Maine Homeschool Exchange

Roger Smith

Dr. Smith has been practicing Internal and Pediatric Medicine since 1989. He finds joy in helping families stay healthy and fulfill God's design of family unity by using Biblical principles along the way

 Jan Smith

Jan has successfully coached hundreds of wives and mothers to reach their full potential in marriage and motherhood. From overcoming obstacles to embracing life changes, Mrs. Jan helps families navigate it all.

Michelle Collomy

Michelle is Mom to 12 children. She and her husband started homeschooling in 1996. They will be graduating their 10th homeschool student this Spring. In addition to homeschooling her last 3 teens, Michelle is also helping with homeschooling some of her grandchildren and teaching in a local homeschool co-op.

Michelle and her husband serve Homeschoolers of Maine as Regional Representatives for Oxford, Cumberland and York counties. It is their passion to see other families flourish in their homeschool journey.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Cherie LaFlamme

Cherie LaFlamme is passionate about special needs children and homeschooling. She has two grown daughters whom she homeschooled for 11 years and one teenage granddaughter whom she has been homeschooling since the spring of 2020. She and Tom have been married since 2005 and we live in Lewiston with their dog Oreo.

Professionally, Cherie was once a special education teacher and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2012. She has worked with children with developmental disabilities since 2000, first as a 1:1 Ed Tech/BHP in special purpose schools, then as a special education teacher, and now as a BCBA. For 4 years she helped build autism programming in public schools.  She currently works for an agency that provides home and community support for children with autism and developmental disabilities and on the side she provides private consultation, mostly for preschool aged children through CDS. In her free time she loves to encourage parents and grandparents who want to homeschool their differently abled child. 

Joanna Martel

Joanna Martel, EdD is a 30 year educator and project manager. Her education includes a EdD from Northeastern University in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, an MSEd from the University of Southern Maine in Educational Leadership with certification in Curriculum Coordinator and Building Administration, and an MS from Gordon College in Biology and certification in General Science Education. Her work has led her to serve and work in homeschooling, non-profit, and public sectors and for the last 20 years in running her own educational consulting company, Martel Learning Group, LLC, which strives to improve lives and opportunities for all through vision, planning, and execution of innovative educational ideas. She proudly serves as the president of Amagara Marungi: A better life 501©3 which works to improve the lives of rural African communities. 

Jake Oliver

Oliver Investments, LLC is owned and operated by Jake Oliver.  Jake grew up in this community on a small farm in Nobleboro, Maine.  After returning from Eastern University where he graduated with a BA in Business Marketing and minor in Business Management, Jake worked locally in sales and eventually as a manager at a local business. He decided to return to his true passion of helping others and became a full-time financial advisor. Jake loves to help clients devise a plan for their future and is passionate about financial education.

In 2007 Jake married his amazing and beautiful wife Laura. They spent the next five years building a home in Nobleboro with lumber they sawed themselves on the family sawmill. They homeschool two bright and talented girls, Adelaide and Eve, and have a black lab named Timber. Family is the backbone of Oliver Investments, LLC, and we hope to call you a part of our family soon.  

Jake also holds an Associate Broker Real Estate license and still enjoys helping his clients find and sell homes across the state of Maine.

Meghan Ellwell

As a former classroom teacher with experience working in both public and private institutions, I have dedicated myself to cultivating strong, self-sufficient students and equipping them with the skills and strategies needed to become independent learners. I have a specific passion and background in literacy instruction and intervention that spans close to 10 years of experience. My desire is to help parents in implementing best practices with their children at home. I focus on early intervention, and phonics-based instruction, all grounded in the Wilson Reading System. I'll teach you the simple things you can do right now to ensure reading success, and how to watch for measurable progress.

Lucy Martin

Lucy’s passion is what God says about marriage and surrender as a path to freedom. She’s a happy wife, homeschooling mom of five, licensed therapist, and certified relationship coach. She has a thriving coaching practice helping women who love Jesus have victory in marriage. She loves exploring new places and singing on The Anchor Church worship team. She has a podcast, website, and Facebook group called Easy Biblical Marriage.

Karen Richards Toothaker

Karen is an author, educator, workshop facilitator,  and speaker who specializes in  children's picture books. Her

mission is to empower parents and professionals to build

strong bonds with children that lay a foundation to help

them navigate the storms of life. In her career as an educator,

she has witnessed first hand the essential need for strong

bonds between children and trusted adults that offer

emotional support, respect, honesty, understanding, and guidance. Such relationships allow children to dream, trust, increase resilience and believe with confidence. She loves to play, be outside, share adventures, read, and explore creative arts. She counts being an author, teacher, wife, mother and grandmother, along with living in the beautiful State of Maine as her greatest treasures.

Robin Charbonneau

Robin is self-described as a disorganized, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants mom who never even wanted to homeschool in the first place, but somehow said "yes" to God and He has done amazing things.  She has been married to Lennie for over 30 years and they have been blessed with eleven children who are just really cool people.  So far 5 have graduated from their homeschool and the plan is to continue to say "yes" to God and homeschool the remaining 6. She has served in various ministry roles and also with HOME because she loves to encourage others in their faith and in their homeschooling journeys.

Tippy Missick 

Tippy is a seasoned fitness professional with over 50 years of experience and the founder of the Neuro-Fitness Academy. As a children’s book author and advocate for innovative learning strategies, Tippy has worked extensively with homeschooling families, educators, and children of all abilities. She combines her

passion for fitness and creativity to deliver engaging, practical solutions that foster both physical and mental growth in children.

Tippy’s unique perspective is shaped by her journey as a fitness expert, her work with neurodiverse learners, and her commitment to empowering families through health and education.

Ellen Gawler

Pineland Suzuki School Co-Founder

Pineland Fiddlers Artistic Director

Ellen is a fiddler, specializing in the musical styles from the State of Maine, which includes: Scots/Irish, French Canadian, and Maritime traditions. Her music has taken her far and wide with several groups, including travel and performing with family. Ellen has been a Suzuki teacher since 1986 and is dedicated to the ways that Suzuki method

and fiddling intersect and benefit each other. Ellen is a founding member and top youth instructor of Maine Fiddle Camp. With Pineland Fiddlers, she has made three recordings, and inspired the students by taking trips to thriving fiddling places: Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, Ireland, Turkmenistan, and most recently, Shetland. Ellen says, “PSS was formative for my family and set my 3 girls on a beautiful path of music making. They have come away with a belief in themselves that anything is possible that they got in no small part from the Suzuki  method.”

Lori Scheck

Pineland Suzuki School Assistant Artistic Director

Lori grew up in Endicott, New York, and began playing violin at the age of 8. She attended Suzuki pedagogy classes at Ithaca College, Hart Music School, and Stanford University. She has been teaching group classes and private lessons with Pineland Suzuki School for 22 years, with a current studio of 26 private students, ranging in age from 3-17. She is a passionate advocate for early childhood education as well as the most advanced students. She is an active board member of the Maine Suzuki Association, certified Music Together teacher, orchestra manager, mentor and director of the Kennebec Valley Youth Symphony Orchestras, violinist in Colby College Symphony Orchestra and violin teacher at Elm City Community Music School in Waterville. Occasionally, she plays piano trios and string quartets with other area musicians. In her spare time, Lori enjoys playing violin and cello duets with her husband for public events and just for fun.

Hal Shurtleff

Hal is a husband,  father of five and grandfather of two. He and his wife Maura homeschooled their children.  Born, raised and up until 2020, lived in Boston-now resides in Alton, NH.  Hal is a U.S. Army veteran who did a tour of duty in West Germany and the 101st Airborne Division. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, co-founder and director of Camp Constitution, a New Hampshire charitable trust, host of Camp Constitution Radio, and writes for The Boston Broadside and Weirs Times. Hal and Camp Constitution won a victory for free speech and religious rights with the U.S Supreme Court's 9--0 ruling "Shurtleff v Boston."