The Grow House

03/26/2025

It was never about the end result. It was about the process.

A few weeks ago, my husband asked me if I had a use for 2 pairs of jeans that had seen better days. I set them to the side, not knowing exactly why, but I felt I should keep them.

Tonight on a whim, I had an idea. So I went downstairs and grabbed them. I cut a rectanglar size of material and began doodling a flower design. But as I began stitching, I realized the shape of 2 petals resembled more of a dragonfly, so I pulled the stitching of the 3rd petal out and marked out a dragonfly.

It reminded me of what I felt earlier as I was cleaning at The Grow House. I was looking around at all of the loose parts, materials, and space and feeling a deep need to protect it.

The world we live in now seeks product over process. It's energy is driven by money which is literally called "currency". And what we give our "currency" to is what we give our energy to.

I've never really been interested in success as the world sees it. I am aware, very aware, that money is needed in our world, but my life is not driven by it.

My success is not measured by how much currency I hold. It's measured by what I give my energy to.

The land and building where The Grow House is located is to be used for a specific purpose; that purpose is to allow children the freedom and materials to create.

We exist to foster creativity and we do so by protecting the light and spark that is within each child. A light that is not meant to be tested so someone can make money off test scores. No, that type of "currency" transfer isn't welcome here. We do not welcome the siphoning of children for someone else's gain.

I am aware that certain skills are needed, but there are natural and organic ways to teach them; no curriculum, no lesson plans, and no set path.

We simply follow the lead of the children. But you have to trust them. You have to believe that children are whole people. And that requires a great amount of courage in a world that believes that they are not whole people.

Do you trust your children enough to pause and see what they have to show you? Or are you more focused on what you feel you need to show them?

02/22/2025

If you're looking for a book that is easy to read and filled with thought provoking experiences relating to hands-on education, then look no further.

This is one of my top 10 books I've ever read.

Imagine a world for children based on connection over curriculum. This is why we're here.

"Of all the things I want for them, connection to this place and a sense of knowing how they fit into this world usurps all others. I want this for them more than happiness, because I think mere happiness is a shallow elucidation of the human experience, and by itself is not a particularly sturdy emotional foundation upon which to build a fulfilling life. I want this for them more than success, at least insofar as our culture has come to define success as being a product of money and power and recognition. I want this for them more than physical vitality, because I believe that good health--and not just health of body, but also of emotion and spirit--is only possibly when one feels connected to and secure in their place."

02/21/2025

Today I was chatting with another Mom at Open Gym at Mankato Area Gymnastics, and she asked me, "So you're almost like a homesteading village? With hands-on learning and kids running around barefoot? That's pretty awesome."

And at that moment, it dawned on me that I need to share more about the heart of our mission.

There are many different types of homeschooling groups. Many of the groups in our area focus on a curriculum or classes, there is a nursery for the younger children, and parents all take turns teaching. This is good because there needs to be options to fit different approaches and philosophies.

Different is not bad. It's no secret that I have what some may consider strong views on education and what it looks like, but my views are not the only way. They do, however, stem from my experience teaching and serving as administrator in a variety of educational settings.

But for me it's more than that. It's deeper.

My views and ultimately my mission come from the experience of watching people burn out; elementary teachers, childcare teachers, and more recently, parents-specifically mothers.

How does one homeschool with a large age range of children, while also meeting each child's learning style, while also keeping a home, and also fighting the mental "Am I doing this right" that comes with homeschooling?

The vision for The Grow House is not about homeschooling - not at its heart. It's about community. It's about mothers finding connection, children forming friendships, and most importantly - it's all about attachment.

In America, we have a "disposable" culture. We're quick to toss things out and find a replacement. But true education - organic education - is built on the foundation of trust that is formed from secure attachments.

The Grow House exists as a place to come together and find consistency in environment and in community.

Recently, the Mothers in our village have been interested in learning about and milling whole grains. One of the Mothers bought a mill and is housing it at The Grow House to share within our community.

We're absolutely here for our children but we're also here for the mothers - we're here for all of us.

02/19/2025

Stuck. Oftentimes as a Mom it can feel like life is coming at us quickly.

"I want to connect with others, but I have to put everyone in the car."
"I want to have people over, but our house isn't built for that."
"I want to homeschool but I don't know where to start."
"I've tried homeschooling but curriculums and everything felt so overwhelming and I have children in different seasons of development."

And so, we freeze. We stay home. We stay by ourselves. And we stay isolated.

America has systems designed for everything aside from Mothers who choose to stay home. Those of us who believe in and choose attachment relationships with our children are left to figure it out for ourselves. The Village exists, just not for us.

For awhile I too felt stuck. At the time I was operating a child care center out of this space, but yet I didn't use childcare or intend to. I wanted to homeschool but with an unschooling approach and one that values family staying together.

And so I set out to create what didn't exist. I set out to create a village. A village where Mothers with children of all ages can come and find community. This village gathers in a building where we share resources, space, and materials.

But above all, this village is a space to share company. To get advice from one another and to share in conversation.

We've only just begun, but I know this is what God has lead me to do and I know He will see it through.

This isn't about homeschooling, though many of us do. This is about Mothering with the support of a community.

If you're interested in seeing our space or learning more, I'd love to show you our vision and our space.

If you're a homeschool group or small group of Mothers looking for a place to connect I'd love to share more about our group memberships.

The Grow House is meant to be a hub of sorts, a verison of what the neighborhoods used to look like.

We have many goals for the future including forming relationships with local farmers and artisans to be a pick-up site for bread or even eggs. Almost like a Village Square.

We all feel stuck at times, just don't stay stuck too long. Your community awaits.

02/18/2025

Imagine a physical space dedicated entirely to families looking for a village- for community.

This is what we're building piece by piece.

Located on 2 acres just outside of Mankato's City Limits, we spend our time together learning new skills, exploring in the outdoor back acre, and connecting with one another.

January was filled with beautiful real-world experiences. We learned how to mill wheat into flour, the children each made their own pizza puff for lunch, and we spent 2 weeks doing basic sewing to make blankets, pillow cases, and rice bags.

Before we know it we will be starting seeds for our community garden.

We're a community of families building the village we all long for.

If you're interested in learning more or would like to host classes in our space, please reach out to Elizabeth Bangert at [email protected].

Our 1-2 year goals include building a chicken tractor and having a farm-stand for cut flowers and seasonal produce.

We weren't meant to do life alone. We were meant to live in community with one another.
While many of us homeschool, we are not a curriculum based program. We're not really a program at all; we're a group of families dedicated to supporting natural learning in an environment that embraces learning as a whole family.

Welcome to The Grow House. 💓🏠

02/17/2025

It's important to pause and when necessary, makes changes. That's a very un-American thing to do. America likes to cling to things out of what I believe is associating change with failure; ironically, the failure to change is what often leads to failure - change itself is not failure.
Since I ended the childcare chapter at Here We Grow in August, I've come to realize what my vision truly is when it comes to The Grow House, and maybe more so, what it is not.
I spent today putting my thoughts into words and ultimately deciding to "go big or go home". You don't know until you truly try and to be honest, I let too many people get into my head about what THEY want in a homeschool co-op; much of which I came to realize is not at all my heart's desire. And that is okay, we're allowed to be different and have different thoughts and ideas.
My passion has always been about creating community and connecting people. I've done that throughout my life in a variety of settings and ways and this is no different. You see what I realized I was failing to convey is that I'm not interested in forming a Homeschool Co-op. There are a variety of those to choose from in our area.
My vision and passion is to gather people who wish to form a village where learning occurs naturally. To have a brick-and-mortar dedicated space where families come together not just for the sake of their children, but for the sake of the family. I'm interested in creating a space where we can source food from one another, support each other's small businesses, share and tend a community garden and then preserve food together, share skills and resources and help one another. I'm interested in doing life together with other families who have a whole family approach when it comes to "schooling". Where classes and experiences may very well have both children and adults learning together. Where some classes may even be taught by older children/teenagers.
This isn't just about homeschooling for me, it's about doing life with like-minded people.

If you know of those who may be interested, please share our page with them and send them my way. To be honest we have quite a bit of interest, but there is one thing standing in the way for many families, and that has to do with the financial situation in America due to inflation. Here's to praying that changes soon.

If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far go together.

You don't know until you try. And I can guarantee when you try anything you will either fail at some point or need to pivot. But I can also guarantee you'll never accomplish anything by standing still doing nothing.

If you're reading this and thinking, "that sounds cool, I have some ideas on how to make this work", or "hey I'd like to use your space to share a skill or knowledge I have", send me an email and let's set up a time to have coffee. Let's revive the idea hive.

Happy Sunday friends. 💕

I've been working in some capacity with children for as long as I can remember. I wanted to be a teacher early on in my childhood and I followed through, graduating with a BS in Elementary Education and then a Masters in Educational Leadership. Between completing my Bachelors and my Masters, I have....