Home Scholars

Reading at the Menino Art Center, 6/2019, photo by Erik Gehring

Home Scholars of Boston fosters scholarly engagement in English Language Arts and the Humanities for homeschooled students in the Greater Boston area. In addition to teaching, tutoring and custom class design, Home Scholars of Boston, LLC offers education planning and advising services to assist parents in customizing their child’s education while ensuring high academic standards.

Our courses are grounded in the classics, yet unconstrained by the traditional classroom setting.  Our Homeschool Classes are small to ensure individualized attention and instruction. Custom classes can be developed for specific homeschooling groups. Find the courses that are right for your child in our list of course offerings.


Testimonials

“Linda is nothing short of amazing. Our 16 year old son has been working with her for years and she has taken him from a child who had little interest in writing and absolutely no interest in poetry to a young man who loves to write. He routinely talks about how much he loves critically reviewing literature and has said several times, “poetry is totally my jam.” As a sophomore in high school, he placed into the highest writing level in our community college. I credit Linda for this. She saw him for the person who he is and worked with him from there. Our son has taken group classes and has been been individually tutored by Linda. He has also helped her teach younger students. We have loved Linda in each experience. She has made homeschooling possible and we could not be more thankful to her.”

— Melissa, Parent


“Occasionally on your homeschooling  journey, you find something so special, that it makes you certain that you are providing the very best for your children’s personal growth and education.  Linda is this for our family and for many others.  Over the past three years she has been a key part of our children’s ELA journey.  They have taken classes in poetry, short stories and literary analysis.  We have joined existing classes and more recently, she has worked with us to custom design creative writing classes, which include the full array of writing styles, and have often included optional, non-written project choices for those who wish to express themselves in a different way.  She is passionate about teaching and sharing her love of the written word with children. She is kind and patient and always encouraging.  A special gift she has, is to find the spark that lights a child’s creativity.  In this way, she coaxes the very best from them and helps them to grow as writers.  We especially appreciate how she inspires bravery and kindness in her students sharing their work, both in class and at the festive end-of-class presentation for friends and family.  From beginning to end, Linda’s classes are a celebration of the children’s creativity and we have watched ours grow in confidence year on year. ”

— Lisa, Parent


“Linda’s classes have been a core part of our homeschool ELA curriculum for the last four years.  Starting with a writing workshop held at the Arboretum, where Linda’s love of poetry was inspiring and my daughter immediately felt encouraged and understood by Linda, our daughter then went on to take a full series of Poetry, Short-Story, and Essay classes as well as several shorter electives.  Within an optimal small group setting, Linda provides young readers and writers with developmentally appropriate curriculum and expectations.  Our daughter is now currently thriving in her private school classrooms in large part due to the sound foundation Linda helped to establish not only in ELA skills, but also in working collaboratively with your peers and being a thoughtful contributing member of a classroom.  Regular publications of student work, alongside public presentations were motivating and provided opportunities to celebrate hard work and introduce public speaking skills.  Linda is well attuned to her students, provides ample in-depth feedback to students on their work, and keeps parents well informed of the learning that goes on each week making her an ideal partner for homeschooling parents.  Her classes are an excellent value and we can only hope that all of our daughter’s future teachers will be as committed to her success as Linda is to all of her students.”

   — Dana, parent


“Linda’s enthusiasm for teaching and writing comes through clearly, in every interaction. My daughter took Essay 1 and 2 with a small group of 5th and 6th grade students. I was hoping for an essay class where my daughter could (a) exchange ideas with (and learn from) her peers; (b) practice in-class timed writing; (c) practice more leisurely thoughtful writing with the opportunity to brainstorm, outline, write, revise, receive feedback, and revise further; (d) be encouraged to develop her organizational, proofreading, critical thinking, and persuasive skills, so she would (e) feel capable and confident, and enjoy writing. Linda’s class provides for all of these things.

Linda is warm, patient, and encouraging. Each class has a clear focus or purpose; her comments on writing are specific and actionable, often presented as an inviting question, rather than a directive. She is wise and discerning, with a light but inspiring touch of rigor that helped my daughter strive for a better work product. Linda meets each student where they are, and helps them take the next steps. She is available between classes for phone consultations, if a student is stuck or has a question. She understands how to include some levity, whether it is a funny writing exercise, a gotcha Internet activity, or a fresh air break. For parents, she emails detailed reports on what occurred in class (including a lot of positive coaching and framing to help the kids stay positive with a growth mindset) and the next assignment.

The final word is from my daughter. She compared her work product from 4 months ago with her recent in-class writing and saw a huge improvement. She literally laughed out loud, said her earlier drafts “are awful”, and, most importantly, knew immediately how she could revise her earlier work to improve it.

— Evelyn, Parent


“I highly recommend Linda Carney-Goodrich from Home Scholars of Boston. My daughter took three 10-week classes with her (Poetry, Short Story, and Critical Classics). She loved each of them and learned so much. Linda is a thoughtful, passionate teacher and fosters a true love of writing. My daughter came home from each class energized and enthusiastic about writing. The classes are challenging but also very supportive and encourage a lot of peer review and discussion. At the end of each session my daughter had an impressive portfolio of work and her writing had really improved.

Not only did my daughter learn the process of writing and reading critically, but she also developed confidence in giving and receiving peer feedback, organizing her work, and completing homework assignments independently.”
— Patty, parent

“Linda was an amazing teacher. My daughter took three different classes from her and loved them all: Creative Writing, Poetry, and Argumentative Writing. The class became a wonderful community, with the students supporting each other, sharing their work, and over time, becoming great friends. Linda creates a lovely learning environment that is simultaneously relaxed and deeply engaging. My daughter worked hard and grew tremendously because she was excited by what she was learning.”

— Antonia, parent

My daughter has taken two courses with Linda and both have exceeded our expectations. Linda connects with each scholar where they are at, encourages them thoughtfully, and not only holds them to high standards, but helps them learn to hold themselves to those standards as well. The connection Linda fosters across the class is one of safety so students feel comfortable taking risks and sharing their writing with one another. My daughter has loved Linda’s classes, her direct and clear style of instruction, and her unconditional support to nurture her growth. We feel like we’ve found a secret goldmine her her in Linda and I (almost) don’t want to share her!

— Valerie, mother to 9 year-old daughter


Linda Carney-Goodrich is a committed and passionate educator. When we were at our wit’s end concerning our sons’ lack of the desire to read, it was Linda who was able to teach them the love of reading. After spending several months being cared for and tutored by Linda, both boys began to excel in school. Our younger son won many awards that year for his improved reading and learning capabilities, including the Presidential Award of Excellence granted to him by Barack Obama. Our other son is now a thriving student with a 4.0 average at the University of Oregon. He loves to read and learn. I credit most, if not all of this, to Linda. we are more than positive that Home Scholars will introduce countless young learners to the joys of learning and reading. We wholeheartedly endorse Home Scholars of Boston and its founder.

— Freeda