as out of my home for the last 17 years and this will be my 4th year teaching at Heritage Christian Academy.

I’m excited this year to offer high school geography with a component to explore missions and missionary work to my schedule of classes. I love the idea that I am blessed to help ensure students’ success in their academic experience in school and in preparation for life after high school in whatever area they choose to walk in.

Pre-Algebra, Algebra 2

I began in college as a Biology major and soon found that the Lord had wired me to teach and ended up in the classroom teaching and never
left! I’ve been teaching Jr and Sr high math to homeschool students for 30 years. My first position along with
being an IL was to head up the math department and implement high school level college prep math courses for Eldorado Charter
School. I taught there until I started homeschooling my own daughter. 

I continued to teach math classes to homeschoolers independently and for a group much like HCS called Higher Ground Christian Fellowship in Northern California until my  daughter graduated high school and was accepted at Point Loma  Nazarene University. In 2008 she went off to college and I took a
ministry position with Windsor Hills Community Church in La Mesa and continued teaching math classes for homeschoolers.

I assess your child’s individual learning style and use multiple instructional techniques that best facilitate learning. In my classroom I strive to build confidence and cultivate the joy of learning into my
students as they obtain new math skills and become prepared for their next academic journey.

World Literature, British Literature

I have been homeschooling our nine children for 29 years now with another three years to go. In 2015, I opened Stormoen Classes and began
teaching literature and writing classes out of my home. I was also a tutor for Classical Conversations.

My goal in teaching is to share my passion and love for literature with the next generation and challenge them to think about what they are reading through the lens of scripture. I also want to ensure students leave my classes with a solid understanding of the process of writing to set them up for success in whatever post-high school path they
choose.

Biology, World Literature,
Introduction to Literature

My wife and I have been  homeschooling since 2009. Our son will be in the 11th grade for the 2023-
24 school year.

I have taught science (biology, life science, earth science, physical science, and marine biology) in a classroom setting for 10 years and in the homeschool setting since 2010. All my science classes have been lab oriented classes with many being offered as college prep or honors classes. In addition to teaching science, I have taught math through Algebra 2 and various Literature classes (Fundamentals, American, British, World, and Introduction).

I have been the pastor of San Diego Grace Brethren Church in Kearny Mesa since 2005, teach classes for CFSMM, and HCS Clairemont Class Days in addition to my Academy classes.