Homespun solutions from Megan Wysokci

Megan Keller Wysocki with her husband, Jay, and children, Caleb (left) and Eli, work with "Logic Critters" at home.

Megan (Keller) Wysocki ('82) of McMurray is taking her Clarion based education into the home and world wide through a self-developed learning program she calls Homespun Solutions.

Homespun Solutions, aimed at children three to eight, is an at-home learning program that encourages parents and children to learn about mathematics using normal around the house items such as paper, candy bars, and the laundry basket; and day-to-day activities like baking cookies.

Wysocki, who grew up in 84 says that she knew from age seven on that she wanted to be a teacher. "It was my destiny," she say. "I picked Clarion because of its strong education program and I was right. My degree from Clarion carried a lot of weight and made a difference in getting me my first job."

Following graduation, Wysocki taught for four years in Pittsburgh and four years in Vermont, where she also obtained her master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Vermont. She also conducted home schools for children in Vermont and New York, reiterating a lot of what she learned at Clarion, something the parents of her students found quite interesting.

"As I think back now, I remember the late Dr. John Moorhouse getting the ball rolling on thinking about math skills," she says. "He got me thinking about it in broader terms."

And thinking is what Wysocki's program is all about.

"Mathematics was something that always came easy to me, but I knew other students didn't like it," says Wysocki. "I knew a way to teach these skills to young children was needed to make mathematics more accessible."

Returning to Pittsburgh in 1996, Wysocki expanded what she had started with her previous students and her own children, Eli and Caleb, into something all parents could use.

The first step is a free eight-page newsletter with short articles about children's learning styles, confidence articles for parents, and many activities.Ten additional newsletters filled with activities were also developed.

Step two is a for sale educational kit that includes a training video for parents, a step-by-step spiral bound teaching guide, a set of 60 wooden logic critters, a set of 50 wooden logic houses, and a set of 45 wooden logic shapes. All pieces of the kit are hand assembled and painted by Wysocki or her husband, Jay, who also developed the Homespun Solutions website at http://members.aol.com/mwhomespun/

"The web page duplicates the initial newsletter," says Wysocki. "The page helps me to reach out to the other states, Mexico, and Canada, that I could not reach by any other means."

Recently, Wysocki expanded to community based cable television where she demonstrates activities from the newsletter.She also promotes Homespun Solutions by conducting free workshops for schools and school organizations in Allegheny and Washington Counties.

"My main audience is people doing home schooling, but the materials are designed to be beneficial to all families with children ages three to eight," says Wysocki. "I also try to stress that is naive to believe that any school can take care of every child's need and that conscientious help is needed at home from the parents to help their children succeed. I am not replacing education the children receive, but I am trying to supplement it.

"I love what I am doing. I think I am making a difference in linking families together at home. By baking cookies with a child, a parent can incorporate dozens of math and reasoning skills without the child realizing he's learning."

Anyone interested in a free newsletter should send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Megan Keller Wysocki, Homespun Solutions, P.O. Box 1098, McMurray, PA 15317.