Laura DeSoto To All Instructors

laurajdesoto@yahoo.com

Hi and a very warm welcome to Thrive!! I'm Laura DeSoto and am so thrilled to serve as department head of math and science and vendor of science!

After graduating from Wheaton College with a B. S. in Biology and a teaching certificate from Illinois, I have enjoyed teaching for many years in a variety of venues. From the Christian school classroom, to an outdoor education center serving the needs of at-risk inner-city children, to the wilds of Papua New Guinea with the Peace Corps, to my own living room, I strive to make lessons as fun as they are meaningful. Most recently, I have discovered the pure joy of developing and teaching classes for the homeschool community. Here, more than anywhere else, I find the freedom to teach what truly is most important.

In addition to enthusiastically preparing for my classes, I can be found hanging out with my game-loving family (husband, daughter who will be a senior at Westmont and who is currently in Uganda!, son headed to UCLA, and two doggies) playing anything from ping-pong to name-that-tune to multiple day-long board games! I also frequent any hiking trail I can find to keep in shape for exciting climbs like Half Dome and Trolltunga in Norway that we’ve done recently. This summer I am climbing all SoCal’s tallest peaks in preparation for Mt. Whitney in October. There’s nothing quite like giving a shout of praise to the Lord on top of the world! ??. For crazy stories about teaching in places as wild as Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park or PNG's remote village of Henganofi, ask me about my favorite memories, scariest moments, or strangest experiences.

Please reach out to me with any other questions as well (laurajdesoto@yahoo.com). I am so eager to meet you and your kiddos soon!!