Dr. Tom Anderson

A Hamline University chemistry professor for over 15 years, woodworker, and long-time LEGO enthusiast, Dr. Tom brings a fascination with the natural world to help his students teach themselves how to learn and study.

• High School Chemistry for ages 14–19 years on Fridays at PHS for First Period (9:15 AM–10:30 AM)

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Maria Benford & Kailan Benford of Minnesota Sword Play

Minnesota Sword Play’s owner and main coach Maria Benford has been fencing for over 30 years. She is a rated fencer who has won many national competitions. Coach Maria is a member of the United States Fencing Association and has served as the President and Vice President of the U.S.F.A. Minnesota Division. She has taught and coached fencing to both men and women for more than 20 years during which time her students have often gained regional distinction.

• Fencing for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for First Period (9:15 AM–10:30 AM)

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Sarah Beggs of Fiber Works MPLS

Sarah Beggs and Janet Lewis launched Fiber Works MPLS, a textile organization in Northeast Minneapolis with a focus on engaging our community in the arts of sewing and knitting handcraft, in 2018.

Sarah Beggs is a skilled coordinator and creator. In her work with the neighborhood children over seven years at the Northeast Minneapolis Farmers Market, she organized a curriculum where each week the children explored the many aspects of agriculture through interactive projects and participatory events. Sarah believes that hands-on learning for young children is the best way to engage their minds and learn new skills. Running the Children’s Tent allowed for just this kind of exploration. The neighborhood kids gained insight and understanding of community and agriculture through these fun activities including finger knitting, spinning, and hand sewing.

A lifelong hand knitter, Sarah was VP and then Treasurer of the Minnesota Knitters Guild for three years. Her knitting skills developed by way of training under one of the most creative, innovative teachers in the Upper Midwest, Susan Sari (Sisu Designs) of Ely, MN. Currently, Sarah is working on The Master Hand Knitting Program through The Knitting Guild Association. Sarah holds a BA from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, and is a co-owner of Roadrunner Records in south Minneapolis.

• Costumes and Cosplay for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM) with Janet Lewis

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Séa Blake

Séa Blake is an avid maker and nerf modder. They’ve been part of Planet Homeschool since Fall 2015 and they began homeschooling in 2006. As a teenager, they hosted the Dragonwood LARP. Séa has been a YDSC pilot since 2020, flying as Eclipse. They won the overall Advanced YDSC Flying Fall ‘21 Sim Season and took first in the YDSC Individuals and second in YDSC Pairs with their Tiny Turbines teammate Squirkit at the YDSC Flying Fall ’21 Regional Championship at Target Field.

• LARPcraft: Creating a Live Action Role Play for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 PM–1:45 PM) with Nic Rosenau

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Lukas Brasherfons of Shakespearean Youth Theatre

Lukas Brasherfons is a director/dramaturg based in Minneapolis. With Shakespearean Youth Theatre, he has directed As You Like It, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as well as the Dream Project audio dramas of Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His dramaturgical endeavors include work with American Players Theatre, Writers Theatre, the Iowa New Play Festival, the Den Theatre, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co, Next Theatre, Raven Theatre, Mercury Players, Broom Street Theater, Chicago Dramatists, and Northlight Theatre. Lukas has a BFA in Acting with a minor in Stage Combat from Columbia College Chicago, as well as an MFA in Dramaturgy from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop.

• Shakespearean Youth Theater: Venus and Adonis for ages 13–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM)

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Jennifer Floyd

Jennifer Floyd received her BA in Studio Art from UC San Diego, and her teaching credential from San Diego State University. She has a single subject (K-12) credential in Art, Language Arts, and Social Studies, and taught in private and public schools for 14 years before beginning her homeschooling journey after her two children were born in 2006 and 2007. She has many diverse interests, having raised sheep, rare breed poultry, livestock guardian dogs, and fiber goats; trained horses, dabbled in gardening, spinning and crochet, enjoys photography, and is an avid reader.

• Animal Husbandry for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 PM–1:45 PM)

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Trina Greene

Trina Greene started teaching in 2005 as a Kindergarten teacher. After spending many years in the K-12 setting (4th, 6th, 7th GT) she searched and found her passion in Higher Education. She currently is a Faculty Dean and Instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. She enjoys working with freshmen as they start their journey into higher education.

In 2005, she graduated from the University of Minnesota (GO GOPHERS) with her B.S. in Elementary Education and in 2008 with her M.Ed. in Mathematics Education. She is ABD in Higher Education Administration.

She lives with her husband who is a Software Engineer for Microsoft (Github) and her 11-year-old daughter, Ella, who participates in PHS. Oh, and don’t forget her two adorable Siamese cats, Russell and Burn-E (she promises they are not like those Siamese in Lady in the Tramp). She loves all things nature so you will find her 95% of the time enjoying the great outdoors. Most days during PHS she uses the time to go for a long run. Marathon training is a passion of hers. She loves spending time with her family traveling, biking, skiing (downhill and XC), hiking, climbing mountains, canyoneering, swimming, scuba diving (she is a rescue diver), a multitude of water sports, birding, and camping. She loves challenges and never stops moving.

• Funky Hand Embroidery for ages 12–19 years on Fridays at PHS for First Period (9:15 AM–10:30 AM)

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Kimberly Guedes

Kimberly Guedes has been homeschooling for the last nine years. Kim lives on a hobby farm and enjoys caring for animals, making art, and working with children. She is looking forward to teaching at PHS!

• Painting for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM)

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Tim Hereid

Tim Hereid is a licensed teacher, homeschool educator, private tutor, writer, and passionate learner who has worked with homeschoolers in Maine, New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota over the past fifteen years. He grew up in south-central Wisconsin, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and received his Master’s in Education from Hamline University in St. Paul. He is a passionate homeschool advocate, a proponent of project-based learning, and absolutely loves teaching and learning.

• Drawing Fantasy Maps and Tokens for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for First Period (9:15 AM–10:30 aM)
• Sign Language for Beginners I for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM)

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Peter Hoh

Peter Hoh grew up taking things apart and building forts in his backyard. He graduated college with a degree in English. As a 4th grade teacher in the early 1990s, Peter redesigned the science curriculum to make it hands-on and textbook free. He left classroom teaching to be a stay-at-home dad. For the past 20 years, he’s been leading science and engineering programs in informal educational settings (museums, libraries, and after-school). He’s an active volunteer and occasional instructor at the Saint Paul Tool Library.

• Designing Solutions to Everyday Problems for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 pM–1:45 PM)

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Rebekah Jorgensen

Rebekah Jorgensen is a homeschooling mom who has taught music, math, and German in some combination since 2006, both online and in the classroom. She loves learning new languages, travel, board and video games, and trying new things.

• Planning Sustainable Cities for ages 12–19 years on Fridays at PHS for First Period (9:15 AM–10:30 AM)
• Journalism/PHS Newspaper for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM)
• Collaborative Theater and Storytelling for ages 10–19 years on Thursday online for Second Period (10:30 AM–11:45 AM)

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Sarah Beggs & Janet Lewis of Fiber Works MPLS

Janet Lewis and Sarah Beggs launched Fiber Works MPLS, a textile organization in Northeast Minneapolis with a focus on engaging our community in the arts of sewing and knitting handcraft, in 2018.

Janet Lewis is passionate about teaching and sharing her love of sewing with young children. She has taught summer camps for kids in St Paul and Chicago over the last three years. Janet’s eleven years of work with Macy’s 8th Floor Christmas and Spring Flower Shows displayed to the public her skills and professional excellence. Additionally, her work sewing costumes for the Houston Ballet Company offered a unique opportunity to work with children and young adults. She continues to help both large institutions and small companies alike meet their performance deadlines by working with both the prop and costume teams.

Janet maintains her own side business, Neighbor Lady Creations, featuring aprons from vintage patterns which she sells at local gift shops and the No Coast Craft-O-Rama. Opening a community-based Fiber Arts center where she can both teach sewing and engage with the local sewing community is the natural evolution of her passion.

• Costumes and Cosplay for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM) with Sarah Beggs

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Judy O’Neill

Judy O’Neill has been sharing her enjoyment and knowledge of mathematics through teaching homeschool math classes and private tutoring in the Twin Cities for over 12 years. She teaches/tutors elementary and high school math through Pre-Calculus and enjoys working with all levels of math learners, meeting students where they are, and helping them to move forward. Judy earned a BA in Mathematics and a BS in Computational Mathematics from Eastern Illinois University, along with an MS in Computer Science from DePaul University and a Ph.D. in the History of Science and Technology from the University of MN. Homeschooling is personal for her, having homeschooled her two daughters through high school and served as board treasurer for Minnesota Homeschoolers’ Alliance for several years.

• Small Group or One-on-One Math Lessons for ages 10–19 years online (by arrangement)

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Kathy Oaks

Kathy Oaks is a photographer, author, and educator who is passionate about travel and learning. She has a degree in Psychology from Rice University, teaches photography and public speaking to homeschool students, and is currently the Communications Director and Member Liaison at Planet Homeschool. She’s written several books on homeschooling, which can be found at HomeschoolersNotHermits.com/books.

• Social and Presentation Skills for ages 13–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 PM–1:45 PM)
• Photography Senior Seminar for ages 14–19 years online on Thursdays for Fourth Period (2 PM–3 PM)

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Theresa Redfern-Hall

Theresa Redfern-Hall graduated from a women’s liberal arts college. She has a Bachelor’s in Paralegal Studies and has spent time working on an MA in Library and Information Science at the College of St. Catherine. Over the years, Theresa has worked as a legal assistant in a law office, an advocate for battered women, a court reporter and bailiff for county court judges, and a volunteer coordinator for a women’s shelter.

Theresa has taught at Planet Homeschool since 2008. She loves working with the students and helping them make connections between their lives and history. Since not every student learns in the same way, her goal is to present information in a variety of forms and mediums that appeal to all types of learners. She has even been accused of making history “fun.” Currently, she is involved in freelance work, teaching classes for homeschoolers, learning to weave, genealogy, and gardening. Theresa and her spouse live in S. Mpls with their three children ages 20-24, a Newfoundland, a Cavalier, and a cat. She loves learning and teaching about history and loves to buy lots of history books. Her motto for life and learning is “Question everything.” Find out more about her classes at her website www.homeschoolingclasses.com.

• Toxic Gifts: The History of Poison/Poisonous Gas for ages 12–19 years on Fridays at PHS for First Period (9:15 AM–10:30 AM)
• LGBTQ+ History for ages 12–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Second Period (10:35 AM–11:50 AM)
• Mock Trial for ages 12–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 PM–1:45 PM)
• Ancient World History for ages 12–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Fourth Period (1:50 PM–3:05 PM)

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Nic Rosenau

Nic Rosenau enjoys herding cats, getting ducks in a row, event organizing, and other futile attempts to establish a semblance of cooperative order in our chaotic world. She loves learning, creating, reading, long walks, and waxing philosophical. Her family joined Planet Homeschool in Fall 2015 and were members until her child’s graduation in Spring 2023. She began homeschooling in 2006. Prior to homeschooling her child, she worked in interlibrary loan with a pre-internet specialty in finding government documents for library patrons in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Before that she studied Philosophy and Women’s Studies at the University of Minnesota with a special interest in how people use ideologies to justify doing what they ought to otherwise know is wrong.

• LARPcraft: Creating a Live Action Role Play for ages 10–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 PM–1:45 PM) with Séa Blake

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Mike Zugschwert

Mike Zugschwert has worked professionally in the Visual Effects industry and has experience with all sorts of software, hardware, and techniques related to computer graphics, animation, video production, networking, coding, and gaming.

A Minnesota native, Mike received a Media Arts and Animation degree from The Art Institutes International Minnesota. He then moved to New York City to work on animation projects for major league sports and events in Times Square. He returned to the Twin Cities to work for a local studio doing animation and visual effects for television commercials. He has taught as an adjunct instructor for a local college. In 2016, Mike quit his job to stay home and homeschool his two children, while continuing occasional freelance work on the side.

In his free time, Mike enjoys video games, movies, computers, cooking, indoor bouldering, and guitar.

Using his myriad of both professional and personal experiences, Mike is passionate about teaching technical and problem-solving skills to meet students’ goals and curiosity about what tech can do with their creative ideas.

A portfolio website with his demo reels can be found at www.MikeZFX.com.

• Coding with Python for ages 14–19 years on Fridays at PHS for Third Period (12:30 PM–1:45 PM)

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