Hot Mess Mompreneur: Creative Chaos Confessions

In 2024 I decided to go back to school. So, you know, homeschooling the kiddos, taking care of the house, and accelerated college classes to knock out that B.A. within four years. When I started back on my education journey, my intention was to become a certified teacher so that I could become an advisor for other parent educators. Full disclosure, that option is still on the table, however, in all of my Heidiness, some of my ideas have morphed into new adventures. Enter the scene: Heidi Mein – Academy (or at least that’s what I’m calling it right now, one of my kids doesn’t like that name).

What is it? Cute, right? It started out with me creating a few classes to fill some elective gaps in our high school homeschool curriculum. Believe it or not, even with a charter school, it is really difficult to find good, affordable, high school electives. What did I start with? Sewing, of course! Get it? Course? Sew…

I created a plan for what I thought was going to be a one-year high school sewing class. As it turned out, there is a lot that goes into creating a curriculum that checks certain high school “boxes” for colleges to consider. In California, our high schoolers have what is called an “A-G track” for university acceptance. Now, I’m not planning to go on a tangent, however, I do not invest in the “everyone needs to go to college” vibe, and many families can’t afford to send their kid straight to a 4-year university. However, I wanted to create classes that checked all of the boxes, and I’m also on a mission to make at least one class qualify for the VAPA category, because how does sewing not fit “visual and performing arts”?

But I digress. I now have about a dozen different class outlines for enrichment and electives stretching across life skills, digital literacy, and entrepreneurship. Full disclosure, I am still physically building these out. But I have outlines, lesson plans, and a timeline. Because I will be offering these classes right on my website!

First up? The sewing classes, launching online this upcoming August: SEW100 and Stitch by Stitch.

These will be completely asynchronous online classes, but I will provide grading, monthly summaries, and the work samples students need for their homeschool advisors, plus, I can offer these at a much lower price point than what is currently available to our homeschoolers.

Behind the scenes, I’m drafting the rest of the multi-year curriculum map, including an advanced sewing track, a textile science class, and a digital pattern drafting course. Over the next few years, as I work towards my B.A., I will also be taking steps so that once my core high school classes are finalized, I will be able to submit them for official WASC accreditation and A-G tracking so they can be added to transcripts seamlessly.

This year I feel like I have been inspired to keep putting irons in the fire, and maybe I have too many going, but it’s been an incredibly fulfilling experience. I’m not walking away from my handmade business, I fully intend to continue making zipper bags and accessories for my website and Etsy store, but these classes have inspired me in a way that I haven’t felt in a while. Creating classes for the Academy has felt like a natural forward motion, motivating me to get more done around the house and even in business.

Eventually, I will adapt these so that I have self-paced, legacy courses for adults who just want to learn some new skills without a timeline or grading. But right now, this adventure feels like the right path, and I’m excited to be on it.